Freaks and Geeks, the Emmy award-winning series about the trials and tribulations of outsiders 1980 Michigan is here in its original form, with all of its original music. The complete series includes all 18 original episodes; the director's cut of the pilot with never-before-seen footage; deleted scenes; outtakes; behind-the-scenes footage andi29 commentary tracks by the actors, writers and directors who made the show. If you wanted it, it's in here. Even if you didn't want it, it's in here. So rock on and enjoy!

The fans demanded it, and so it has come. Freaks and Geeks, the Emmy award-winning series about the trials and tribulations of outsiders 1980 Michigan is finally available on DVDiin its original form, with all of its original music. The complete series includes all 18 original episodes; the director's cut of the pilot with never-before-seen footage; deleted scenes; outtakes; behind-the-scenes

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29 different commentary tracks (keep in mind there were only 18 episodes) borders on the obsessive, but if you're a geek, this is bliss. They got all the key cast members, including Linda Cardellini and James Franco, as well as writers, directors, television executives and even the parents of John Daley, Sarah Hagan and Martin Starr and some fans. There are some great bloopers and behind the scenes clips where people are completely out of character. And they also included the original audition tapes for the major characters, which are pretty interesting. If you go on the Freaks and Geeks website you can watch a couple clips including Samm Levine's famous impersonation of William Shatner that landed him a part on the show.

In addition to this DVD, they also have a collector's edition that comes with a yearbook and 2 more discs of extras. But that's a limited edition they stop selling in March 2004 and you can only get it through their website. Haven't seen that, but if it's anything like this set, it will rock.

They obviously put in a lot of work on the DVDs. I've seen other TV collections and they look like they've been thrown together. Here, every menu on every disc has a different image from a scene. And every time you change menus (on EVERY disc) a different dialogue clip plays, followed by some of Mike Andrews' original compositions for the show. Some of them go on for a couple minutes and most of these are songs I've never heard before. I'm a hardcore fan and I was prepared to rip them if they screwed with the legacy of the show....but this DVD blew me away. Freaks and Geeks will become the standard by which all other TV show DVDs will be judged.

91 of 99 found the following review helpful:

It's about time!Feb 03, 2004
By Dario M. Zagar "drziggles"
Yes! F&G is finally coming out on DVD!

For those of you who weren't lucky enough to watch F&G during its all-too-brief run, you'll soon have your chance to experience a true television gem on DVD. Freaks & Geeks ran sporadically on NBC during the 1999-2000 series, and then in reruns on the Fox (now ABC?) Family Channel. In short, it's the story of two siblings: Lindsay & Sam Weir, and their trials and tribulations as high school students in Michigan circa 1980. Lindsay is a junior and a former overachieving whiz-kid who undergoes a crisis of self after the death of her grandmother, and tries to find herself as a new member of a clique of underachieving stoners. Her brother Sam is a sensitive, nerdy guy trying to make his way through freshman year with a tight band of dorks and misfits.

As I write this, I realize that a brief summary doesn't begin to do justice to this multi-layered show. It's hysterically funny, poignant, often painful, and never tries to have the neatly tied-up generic sitcom ending. The secondary characters are as well realized as Sam & Lindsay, and really make the show special (including SCTV's Joe Flaherty as the ambivalent Mr. Weir, Samm Levine as Neil, and Martin Starr as Bill Haverchuck). There are so many moments on the show that I personally identified with, and I can't imagine anyone who was subjected to the tortures of high school life that wouldn't be able to at times. (Though it helps if you lived through the early 80's or can connect with references to the Jerk, Dallas, Dungeons & Dragons, and/or Neil Peart of Rush...). I could keep on going about the show, but I'll let you find out the rest for yourself. Now, to the DVD...

The standard edition of the DVD is described in some detail here, and includes the 6 episodes that never aired on NBC, as well as many extras. However, especially if you are a fan of F&G, you owe it to yourself to check out the limited Deluxe Edition that's available directly from the creators of the show at www.freaksandgeeks.com. Here's the description from the site:

"In this Deluxe Edition, we put it all into an expanded 80-page foil-stamped and embossed yearbook presented in true Freaks and Geeks style loaded with photos and memorabilia from the show. The yearbook is filled with personalized notes, tons of photos, even photos of many of you, script pages, a quiz, a letter from Paul [Feig, creator of the show], a Q&A with me [Judd Apatow, exec. producer], details about every show, a letter from Mr. Rosso, poetry, rock and roll lyrics, reprints of articles about the show, and lots more.

· three live "table reads" of some of our best episodes
· a one-hour Q&A with Judd, Paul & the entire cast at the Museum of TV & Radio in LA shot a few days before we got cancelled
· tons more auditions, deleted scenes, promos and outtakes
· some of our favorite scenes in the raw footage from a single-camera perspective
· guidance counselor Jeff Rosso & Feedback live in concert
· the full original electronic press kit, filled with interviews with the cast and crew
· a script that was never shot
· a special music and photo gallery
· surprise Easter eggs
· even more behind the scenes footage edited by Jason Segal and Martin Starr
· and other things that are weird and hard to describe"

It runs for the steep price of $120, but the way I figure it is, this is the only season of F&G you're going to get, so you may as well do it right! However, you won't go wrong with either version, so do yourself a favor and check it out.

286 of 322 found the following review helpful:

Is This Reprint Worth the Extra Money?Nov 18, 2008
By Auggie Worldwise
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Freaks and Geeks. But this yearbook reprint is severely overpriced. It was originally marketed as a limited edition when it was released in 2004 until it sold out in January 2007. You could somewhat justify the high price of $130 on that version because it was SUPPOSED TO BE A COLLECTORS ITEM with a limited printing of only 25,000. Now Shout Factory has decided to start making it again, except they aren't calling it a limited edition. What doesn't make sense is that they are charging the same price for this reprint as they did for the limited edition collectible.

Skip the yearbook and buy the standard edition. At $45 or so, it's a much better deal. It has loads of extras that will satisfy the most diehard fans. Keep in mind that discs 1-6 are EXACTLY THE SAME on both editions. There is a heckuva lot on these 6 discs: All 18 episodes, 29 full length commentaries (some episodes have more than 1), 69 deleted scenes (also with commentaries), 2 sets of bloopers, a behind the scenes video, audition tapes for Cardellini, Segel, Daley, Starr, Levine, Rogen, Phillips, (Sorry, Franco's audition doesn't appear on either set). The standard edition is loaded with extras.

The yearbook edition gives you everything on the standard edition, but only 2 more discs for all that additional money. And they are less desirable extras, like auditions of supporting cast members and poorly produced videos of 3 table readings where the sound is barely audible. They used all the best extras on the standard edition. I'll admit the 80 page yearbook is cool to look at, but 22 of the pages contain an episode guide which also appears in the booklet that comes with the standard edition. Another 12 pages in the yearbook are reprints of articles that ran in the LA Times and LA Weekly, and that you can still find on the internet. For the hefty price, you'd expect them to put a lot more original stuff into the yearbook.

You'd think that if you were paying 3 times the price, you'd get 3 times as much stuff.... but that's definitely NOT the case. Considering the contents of this yearbook edition, $69-$79 would be a fair price. $130 is way over the top.

26 of 28 found the following review helpful:

Freaks and Geeks DISC 1 REVIEW. Stunning!!!Feb 21, 2004

Freaks and Geeks Disc 1 Review.

I have just finished watching the promotional DVD of Disc 1.

As a big fan of the show when it aired I was thrilled when I heard it was finally coming to DVD, but very apprehensive about what the DVD's themselves would look like, especially after being let down so often by other companies TV shows on DVD.
I would have settled for decent video and audio transfers and a few extras, but this disc is something else.
It's INCREDIBLE!!!

The video quality is amazing.
The bit rate on every episode averages 7 Mbps!
I have never seen anything close to that for a TV show before.
I read somewhere that the people who author the "Lord Of The Rings" DVD's also did these, and it really shows.

The original stereo mix and a 5.1 mix sound fantastic and the extras couldn't be better.

There are ...

Multiple deleted scenes (with or without commentary by Judd Apatow, John Daley and Martin Starr) for each episode.

5 Commentaries (2 each for the "Pilot" and "Beers and Weirs" and one on "Tricks and Treats")

2 Auditions (Linda Cardellini & Jason Segel)

A "Behind the Scenes" piece

Original Promotional Ad's used by NBC

And this is only Disc 1.

However, the best part IMO, are the menus. There are 16 menus on this disc and each one completely different. Each has its own piece of music from the show and most have dialog from the show itself.

If there are any DVD producers reading, this release will hopefully set the standard for what a TV show on DVD should be. If they give out awards for DVD's expect to see this win a few. It's absolutely amazing.
For those of you that have never seen the show read some of the other comments that testify to it brilliance. It's the best blind buy you'll ever make.
I'm going to see if I can still get my order in for the Limited Edition set!

18 of 19 found the following review helpful:

For the inner Mathlete in all of usJun 25, 2004
By Andrew West Griffin "Andrew Griffin"
Where to begin? Well, I guess it's safe to say that "Freaks and Geeks" far surpassed any comedy-laced drama I've seen in many moons.
I had originally heard about the show during its original run on NBC during the 1999-2000 TV season. I even managed to catch a few episodes. However, I didn't watch it often enough to get to know the characters very well. Still, as a bit of a geek myself, I could relate to what Sam Weir (John Francis Daley), Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) and Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) were going through, as awkward high school freshman. In fact, I can recall some similar painful experiences while attending Robinson Junior High and East High in Wichita, Kansas circa 1987-90.
So, when I heard online that this slice of Americana was being cancelled, I chalked it up to another example of bonedheaded decisionmaking by the shortsighted suits who wouldn't know a good TV show if it bit 'em square on the tuckus.
Look what befell quirky and interesting shows like "Twin Peaks" and more recently, "Wonderfalls." I could go on but I think most people reading this review know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.
So, when Apatow's new show, "Undeclared," came on a season or so later, I began taping the episodes. And during the short reruns of "Freaks and Geeks" on Fox Family, I was happily reintroduced to the Weir clan and all the complex and interesting characters inhabiting early 1980's-era Chippewa, Michigan.
There was the beautiful and smart Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), the dry-witted, Nuge-loving Ken Miller (Seth Rogen), the stern and outta touch Harold Weir (Joe Flaherty), the sage hippie school guidance counselor (Dave "Gruber" Allen), and one of my all-time favorites -- Harris Trinsky, played by the amazing Canadian actor Stephen Lea Sheppard. Casting director Allison Jones was incredibly astute in choosing Sheppard for that role. In fact, I knew guys (and similar D&D dungeon masters) just like Harris when I was growing up. All these characters, with their very human thoughts, desires and shortcomings, were reminiscent of the characters on "Northern Exposure," albeit a little more down to earth. (And as much as I loved it on NX, FnG didn't have any odd dream sequences featuring rabbis in rowboats or shape-shifting bear people).
And after Fox Family stopped airing the show, I was afraid I'd never see it again.
But I was (thankfully) wrong!
And now ... the amazing creators of "Freaks and Geeks," Judd Apatow and Paul Feig have lovingly put together a most excellent DVD collection featuring all 18 episodes of "Freaks and Geeks." Not only that, but deleted scenes, commentary, and all sorts of other stuff that makes fans like me jump for joy.
Watching these episodes -- each disc features three episodes -- over the course of the past two weeks, has put me in a nostalgic frame of mind. Watching it, I felt like I had gone back to the 1980s. The pop culture references are dead on and the music selections -- Styx, the Grateful Dead, XTC, Journey, etc. -- are perfect. And the episodes -- my faves are "Tricks and Treats," "Discos and Dragons" and "Beers and Weirs" -- couldn't be more fun and heartfelt. And the special guest stars -- Ben Stiller, Joel Hodgson, Jason Schwartzman, etc., etc. -- well, they were totally appropriate for us TV and movie nerds.
And while I enjoyed the lovelorn, pot-smokin', drummer wannabe Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel) and the rebel without a cause Daniel Desario (James Franco), it was the underrated Martin Starr that always stole the show for me.
Seeing Martin Starr getting drunk while watching "Dallas" is an absolute scream! Starr deserves far more attention as an actor, as does Levine, whose comic timing is dead-on. Look at Starr's face when dressed as Jamie Summers (The Bionic Woman) for Halloween, a spaced-out hippie gives him and the gang some homemade carob candy. This, in the midst of the 'razorblade-in-the-candy' hysteria of this era. His expression is priceless!
Then there is the episode where Ken finds out the truth about his girlfriend Amy (the always terrific Jessica Campbell). Another example of television gold!
As for the actors, well, five years later I'm still stunned that Apatow and Feig were able to pull all these amazing talents together. Shame on those NBC knuckleheads for deep-sixing the show just as it was finding its audience. I guess for now I'll just have to get my "Freak" on by sitting down with a bowl of Count Chocula and a bottle of pop and spend some more time watching my "Freaks and Geeks" DVDs while anxiously awaiting that oft-promised "Freaks and Geeks" soundtrack. Please guys, don't forget to include Jean Weir (Becky Ann Baker) singing "The Monster Mash" or Nick (Segel) and Millie (Sarah Hagan) singing "Jesus is Just All Right". That'd be all right.

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