On a personal level it affected us. On a fan level it affected the nature of online fandom. It affected the role of women as lead characters. It spun a lot of imitations and became a huge cult favourite. It gave us a brilliant spin-off show and made it’s showrunner have a huge devoted fan-following.

So as a show that dragged me into the Cult TV Show following; it’s time to revisit Buffy Summers season-by-season as the DVDs are watched. So welcome to Part I of VII…

The original Scooby Gang.

From the revolutionary teaser which spins preconceptions on it’s head to the world of languages and lingo before any supernatural stuff happens – the pilot shows us Buffy Summers. Kicked out of her old school for setting fire to the school gym, it becomes apparent she has a dark secret. She slays Vampires, and she doesn’t really want to do it any more. With the help of her friends, Xander and Willow, and the guidance of her Watcher, Giles, she fights vampires and demons.

Overall, the first season is quite rough round the edges. It also has slightly dated (the cast look surprisingly young) and some of the stories suffer from the lower budgets and quality that it has (DVD is much better than video-tape quality). But there’s always things that give the show a certain spark: the writing and the characters. The dialogue is fresh, witty and a joy to listen to. It can be dramatic and comedic at the drop of a hat as well as being incredibly clever. It’s not for all tastes, true – but it still is very good writing. So whilst we get episodes about giant praying mantises and talking dummys that slay demons and invisible girls – the writing trumps everything.

It’s not like everything is bad, there’s some stronger episodes here. The two-part pilot, Angel and the season finale are some of the finest episodes in the series’ run. Angel has an impact all the way ‘til the end of the spin-off show Angel. Again it’s the writing, but also the character-led drama that runs alongside the pilots throughout all this. Even the dodgy episodes still have some stronger character development. There’s a strong sense of continuity in the show, meaning that you can see characters changing through the series. It lays a good foundation for future seasons.

But what of the episodes themselves?

Where It All Began...

Welcome to the Hellmouth

Watching the pilot is very weird. It’s hard to believe it was Late 1996 when it was filmed (it aired March 2007), but the cast look so young, so fresh. It’s also weird seeing the pilot template that a lot of shows do – newcomer in new place e.t.c. A lot of the staples of living a double-life does stem off from here; and shows now still have a similar premise. The show lays foundations that shows like Chuck would eventually follow. The writing and the core characters kick off straight away, with Xander shining straight away with his instant love of Buffy and his general humourous nature. The story is pure set-up (it is meant for a feature-length pilot) but is an entertaining ride.

The Harvest

The second half, and the seeds of friendship, the premise and ongoing storylines. There’s a nice little stand-alone plot resolved and some character have mini-emotional arcs resolved and it sets up the tone of the series perfectly. The balancing of two-lives is evidenced much better here, with Buffy jumping the school gate and her “if you don’t go out the world will end” scene with her mother. The show has it’s identity already by Giles’ “The World is Doomed,” line where some shows take much longer to be able to claim that. A great end to a great pilot.

Witch

The first ‘after the premiere’ episode, and the first of a major tradition in that they’re not that good. The main themes of the show in trying to juggle is really established here, getting the cheerleading thing out of the system. It’s mainly monster-of-the-week stuff with some dodgy guest-character acting in the form of Elizabeth Anne Allen.

Teacher’s Pet

The first real Xander-led episode which sort of deals with his crush on Buffy but involves Xander being attracted to a large preying mantis. Yes – it does feel as stupid as it sounds. Again, the writing and dialogue does win-out, as well as Xander’s dream in the teaser.

When Giles was the fool and Williow the shy geek...

The first real ‘arc’ episode for the show, in which there’s laying down of storylines for the rest of the season in the introduction of The Annointed One and the Master. It’s also the ‘can Buffy date’ episode in which she ends up trying to juggle a date with mystical occurrences. It’s by-the-book really, but it’s one of the first examples of the show’s ability to sweep you off your feet. The identity of the Anointed is kept secret and there is a strong sense of misdirection in that you actually think Buffy has killed the vampire they were after. Shame the Owen-plot is a bit dull, really.

The Pack

Shame a character as funny and likable as Xander ends up with another episode that seems bad on paper, but unlike Teacher’s Pet this is a stronger episode. There’s plenty of things that help with character development (as well as killing off the Principal) and the Xander/Willow/Buffy triangle takes some further developments as the romantic feelings begin to get stronger. Not a strong episode, more an average one. Beside from some dodgy acting and cringe-worthy moments it’s one of the ‘middle of the table’ episodes of the season.

Angel

One of the more important episodes of the BuffyVerse. Angel’s secret is revealed. It’s one of the first real shocks of the show, one of the better and stronger episodes of the series and another arc episode in terms of character development.

I Robot, You Jane

One of those episodes was better in the memory. In retrospect it’s quite mundane and very silly, but it is wrapped with some quite clever characterisation in terms of Giles and his technophobia. The last scene with the trio laughing about their lack of luck in love it quite a nice moment though.

The Puppet Show

Again, rewatching is a harrowing experience when you see that the episode is routed in an absolutely ridiculous premise and some bad characterisation. It does introduce Armin Shimmerman as Principal Snyder, possibly one of the most evil characters that the show has ever witnessed.

Nightmares

The first meeting of Buffy and The Master due to a boy who’s nightmares are leaking into reality, the episode is a great excuse to learn more of the characters, to see Buffy as a vampire and some development of characters. Xander faces his fear of clowns as well as her fear of the Master which helps in the season finale.

Out of Mind, Out of Sight

By the way, I really liked her dress....

The metaphorical ideals and mission statement is never more apparent here where the supernatural tries to work as an allegory for teenage problems. This time feeling alone makes you invisible, insane and inevitably as a psycho assassin for the FBI. Yeah, I can see how that acts a role model. But in terms of Cordelia the episode is the first episode not to have her as a real world foil, and allows for her to have some semblance of development which will lead to her actions in the finale.

Prophecy Girl

One of the strongest episodes of the entire show, and an indication of the quality that will happen in later seasons. The acting is top-notch (the “sixteen years old, I don’t wanna die” scene is always amazing to watch) and the action is decent if again a little sloppy (the hellmouth monster in hindsight is a little funny now) but the episode is a great little way to end the season. It gives a circular feeling of having an ending (it wasn’t sure if the show would have a second season at this point) so the characters do get some semblance of a send-off and scenes of redemption (including the treatment of Cordelia). The season’s highlight, and one of the best examples to show someone about the show.

So that’s the first season done and dusted. It’s actually strange to see Xander (The Role-Model of My Teenage Years) take a strong role in the episodes before he gets over-shadowed by newer female characters. There’s quite a number of episodes that haven’t really stood up to the test of time and look very silly and open to mockery nowadays.

But still a great show.

You see a TV show set in High School, and you’ll be forgiven to think that its core audience is people who are actually in high school. But what if the show is set in the early eighties, twenty years before the current generation? Could it actually be possible for a show to actually be aimed towards adults?

Well, with Freaks and Geeks, there might just be one. Its core focus is the struggles and life of the outcasts of social society in the early eighties with kids who actually feel like High School students. Now it might be a locality thing (since I’m from Ol’ Blighty) but there’s a certain limit of shows about teenagers with rich parents doing several things at once in which the latest new show ends up coming across as completely unoriginal. This is what happened with 90210 – where it feels like The OC and Gossip Girl has done it all before. Even the original Beverley Hills predated it. My So-Called Life apparently is slightly more realistic but I’ve yet to watch that yet. Freaks and Geeks seems to paint a more realistic picture of high school that I’ve only really seen briefly in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars before you deduct the genre quota of those shows. What’s interesting is that this was the 1999-2000 season before 90210 and its ilk, but running the same time as Dawson’s Creek and Popular. Though the former was a huge showcase of contrived bad acting and melodramatic unrealism the latter was a tongue-in-cheek jab at teen shows; watching this now after the modern wave just feels like a breath of fresh air.

There are no rich parents, no major dance or events the kids have to organise, no flights of fancy or anything of that ilk, it’s just kids and problems. There are no strong serialised stories that run through the series, mainly weak characters living through weekly A and B stories which focus on the brother/sister team of Lindsey and Sam Weir. Lindsey (Linda Cardellini, ER and Scooby Doo) is a 17-year old girl former Mathlete who decides to hang around with ‘freaks’ Daniel (James Franco, Spider-Man and Pineapple Express), Kim (Busy Phillips) and Nick (Jason Siegel, How I Met Your Mother). While 14-year old Sam (John Francis Daley, Waiting and Bones) has to deal with bullies and being picked last for sports with his friends Neil (Sam Levinne) and Bill Havershuck (Martin Starr). Other characters include the Weir parents and some teachers who do try and steal the screen time, and would succeed if it wasn’t for younger cast.

The two main characters end up central for the two plots that are linked thematically in each episode and sometimes converge, but never fully follow on to the next episode except for some occasions. The episodes don’t have any major messages or morals that run at the end, and there is a (thankful) lack of overblown melodrama and maturity in the story telling which further acts as evidence that it’s not fully aimed towards teenagers. But amongst all the realistic and down-to-earth characters that litter the show, it just feels easier to relate to what’s going on instead of ridiculous high-lifers.

In terms of episodes, there are no real stand-outs because they all stand out. There are no real clunkers of ideas (mainly because there are only eighteen episodes) and episodes all feel strong and relate to the characters. The geeks usually steal the episodes though, with some highlights being Sam and co’s struggles against showering after gym and being picked last for baseball. There’s usually always something brilliant in every episode.

No. The real stand out here which brings out the iconic status the show has is the characters. Sam has been noted in some American magazine as being the idea TV son, but the stand-out for the geeks is Bill. The lanky stereotypical geek is immediately lovable, gets sympathy instantly and as the series unfolds and you start to get to know him and it’s just easy to get involved with the characters. The episode where he finds his gym teacher is dating his mother is probably the highlight, managing to get a tragic yet funny character to life even more. Of the freaks Daniel’s rebel-without-a-path strikes out, mainly because you can tell that James Franco is just having fun with what he gets to do at times. Where it’s manipulating adults, attempting to be a rocker; his character is another iconic image you won’t get to shake.

By the time you get to the end of series – you realise that you’ve gotten to know these characters, and then it hits you that there’s nothing left. With many shows you get a tinge of sadness – but with characters as fleshed out and likable as this – you are suddenly losing several friends. Maybe the show is regarded the way it is over the pond because of its short run and the show never got a chance to get stale. But you can’t help but wonder to see how Lindsey and Sam and their friends would develop, and how they would finish high school. Then again, would the show have lost something if the freaks graduated and got jobs while Lindsey went to college? We would never know…

It’s fun to see some actors and actresses that have moved on to other things nearly nine/ten years ago though. Shia Labeouf appears as a mascot, Ben Stiller a secret service agent, Lizzy Caplan as a disco dancer, Samaire Armstrong as a Grateful Dead fan, Privileged’s Joanna Garcia as a cheerleader as well as the main cast. Daley is now in Bones; Cardellini in ER, Seth Rogan goes from being Seth Rogan to being Seth Rogan later on and Jason Siegel in How I Met Your Mother.

It hasn’t got a Region 2 release (yet) but it’s something that should be experienced. If you ever get the chance to watch this, do it. You’ll not be disappointed.

Also posted on: ArticlesBase.com – Why You Need To Watch “Freaks and Geeks”