Freaks and Geeks

I'll be the first to admit I'm often late in coming to the party as far as social trends are concerned. In the case of the TV show, Freaks and Geeks, I'm about 14 years behind schedule. Thanks to my recent decision to get Netflix on my TV, I finally discovered the comedy gem others have been gushing about for more than a decade http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0193676/

Freaks and Geeks isn't just another funny show about teenage angst. There are some important life lessons imparted here, especially as it relates to bullying and social pressure. As a writer, I'm impressed with how these issues are handled within the contexts of a sitcom.

Besides the brilliant plots, Freaks and Geeks has a laundry list of fabulous actors: James Franko, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel just to name a few. Linda Cardellini, the star of the show, really shows off her acting chops in this show. Cardellini has such a wonderful way of expressing her befuddlement at the situations her character is placed in http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004802/

I'm puzzled as to why Freaks and Geeks had such a short run. My understanding is that there is only a total of 18 episodes – NBC evidently cancelled the program after airing only 12 of them. Later, a fan-led campaign prompted NBC to air three more shows, but it wasn't until Fox Family Channel put it into syndication that all of them were available to the public.

I've been a sporadic TV watcher at best. There have been times in my life when I didn't even own a TV, and other times when I had one but never turned it on. Historically, there are very few shows I have made a point to be available to watch. DVRs changed that for me, besides the added advantage of being able to skip all the commercials. Now, with Netflix, I have the joy of discovering programs that I have heard about, but never had the chance to see. I count Freaks and Geeks as one of the many joys I expect to receive as a customer of Netflix www.netflix.com