Thanks guys, I did a F&G marathon about a year ago, it’s officially time to spend a couple of days in front of the TV rewatching the series. Perfect wintertime tradition.
And the fact that the final straw was that she didn’t like the Jerk. That’s high school exemplified. I love the scene where he’s talking to Ken, who he’s never talked to before, about it in the bathroom and he totally understands when he mentions the Jerk
Oh, also remember the episode with sex ed? Biff was a real jerk to Sam when he made him get up and identify where all the girl parts were and Sam had no clue. But later when Sam saw the porno and was clearly freaked out, Biff helped him out–that scene in his office was actually sweet. Great episode.
Also good–the cheating subplot.
ETA: Yeah, I love the conversation between Ken and Sam. It’s sweet how much Ken clearly likes Amy, the way he’s talking about how great she is. It’s the kind of parallelism that would seem really hackneyed on any other show, but rang so true here.
Alright, this seals the deal, I was gonna put in an Apatow movie tonight anyway, but I’m just gonna have an F&G marathon.
Good choice!
Also, there’s a lot of good subtleties. Like how Sarah, the girl who Nick is dating in the last episode, is also seen in a couple of other episodes, and it seems she kind of likes him even then (when he’s being the lookout in the cheating episode, or when she gives Lindsay the fake emergency call to get her out of gym).
Oh, another moment I loved–before the freaks go to the Who concert and Nick is about to play that hideous song, Lady L, for Lindsay and Ken grabs the guitar, walks off and smashes it.
Excellent show, among my absolute favorites, despite its short run. Everything about it is perfect – the acting, the writing, the directing. The story even has a bit of an ending to it, which feels nice. I can’t praise it enough.
Another thing that was enjoyable about the show was its use of music.
I can’t hear Rush’s “The Spirit of Radio” without imagining Nick jamming on his huge drum set.
Or “Come Sail Away” without Sam dancing with Cindy and Millie doing her “hand” dance.
Or Madness’ “One Step Beyond” and seeing Sam running around naked.
Something else I felt they got fairly authentic was the sibling relationship between Sam and Lindsay. There was kind of a “sibling” code where they were able to discuss things outside of their parents. But if the shit came down, you know Sam was going to his parents for help. And even though Lindsay was going through a confusing time, you could tell she cared about her brother.
Probably the most perfect show ever. I can’t think of a single thing that could be improved, other than of course renewing it for more seasons. And at this point, any kind of reunion show would just be sad. Everyone’s too grown up.
Best moment: Bill’s 7 minutes in heaven. Most awkward kiss EVER!
Also loved when Sam’s parents get him the Atari and he bursts into tears because he’s just come from driving around trying to help Neal find the Other Woman’s garage, and I think it’s just really dawned on him how lucky he is to have his dad.
Really REALLY wanted to know how Neal was going to deal with his father and how that would affect him growing up. One question I had–when Neal starts crying to his mom after that awful dummy act and tells his mother about the cheating (she says she already knew), was she saying that to protect him? The scene towards the end of the party where she’s just looking really sad made me think maybe not and she was trying to cover…or was she just upset to get a reminder of it, and to realize how badly it was affecting her son? Would make sense that she knew–Dr. Schweiber was NOT discreet considering that Sam and Barry had already found out.
regarding Neal’s dad, I can say that it’s reasonable that the mom knew. In my personal experience, a wife, son and daughter can all know without telling each other until it all comes out eventually.
Great Scott! I love this show. Caught it when it first aired, and bought the series on dvd as soon as I could. I just finished watching the whole thing again just a few months ago. Haverchuck is hands-down my favorite character. Can’t bring myself to go back and find specifics, but I thought he had some of the best lines.
What I love is that they give all the characters some time, and each of them grows and changes in only the few episodes produced. I even loved seeing that the freaks weren’t just dumb rebel kids. There were reasons why they acted out the way they did–some of them dumb reasons, but at least Daniel came from a family that was trying, just as Kim’s family life was screwed up. That’s no excuse for the dumb/mean stuff they did, but you can understand these two screwed up kids clinging to each other, coz they had nothing else. The show was even able to make the bitch cheerleader more likable, eventually.
Wish we’d gotten to see Ken’s family–Ken seemed to imply they were wealthy, but that he didn’t exactly get along with them. (Nowhere as bad as Kim or Daniel’s situation, I don’t think.)
Another sad but great moment–Neal telling Sam and Bill they’re just jealous when they tell him about the cheating, and Neal tells Bill he doesn’t even have a dad, and Bill says he does too, he talked to his dad three months ago. And again when Bill’s mom says that they’re having a guest and Bill hopefully says, “Is it Dad?” Poor kid.
Can I mention again how awesome Joe Flaherty is?
We Netflixed this sometime earlier this year, and adored it. We bought the DVDs soon after. We haven’t gone through the special features yet; maybe we’ll do that soon. I think the set has like 29 commentaries for what, 17 episodes? Perfect.
Undeclared isn’t quite as good, but it’s very funny and worth the time.
Yep, Undeclared isn’t on the same level. You can’t take that show too seriously but it’s still a wholebunchafunn to watch.
This thread inspired me to watch F&G again. I’ll turn it on as soon as I get home from work.
Thanks for reminding me how good this show is Freudian Slit. 
I was living in exurban Michigan during the approximate period the show was set and though I was a wee bit younger than that crew ( junior high ), I have to say that IMO feathered hair hadn’t made it big yet in that area. Actually I have to give Paul Feig credit for a remarkably accurate look. Kim Kelly and her jacket just screams that period and place to me.
Love the show. Favorite TV? No. Favorite network TV? Possibly :).
Well, Ken changed his name to Ron, jumped forward in time, and attended UNEC. Nick changed his name to Eric and dated one of Ron’s friends at UNEC. Cindy, too. Neal even became head of Theta Delta Zeta. And Ken still doesn’t like Bill.
Seriously, Undeclared is much more of a “standard” sitcom, but I love it. And I can’t for the life of me figure out why it only lasted a season.
And to this day, I love seeing F&G/Undeclared alumni (including Feig himself) pop up in Apatow productions.
BTW, Paul Feig’s books are hilarious.
I have watched the show all the way through twice so far. About time to watch it again! My sig comes from one of my favorite little scenes.
I looked on youtube for the Lady L song, and voila! (Not the scene you were talking about, but funny because we get to hear the Lady L song."
“La la la la la la la la la la la that’s the sound of L”
I love that Jason Segal actually wrote “Lady L” himself. That is one spectacularly bad song.
I think he also wrote the Dracula songs in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Now that’s some (non-?)talent.