History Series / FreaksAndGeeks

* BurnoutBabe: Both Lindsay and Kim embody the trope due to being part of the "freak" clique. While Lindsay has the fashion sense down pat and has an interest in literature and music, Kim's got the abrasiveness and the deadbeat family. Kim also dates the local bad boy Daniel while Lindsay gets attention from Dogged Nice Guys like Neal and Nick.

* MusicVideoSyndrome: Averted. Feig and Apatow wanted the emotional scenes that would, on most teen dramas, be underscored by music from hip new bands, to simply speak for themselves. The results speak for themselves.

* PresentDayPast: Mostly averted. And, since the show's 1980 setting was really more about averting TotallyRadical (see below) than wallowing in period nostalgia anyway, it's pretty easy to forgive the occasional anachronism.
** The show's side characters generally have pretty typical TurnOfTheMillennium haircuts, though, and some of the settings (particularly the fast food restaurant Sam and Cindy visit in "Girlfriends and Boyfriends") look a little too modern for the early-80's. Once again, however, this was all deliberate since the show was striving to look as realistic as possible[[note]]It often used real life locations rather than sets[[/note]] and was really more concerned with properly depicting the ''culture'' of the early-80's than the actual aesthetics of them.
** A slightly less excusable example is Nick eating Fruit Roll-Ups in the episode "Kim Kelly Is My Friend." The show takes place in 1980-1981. Fruit Roll-Ups wouldn't be introduced until 1983.

* TotallyRadical: Averted. The whole show was explicitly set in 1980 to avoid this. Although the guidance counselor is prone to the '80s equivalent of this.

* TVTeen: Hugely averted. The characters deal with girls/boys, body image (Sam), sexual identity issues (Ken), fitting in and generally finding yourself (Lindsay). It's all amazingly real.

* WeaponizedAllergy: Done inadvertently. When Bill mentions his peanut allergy in class, Alan the bully decides to prank him by putting peanuts in his lunch (claiming Bill lies about everything and wanting to prove it). He is 100 percent NOT lying, and shares an Oh, Crap! reaction with Sam and Neal when they realize he's eaten the nuts. Bill ends up hospitalized and Alan is stricken with a rare moment of remorse.

* CoolLoser: Harris.

* AndStarring: Creator/BusyPhilipps gets this attribution right at the start of the second act, after the actual credits have rolled. Her character, originally intended as a RomanticFalseLead to be discarded after one episode, was kept on for the strength of Phillipps' performance... and the meticulously-crafted IntroductoryOpeningCredits, which provide an EstablishingCharacterMoment for each school-aged character under the guise of PictureDay while "[[MusicJoanJett Bad Reputation]]" blasts in the background, probably just didn't have room for another person.

* DreamApocalypse: while high on marijuana, Lindsay believes she's in a dream belonging to Millie's dog, and begs her not to wake him up.

** In the Halloween episode, the geeks go trick or treating and one woman gives them circus peanuts. Bill asks "Are there any peanuts in those peanuts? Because if there are, I could die." Later in the season, a bully slips peanuts into Bill's sandwich. He nearly dies from an allergic reaction.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

%% * HeldBackInSchool: Daniel Desario.

%% * HighSchool

%% * InWithTheInCrowd: Sam, in "The Little Things".

** Harold Weir starts out as a typical unreasonable overprotective parent to Lindsay, but actually treats Nick quite well, stands up for him to his own dad and does genuinely care about his daughter.

* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: Subverted with the freaks; While they do have HiddenDepths, they are just as capable of cruelty, rudeness, and pressuring tactics as a stereotypical JerkJock, especially in the first few episodes.
* MonochromeCasting: There really are very few people of color with speaking roles, and a grand total of one recurring Hispanic character. Makes sense for the era, given that it takes place in the early 1980s on the tail-end of white flight to the suburbs.

* NotNamedInOpeningCredits: Busy Phillips, though she's pretty much part of the core cast, is billed as a guest star.

%%* SadistTeacher: Mr. Kowchevski.

* StereotypicalNerd: While all the "geeks" in the show play with the trope, Neal's older brother fits the stereotype being awkward, not too handsome, and completely uncool. However, he knows and accepts this unashamedly.

* TeensAreShort: Averted. Nick is six foot four and played by nineteen year old Jason Segel while the rest of the cast are quite tall. The only exceptions are Neal, and Sam, who is noted as being short for his age. Had the series made another season, Sam would have averted this as well, as John Francis Daley had a growth spurt immediately after filming the first season.

* TheFellowshipHasEnded: At the end of the series, the Freaks have all joined different groups. Lindsay and Kim are off to follow Music/TheGratefulDead, Daniel has become one of the geeks and Nick had gotten into ''disco''. Ken's a bit of a loose plot thread, though.

** Where did Alan go after making peace with the geeks?

''Freaks and Geeks'' is a 1999–2000 Creator/{{NBC}} {{dramedy}} series created by Creator/PaulFeig and Creator/JuddApatow, based on Feig's experiences as a teenager in the early [[TheEighties '80s]].

* PowerWalk: The Geeks and Maureen, in "Carded and Discarded".

** Harold Weir starts out as a typical unreasonable OverprotectiveDad to Lindsay, but actually treats Nick quite well, stands up for him to his own dad and does genuinely care about his daughter.

The show is a ComingOfAge story for both of them: Lindsay, with the help of the Freaks – Daniel Desario (Creator/JamesFranco), Nick Andopolis (Creator/JasonSegel), Ken Miller (Creator/SethRogen) and Kim Kelly (Creator/BusyPhilipps) – attempts to forge her own path in life, while Sam, alongside Neal Schweiber (Creator/SammLevine) and Bill Haverchuck (Creator/MartinStarr), deals with slightly more traditional romantic fare, particularly his crush on cheerleader Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick), and their parents Jean (Creator/BeckyAnnBaker) and Harold (''Series/{{SCTV}}'' alumnus Joe Flaherty) watch on with mingled bemusement, concern and pride.

The show is a ComingOfAge story for both of them: Lindsay, with the help of the Freaks – Daniel Desario (Creator/JamesFranco), Nick Andopolis (Creator/JasonSegel), Ken Miller (Creator/SethRogen) and Kim Kelly (Creator/BusyPhilipps) – attempts to forge her own path in life, while Sam, alongside Neal Schweiber (Creator/SammLevine) and Bill Haverchuck (Creator/MartinStarr), deals with slightly more traditional romantic fare, particularly his crush on cheerleader Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick), and their parents Jean (Creator/BeckyAnnBaker) and Harold (Joe Flaherty) watch on with mingled bemusement, concern and pride.

Part of what made ''Freaks and Geeks'' stand out was that it was surprisingly immersive in its period setting; it was even sparing in its use of NothingButHits (which proved ironic, given the show's music clearance issues which delayed its DVD release). The show was praised to heaven and back for its surprising amount of realism (making it onto ''[[Magazine/TimeMagazine Time]]'' magazine's "Top 10 New Shows" list), but it [[AcclaimedFlop never quite took off]] in the ratings department, which led to its notorious cancellation after airing just fifteen of its eighteen episodes.[[note]]It actually topped the ''Magazine/TVGuide'' list of the shows that were cancelled too soon.[[/note]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: ''Series/{{Undeclared}}''. The two shows even shared several actors, namely Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps, Samm Levine, and Martin Starr.

Part of what made ''Freaks and Geeks'' stand out was that it was surprisingly immersive in its time period; it was even sparing in its use of NothingButHits, which was ironic given the show's music clearance issues delaying its DVD release. The show was praised to heaven and back for its surprising amount of realism (making it onto ''[[Magazine/TimeMagazine Time]]'' magazine's "Top 10 New Shows" list), but [[AcclaimedFlop never quite took off]] in the ratings department, which led to its notorious cancellation after airing just fifteen of its eighteen episodes.[[note]]It actually topped the ''Magazine/TVGuide'' list of the shows that were cancelled too soon.[[/note]]

The show's pilot premiered on September 25, 1999, and its series finale premiered on July 8, 2000. It only lasted one season, but in addition to its critical acclaim, it has become a {{cult classic}} among audiences in the decades since its initial run.

Compare its fellow high school drama ''Series/MySoCalledLife'', and Apatow's follow-up college comedy ''Series/{{Undeclared}}''.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freaks_and_geeks.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:RetroactiveRecognition: The Series]]

''Freaks and Geeks'' is a {{dramedy}} series created by Creator/PaulFeig and Creator/JuddApatow for Creator/{{NBC}}, based on Feig's experiences as a teenager in the early 1980s.

The show is a ComingOfAge story for both of them: Lindsay, with the help of the Freaks -- Daniel Desario (Creator/JamesFranco), Nick Andopolis (Creator/JasonSegel), Ken Miller (Creator/SethRogen) and Kim Kelly (Creator/BusyPhilipps) -- attempts to forge her own path in life, while Sam, alongside Neal Schweiber (Creator/SammLevine) and Bill Haverchuck (Creator/MartinStarr), deals with slightly more traditional romantic fare, particularly his crush on cheerleader Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick), and their parents Jean (Creator/BeckyAnnBaker) and Harold (Joe Flaherty) watch on in mingled bemusement, concern and pride.

* AndStarring: Creator/BusyPhilipps gets this attribution right at the start of the second act, after the actual credits have rolled. Her character, originally intended as a RomanticFalseLead, was kept on for the strength of Phillipps' performance... and the meticulously-crafted opening credits, which provide an EstablishingCharacterMoment for each star under the guise of PictureDay, probably just didn't have room for another person.
* ArtisticLicenseMusic: Amy Andrews, the “tuba girl”, plays a sousaphone. Then again, the Freaks probably don’t care what it’s technically called.

* CastingGag: The geeks are huge science fiction fans, which makes it quite fun that Bill's mother is played by [[Series/BabylonFive one of the most beloved sci-fi heroines of the time]].

* ContinuityNod: Lindsay's mom referring to Nick as "the guy who ate all my Fruit Roll-Ups" in "Boyfriends And Girlfriends" counts as this; the series generally doesn't make too many references to previous episodes beyond well-established plot points, so this is particularly apparent.

*** In the pilot, Nick mentions how much he hates disco and makes fun of the music and dance moves. Whether CharacterizationMarchesOn or not, disco is explored in the last episodes.

** "Smooching and Mooching" has a deleted scene in which Sam and Cindy dance while Sam sings, which everyone on the DVD commentary claims is ''the creepiest thing ever filmed''... which is accurate.

* DreamApocalypse: In her marijuana induced episode, Lindsay believes she's in a dream belonging to Millie's dog, and begs her not to wake him up.

* BrotherChuck: There are a few unnamed extras in the freaks and the geeks that don't appear in later episodes after the pilot.

* {{Nerd}}: The "geeks" in the show, who are everything you ever think of when you heard the word "nerd". Neal's older brother is rather noticeable in that he is awkward, not too handsome, and completely uncool, but knows and accepts this unashamedly. However, it's never implied that the geeks are particularly smart. Bill in particular comes off as being surprisingly dumb at times.

The show is about two groups of teenagers in the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburbs circa 1980: the titular "Freaks" and "Geeks". The "Freaks" are into punk rock (''not'' disco!), pot, and hanging around; the "Geeks" are into comedy, the AV club, and tabletop [=RPGs=]. Lindsay Weir (Creator/LindaCardellini) is at the fringe of the Freaks, while her younger brother, Sam (Creator/JohnFrancisDaley), is at the core of the Geeks.

* RefrainFromAssuming:

* {{Corpsing}}: When found out that he had Lindsay help him cheat on a math test, Daniel breaks into a monologue about how he was pushed into the dumb kids group and how it affected his self-esteem. When he finished, everyone in the room (teacher, guidance counselor, Lindsay and her parents) are all silent. That is, until Lindsay breaks into hysterical laughter because he had used, word for word, the EXACT same monologue to guilt her into helping him cheat in the first place.

The show is about two groups of teenagers in the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburbs circa 1980. The "Freaks" are into punk rock (''not'' disco!), pot, and merely hanging around. The "Geeks" are into comedy, the AV club, and Tabletop Role-Playing Games. Lindsay Weir (Creator/LindaCardellini) is at the fringe of the Freak group, while her younger brother, Sam (Creator/JohnFrancisDaley), is at the core of the Geeks.

-->--'''Lindsay Weir'''

The show is about two groups of teenagers in the UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} suburbs circa 1980. The "Freaks" are into punk rock (''not'' disco!), pot, and merely hanging around. The "Geeks" are into comedy, the AV club, and Tabletop Role-Playing Games. Lindsay Weir (Creator/LindaCardellini) is at the fringe of the Freak group, while her younger brother, Sam (Creator/JohnFrancisDaley), is at the core of the Geeks. The show is a ComingOfAge story for both of them: Lindsay, with the help of the Freaks -- Daniel Desario (Creator/JamesFranco), Nick Andopolis (Creator/JasonSegel), Ken Miller (Creator/SethRogen) and Kim Kelly (Creator/BusyPhilipps) -- attempts to forge her own path in life, while Sam, alongside Neal Schweiber (Creator/SammLevine) and Bill Haverchuck (Creator/MartinStarr), deals with slightly more traditional romantic fare, particularly his crush on cheerleader Cindy Sanders (Natasha Melnick), and their parents Jean (Creator/BeckyAnnBaker) and Harold (Creator/JoeFlaherty) watch on in mingled bemusement, concern and pride.

Part of what made ''Freaks and Geeks'' stand out was that it was surprisingly immersive in its time period; it was even sparing in its use of NothingButHits, ironic given the show's music clearance issues delaying its DVD release. The show was praised to heaven and back for its surprising amount of realism (making it onto ''[[Magazine/TimeMagazine Time]]'' magazine's "Top 10 New Shows" list) but [[AcclaimedFlop never quite took off]] in the ratings department, which led to its notorious cancellation after airing just fifteen of its eighteen episodes.[[note]]It actually topped the ''Magazine/TVGuide'' list of the shows that were cancelled too soon.[[/note]]

* {{Cosplay}}: for the science fiction convention.

* CutShort: And it makes the final episode, "Discos and Dragons", into...
** [[GainaxEnding Mind-Screw Ending]]: Let's see, [[spoiler: Sam has become disillusioned with his best friends but Daniel has joined their gang. Nick and Lindsay are no longer a couple, he has also broken up from his circle of friends and Lindsay is off on a cross-country road trip while her parents think she's attending an academic summit. And Kim and Daniel's latest break-up may be the last.]]