Junkie

If you know me at all or have even briefly perused this blog, there is no denying - I am a TV and movie JUNKIE. Many people talk about how they don't watch much TV because it's trash - especially network television....but to them I say, "bah-humbug!" I enjoy TV - especially network TV - because I'm cheap and unwilling to continue shelling out money to pay for cable. At the same time, I love Netflix because it allows me to rediscover TV shows that were brilliant but only lasted for one season. Two such shows are Freaks & Geeks and Wonderfalls.

Paul Feig created Freaks & Geeks, but the now well-known Judd Apatow was also a preeminent writer, director, and producer on the show - you may recognize his name from such not-fit-for-network-television movies like "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up." Those movies may not recommend the viewing of Freaks & Geeks, but considering this show had to be tame enough to air on network television back in 1999 it is definitely worth watching. Freaks and Geeks puts the spotlight on what high school was like for those of us who didn't run with the popular crowd and probably encountered more embarrassing moments than we care to recall. It's also set in the early 80s, and who doesn't love the 80s? Especially notable is the main freshman character, Sam Weir, played by John Francis Daley - a name you probably don't recognize, but if you happen to be a fan of the current TV show Bones - you would know him as the FBI psychologist Sweets. Oh yes, that is right - if you watch Freaks & Geeks you get to see a pre-pubescent Sweets navigate his way through his torturous freshman year of high school, while his academically over-achieving sister has a crisis of identity after her grandfather's death and attempts to slide into the "freaks" stoner crowd. This show was also Seth Rogan's first foray into the acting realm in the US before he became Apatow's rated R comedy muse. You also get to see Jason Segel as a drum playing stoner well before he made his mark as the goofy Marshall on How I Met Your Mother, as well as James Franco before he became the worst Academy Awards host to date. This is just a kookie, hilarious, and sometimes poignant show that I definitely recommend watching.

As for my other one season only favorite, Wonderfalls is a quirky look at a college graduate who is not quite sure what she wants to do as her next step in life other than she's tired of trying to live up to everyone else's expectations. She's earned a prestigious degree from Brown University, but finds herself back home living in motor home and working at a souvenir shop in Niagara Falls. As she's pondering her life's choices, she starts having these "episodes" where inanimate objects (mostly the nicknacks from the store) begin talking to her and giving her seemingly obscure assignments to carry out. Of course, in the end all of these crazy tasks amount to helping someone unknowingly. This show is by the same creators of the critically acclaimed show Pushing Daisies (another favorite of mine - which lasted at least two seasons), but Wonderfalls is our first introduction in the US to actress Caroline Dhavernas, who is now on Off the Map, as well as our first chance to see the greatness of Lee Pace (who was the male lead on Pushing Daisies). If you haven't had a chance to see this show, or probably haven't even heard of it - you should definitely Netflix it, or if you're one of my friends in the DFW area, you can borrow my copy :-)