Pilot (Freaks and Geeks)

I have not seen the entirety of the first season of Freaks and Geeks, universally hailed as one of the greatest television series ever to be killed in their infancy. Just 18 episodes in Freaks and Geeks was pulled from the airwaves, and fans were left wanting more. Early cancellation can do wonders for a television show, adding to the mystique simply because they didn’t stick around long enough to become old and “lame”. Very little about Freaks and Geeks is mainstream, and therein lies both its appeal and the cause of its early downfall. I have decided to delve into the series, covering each episode as I work my way through it. I will go by no strict schedule or pattern as far as posts are concerned, but this series is so rich and admirable that it’s worth the effort.

Most pilots spend an entire episode setting the tone and feel of the series it will become. Freaks and Geeks lays all the groundwork in its first scene. We begin on a high school football field, as we observe a conversation between Generic High School Football Player™ and Generic Blonde High School Cheerleader™. The camera then looks away, nearly in disgust, as we then find ourselves in the midst of “The Freaks”, a group of slacker/stoners who discuss the wearing of a Molly Hatchet shirt to church. Played by future stars James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel, these people are not particularly smart, but the show is infinitely more interested in them than the people we’ve seen in other high school television shows. Freaks and Geeks is going to be about the kids that lurk under the bleachers.

The camera then moves on to a group of three kids who are begging for a wedgie, the “geeks” played by John Francis Daley, Martin Starr and Samm Levine. After re-enacting a bit of Caddyshack, they face down their personal high school bully: Alan (Chauncey Leopardi). The geeks then spend most of the pilot episode trying to face down the bully.

We then meet the series’ main protagonist: Lindsay Weir, played by Linda Cardellini. She enters the series not quite a freak, not quite a geek, and it’s clear the series will follow her in her quest for an identity. She’s sick of being trapped in geekdom (her grades have long been stellar, and she has been a mathlete), and she tries to find her way into the freak crowd. What the show suggests is that this decision was driven by her discovery that God doesn’t exist while sitting by her grandmother’s deathbed.

In more ways than one, the pilot of Freaks and Geeks is willing to go more interesting and darker places than most network high school comedy/dramas. It takes the basic stance that high school is a terrible place in all the worst ways, and a wonderful place in all the best ways. It faces the “high school crap” that kids face right on, including the universal fears and emotions that run through most kids at that age. As a teenager, everyone is convinced their life is terrible.

This is best presented in the scene where Jason Segel’s Nick takes Lindsay to his house to show her his epically huge drum set. He tries to tell her that to get the most out of life she needs to find what her passion is, and it doesn’t matter what she’s good at. Nick is as happy a character as there is in the Freaks and Geeks universe, but even he isn’t peachy-clean, as we will learn in later episodes.

The pilot ultimately comes to an end at the homecoming dance, where all the characters experience a small victory. While John Francis Daley’s Sam doesn’t go to the dance with his crush, Cindy, he still ends up dancing with her to Styx’s “Come Sail Away”. After accidently causing a mentally challenged student to break his arm (ah, context) Lindsay ends up making his night by still dancing with him. She’s not quite ready to give into freakdom quite yet.

The pilot of Freaks and Geeks is not perfect. Ben Foster’s portrayal of Eli strays a little bit into Tropic Thunder “full retard” territory, and as far as acting is concerned some kinks are still getting worked out, but other than a few hiccups Freaks and Geeks absolutely hits the ground running. I am very much looking forward to covering the series in the coming weeks, and I hope you all will join me. I have seen several of the coming episodes, and I can’t wait to dig further in. Freaks and Geeks is rare in that it does not let a scene go by without telling you something new and fascinating about one of the characters. This is a high school series like no other I’ve seen, and while it may be brutally honest the ultimate result is indescribably rewarding.