Freaks and Geeks: A Preview Into The 80’s

I stumbled upon one of my soon to be favorite tv shows while roaming through Netflix one day and realized a couple hours later I had finished the entire series in just one day. 18 episodes in one day: I was formally addicted and could not get enough. I was stunned by the enormous number of reviews stating how amazing the show was; I agreed that it was a great show, but there was not a single bad review, shocking me. I never thought a show from the 90’s that is based in the 80’s would have such an impact on me, but it did.

Freaks and Geeks takes viewers on the rollercoaster that is high school in the 80’s. The TV series shows students going through struggles within their school and even their homes. It is a typical, cliche high school story with a twist – multiple of them.

The main actress, Linda Cardellini, takes on the role of the main character Lindsay Weir, a character who is tired of being known only for being smart, so she starts hanging out with the “burnouts,” a group of teens heading towards the wrong direction. It only causes trouble in her life, but she cannot seem to let her relationships and connections go. For example, Weir skips class with Nick Andopolis (played by Jason Segel), a “Burnout” who is addicted to and obsessed with his drums. Weir and Andopolis were caught sneaking out by their High School counselor, a weird hippy who, in today’s day, would never pass as a counselor. Teens instantly connect with Weir but so do older generations. They remember how times have changed and how things used to be in the 80’s.

I found myself laughing many times throughout the show at all of the cheesy, typical high school plots, but for some reason, no matter how dumb the plot or characters were acting, I could not help myself from continuing to watch the next episode on replay. I teared up almost as many times (if not more) than I laughed; the show pulled heart strings, proving how big of an impact high school is in one’s life.

While going deeper into the series, I became afraid to see the end of it; I gained an attachment to the characters and was not willing to let go of them. Freaks and Geeks is a preview of what happens in high school. I visualized Freaks and Geeks as a one of those old, cliche TV shows, that have such predictable plots. But boy was I wrong: sure, there are some parts where I could not help but just laugh because of how predictable the characters were acting, but there are more parts where I was held onto my seat from the interesting plot to cancel out the predictable plots.

The next time you’re scrolling through Netflix and are looking for a great series that will have you laughing and crying at the same time, check out Freaks and Geeks.