Liars and Saints

  "Freaks and Geeks" is remarkable for so many reasons.  The sequence where one boy discovers that his father is having an affair--and he seeks revenge via "ventriloquist act." The attempt to talk about an intersex character (remember this was 1999). The passage where a mother reads her little girl's diary--and the ensuing discomfort leads to marital changes. We're all used to kids making bad choices, but "F and G" points out that stupidity is just part of the human condition; the guidance counselor is too full of self-regard, the adult party guest is too transparently rude, the intolerant dad is too impatient and dismissive when his son wants to discuss the music industry. For this reason, a more accurate title for the show could be: "Freaks and Geeks and the Adults Who Mistreat Them." I appreciate the NYTimes for putting a spotlight on the role of parents and teachers in this show; it's often overlooked, and it's part of the cha...

 Paul Feig is a name in American homes because of "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat," but I think his best work may have occurred in the "Freaks and Geeks" era. Several seasons before Jason Katims's "Friday Night Lights," Feig was exploring identity and social norms (and, actually, I think Feig's work is sometimes smarter and subtler than FNL). Both Katims and Feig had--and have--an interest in the idea of acting out. In FNL, the Taylor daughter becomes a third wheel in a messy marriage; this is too much to handle, so she "opts out" by crashing her car.  In "Freaks and Geeks," a high-school freshman, Neal, discovers that his father is having an affair. He believes that he can't disclose the info to his mother, because he doesn't want to "ruin a life." So--in a thrilling twist--he takes up ventriloquism. He has an obvious talent; he understands that his role is to say what can't be said, as if he were th...