Amy's Robot

Payback

It's tv premiere week, and you may notice a curious trend this year. All of a sudden, television and film have an abundance of riches in the form of almost the entire cast of the beloved and short-lived Freaks and Geeks. While the - for lack of a better description - better looking cast members have achieved mainstream success (meaning ER's Linda Cardellini and Spiderman's James Franco), the real anchors of the show haven't been in the public consciousness so much since for the past five years.

But all of a sudden, here they are! Cynical stoner Ken (Seth Rogen) not only totally steals The 40 Year Old Virgin, which he also co-produced, but is a writer for Da Ali G Show. Tonight, Rush-worshipping drummer Nick (Jason Segal) and dorky little brother Sam (John Francis Daley) will compete for the same time slot on How I Met Your Mother and Kitchen Confidential respectively. Comedic genius Bill (Martin Starr) was in the truly awful summer miniseries Revelations. Hell, even Lord-loving Mathlete Millie is on an Ask Jeeves commercial.

To what do we owe this good fortune? Is it that these actors have just kept plugging away? Is it Freaks and Geeks nostalgia fostered by the DVD release? Or is it that the creative forces involved in making Freaks and Geeks the show it was - namely Mike White, Paul Feig, and Judd Apatow - are now, finally, at the level in their careers when they've garnered the respect and authority that they deserve?

It's probably a combination of all those things - but most importantly, it's that the people behind Freaks and Geeks were the basis of its (critical) success. For a show that only aired 12 episodes, Freaks and Geeks generated one of the most rabid fanbases ever - fans that to this day, five years later, bitch and moan about its cancellation. A large part of that was the creative team - excellent writers and a phenomenally talented group of young actors that deserve all the work they can get, even if it means starring in a show with Bob Saget.

And if you want to right the great wrong that was done to those people, season three of Arrested Development begins tonight. Watch it.

categories: TV
posted by Emily at 8:29 PM | #