I'm a huge fan of Freaks and Geeks. This is the granddaddy of one of my all time favorite genres: High School. It doesn't get any better than this one. How big of a fan am I? I was one of the original fans that signed up for the DVD, 2 years before it was even a reality. I didn't even blink at the big sticker price for the Yearbook Edition when it was announced. It was around $130 at the time and I didn't care. It could have been $500 for the Set and I STILL would have paid for it. They have since gone to a reprinting, which you can get for about 80 bucks now, which is a steal now.

So what makes this series so great? Everything. Great actors to play the awesome characters that populate their little universe. The writing from episode to episode was both funny and poignant and always had something to say without it ever appearing to be preachy. The series is still relevant today, even if it took place in the 80's. Speaking of the 80's, you can't get away from the soundtrack, which itself is a character. It's actually hard for me to not think of the show now, whenever I hear Joan Jett's Bad Reputation. They are forever joined.

Getting back to the cast. Has there ever been a cast of "newbies" that went on to become bigger stars in the way they have? The only other cast that is equal to cranking future stars is of course Dazed and Confused. I still follow a majority of the actors John Francis Daley (Bones), Busy Phillips (Cougar Town), Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Linda Cardellini (Mad Men), Sarah Hagen (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, 90210. And of course there is James Franco and Seth Rogen, both who have gone on to be huge, bankable stars in Hollywood. Oh, and there is that little known guy that goes by the name of Judd Apatow, who has directed, written and/or produced some of the best comedies of late (The 40 Year Old Virgin, Superbad). There are also a ton of other small cameos as well of actors that made a lasting impression on the show (Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Leslie Mann, David Krumholtz,  Lizzy Caplan and Shia LaBeouf). Hell, even Ben Stiller got in on the act as well.

I can't recommend this with more enthusiasm. If you have never seen this before. Shame on you. Definitely a Buy and I urge you to get the re-print of the Yearbook Edition. It's worth every cent. Yes, it's an actual Yearbook from the fictional school they attended. Lots and lots of behind the scenes photo's and bonus content. I try to watch this at least once a year because I get so much enjoyment from it. But it comes with a price of course. By the time the last episode wraps up, I get bummed out in thinking 'what could and should have been'. The Finale is bittersweet.

Great panel featuring pretty much all the key players and smaller roles as well. James Franco, by way of pre-taped video, was particularly funny. I'm only posting the first video here. There are Seven parts. Just follow the video back to the YouTube Channel to watch the rest. It's good. Quality is meh. If they ever release an official video of the panel, I will post here. For now, gotta be content with Cell Phone Cam Video by fan.