Screened on the television network NBC in 1999, cancelled after thirteen episodes and given the grave shift by Channel Nine, Freaks and Geeks has found its audience on American DVD thanks to the later successes of executive producer Judd Apatow, the American producer behind The Forty Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up and Superbad.

A one-hour program based on the experiences of its writers, Freaks and Geeks is about the awkward, troubled kids who find one another because they do not belong anywhere else. These are the kinds of people that you might actually know, those never adequately portrayed in fellow teen programs Dawson’s Creek or Felicity. Consequentially, the show has the warm, timeless feel of an instant classic.

Freaks and Geeks centres on two teenage siblings growing up in Michigan circa 1980. Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) is a sensitive young woman who begins to herself with the help of her new “freak” friends: the alluring Daniel Desario (James Franco), his controlling grilfriend Kim Kelly (Busy Phillips), stoner Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel) and the sarcastic Ken Miller (Seth Rogen). Lindsay’s younger brother Sam (John Francis Daley) is a geek who, with “comic genius” Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) and considerate Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr), hopes to find a girlfriend.

Because of the liberties and freedom of the one-hour format, the rhythms of the comedy are slow and unforced. Visually inspired by the loose style of Hal Ashby’s ‘70s comedies The Last Detail and Being There, the series is beautifully made by young filmmakers who have since graduated to film like School of Rock writer Mike White and director Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard). Akin to The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development and Extras, creator Paul Feig and Apatow recognise that not every scene or moment has to be funny in order to work, but they do have to express an emotional truth.

Although comically specific, the show has a much wider dramatic scope than most shows of its ilk. Freaks and Geeks tackles the usual suspects of the teen genre (finding one’s place in the world, teen alcoholism, casual drug use, abusive parents), but the execution is brilliantly off-the-wall and original. There is nothing more painful than watching Nick resolving his issues with an ex-girlfriend with an insane, hip-thrusting disco dance-off or as distressing as seeing Neal publicly humiliating his philandering father with his ventriloquist act.

Importantly, the characters are identifiable and the stories are honest, allowing even the smallest parts a breadth and strong, quality scripting, especially Lindsay and Sam’s anxious Jean (Becky Ann Baker) and Harold (Joe Flaherty). The teachers are also well serviced by the writing, like Mr. Rosso (David “Gruber” Allen), the sensitive, rock-music quoting guidance counselor (“I met this girl. She seemed really nice. We danced a bit. I kissed her. One thing led to another and now I get sores on my leg once a month”). He is the only character who sees the potential of the thoughtful Lindsay, but she does not want to hear it.

Freaks and Geeks features some of the finest, most popular music of any network television show like Billy Joel, Van Halen, Deep Purple, Santana and David Bowie. Like the best teen shows and films, Freaks and Geeks understands that music is important to teenagers because it expresses their emotions in a way that they could never articulate.

Unfortunately, the astronomical costs for the creators to reuse the music have meant that the show has not been picked up for local distribution and can only be bought overseas. Thankfully, the website Amazon means that people can now rediscover the show.

Andrew Moraitis