I went to high school in Michigan in the 1980s and hated it. But I thought this show had so many touching and funny moments that I could relate to that it's really a shame it only lasted one season. This was the high school I remember - not populated by beautiful people with so-called problems. NBC gave shows with initially low ratings like Seinfeld and Friends a chance, why couldn't they have given Freaks and Geeks a chance before cancelling it. It's a real loss.<br /><br />I loved the Geeks because I identify with them the most. They - especially Sam - actually look like the kids they're supposed to be, and I thought some of the most touching moments were when they were trying to straddle that line between childhood and adulthood. Like when Sam throws away his toy trucks but still decides to go trick-or-treating on Halloween.<br /><br />The moment in the pilot when Sam leads Cindy on the dance floor and then the music changes from slow to fast is initially funny, but the pained look on Sam's face like he's about to cry before he awkwardly starts to dance and cheers up brought tears to my eyes. (There's a priceless deleted scene on the DVD called "our creepiest moment" where Sam and Cindy slow dance while singing the slow part of "Come Sail Away".).<br /><br />The episode when they watch a porn movie and are freaked out until the gym teacher sets Sam straight is priceless. I loved how when Sam finally got the pretty cheerleader he'd been chasing it turned out she was boring and they had nothing in common. Not the usual plot lines you see on shows about teenagers. And the music was always appropriate - because it was a period piece they could avoid network executives telling them to promote the latest band like most teen shows.<br /><br />Geeks deal with bullies, being picked last to be on school teams, and don't want to shower in public. Real high school problems. So many other touching moments: Bill coming home to an empty house and making himself a grilled cheese sandwich and having a great time watching TV, Neil realizing his father is having an affair, Bill resentful that his mother has a boyfriend.<br /><br />That said, everything I liked about the show mostly related to the Geeks. I didn't understand the Freaks or why Lindsay wanted to hang out with them, especially at the beginning when they just wanted her for parties or cheating on tests. The implication was that she'd decided there were no rewards for being a good person after witnessing her grandmother dying, but clearly she was not comfortable being a Freak, at least not until later episodes when the Freaks seemed to develop some genuine affection for her.<br /><br />The suggestion is that they were high all the time, but apart from one episode (when Lindsay smokes marijuana) they never seemed to be smoking. Lindsay's parents forbid her from hanging out with them after she crashed their car but at the end of the episode she goes back to them and nothing changes. Of the Freaks I liked Nick the best - sweet but clueless, the episode when Lindsay's father takes him under his wing is great - him singing "Lady" to Lindsay and writing "Lady L" were hilarious.<br /><br />I thought the last episodes were going off in some strange directions which may have made more sense had the show continued: Lindsay following the Grateful Dead instead of going to the Academic Summit, Daniel joining the audiovisual team and playing Dungeons and Dragons, Nick discovering disco, and Ken going out with a tuba player.