freaks and geeks

Over the weekend, a group of Freaks and Geeks alumni — cast members Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Samm Levine, Martin Starr, Busy Philipps, Dave (Gruber) Allen, and Steve Bannos and creator Paul Feig — took the stage at San Francisco's Sketchfest to share their memories of the great, underappreciated show. I was there, and over the next few days, I'm going to share some of their best stories with you. Let's get started:

• Paul Feig said that when the series began, all of the writers filled out questionnaires about their own best, worst, and most memorable high school experiences. When someone came up with something truly awful, Feig said, his reaction was: "Oh, that's a terrible story! We'll use that on the show!"
• Cardellini, who played geek-turned-freak Lindsay Weir, said sometimes she'd think the stories were so awful or out there, they had to be made up. "Then you would look at Paul, and you'd see the earnest look on his face and the sadness in his eyes, and you'd realize that most of this happened to Paul."
• Feig said he set the show in 1980s Michigan largely because that's what he knew best, but he also had a few specific reasons for that setting: He wanted it to be set in pre-AIDS times so that people were afraid of having sex because they were afraid of sex itself; he wanted his show to be pre-cell phone because technology restricts interpersonal interactions; and he wanted to show Midwestern life because it's so common and real.

More, including Feig's inspiration for Lindsay, if you read more

If you didn't notice from last week's Freaks and Geeks Flashback, my heart belongs to the little geeks on the show. In this can't-look-away, cringe-fest of an episode, Sam decides he wants to spiffy up his look, but he doesn't realize until he gets to school that his "Parisian nightsuit" is going to get him more attention than he bargained for. Poor Sam! (FYI—I get to see him and other original cast members at a Freaks and Geeks reunion at the San Francisco SketchFest this Sunday! Woot!)

The short-lived comedy/drama Freaks and Geeks (produced by Superbad's Judd Apatow) was television at its finest. Cancelled after only 12 episodes, it nevertheless developed a cult following. And what's not to love? It focused on the only truly interesting people in school, the ones not glorified in shows like Gossip Girl. (I'm talking about the weirdos.) In this episode, Sam (John Francis Daley) gets invited to a makeout party. This causes a stir among his geek friends—some are excited, others a little nauseated. Tune in for some hilarity. . .

For today's holiday gift guide, here are some suggestions for some of your friends who are perhaps a little goofier than others. In this case, "nerd" is an affectionate term, not just a four-letter word.

Few other movies can provide such feelings of triumph as 1994's Revenge of the Nerds. With this gift, you can now go above and beyond the normal DVD version with The Atomic Wedgie Collection.

Judd Apatow's TV series Freaks and Geeks was such a comforting show because all the weird teens of the world could feel understood — whether they were "freaks" or "geeks." Freaks and Geeks — The Complete Series collects all 18 episodes of this show that ended far too soon.

I must admit, I can be a huge nerd sometimes, and I love me a good pun. Thus, I get a huge kick out of these punny aprons at WearableVegetables, like this one that reads "Lord of the Onion Rings." There are some other doozies there that just might crack up your nerdiest of buddies, like "Desperate Housechives," "Silence of the Yams," and "Who's Afraid of Ginger Root?" These can also be applied to tote bags, t-shirts, oven mitts and more.

In his IMDB bio, Judd Apatow is quoted as saying, "I think that everything I do tends to root for the underdog. I always felt as a kid that I was under appreciated, invisible or weird, but I've always secretly thought people would one day appreciate what is different about me. I'm always putting that message out there. Eventually, the nerds and the geeks will have their day."

Well, if Judd Apatow, writer/director of today's new comedy Knocked Up was unappreciated as a geeky kid, then he is now the epitome of the underdog success story.

Years before Knocked Up was even a glimmer in Apatow's eye, though, he created "Freaks and Geeks," the short-lived TV series made to comfort and entertain high school underdogs everywhere.
The show follows siblings Lindsay and Sam Weir, both of whom are on the outskirts of cool at their Michigan high school circa 1980. The writing is smart and funny in the way we've now come to expect of Judd Apatow, and the cast (which includes James Franco and Seth Rogen, among other funny and personable actors) is superb. Even if you were neither freak nor geek in high school, there is so much to love about this show.

While the networks prep their Fall pilots, the rest of us wonder how so many laughably bad shows get made, even as truly great series disappear forever. Perhaps we should ask writer and director Jake Kasdan, whose new movie, The TV Set, hits theaters on Friday, April 6. Kasdan was one of the creative forces behind the short-lived but much-beloved "Freaks and Geeks," so it's fitting that he's now making a movie about the making of a TV pilot.

The TV Set — tagline: "a place where dreams are canceled" — follows scribe Mike Klein (a scruffy David Duchovny) as he attempts to rescue his show, "The Wexler Chronicles," from death by committee. I'm glad to see Duchovny back on the big screen, and the supporting cast also looks promising, including Sigourney Weaver as the persuasive network executive, Willie Garson ("Sex and the City"), and Justin Bateman.

The premise sounds great, and the trailer makes me laugh, but for some reason, The TV Set's 89-minute runtime makes me nervous. I'm still putting it on my "to see" list, though, so watch the trailer and tell me me what you think when you read more

A little while back, geeksugar lent me the DVD set of "Freaks and Geeks." I fell in love with it immediately for so many reasons, I mean talk about capturing that ridiculous high school experience. One episode in particular really stood out to me, mostly for the lunch scene. The episode "Chokin' and Tokin'" starts off in the school cafeteria and Daniel (played by James Franco) and Nick (played by Jason Segel) are standing in line ordering Salisbury steak. When I heard him say Salisbury steak, I immediately thought of my elementary school cafeteria menu. Wednesday was Salisbury steak day and I haven't actually thought about Salisbury steak since then. I remember eating it as a kid (it came with mashed potatoes and green beans), but what is it?

To see the clip where Nick wonders if there is a difference between steak and Salisbury steak, and to find out if there is (including a great recipe to make your own), read more