Friday, October 12, 2007

Random thoughts about a great show

I've always thought that the real way to gauge the quality of something is if you’re immensely thankful that it actually exists. When it comes to my all time favorite things, every time that I pop in that CD or DVD, it occurs to me that no matter what happens, it will always exist. Long after all of the people involved have left this earth, what they have created will always be here. It happens every time I put in a Dylan album or watch something like The 400 Blows.


Case in point: Freaks and Geeks. I watched the show during its brief run, and, since it was many years before it was officially released, I ended up buying copies of the show on eBay. Back then, I figured this would be the only way I’d ever get to own the show. I didn't care about the shitty quality – the fact that I was even able to watch it was a great thing. I vehemently recommended the show to friends, and I estimate that in my first few years of high school I made over 25 copies of the show for many people.


It was to my immense surprise and joy, of course, that the show was released on DVD in my senior year. The excitement of being able to have perfect copies of this show may seem silly, but it’s great to know that it will always be there -- it’s a strange comfort thing, I suppose.
As with most of your favorite things, you can’t wait to share them with others. I’ve done that with this show already, of course, but it’s great to know that when my kids are high school age, I can pull this out and give it to them their freshman year. This show means a lot to me, and it truly informed my high school years in a way that nothing else did. It’s only fair to try to provide that experience for someone else.

Clips from the series:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My favorite is Bill has the time of his life....by himself.....so funny.....lol