The Official "Freaks and Geeks" on DVD Thread

[Sascha]

And they still got more stuff:

Hey, gang!


Lest you think we've run out of stuff from our cancelled little show, here's two more exciting items from Freaks and Geeks Central (please forgive us . we can't let go):

First, we want to announce the Sept. 14 release of the Freaks and Geeks Original Soundtrack and Score, from Shout! Factory. It features songs from the show by Joan Jett, The Who, Styx, Rush, XTC, Paul Feig, and many more, as well as a lot of pieces of your favorite score from our long-suffering composer, Mike Andrews. And as if that wasn't enough, there's also some performances by Mr. Rosso's band "Feedback," Millie Kentner, Nick Andopolis, and a couple more surprises. AND there's liner notes written by critic David Wild and Mr. Rosso, to boot! (Hey, we try to make it worth your while.)

The CD will be in stores on September 14th, or you can pre-order at amazon.com.

We are also happy to announce the release of Freaks and Geeks: The Complete Scripts, in two paperback volumes from Newmarket Press (Vol. 1: Episodes 1-9, Vol. 2: Episodes 10-18). These books contain the actual shooting scripts from all 18 episodes for the first time in print. The books cost $19.95 a piece (hey, we tried to put all 18 episodes in one book, but it ended up being about the size of a cinderblock, so we figured two books would be the most non-hernia inducing). And if you thought we'd ran out of things to say on the DVD commentaries, think again - there are introductions to each episode by each episode's writer, as well as intros to each book by the two of us. We even went insane and put together a little scrapbook at the end of each book from handwritten notes, photos, the series bible, character breakdowns, and whatever other documents we could find.

Look for the script books in bookstores around mid-October, or you can pre-order them at amazon.com (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) or barnesandnoble.com (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) and elsewhere online.

Finally, we'd like to give a little shout-out to some other releases from our friends at Shout! Factory: the 6-CD Lenny Bruce: Let the Buyer Beware deluxe box set, and the 5-DVD SCTV Vol. 2 box set, featuring Freaks and Geeks' own Joe Flaherty. The Lenny Bruce set contains this very important and hilarious comedian's popular recorded performances, many never-before-released performances, and various private recordings, and is on sale Sept. 14 at record stores and online retailers. And anyone who knows anything about sketch comedy will likely tell you that SCTV was the best thing on TV in the late '70s and early '80s. Heavens knows we watched it religiously back then. SCTV Vol. 2 is available on Oct. 19.

And finally . things are looking good for Undeclared to come out in 2005!

So, sorry to get all salesman-y on you, but we're pretty excited about all this stuff. Check any or all of it out if you want, and if you don't, we still love you anyway. We just like coming up with excuses to say hello to you.

And we probably say this way too much, but in light of the soundtrack CD coming out, it seems appropriate... ROCK ON!!!


Thanks,

Judd Apatow & Paul Feig

[onechicago]

Much like MSCL, F&G was a great show, 19 episodes, and cancelled. I HIGHLY recommend this show because not only are the 1980's characters great, but the soundtrack that follows the episodes is like an additional character. I never knew I liked music from 1980 so much.

[grim4746]

Much like MSCL, F&G was a great show, 19 episodes, and cancelled. I HIGHLY recommend this show because not only are the 1980's characters great, but the soundtrack that follows the episodes is like an additional character. I never knew I liked music from 1980 so much.

I agree F&G is a great show, definitely worth checking out. But I'm pretty sure it has only 18 episodes. I loved the music, it provides a great variety that often goes overlooked when people discuss 80s music.

[onechicago]

sorry, i got carried away. only 18 episodes of F&G. so unfortunate.

i thought i'd pick up a used copy of mscl, but the cheapest is almost 200 dollars on amazon. yikes. that's too much. from what i've read, the dvd doesn't have any extras either.

the few episodes i have on tape from a friend will have to do.

why do good shows get cancelled, and crap like that friends spinoff joey stay on the air?

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Yup, there are 18 episodes of F&G, but they are all fantastic. Even though it cost a bit more than the usual one season set (and hey, for all of us who bought MSCL from AU, F&G was still a bargain!), I am glad that they were able to get all the musical clearances to maintain the songs from the original airings.

There is now a F&G soundtrack available:

1. Bad Reputation - Joan Jett
2. Geek Hallway - Michael Andrews
3. Poor Poor Pitiful Me - Warren Zevon
4. Lindsay’s Theme - Michael Andrews
5. Keg Party Music - Michael Andrews
6. Look Sharp! - Joe Jackson
7. Clem’s Theme - Michael Andrews
8. No Language In Our Lungs - XTC
9. Lindsay Disturbed Theme - Michael Andrews
10. Bill Gets Funky (A.K.A. Spacefunk) - Paul Feig
11. USA Rock - Michael Andrews
12. The Spirit Of Radio - Rush
13. Daniel’s Theme 2 - Michael Andrews
14. I’m One - The Who
15. Porno Music - Michael Andrews
16. Neal’s Lament - Michael Andrews
17. The Groove Line - Heatwave
18. Ken’s Ode To Joy - Michael Andrews
19. Come Sail Away - Styx
20. End Title Theme - Michael Andrews
21. Lady L - Jason Segal (“Nick Andopolis”)
22. Eighteen - Dave “Gruber” Allen (“Mr. Rosso”)
23. Jesus Is Just Alright - Jason Segal (“Nick Andopolis”) & Sara Hagan (“Millie Kentner”)
24. Up On Cripple Creek - Dave “Gruber” Allen (“Mr. Rosso”) & Feedback
25. Dumb As A Crayon - The Leaving Trains

My friend gave me Paul Feig's book Kick Me for Christmas, and it was hilarious. I recognized the seeds of some of the F&G stories in it. His next book comes out in late June. I haven't bought any of the script books yet, but I'm definitely tempted!

[onechicago]

haven't read the book, but i'll have to investigate.

f&g dvd is amazing, the menus, the endless extras, it's incredible.

the soundtrack is a little light on the big moment songs, but when you hear "lady l" all the big hits fade away.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

when you hear "lady l" all the big hits fade away.

TOTALLY!

[Jody Barsch*]

I just bought the DVDs and had a Freaks and Geeks marathon! I absolutely love this show! The music, the story lines, and especially the actors, are incredible! The DVDs have great extras, I like that you get a little bit on each DVD, and that you get to see the audition footage for the leads. I love Jason Segel (as Nick Andopolis or Mike from SLC Punk) he's so awesome. This show had great people playing characters, not only the leads, but all of the supporting characters who were in several or only one episode. The kids who play Mr. Rosso, Milly, and the sophomore geek (forgot his name) are awesome. The guest stars, including Ben Stiller (I love that he wants to make pancakes somewhere and loves working with "major appliances"!), Ben Foster, Shaun Weiss, and the very very sexy Jason Schwartzman and David Krumholtz are great. It's funny to see what else some of these actors have been in, ex: the kid who played Todd was in that awesome Disney Channel movie Motocrossed, and the girl who played Vicki is now in the Reba show. ... I had a student first semester who looks and sounds exactly like John Francis Daley (Sam Weir), it's so funny. ... And although I really like Ken's storylines with Amy, I still think that there should have been a love interest between Ken and Lindsay before the school year ended. ... The A/V teacher's speech in the last episode where he does the lifeline descent of Jocks and ascent of Geeks is priceless!

[Sascha]

Former "Freak/Geek" Linda Cardellini is one of the few reasons why I'm still addicted to "emergency room"...

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I can't watch ER anymore, even for Lindsey.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Interesting Paul Feig interview/article from the Washington Post:

It's a Nerd. It's in Pain. It's Superstud

By Dan Zak

The first time Paul Feig was naked in front of a woman was 1986, when he was 24. After all those years, he was ready. More important, she was willing. But what followed was less a sequence from a Pat Conroy novel and more a spectacular NASCAR spinout.

Too fast, too slow, wrong way, back up, hold on. Pit stop, change the tires, keep your eye on the road. Zoom. Screech. Bam.

Ooh. That's gotta be humiliating.

And that wreck is a big chunk of Feig's memoir, "Superstud, or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin," released last week. The section, an exhaustive play-by-play of Feig losing his virginity, is titled "The Book of Miracles." It's written in chapters and verses. Like the Bible.

Now you stand across from him in a mall in Silver Spring, barely able to look him in the eye because you know every excruciating, shrieking personal aspect of his epic adolescence from reading "Superstud" and his previous book, "Kick Me." Indeed, you know more about Paul Feig than you know about yourself. So, the question practically utters itself.

Why ?

But first: "Maybe we can walk around," Feig says, looking down at the food court several levels below. "Malls make me kind of jumpy."

The man is 42. Still a self-proclaimed geek. Known best for creating, writing and directing "Freaks and Geeks," an autobiographical TV series about social misfits in a suburban Michigan high school. Married for almost 11 years to a woman who thinks geeks are sexy, though she begged him not to publish the more honest parts of "Superstud."

No luck. Feig is making the rounds across the country with "Superstud," not just promoting it but reading from it. Reading about how Woody Allen movies make him misty. About his clumsy pursuit of girls, and how Sherry, Stacey, Jill, Jeri and Maura considered him Just a Friend(TM). About how once, when he was 22, he was so desperate for love that he attempted to perform an act that -- well, it brings you back to your original question.

Why ?

In the secure confines of a chain restaurant, away from the mall, Feig (rhymes with "league") makes his case.

"I'm not the guy who tries to shock an audience," he insists. "I turn down work for terrible teen sex comedies because I don't like that kind of stuff. But it felt like maybe this can help somebody by letting them deal with what they've gone through and, in the end, help them laugh at themselves and possibly go, 'This guy's even more of a basket case than I was, so I'm not so bad.' So I like to say I've kind of made it my job to throw myself on the sword so that others can at least not feel like such a weirdo."

Indeed, Feig has positioned himself as a kind of martyr, or patron saint, of modern geekdom. "Freaks and Geeks," which ran for 18 episodes before NBC bullied it from its schedule in 2000, retains a strong cult following. There was a "Freaks and Geeks" marathon in Austin last month and a "Freaks and Geeks" pajama party in Boston in May. After 40,000 people signed an online petition, a DVD box set was released last year. Fans still post on the message board at http://www.freaksandgeeks.com/ , which Feig maintains with his own money ("tonight was the highlight of my life!" posted Mark G after Feig's Monday night signing in Detroit).

"I think it's something that everyone on Earth has in common," says writer-producer Judd Apatow, who collaborated with Feig on "Freaks." "We had to change from kids into adults and we all had some very awkward years and had to learn some heavy lessons. So we all relate to Paul's stories."

The stories wouldn't have been told, though, without Dick Clark. Fresh from the University of Southern California's film school in 1985, Feig appeared on Clark's "The $25,000 Pyramid" and won $29,000, which he used to pay off credit card bills and launch a stand-up career. Stand-up led to acting, and Feig knocked around in sitcom limbo for years, guest-starring on "The Facts of Life" in '86, playing the nerdy bellhop in the quickly canceled "Dirty Dancing" TV series in '88, spending the '96-'97 season on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" as bookish bio teacher Mr. Pool. He also popped up in movies, as a DJ in "That Thing You Do!" and a fat-camp counselor in "Heavy Weights," written and produced by Apatow.

While trying to sell his first feature film, "Life Sold Separately," Feig dredged up old stories he wrote about his gawky school days in Michigan and alchemized them into a spec script for "Freaks and Geeks." He sent it to Apatow, whom he met during his stand-up days, and Apatow took it to NBC. The show was on the air just long enough to generate an intensely loyal following.

And now the full Feig. No more TV show allegory. "Superstud" is an R-rated confession told mostly in PG-13 language, an out-and-out admission of social deficiency built on Feig's trust that everyone has done mortifying, lonely things in the dogged pursuit of sex and love.

"The 'Freaks and Geeks' fans -- I think maybe some of them may be like, 'Oh my God, he's really going in-depth on some of these things,' " Feig says. "But I hope I don't freak anyone out. It's all for a good cause."

A cause that wouldn't seem to fit a hapless musical theater buff whose parents raised him as a Christian Scientist, a "whole faith based on not giving power to the physical world," Feig writes in "Superstud."

These days he's the 17th funniest person in L.A., according to Los Angeles magazine. He directs episodes of Fox's "Arrested Development" and wrote and directed his second film, the drama "I Am David," last year. He's developing a young adult book series that melds science fiction and comedy. His next film project, "Stargirl," awaits a green light. To complete his "trilogy of shame," he's planning a final memoir on his esoteric career, which includes a stint as the world's worst Ronald McDonald as well as two Emmy nominations. The last TV show he pitched was "Nice Guys," a comedy about four good-natured young adults navigating the modern dating scene. But the cool kids at HBO went for "Entourage" instead.

For the month of July, though, Feig is busy humiliating himself in city after city, a task he prepared for in stand-up.

"Since you are trying to get laughs, it's all about exposing yourself to people," he says after lunch. "As a comic, one of the last things you're never really -- if you're a good comic -- trying to do is guard your image."

Friday evening, a hundred people cram into Olsson's in Arlington to hear him recount the times he scoured his mother's magazines for pictures of naked women. He stands at a lectern in a black suit and skinny tie, arms waving and fingers wiggling, stumbling and vaulting over his prose like it's coming to him on the spot.

"Let's face it," he begins with the geeky charisma of a weatherman. "Masturbation has never been a proud activity."

Sure, there are guffaws and muffled gasps at his candidness, but no one scowls or leaves. After Feig delights the audience with a chapter that might appear in his next memoir, everyone lines up to have him sign books, DVDs and scripts.

"Some of the stories I could relate to," says Lauren See, 20, who wears a "Haverchuck for President" button featuring the droopy visage of the geekiest "Freaks and Geeks" character. "It's just amazing how he was so comfortable to share them."

Amy Raphael, a recent graduate of the University of Delaware, shows Feig her senior thesis: a treatise on "Freaks" irresistibly titled "Revenge of the Nerds." For which she got an A, thank you.

And everyone wants a picture with the geek. Smiling for the cameras, Feig and fans talk through gritted teeth about school, "Freaks" and the second season that will never be.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I saw Paul Feig at a book signing last week and he was awesome! He read some passages from Superstud and then took questions from the audience. He said working on Arrested Development is awesome, working with Joe Flaherty was an honor, he just signed a book deal to write a sci fi teen comedy series, his tv show (which HBO loved but then passed on to do Entourage) may still air on a different channel, and the chances of a F&G reunion show are slim to none.

[nkatsa]

awww i LOVE freaks and geeks. anyone else here that totally adores Bill? he completely cracks me up. I didn't know there could be characters more socially awkward than Brian Krakow, but the geeks really do put him to shame sometimes and i just love them for it.

[Bacchante]

So, out of nostalgia for MSCL, I decided I should watch Freaks and Geeks, and my mission has just been completed. I liked the show, but I don't think I'll miss it as much as I miss MSCL. I thought the characters in MSCL had a lot more depth, among other things.

I don't know if anyone would be up for such an elementary-school-appropriate activity, but I thought-- let's match the characters in the two shows, and compare/contrast them. Let me know what you think of my matches too.

1. Angela vs Lindsay -- I like both, actually, with a slight preference for Angela.

2. Jordan vs Daniel/Nick (?) -- both Daniel and Nick are interesting, and despite certain serious issues, I think Daniel is a good guy actually. Nick is strange, but I wish Lindsay liked him more. In any case, like someone said on this thread, damn, Jordan seems like such a nice guy compared to the "freaks" in this show. It made me appreciate him even more.

3. Brian (and Rickie?) vs "the geeks" -- I love Bill, but I thought Brian was a lot more interesting cause he kind of had a dark side too.

4. Rayanne vs Kim -- I really hated Kim at first, then I started liking her, but damn, Rayanne is so much more interesting, IMHO.

5. Sharon vs Millie (?) -- I like Millie better, she seems like a better person somehow.

[Jody Barsch*]

I don't know if anyone would be up for such an elementary-school-appropriate activity, but I thought-- let's match the characters in the two shows, and compare/contrast them. Let me know what you think of my matches too.

1. Angela vs Lindsay -- I like both, actually, with a slight preference for Angela.

Angela and Lindsay, more than obviously both being the protagonist of their respective series, are paired because they both set out to change their lives. Angela recognizes a need for a change in her life, to know that she's 'alive'. Lindsay's looking for the same thing to, looking for something more authentic than they life she had been living before her grandmother passed away. (It's hard for me to say who I prefer; I want to say Lindsay, but something deep in me makes me say Angela...) [[On a totally different, and personal note, an indicator of an essential difference between my sister and I is that I like the moment when Lindsay gets off the bus in “Discos and Dragons” but it makes my sister sick.]]

2. Jordan vs Daniel/Nick (?) -- both Daniel and Nick are interesting, and despite certain serious issues, I think Daniel is a good guy actually. Nick is strange, but I wish Lindsay liked him more. In any case, like someone said on this thread, damn, Jordan seems like such a nice guy compared to the "freaks" in this show. It made me appreciate him even more.

I see the Daniel – Jordan comparison, both are good looking, but rough around the edges; both have the ability to seduce with their, as Mr. Kowchevski would say, “bedroom eyes”; they both play in bands that don’t like to practice; they both drive muscle cars; both’s hair gets greasier throughout the series (well, Daniel’s pretty greasy throughout); both seem to be from low income families; neither have ideal home lives (thought the specifics differ); both struggle in school; both have a history of getting in trouble (and they both have experiences with shoddy fake IDs); and neither Daniel nor Jordan have a problem talking to people outside their social circle – Daniel brings Lindsay in, and then there’s the epic wonderfulness of Daniel and the geeks in “Discos and Dragons” while Jordan builds a kind-of friendship with Brian, and on a lesser level with Rickie. All this and more a similarities that group these characters together, but I also see a key difference. Daniel is way more comfortable with himself, in the sense that he's not always trying to be cool -- he can be goofy, vulnerable, etc. so much more than Jordan is ever able to display. True, sometimes the feelings Daniel emotes (as in one of my favorites, "Tests and Breasts") are not authentic, but Jordan for the most part is stoic / restrained / cool / elusive, and Daniel, to me anyway, seems to be much more ‘real’. He’s a kid, he has all kinds of thoughts and emotions, I think in comparison (admittedly not having watched either series all that recently), Daniel Desario makes Jordan Catalano seem even more a stock character of the ‘hot-but-troubled-high school-guy’ archetype.
I don’t see Nick fitting in with Jordan at all (plus who he is by the middle of the series (not even touching on “Discos and Dragons”) is not who he was in the pilot.

3. Brian (and Rickie?) vs "the geeks" -- I love Bill, but I thought Brian was a lot more interesting cause he kind of had a dark side too.

I love Bill too (I really love Martin Starr), but Sam and Neal are equally great. I love Sam. I see the connection between Brian and the geeks, but it’s definitely not exact. Yeah, Brian gets shoved in the cafeteria, but unless we count it happening at the start of each episode in the credits, I don’t think he’s half the target the Sam Bill and Neal are. Also, Brian’s more mature and able to connect to mainstream school society better than the geeks. But, Sam gets a (WAY annoying, popular) girlfriend, and this never happens for Brian. Again, I acknowledge general similarities in position regarding the rest of the cast of characters, but I mostly see a lot of differences between the boys and Brian.

4. Rayanne vs Kim -- I really hated Kim at first, then I started liking her, but damn, Rayanne is so much more interesting, IMHO.

I think I see this a little, and understand why it's the obvious connection, but I think maybe it might be Rayanne and Daniel. Angela follows Rayanne into a new world she hadn’t known when she was hanging with Sharon and watching The Bicycle Thief with, and borrowing books from, Brian Krakow. If not her guide, Rayanne is Angela’s visa, and it is Daniel who takes Lindsay to the smoking patio. Rayanne is the allure for Angela, and Lindsay choose the Freaks because of the allure of Daniel Desario. Also, in both shows there is a moment in which the protagonists outgrow their need for this ‘travel agent’ – a moment of disillusionment leaves these characters to continue on their own. In “On The Wagon” Angela recognizes the change in her relationship with Rayanne, and Lindsay’s disillusionment with -- or maybe more accurately, de-pedestaling of – Daniel occurs, somewhat in “Beers and Weirs”, and more so in “Tests and Breasts”. Kim does introduce Lindsay to new things, but, as evidenced in episodes like “Looks and Books” and “Discos and Dragons” Lindsay influences Kim’s life too. (Rayanne and Angela might also have this give and take, but it ends in a much more dysfunctional way – Rayanne trying to embody Angela’s world does so at the cost of the friendship.)

5. Sharon vs Millie (?) -- I like Millie better, she seems like a better person somehow.

Sharon and Millie is another pairing that is pretty close (while also being very different). I don't think Sharon and Millie themselves are all that similar -- if they both attended high school in the same decade, I don't think they would be friends. That said, they do both represent the old lives of Angela and Lindsay. (I love the F&G episode after the car accident when Lindsay temporarily goes back to who she was before.) For maybe about a third(?) of each series these girls serve as reminders of their friends’ past selves, calling them away from their new friends, being pushed to the sidelines, but at some time both girls come into their own, and integrate, somewhat, into the new groups of friends. (Millie does this to a lesser degree, mainly in “Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers.”)