First off, if you have not watched Freaks and Geeks and/or it is not on your “to watch” list it needs to be. And its 20th anniversary is the perfect excuse to binge-watch this one-season show.
Photo Credit: Rolling Stone
On September 25th, 1999 the television show that, for me at least, started an addiction with high school-aged realistic shows began. Sadly, its demise came only a little over a year later on October 17th, 2000. To this day, Freaks and Geeks always remains one of the top shows listed as a series that was canceled all too early. And honestly, I could not agree more. If you need some convincing or have never heard of this (amazing!!) show, that’s what I am here for.
Photo Credit: Huff Post
The show is rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, which I have never heard of before. As a plot overview, the show follows Sam Weir in his interesting and scarily accurate journey through his freshman year of high school. It also shows the journey of his friends and his older sister, Lindsey Weir, as well as her friends. The show also launched the careers of many well-known actors, including Jason Segel, James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Busy Philipps. For many of these actors, this was their big break in television and acting. And who doesn’t want to see their favorite actors when they were the same age as us?
Photo Credit: Film Daily
Now, if you are wondering, “Emma, this show is twenty years old. There is no way I’m going to be able to relate to these kids and this show!” Well, I would tell you that you are very wrong. Sam Weir and Kim Kelly will forever be the characters that really encompass my two main moods.
Sam is played by John Francis Daley, now more known for his loveable character Sweets on Bones, whose career also began on Freaks and Geeks. Sam Weir is a high school freshman who is struggling with friends, school, and family, and is one of the most relatable characters for a teen audience who has had or does have the same kind of struggles. Here are a few gifs that really represent Sam’s relatable character:
For me, these gifs really hit home. Sam is the fourteen-year-old angsty teen that all of us were at some point in time. Also, yes, Lindsey Weir, Sam’s older sister is another angsty confused teen that we can all also relate to. But she is also an amazing feminist character. Unlike Sam and Kim, Lindsey isn’t a mood, she is someone I fully relate to. While watching Freaks and Geeks for the first time at age fifteen, Lindsey was someone I desperately aspired to be like. She had that exact grungy sense of style that I wanted and was always able to speak her mind and be heard. She is also someone who was always trying to better herself and her situations by growing within herself, not through boys and being popular, which is something that is hard to find.
Kim Kelly is a different story entirely. She is that mean girl, what we would now call a “baddie,” that never cared about what anybody thought and made me want to feel like that too. In layman’s terms she was an unapologetic bad bitch, but in the best way possible.
Also, I want to point out that I do not believe that Freaks and Geeks should be rebooted. I think that it was perfect for its time and I do not need another show ruined by our modern era of television shows, like Riverdale. But I do think it will be one of those everlasting shows made in a specific time period, more like That 70s Show. All I want is a reunion. The actors, now unbelievably famous, would be very difficult to get together but I think a reunion would be possible and very much worth it. I also do know that a few years back they had a reunion for a photoshoot, but I would like to request a reunion that all of us fans can also enjoy.
Photo Credit: Movie Hole
Considering the twentieth anniversary was last week and there was no word on any kind of reunion happening, I’m really doubting anything will come of it. Welp, I guess instead I’ll just watch Freaks and Geeks for the hundredth time!
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