Rating: 
Summary: Freaks and Geeks Revealed!
Review: Hailed as the 'disturbed' version of our wonder years, "Freaks and Geeks" capitulated its audience on a remarkable tour of offbeat dispositions with nostalgic pathos. Marked by only eighteen airings, this show has become to the forefront of cult television. It was contented to strike a chord with rejects, failures and the under-determined but its utmost underdog attitude seemed to strike a chord with mostly everybody who watched it. Maybe it was in the writing? That was a certainty though. The acting was superlative and the cast could't have been more unfamiliar to its audience. When it was all said and done that's what made the show. It was an independent show for unconstrained viewers. It was a show that didn't let down its spectators for the submissive decoration and constantly stayed centered on its main purpose. Although cut because of poor ratings, "Freaks and Geeks" maintained its belief in its audience. Petitions were signed and fans came to grip. Released finally in its deserved form, "Freaks and Geeks" showcases how direct replication can make an ado in the scatter of popular opinion. It might not be number one but somewhere in the perplexity, this is classic brilliant but canceled.
Rating:
Summary: Best Show Ever!!
Review: I consider myself a discerning television viewer and was amazed and happy to find a television show that was touching, hilarious, and realistic at the same time. I think it was one of the BEST shows on television, far superior to the formulaic Friends or Dawsons Creek. Simply put, the show rocked and I'm so happy that the DVD is out!
Rating:
Summary: TV can be this good?
Review: I didn't see Freaks & Geeks when it ran on network television. In fact, I don't remember even hearing about it. (Talk about terrible promotion!) I bought this series on DVD because some former Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast members were involved with it.
What an incredibly lucky find! My fiancée and I watched all 18 episodes within a week.
This is simply great television production. The writing is spectacular; there are no throw-away lines, no worn-out situations, and thankfully, no quick fixes. The writers rarely take the easy way out. (The soundtrack is also top-notch.)
This series also has the perfect balance of comedy and drama. It's not screwball, and it's not melodramatic. It's a pretty realistic look into the lives and social challenges of high school students who don't quite fit in with the popular crowd.
But the most impressive aspect of Freaks & Geeks was the casting. Just amazing. Every young actor on this series was perfectly cast. Each character was likeable, interesting, and sometimes painfully familiar.
This was just an amazing and entertaining series. It's a shame it was so short-lived. I can't imagine anyone not being hooked after the first few episodes. This is a great example of how good television can be. Well, before reality TV made actors and writers obsolete, anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: As sweet and heartfelt as any show ever on tv.
Review: I had not seen F&G when it was on television. I thought it would just be a second rate "My So-called Life." But all of the praise heaped on this dvd set tempted me, so I bought it. In two words, it is simply wonderful. I didn't think it was anything special after two episodes, but since I had paid for the whole set, I kept watching. By the tenth episode, I was totally hooked. There are almost no cheap gags in this series (although at times it is hilarious); almost none of the scenes strike a false note. It is just the everyday portrayal of 11th grade Lindsay Weir and her 9th grade brother, Sam, their family and their friends, and, of course, high school in 1981. The humanity of each of the characters, whether they are the burnouts (inexplicably called the freaks) with whom Lindsay, a top student, starts to hang out with, or the (aptly named) geeks, Sam's friends, is subtly but fully portrayed. By the last episode, I was almost in tears -- not because it was sad, but because I couldn't believe the series was over; that I would not be able to follow the lives of these characters anymore. I think I will always miss them. The "special features" such as the deleted scenes and the commentary are nothing special unless you are obsessed with F&G. But that takes nothing away from this seductively sweet show. The network should be ashamed that it did not renew it. Luckily, this set is available to all those who missed it and all those who miss it.
Rating:
Summary: The pinnacle of TV series set in high school
Review: I never saw this show when it was on originally, but when I heard some of the noise about it being released on DVD, I got interested and started renting it. It turned out to be good enough that I decided to buy it.
I agree with some of the other reviewers that the production on this is great... they obviously put some work into the menus and extras. However, the reason to buy this is for the SHOW. I admit it gets started a little slowly... the first 2-3 episodes are a little weird because it just doesn't seem believable that the Lindsay character would just abandon her high-grades and straight friends to hang out with a bunch of "burn-outs," but in subsequent episodes, the characters really develop.
Compared to "My So-Called Life" and "Felicity," this show stands up really well. The chracters seem realistic, and as someone who was in junior high and high school in the 80s, it brought back a lot of memories. However, I think many of the things that the characters go through (getting picked last for gym class, wanting to date the popular girls but feeling totally outclassed) are things you can relate to no matter what decade you were in school.
I promise that when you are finished watching this, you will really wish it hadn't been canceled. You come to care about the characters that much!
Rating:
Summary: THIS DVD ROCKS!
Review: I never thought they'd be able to pull this off, but at long last, Freaks and Geeks is available on DVD. The show aired briefly during the 1999-2000 season before NBC abandoned it to run an extra night of Dateline (shudder). TV truly has become a vast wasteland in the time since. A friend of mine worked on the show and let me check out the discs. I was worried they would screw up the DVD and do something stupid like take out all the songs to save money (over 100 were used). It's all there and it is truly awesome. 29 different commentary tracks (keep in mind there were only 18 episodes) borders on the obsessive, but if you're a geek, this is bliss. They got all the key cast members, including Linda Cardellini and James Franco, as well as writers, directors, television executives and even the parents of John Daley, Sarah Hagan and Martin Starr and some fans. There are some great bloopers and behind the scenes clips where people are completely out of character. And they also included the original audition tapes for the major characters, which are pretty interesting. If you go on the Freaks and Geeks website you can watch a couple clips including Samm Levine's famous impersonation of William Shatner that landed him a part on the show. In addition to this DVD, they also have a collector's edition that comes with a yearbook and 2 more discs of extras. But that's a limited edition they stop selling in March 2004 and you can only get it through their website. Haven't seen that, but if it's anything like this set, it will rock. They obviously put in a lot of work on the DVDs. I've seen other TV collections and they look like they've been thrown together. Here, every menu on every disc has a different image from a scene. And every time you change menus (on EVERY disc) a different dialogue clip plays, followed by some of Mike Andrews' original compositions for the show. Some of them go on for a couple minutes and most of these are songs I've never heard before. I'm a hardcore fan and I was prepared to rip them if they screwed with the legacy of the show....but this DVD blew me away. Freaks and Geeks will become the standard by which all other TV show DVDs will be judged.
Rating:
Summary: Viva Freaks & Geeks
Review: I truly loved this show when it originally aired. I know it's merely a television program, but it physically hurt when I found out the show was cancelled. I signed petitions and regularly checked the show website to see if and when the programs would be released on DVD. I've watched them at least 5 times since getting them in the mail and the disk quality is incredible. The cast - freaks, geeks and adults are superb! Their performances and little nuances are so realistic, when I watch this show I'm immediately transported back to my high school days in the 80's (having graduated high school in 1983). Beyond the music, this show could span any decade. I cannot begin to explain just what a wonderful series and how touching the performances and writing caliber is, you have to view it for yourself. I've watched a number of teen programs at least once...only once, since most were unrealistic, psychoanalytical garbage not worth watching beyond 60 minutes, and that one time viewing being a serious struggle. How they managed to be hits says volumes but the lack of discriminating taste and expectations of the general viewing public. Precious few teen dramas have been done well (My So Called Life, Degrassi Junior and Senior High) being exceptions. Both were thought provoking for adults and teens with realistic portrayals of the trials and tribulations of the teen years, but even they weren't in the same league as Freak and Geeks. I do take consolation in having the DVDs, but this was one program that should never have been cancelled. You know... it still sorta' hurts.
Rating:
Summary: love the show hate the commentaries
Review: I'll keep it short. One of the best TV series ever!!! I have 2 beefs with the DVD set: 1. One cannot hear about 25% of what's being said in the audio commentaries 2. I am offended by the profanity used during the audio commentaries. (not just heck's and darn's but F-bombs and scatological references)
Rating:
Summary: Great show, great accompanying soundtrack
Review: remeber that awkward, or even embarrassing moment with a boyfriend or girlfriend? remeber doing the wrong thing even though you were capable and sensible enough to do the right thing?
the writing for this show was of the highest quality, and it was reality in a dramadey. the kids look like normal kids, not 30 year old beauty queens and metrosexuals who had to spend 3 hours getting hair and makeup done. these are people you were friends and enemies with in high school. it lets you know it's okay that it wasn't great to be a teenager, and that high school wasn't this dreamy idealistic place better than your present.
one of my favorite characters in the show is the music. the notes set the scene, draw you in, make you wince, and give you a "rush".
thanks paul and judd for getting the music in there. music is what made high school tolerable for me, even though my high school soundtrack would be hip hop instead of classic rock. doesn't matter. music was the perfect high school character.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Shows Ever
Review: The cancelled it because it was too good.
I watch these DVDs over and over and over.
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