First Impressions on 'Freaks and Geeks': This show is amazing!

I have always heard about Freaks and Geeks. But it's a show that I had never seen a single episode or clip, or even screenshot from throughout the years. The only thing I have known about Freaks and Geeks is that it had a plethora of highly successful actors cast in it, before they all had such high levels of fame. Somehow, this show has managed to stay hidden from me without a single person even recommend that I watch it. In fact, the only reason I am watching it now is because I was scrolling through Prime Video in search of a new comedy series to check out. I don't really know why this is, but I have a feeling it is due to the fact that the show got cancelled after its first season. I'm really surprised that this was cancelled, as it has immediately hooked me in, and I can't remember when a comedy show last grabbed ahold of my attention and refused to let go. Even as I write this now, slapping away at my phone screen, I'm taking constant pauses to watch an episode.

There's a certain magic to Freaks and Geeks that I am yet to really explore. But I can see a show that came at the perfect time, with the perfect cast, and written to near perfection. And the little icing to it is that aforementioned cast, of which you'll find yourself constantly noticing actors in their youth, definitely adding a bit more fun to it all. With how much of a little gem this show is, I couldn't help but throw together this first impressions post, giving some voice to thoughts I have had and hopefully spreading the word of this show that was dealt an unfortunate ending. It's weird to look back at such a strong show, knowing it had the mind of Paul Fieg behind it, to which the name has only grown controversial with odd franchise remake flops in recent years.

Coming from the late 90s, Freaks and Geeks was released at the perfect time of early internet culture and a life free of smartphones. Detailing the complex social lives of angsty teenagers; those caught up in the endless social structure of high school and just trying to get by. The idea that there are two specific groups within high school: you're either a freak, of which you are the wreckless student that wings it through life without a care in the world, or a geek. Of course the idea of a geek being rather self-explanatory compared to the idea of a freak, to which you might also associate the term with some negative notion. These two groups offer a ton of potential regarding stories to be told each episode, each episode being almost an hour in length and containing some sort of theme that both the freaks and the geeks are dealing with. Take the idea of love, for example. Even with these more serious themes, the show utilises a vast amount of characters to add comedy to these situations they're thrown into. It's pretty interesting to see that these two groups of people are in some sort of hierarchy within the laws of high school, but are actually more or less the same. Oh, I should also state that the show takes place in the 1980s!

While you might think that there isn't much to bring these two different perspectives of high school life together, there sort of is a main "main" character that bridges the two together. She's more or less a geek, a character that has all the good grades, is incredibly wholesome, but also has the looks and attitude to hang around the freaks. Lindsay sort of acts like the glue that holds a lot of things together with random acts of kindness and maturity, though that freak side of her also means she makes an equal amount of mistakes both attempting to do the right thing only to make things worse, or by just making bad decisions trying to defy norms and fit in. Her character is pretty useful in ensuring we don't stray too far from one side. Running around with a bomber jacket but still being rather kept together, sort of clueless but well aware of how nonsensical the world is.

With the number of characters that are vastly unique, the show has no problems getting through the 44 minute runtime. It always feels like the show is in motion, and there's something new to be seen within these characters. My favourite characters are by far the geeks, though. Just a group of nerdy kids that talk about pop culture and say really dumb things. I find I laugh at them the most with their crazy attempts to get by and understand the world around them. That isn't to say the freaks are weak characters, they're funny in their own, more chaotic way. With the geeks though, sometimes the scene changes and it's just existing dialogue of their conversation on something, and without context so little makes sense. It sort of catches you off guard and makes you laugh. To them it's normal, to an outsider it's just the dumbest talk imaginable. There's also a bit more innocence to them, which makes their struggles seem a bit more easier to connect with. Their antics include fighting their bully in hopes that getting a rough beating up might result in the bully leaving them alone, to manipulating the new girl of the school to make her be their friend instead of with the cooler kids. Oh, and even buying an entire keg of non-alcoholic beer to stop some other person's house party from getting crazy.

To be honest, with the way that each episode is a different story, I don't expect it to have any significant ending to the season. This also means that I doubt there's going to be any sort of cliffhanger that might disappoint. But I do know that I'm going to miss all of these characters that I've instantly connected with. To mention them all would be an entire post on its own, especially going into the actors themselves. Their performances, for teenagers and children, are actually very impressive. Really good facial expression that depict that teenager confusion, that sense of hopelessness and just fear of life. Zoned-out or bored, it seems there's a bit of everything. Even the parents seem pretty good. There's so much detail in each character and episode that I'm sure this was not a cheap show to produce; sort of like a more serious Malcolm in the Middle with twice the runtime and less screaming mothers.

Just a few episodes in, I definitely recommend checking this out. It's worth every minute of your time. And such a gem in the world of television series, especially in today's market in which there still isn't anything quite like it. But as mentioned, that's likely because Freaks and Geeks came at the perfect time in society. A world void of phones and internet influence. Instead with very human stories and interactions.