I got pretty into “Freaks and Geeks” my senior year of high-school after one of my friends bought the long anticipated “Yearbook Edition” box set. I hadn’t seen the show before, but found myself instantly engaged with “Freaks’” funny, poignant, and above all, honest portrayal of high school drama. I remember comparing “Freaks and Geeks” to another show I was following religiously at the time, “Gossip Girl.” Although they’re both considered under the umbrella of teen television, the two shows couldn’t be more different. Unlike more traditional teen dramas like “Gossip Girl” (Or “Beverly Hills 90210,” “The O.C.,” “Vampire Diaries,” etc.,) “Freaks and Geeks” is about the mundane (and real) issues that teens face, while shows like “Gossip Girl” deal with much more unlikely subject matter.

Gossip Girl Cast

Freaks and Geeks Cast

An op-ed by Terry Teachout in the New York Times captures the difference between “Freaks and Geeks” and conventional teen television well. “Freaks and Geeks,” he says, is “agonizingly true to life […] I have no doubt that this is why it failed in its original network run. Most Americans don’t watch TV to see life as it is. They get enough of that at home. Nowadays, the most popular shows are about pretty people who have lots of great sex. For these fortunate folk, failure is that which immediately precedes success, a temporary condition existing solely to ”humanize” them, thus permitting the rest of us poor slobs to identify more easily with their on-screen adventures. That’s why Hollywood stars get paid the big bucks: we can’t look like them, but they can act like us.”

Gossip Girl's Serena and Nate

Freaks and Geeks' Sam and Cindy

Unlike the “glamorous lives of Manhattan’s elite,” the lives of the freaks and geeks more closely resemble the universal high school experience. Set in small town Michigan, the kids at “Freaks and Geek’s” McKinley High are an awkward and gawky bunch dressed in denim and army surplus. Though each episode is relatively self-contained, the plot is never tied together in a neat little package or completed with cliffhanger embellishments. Instead, “Freaks and Geeks” presents us with a more accurate reflection of reality, where questions are left unanswered and problems don’t resolve themselves.

Apparently, “Freaks’” resemblance to reality was considered inappropriate by executives on NBC (the station it first aired on in 1999.) Garth Ancier, former president of NBC Entertainment, who was wary of the show’s subject matter from the beginning, considered “Freaks and Geeks’” unsuitable for television. (For instance, he refused to air the fourth episode at all due to its “psychological intensity.”) The show went on to be frequently pushed back and rescheduled until NBC nipped it midway through the 1^st season after its 12^th episode. But for “Freaks and Geeks,” this was only the beginning. Although its ratings were low, “Freaks” managed to cultivate a sizable fan base and critical acclaim during its brief stint on NBC. After its cancellation, fans rallied for the network to pick “Freaks and Geeks” back up.  NBC wasn’t receptive, but it wasn’t long before the Fox Family Channel aired the final six episodes in syndication. Terry Teachout calls Fox’s adoption of the show “wholly admirable as well as wholly unexpected” considering that Fox, which “normally specializes in more conventionally reassuring fare” is “giving a second chance to ‘Freaks and Geeks,’ a comedy from which teenagers can learn a valuable lesson about real life: it isn’t always funny.”  “Freaks and Geeks” proved to be successful on Fox, and four years later 35,000 fans signed an internet petition to release “Freaks and Geeks” onto DVD. The collective voice of “Freaks” fan base was heard, and the DVDs were so profitable that Shout! Factory released the limited “Yearbook Edition” box set in 2008.

I didn’t watch “Freaks and Geeks” when it first aired in 1999; I would have been too young to understand it anyway. But from what I gather—based on our short history lesson about teen television—“Freaks and Geeks” was pretty ahead of the curve. (To this day, it is widely hailed as some of the best teen television of all time.) Like I’ve said, what’s most impressive about “Freaks and Geeks” is the excellent writing and acting that culminates into a truthful account of the teen years. “Freaks” is a drama, but it’s frequently very funny.

The following clip is a perfect example of how a seemingly mundane issue—a boy dealing with being naked in front of other boys in gym class—becomes compelling. This scene illustrates how the show’s acting and writing bring to life and point out the absurdity in the humdrum of the everyday.

With wonderful acting and writing, I’d certainly place “Freaks and Geeks” into the category of “quality television.” Even “social realism.” Perhaps “Freaks and Geeks” is quality because it’s real. So real, in fact, that it captures the adolescent experience timelessly, for anyone from any generation. We all identify with Sam and Lindsay… we all question the institutions of our schools, our homes, and our values. Above all, “Freaks and Geeks” is a candid recollection of our universally awkward youth.