Friday, April 11, 2008

Freaks, Geeks

We just finished the DVD set tonight, and it was melancholy. I know there are plenty of other fixes to be had (like 30 commentaries on said DVDs and their deleted scenes, "Undeclared," similar series like "MSCL") but it's always tough saying goodbye to characters you know you won't hear about again.

What happens to Nick and Lindsay? Was Daniel left back--again? Why didn't we ever meet Judith, Harris' plaything? Was Ken able to go to third base with Amy without throwing up a little in his mouth? Since Apatow knew it was going to be cancelled, you'd think he would give us some answers other than "Lindsay didn't compromise her new Freak status by going to that geeky academic summit! Yayyyy!"

Some reviewers said that Seth Rogen was so mean in this, but I disagree. He was sort of a jerk at first, but so was James Franco...by the end, when he was all cutesy in love with fake-hermaphrodite Amy, you couldn't help but love Seth and his new curly-headedness.

Other favorites: Harris the Dungeon Master, whose blog I found, and who talks like that in his normal life; Neal's little-old-man look (totally ruined in "Knocked Up"); Gordon Crisp's softness, both physical and personality-wise; Mr. Weir's unintentional one-liners; a begrudging affection for Jeff Rosso (though this could be entirely for his "Gilmore" connection); Nick's great big smile and smokin' disco moves; Gym Teacher Fredericks, played by Biff, in a very kindly and non-bullyish way; and last but not least....

Bill.

His deadpans were the best of anyone's, and those huge, huge unnatural eyes beneath his glasses made me both crack up and feel sorry for him every time. Neil hit the nail on the head when he compared them to when Seinfeld wore those thick glasses for an episode. I can't explain how much I loved Bill. I don't like that he's grown up now.


I didn't love: Kim Kelley. Sam Weir. (NO ONE in high school looks ten. I'm sorry, but after 8th grade or so, we're all caught up.) How Cindy turned into a bitch. Lindsay playing with Nick's heart. Daniel Desario, for a lot of it. The music.

And, that it's over.

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