70 Fun Facts About Freaks and Geeks

Who created Freaks and Geeks, drawing on his own high-school years in Michigan?

He wrote the pilot as a spec script and later directed The Heat and Spy.

Which producer said everything he had done since was 'revenge for the people who cancelled Freaks and Geeks'?

He kept casting the show's actors in his later films and in his next series, which also lasted one season.

On which network did Freaks and Geeks originally air from September 1999?

It was scheduled erratically and against a hit game show, and was cancelled before every episode had aired.

During which school year is Freaks and Geeks set?

Clearing period music by Styx, Rush, Cheap Trick and Van Halen ate up much of the budget and later delayed the DVD.

The Weir siblings attend a school named after which U.S. president?

The show's fictional suburb, Chippewa, is named after the creator's real school, Chippewa Valley High.

The fictional town of Chippewa, Michigan, is a suburb of which city?

Rush, Styx and Cheap Trick on the soundtrack all fit a Midwestern rock-radio upbringing.

Who played Lindsay Weir?

Lindsay is a former star student who takes up with the freaks after a death in the family.

Who played Lindsay's younger brother, Sam Weir?

He later co-wrote Horrible Bosses and co-directed Game Night.

Which actor played the charismatic burnout Daniel Desario?

In the pilot summary he is described as the freaks' "charismatic burnout"; the creator said Daniel would have ended up in jail had the show continued.

Who played Ken Miller, the sarcastic, wise-cracking freak?

Ken's late-season storyline about his girlfriend Amy was one the network let through only because it assumed the show was doomed anyway.

Who played Nick Andopolis, the mild-mannered freak who falls for Lindsay?

Nick's arc runs from a disastrous audition to disco dancing with a new girlfriend in the finale.

Who played Bill Haverchuck?

The creator later said Bill would have joined the basketball team and become a jock, straining the geeks' friendship.

Who played Neal Schweiber?

Neal's father Vic is a dentist whose annual client party becomes the setting for one of the show's most painful scenes.

Who played Kim Kelly, Daniel's on-and-off girlfriend?

Kim was not in the first draft of the pilot; she was added when two early scripts were combined.

Harold and Jean Weir appear in every episode. Who played Harold?

Harold offers Nick a part-time job and pays for his first proper lesson when Nick moves in with the family.

Who played Jean Weir, Harold's wife?

Her Halloween cookies get turned away by neighbours worried about tampering, and she inadvertently tells Nick that Lindsay wants to break up.

The opening theme, "Bad Reputation", is performed by which artist?

The same song later turned up in the 2001 film Shrek.

How many episodes of Freaks and Geeks were made in total?

Three of them were never shown by the original network and premiered at the Museum of Television and Radio before the cable reruns.

The three episodes the original network never aired were first broadcast in 2000 on which channel?

Music cues were swapped out for those reruns, which is one reason the creators held out for a DVD company willing to pay for the original songs.

Which of these was one of the three episodes the original network never aired?

It was written by Mike White, who also appeared on screen as Kim's oft-mentioned injured brother.

In the pilot, Lindsay traces her rebellion to the recent death of which relative?

That recollection was one of the additions when the creator merged two scripts into a stronger pilot.

In the pilot, Lindsay worries her parents by quitting which school team?

She rejoins for one competition later in the season, shows off a ferocious competitive streak, and quits again.

Which actor played Eli, the special-education student Lindsay tries to protect in the pilot?

Lindsay's attempt to stop Eli being bullied goes badly wrong and he ends up injured.

At Lindsay's party in "Beers and Weirs", what do Sam and his friends secretly do?

The guests act drunk anyway, while Bill gets genuinely drunk on the real beer in Sam's bedroom.

Kim needs Lindsay to meet her parents so they stop nagging her to sell which inherited car?

After Lindsay sees how abusive Kim's home is, the two flee in the car and hide out at the Weirs'.

What does Kim's friend Karen write on Sam's locker?

Sam gets blamed for the graffiti and is assigned a 500-word essay on vandalism, then argues with Neal over which of them is geekier.

Karen Scarfolli, Kim's locker-vandalising friend, was played by which actress?

The show's guest list also included Ben Stiller, Jason Schwartzman, Leslie Mann and a very young Shia LaBeouf.

In "Tests and Breasts", Lindsay helps Daniel cheat on a test in which subject?

At the disciplinary hearing Daniel gives an impassioned speech about being written off as dumb, and Lindsay realises it is the same speech he used on her.

If Nick cannot make a career out of music, his father plans to make him join what?

The creator said a second season would have had the father win that fight.

Which instrument does Nick play in the freaks' band?

The band has Daniel on guitar, Ken on vocals and Sean on bass; it breaks up when Nick demands they take it seriously.

In "I'm with the Band", Lindsay gets Nick a disastrous audition with which band?

The band members were played, uncredited, by the show's creator, writer Gabe Sachs and its composer.

Which composer scored the series and appeared uncredited as a member of the band Nick auditions for?

The show's own score was a small part of its sound; period songs did most of the work and most of the damage to the budget.

In "I'm with the Band", why does Sam end up streaking through the school?

It starts with a new rule that everyone must shower after PE, which Sam does everything to avoid.

Guidance counsellor Mr. Rosso turns out to be the lead singer of which hot local band?

The freaks buy IDs from Millie's brother to get into the bar, then walk in to find their counsellor fronting the band.

Nick professes his love for Lindsay with a performance of which Styx song?

It leaves her more bewildered than lovestruck, and she soon confides to her mother that she wants out.

Cindy Sanders, Sam's crush, ends up dating which star basketball player?

Sam stands by her as a friend, dons the team costume to get closer, and finally dates her only to find her rude and demanding.

Shia LaBeouf appeared as Herbert, who holds what job at the school?

When Herbert breaks his arm, Sam takes over the costume in "We've Got Spirit".

The freaks develop sudden school spirit after being beaten up by which rival school's students?

Matt Czuchry, later of Gilmore Girls, played one of the rival students.

In "The Diary", how does Bill protest being stuck in deep right field and picked last?

The coach is angry but listens, and makes Bill captain for the next softball game.

In "Looks and Books", what does Sam buy to impress Cindy?

It draws only ridicule, and Mr. Rosso gives him a talk about where confidence really comes from.

Neal discovers his father's affair by using what to find a house?

The geeks bike around the neighbourhood clicking it, and Neal, alone, sees a door rise on his father's parked car.

Ken's girlfriend Amy, nicknamed "Tuba Girl", actually plays which instrument in the marching band?

They share their first kiss at a laser show at the local laser dome.

Bill ends up in hospital after Alan secretly puts what in his sandwich?

At his bedside a remorseful Alan admits he shares the geeks' interests and only resented them for rejecting him as a kid.

In "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers", Bill is upset to learn Coach Fredricks is dating whom?

The two met during Bill's allergic reaction; the coach's go-kart peace offering ends with Bill crashing.

Coach Ben Fredricks was played by which actor, better known as Biff Tannen in Back to the Future?

He also, off the record, explains a dirty joke to Sam in the sex-education episode.

After Lindsay and Kim run over Millie's dog, grieving Millie joins the freaks to see which band?

Kim confesses just as Millie is about to drink her first beer, and Millie snaps back to her old self.

Neal copes with his father's infidelity by throwing himself into which hobby?

Forced to perform at his father's party for dental clients, he makes cruel jokes about his dad, then tearfully tells Mrs. Schweiber, who already knows.

In "The Little Things", Ken questions his relationship after Amy reveals what?

The network let the storyline through only because it had already given up on the show; Sam talks Ken round in the school restroom.

Which vice president visits the school in "The Little Things", and gets a defiant question from Lindsay?

His staff had censored her planned question and told her to ask about his favourite restaurant instead.

In the finale, Daniel is punished for trying to pull the fire alarm by being made to join which club?

Its only members are the geeks, who thaw enough to invite him to game night.

In the final episode, the geeks invite Daniel to play which game, at which he unexpectedly excels?

Around the same time Nick is secretly training for a disco competition with new girlfriend Sara.

Which actress played Sara, the girl who teaches Nick to disco dance in the finale?

Lindsay and the freaks find out about the relationship by chance.

In the finale, Mr. Rosso gives Lindsay his copy of American Beauty, an album by which band?

She bonds with the record, and the series ends with her and Kim heading off with two Deadhead classmates.

Lindsay pretends to leave for a two-week academic summit at which institution before getting off the bus?

She disembarks at the next stop, where Kim and two Deadhead classmates are waiting.

The series ends with Lindsay, Kim and two classmates leaving for a run of concerts in which state?

The creator later said Lindsay would have followed the band for years before settling down.

Ben Stiller's cameo on the show was as what?

He appears in the vice-presidential visit episode; the creator had acted alongside Stiller in the 1995 film Heavyweights.

Jason Schwartzman played Howie Gelfand, a disco-shop assistant who dealt in what?

His boss Joel, the shop manager and occasional DJ, was played by Mystery Science Theater 3000 creator Joel Hodgson.

Leslie Mann guest-starred on the show as what?

Kevin Corrigan, David Krumholtz and Alexander Gould also passed through in small parts.

The producers refused the network's suggestion to cast which pop star as a waitress in one episode?

They felt stunt casting would puncture the show's realism.

Which hit game show was Freaks and Geeks scheduled against, one reason it never found an audience?

It averaged under 7 million viewers while Friends and Frasier were pulling more than 14 million each.

According to the executive producer, why would the network not share the URL of the show's website?

In his words, "they didn't want people to know the Internet existed".

In February 2000 the cast spent a week on a Louie Anderson-hosted game show against the cast of which WB teen drama?

The show was Family Feud, and the rival cast came from a high-school satire that outlasted this one by a season.

Which company finally released the series on DVD in 2004 with all its original music intact?

Fans who signed the online petition got first dibs on a limited "yearbook edition" with two extra discs.

The show's only Emmy win came in which category?

The creator was nominated twice for writing, for the pilot and the finale, and lost both.

According to the creator's plan for a second season, Lindsay would eventually have become what?

Sam would have joined the drama club, Neal a swing choir, and Kim would have got pregnant on the road.

Which one-season college sitcom did the executive producer make next, using many of the same actors?

Rogen, Segel, Levine, Starr and Philipps all turned up in new roles; it aired on Fox in 2001-02.

The show's creator went on to direct which 2011 hit comedy?

Made for $32.5 million, it grossed over $288 million and began his run of films with Melissa McCarthy.

Freaks and Geeks: The Documentary premiered in 2018 at which film festival?

Directed by Brent Hodge, it made its TV debut on A&E that July.

Which screenwriter played Kim Kelly's oft-discussed injured brother, first seen in 'Kim Kelly Is My Friend'?

Several writers appeared on screen; Paul Feig and Gabe Sachs even played uncredited members of the band Dimension.

To which studio did Judd Apatow sell Paul Feig's spec pilot script before it went to NBC?

Apatow was under an overall deal there; in 2006 the show's ownership passed to Viacom, now Paramount Skydance, with the rest of the studio's TV catalogue.