Search - Freaks and Geeks - The Complete Series on DVD

Michael B. from HYANNIS, MA
Reviewed on 10/21/2011...

Quick, what 3 shows of the 90s would have the most significant impact on the future of not just TV but movies also. Kind of a general question I know but relevant none the less. If your thinking "The Sopranos or "Seinfeld" well you've got great taste in entertainment but those shows never influenced anything outside their realm. No, these three shows were all on one network (I'm talking to you FOX,) were all cancelled almost as soon as they started, yet they each had a tremendous impact on the entertainment world and you've never heard of them.
In no uncertain order they would be 1996's "Profit" starring Adrian Pasdar as a corporate climbing sociopath (hello "Dexter,") 1999' s "Freaks and Geeks" starring every big movie star of the last 5-10 years (really not much of an exaggeration) and Joss Whedon's 2002 Sci-fi horse opera "Serenity." ( i know "2002" but for continuity sake, blah blah blah.)
"Freaks and Geeks" lasted one season on Fox but if you were like me and actually tried to watch it, GOOD LUCK! find the thing was like playing an absurd game of "Cups and Ball," with Fox constantly changing the time and or day the show was on. it seemed to often pop up on Saturday or Sunday evenings at times like 6pm!
Anyways, a sweet, funny and satirical look at High School circa 1980, the show focus on the forgotten cliques, the groups other shows don't acknowledge (except to goof on,) the "Stoners" and the "Nerds." The writing is smart and focused, no cheap shots. The characters are real and extremely well developed. The Show is frequently hilarious although the focus is more subtle .
Packed, both in front of and behind the camera, with a cast and crew that includes Seth Rogen ("Superbad," "Pineapple Express,") James "about to be johnny depp big" Franco, Judd Apatow (director, producer of "40 year Old Virgin," "Superbad," "Bridesmaids" and every other $100 million comedy of the past decade,) Jason Segal ("How I met your Mother," wrote and starring in the upcoming "Muppet Movie" reboot,) Director Jake Kasden ("Bad Teacher,") and that is just a few. some of the "Extras" and Guest Stars on the show included Amy Poehler, Jenna Fischer, Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman.
You owe it to yourself to watch this incredibly funny, smart show. Especially if you went to High School around 1980. One other thing, the soundtrack is amazing. They somehow managed to get the rights to the actually songs we listened to back then. So you'll hear plenty of Van Halen and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
What a hoot.

3 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.

Suzanne B.
Reviewed on 10/7/2009...

The best series ever made about growing up in America -- hilarious, heart-wrenching, nostalgic, bittersweet, profound, always interesting. I hated to watch the last disc, knowing the series had ended. I can't believe how many well-known actors were part of the original cast. I shared many of the episodes with my teen sons and they got a kick out of it. They related very well to the adolescent drama. And the music!!!!! Awesome.

3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Michelle S. (Chelly10s) from W HOLLYWOOD, CA
Reviewed on 5/1/2009...

I've just finished the first two discs of this series and am very excited to watch the next ones. It's addicting! I sat down to watch one episode, and ended up watching the whole disc.
Excellent show. These kids were pretty good actors, which makes sense since most of them are still successful actors.
The show is honest and interesting, and the characters really get you involved.

6 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Veronika B.
Reviewed on 11/29/2007...

I absolutely love this series. It is very unfortunate that it was cancelled early. I have never seen a show, before or since, that so acurately portrays high school life. Some of the episodes are hilarious. The acting and directing are fresh and believable. The spirit of the early 80s was captured very acurately.

12 of 12 member(s) found this review helpful.

THIS DVD ROCKS!

B.B. Wilcox | Los Angeles, CA | 02/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

It's about time!

Dario M. Zagar | New York, NY United States | 02/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes! F&G is finally coming out on DVD!For those of you who weren't lucky enough to watch F&G during its all-too-brief run, you'll soon have your chance to experience a true television gem on DVD. Freaks & Geeks ran sporadically on NBC during the 1999-2000 series, and then in reruns on the Fox (now ABC?) Family Channel. In short, it's the story of two siblings: Lindsay & Sam Weir, and their trials and tribulations as high school students in Michigan circa 1980. Lindsay is a junior and a former overachieving whiz-kid who undergoes a crisis of self after the death of her grandmother, and tries to find herself as a new member of a clique of underachieving stoners. Her brother Sam is a sensitive, nerdy guy trying to make his way through freshman year with a tight band of dorks and misfits. As I write this, I realize that a brief summary doesn't begin to do justice to this multi-layered show. It's hysterically funny, poignant, often painful, and never tries to have the neatly tied-up generic sitcom ending. The secondary characters are as well realized as Sam & Lindsay, and really make the show special (including SCTV's Joe Flaherty as the ambivalent Mr. Weir, Samm Levine as Neil, and Martin Starr as Bill Haverchuck). There are so many moments on the show that I personally identified with, and I can't imagine anyone who was subjected to the tortures of high school life that wouldn't be able to at times. (Though it helps if you lived through the early 80's or can connect with references to the Jerk, Dallas, Dungeons & Dragons, and/or Neil Peart of Rush...). I could keep on going about the show, but I'll let you find out the rest for yourself. Now, to the DVD...The standard edition of the DVD is described in some detail here, and includes the 6 episodes that never aired on NBC, as well as many extras. However, especially if you are a fan of F&G, you owe it to yourself to check out the limited Deluxe Edition that's available directly from the creators of the show at www.freaksandgeeks.com. Here's the description from the site:"In this Deluxe Edition, we put it all into an expanded 80-page foil-stamped and embossed yearbook presented in true Freaks and Geeks style loaded with photos and memorabilia from the show. The yearbook is filled with personalized notes, tons of photos, even photos of many of you, script pages, a quiz, a letter from Paul [Feig, creator of the show], a Q&A with me [Judd Apatow, exec. producer], details about every show, a letter from Mr. Rosso, poetry, rock and roll lyrics, reprints of articles about the show, and lots more.· three live "table reads" of some of our best episodes
· a one-hour Q&A with Judd, Paul & the entire cast at the Museum of TV & Radio in LA shot a few days before we got cancelled
· tons more auditions, deleted scenes, promos and outtakes
· some of our favorite scenes in the raw footage from a single-camera perspective
· guidance counselor Jeff Rosso & Feedback live in concert
· the full original electronic press kit, filled with interviews with the cast and crew
· a script that was never shot
· a special music and photo gallery
· surprise Easter eggs
· even more behind the scenes footage edited by Jason Segal and Martin Starr
· and other things that are weird and hard to describe"It runs for the steep price of $120, but the way I figure it is, this is the only season of F&G you're going to get, so you may as well do it right! However, you won't go wrong with either version, so do yourself a favor and check it out."

No stretch to claim that F&G is the best T.V. series EVER!!!

Daisy Randone | Chicago's North Side (Edgewater) | 12/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Most critics put this show as the best of the 1999-2000 season. Yes, even above Sorpranos. What's more is that even, as of this writing, after this show was moronically cancelled by NBC, this show found a hugh and cultish following on college campuses. I was just starting college in August 2001 (University of Chicago) and during the first weeks (before 9/11) the campus had many showings of F&G. As time went on, more and more people crowded around to watch and what's more was the amazing silence during, which was only broken by the laughter (which of course there was a lot of). After 9/11 none of us wanted any showings until after the holidays because admittingly we felt guilty about laughing and not thinking about the tragedy. Our dorm started showing it again in January 2002 and the get togethers have not stopped. This show will stick with everyone, because the story's are (collectively) all of ours. The acting, all around, on all levels was phenomenal for television and a list of standouts is impossible. Just to say that some careers that were launched here are Linda Cardellini (Legally Blonde and Scooby-Doo) and James Franco (James Dean & City by the Sea). The parents on this show may not have been main storylines but they were extremely important and extremely well played by Becky Ann Baker, Joe Flahery, Amy Aquino and I feel terribly upset by this but I cannot remember the actress who played Bill's mother so brilliantly, she must be mentioned. I have worn out my tapes to near destruction and the version being shown on ABCFamily Channel are terribly cut up and dull looking. A DVD would be true justice to something like Freaks and Geeks and with some extras that only the creators could give. I will breathe now."