My son Connor and I were chatting about our favorite TV shows by genre the other day and having a blast. It was like a little game—which we do often—create games, that is.
When it’s your own game, you can create your own rules and categories. And so we did. Here are some of the winners : : :
- Best TV Ever : : : LOST
- Best Comedy Period : : : King of Queens
- Best Current Comedy : : : 30 Rock
- Best Current Comedy too : : : The Office
- Best Animated Comedy : : : Family Guy
- Best Shameful Show : : : Southpark
- Best Occasional Catch : : : King of the Hill
- Best Game Show : : : Jeopardy
- Worst Show We Still Watch : : : The Bachelor
- Dating Show that Was Better Than The Bachelor : : : For Love or Money
- Best Current Reality Show : : : American Idol
- Best Reality Show that Didn’t Last : : : My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé
- Lamest Reality Show : : : Rock of Love tied with So You Think You Can Dance
- Show We Get Sucked Into Every Time : : : Hannah Montana
- Great Run/Lots of Laughs : : : SpongeBob Squarepants
- Show We are Pretty Sure is Awesome Though We’ve Never Seen an Episode : : : 24
- Shut Up Already! : : : Tyra Banks
- Classic : : : Seinfeld
- Best Comedy--Not Sitcom : : : SNL
- Channel We Were Sad to Lose When We Downsized Cable : : : History Channel
But, the one that we had the most fun talking about was . . .
Best Comedy That Got Canceled Too Soon : : : Freaks and Geeks.
“Everything you remember from high school... that you choose to forget” was the famous tagline from the show about two distinct groups of teenagers—both outsiders—growing up in Michigan in the early 80’s. This show will remind you of how awkward it is to be a teen. Young love. First dates. Finding your identity. Breaking away from your parents. Getting in trouble.
Freaks and Geeks was a cornucopia of budding talent. Check this out : : :
Theme Song by Joan Jett.
Directed by Judd Apatow. Hello!?! Judd Apatow! Cable Guy. Anchorman. Talladega Nights. Superbad. Knocked Up. Walk Hard. Step Brothers.
Many of the shows were written by Mike White. Highly underrated Mike White. School of Rock. Orange County. Nacho Libre.
Linda Cardellini played Lindsay Weir. Then she went on to Legally Blonde, Scooby Doo, Brokeback Mountain, and now stars as Nurse Samantha Taggart on E.R. (who my wife tells me is dating John Stamos on the show but, I don't watch it)
John Francis Daley played Sam Wier. Then he went on to a variety of TV spots including Judging Amy, Boston Public, and Bones.
James Franco played Daniel Desario. He is probably best known now for his role as Harry Osborn/New Goblin in the Spiderman flicks.
And, get this . . . Seth Rogen as Ken Miller! Knocked Up. 40-Year-Old Virgin. A million voiceovers. Seth is the man.
How about Jason Segel? How I met Your Mother. Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
That’s not all! Samm Levine? Martin Starr? Becky Ann Baker? Joe Flaherty? Busy Philipps? Dang!
This show is FINALLY on DVD. I waited for years. Classic. It’s not just because it is set in Michigan. I used to watch this show every week when it was on and I lived in California (though admittedly being in Michigan now has added a whole new level of humor to it).
The music is phenomenal on this show. Van Halen. Kenny Loggins. Styx. Deep Purple. Santana. Joplin. Kiss. Nugent (of course). Cheap Trick. Cream. BTO. Journey. Billy Joel. Kansas. XTC. Queen. The Cars. The Who. Black Flag. The list goes on!
The series only ran for 18 episodes before the communists who ran the network at NBC at the time shut it down. Maybe it’s for the best. The 18 episodes are all comedy gold. Go buy this DVD collection today. Really.
