When it was originally on: 1999-2000

Original network: NBC

Where you can stream it now: Amazon Prime or Paramount+

Had I seen it before: Yes, I’ve seen the whole series. Maybe twice?

What IMDb says: A high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.

Why I picked it: Freaks and Geeks is one of the great 1-season wonders of television. No one seemed to care about this show when it was on, but it’s developed a cult status in the subsequent years.
It also has a lot of people who went on to be big stars in other things (hell two of them have other pilots on my list!) and it now feels like a small miracle that all of them were ever on the same show together, much less a show created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow.

What I liked: Lindsey is a fabulous protagonist. She’s the type of teenager that very much exists, but TV rarely tries to create: not exactly one of the popular kids, not exactly a nerd, just a girl still figuring out who she wants to be and generally trying her best. She’s curious about the burnouts, but still has great empathy for the nerds that other kids pick on. At the same time, her attempts to help the nerds don’t always pan out, and she’s left with bad results in spite of the best intentions. We know she’s smart and gets good grades and this seems to be the reputation she has with other characters. However, she also seems like someone who doesn’t have to try that hard for her academic success, much less someone who wraps her identity around it. Her parents mean well but they don’t understand her. She makes enough questionable choices to concern them, but seems like a generally good kid. What’s great about all these multitudes is that regardless of what kind of teenager you were growing up, I think you can find a piece of yourself in Lindsay.

The show is less focused on Nick, but I love what the pilot does with him as well. There’s something delightfully subversive, yet warm and cozy about one of these “burnouts” turning out to be so sweet and ernest in a way that the “bad kids” on teen shows usually aren’t. Another show would’ve just had Nick pressure Lindsay to lie to her dad, but Nick respects Lindsay’s morals and adorably concocts a fake date plan which allows Lindsay to come to his band practice without technically lying. It’s just enough to pique our curiosity about whether or not Nick has stronger feelings for Lindsey and make us want to watch more interactions between these two. At the same time, it’s still subtle enough to feel like Nick is just that nice and isn’t expecting anything in return.

I also like that we actually see Sam and Lindsay interact like real siblings both at home and at school. So many shows (okay, it’s Degrassi I’m talking about Degrassi) love to have siblings but never give us moments like that. I don’t always love the moments where Sam is kicking it with his friends, but I love the scene where he asks Lindsay “why she’s throwing her life away” per Millie’s request. As he leaves he says “just because she asked doesn’t mean I was going to tell her what you said” which leads to a heartfelt conversation about Lindsay mourning her grandma. She opens up with Sam in a way she doesn’t open up with any other character in the show. What can I say? I’m a sucker for good sibling moments in media.

What I didn’t like: I wish I had a little more insight into why the burnouts welcome Lindsay to the extent that they do. We get the impression that they’re a pretty set clique who’s been hanging out for years, and Daniel doesn’t seem to have any motive for suddenly saying “Hey pals, this is Lindsay, she hangs out with us now.” Yeah, there’s a little bit of resistance from Ken, and a lot of resistance from Kim, but for the most part Lindsay is just part of this gang now even if she still feels like a fish-out-of-water a lot of the time.

I also wish the nerd side of this pilot was a bit more original than “the nerds are getting beat up by bullies and are scared to ask girls out.” Sam is likable enough, but not particularly distinctive. His minions, Neal and Bill, don’t really feel like full characters of their own yet, just a sounding board for Sam’s problems. Millie also feels like a caricature of a “goody two shoes” on a show that is otherwise very grounded and deliberately rebelling against such exaggerated archetypes sometimes seen on other shows.

Do I want to watch Ep. 2?: So in the streaming era, yes. I like Lindsey and I like Nick and I want to spend more time with them. However, I totally get why this pilot and the show more broadly would flop in a week-by-week model. It’s a pilot where relatively little happens and what does seems somewhat trivial and mundane, so I’m not sure if I would still remember or care about these characters a week later.