Not structured like your normal comedy, the laughs are not the main focus for this one. Instead it's full of those awkward adolescent moments that we're all familiar with, with nostalgic humor sprinkled in.<br /><br />The show basically follows Sam and Lindsay Weir through their travails in high school. Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) is an upperclassman rebelling against her goody-two-shoes mathlete past. She starts hanging out with a group of burnouts and "losers" (the Freaks: James Franco, Jason Segel, Seth Rogen and Busy Philipps). Meanwhile, her brother Sam (John Daley from "Waiting...") is entering high school with his own group of social outcast friends (the Geeks: Samm Levine and Martin Starr).<br /><br />"Freaks and Geeks" presents a realistic view of high school life, unlike the glamorized, soap opera high schools of shows like "The OC". And this show has heart. It has all of the emotions you'd expect from a show about teenagers. There isn't always a happy ending, just like in life. But the show also manages to pack in some humor without being a laugh-track fest like "That '70s Show".<br /><br />And with the diverse cast of characters (from students to teachers to parents, etc.), there is bound to be at least SOMEONE who is alarmingly similar to someone from the viewer's own past.<br /><br />I loved the pilot episode, but didn't think too much of the next handful of episodes. The show really grew on me about halfway through, however, prompting me to bump up my rating by a couple of stars. I wasn't even born in 1980 (when the show is set), but the portrayal of the American high school experience is universal. James Franco, by the way, is really cool in this show. (I'd only known him from the Spider-Man movies.) With equal parts heart and humor, "Freaks and Geeks" truly was a wonderful (if short-lived) show.