After months of sitting forlornly on my keyword list, TIVO finally picked up an episode of "Freaks and Geeks" last night. It was the first episode, so I assume that's a prelude to further episodes being aired.
Just FYI in case anyone missed this (cancelled) show and wanted to catch up.
I'm still furious at Fox for not only cancelling Undeclared -- Apatow's VERY funny sitcom that followed Freaks and Geeks -- but sitting on 12 episodes without showing them.
"Hmm... No laugh track. Must not be funny." Joe Trailer Park / Nielson Family Member
12? I thought it was just one episode, number 12. "God Arrives" I think it was called. Anyhow, both shows "Freaks And Geeks" and "Undeclared" are sadly missed by me. Anyone who saw Linda Cardinelli in Scooby Doo now knows what they were missing by staying away from F&G. She was gorgeous then and is simply stunning now...Originally Posted by DennyA
That's actually my quote. I need a sort of mass fanaticism to be convulsing all around me to actually electro-paddle my brain into any sort of human action that doesn't involve beating my cycloptic sister-wife until she brings me another Milwaukee's Best.
Consequently, I think the laugh-track is a great invention. I often find myself wishing comedies and movies had one. After all, laughter is a communicable thing - one theory on the purpose of laughter is that it was used by tribes to communicate when things were wrong or different. For me, that doesn't explain the huge gap between my man-monkey ancestors laughing during a solar eclipse and me land my friends laughing when Chris Farley has an epileptic seizure while small children simultaneously latch onto his testicles. But based on my communal Chris Farley experience, I'm still willing to believe that solar eclipses are a hell of a lot funnier if there's a bunch of you laughing.
Or another example: look at how the laugh-track to Hogan's Heroes made the grim-faced genocide of the Holocaust into a laff riot.
Basically, if a laugh-track can make the systematic liquidation of the Jews hilarious, which isn't really funny if you think about it, it has to be able to make "Sister, Sister" (which isn't funny no matter how you think about it) at least mildly entertaining. Without mentally stripping down the twins into their panties and making them sass each other out in Cleopatra-Jones style jive, that is.
C-Span needs a laughtrack.
'I'm still furious at Fox for not only cancelling Undeclared -- Apatow's VERY funny sitcom that followed Freaks and Geeks -- but sitting on 12 episodes without showing them.'
Slate had a pretty good article about how hard it is for a show about college to catch on:
http://slate.msn.com/?id=117119
Here's a leaked nasty email exchange between Apatow and Mark Brazil, the creator of "That 70's Show".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark,
I am writing you because I left a message but did not hear back. I
understand from Gail Berman that you were upset about me not calling
you to ask if Topher could do our show. Since Fox executives were talking to Topher about it I thought it was cool with you. Also, since I hadn't written it yet, I wasn't at the point of asking if it was possible to
have him do it. I would have called your show then. I mentioned the names of several people who were interested in doing cameos on our show to the Variety guy. They decided to only mention Topher. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. I didn't realize it would create a problem. I never wished to offend you. If there is some protocol to people on Fox doing guest shots on other Fox shows, I didn't know what it was. Regardless, I'm sorry that this resulted in such a mess. If you are mad at me about this or something else from our past, please tell me. I only remember us having fun in the early nineties and it troubles me that it seems like you have a beef with me.
Best regards,
Judd Apatow
Judd,
Yeah, we were friends in the early nineties. And if you don't recall
what happened, I'll remind you. I had a pilot at MTV called "Yard Dogs" about a rock band living in Hollywood. I told you about it and you proceeded to completely rip it off, storyline and all, for the Ben Stiller show.
You called it "Grungies." MTV and UTA were working on an overall deal
(MTV's idea) with me, based on that pilot. When it turned up on your show everything went away overnight. I had just had my son Jack and I had
no job, no money, nothing. There's a saying, "I forgive but I don't
forget. And I don't forgive." So, now you know. Although I kind of think that you already did.
-Mark
Mark,
I truly don't remember anything you are talking about. Jeff Kahn wrote
The Grungies sketch, a parody where we did Seattle bands as The Monkey's. I don't remember you ever calling me after that saying you were mad. Ben and I would get fifty sketches a week from the writers and then we'd pick the one's that we thought were funny. I never connected the two. Even now they don't seem similar. Ours was a goofy over the top parody, not a situation comedy about musicians in LA. Nobody watched our show so I don't see how that could be the reason your pilot died. That sketch aired once up against 60 Minutes, so it didn't have any impact in town. I am sorry you are upset.
I am not a thief of ideas. I'm sorry you believe differently.
Judd Apatow
Judd,
The show I wrote was also over the top and it let down the fourth
wall. Since it's registered at the WGA, you could compare the two. And as an Exec Producer, we both know you have input into every sketch. As for no one seeing the show everyone knows everything in Hollywood. There are no secrets. Personally, I feel you've made a career out of being a
sycophant to Carrey or Shandling or Roseanne and when you weren't kissing ass, you were stealing from lesser known comics or leeching off other people's ideas (Celtic Pride, Cable Guy). I noticed how outraged you were to not get a writing credit on Cable Guy until it came out and was panned. You dropped that cause like the showbiz weasel you are. You may not think you're a thief but most comics know otherwise. And again, you know that too. Have you ever read "What Makes Sammy Run"? I think you'd like it. Get cancer.
Love,
Mark
Mark,
Come on, we all wrote for comics at the beginning of our careers. I
wrote for Roseanne, you wrote for Dennis Miller. If that makes me a
sycophant, then I guess I am. And so are the writers for Caesar's Hour. I dropped my Cable Guy law suit not because the film got bad reviews, but because I spent eighty grand on it and my lawyer told me I was going to lose. You would be upset if you re-wrote the vast majority of a script and received no credit.
I wish you had called me about this years ago. I'm sure we could have worked it out. Try not to be so angry. Not everyone is as bad as you think. You should call Jeff Kahn and ask him how that sketch originated.
If it turned out that I didn't steal your idea would you still want me
to get cancer? I swear to God that I didn't know you were mad about this. Until six weeks ago I was still referring to you as an old friend.
Maybe one day I'll be able to say that again.
Judd Apatow
Mark,
It's come to my attention that you are upset with Judd Apatow about
the sketch, "The Grungies." I completely understand why you would have
been pissed off about seeing something similar to what you were working on at the time. However, the idea for, "The Grungies," and all the initial
writing and rewriting came from me. I also cast it, acted in it and edited it.
I was and still am influenced by pop music and I thought it would be
funny to satirize the seriousness of the Seattle grunge music scene with the ridiculous superficiality of "The Monkees" 1960s show. I hope that
this clears up any misunderstanding.
By the way, I am a huge fan of "That 70's Show." Congratulations on
its well deserved success. I also think it's cool you set it in Wisconsin.
I went to the University of Wisconsin at Madison and loved it.
If you have any other questions don't hesitate to E-mail me.
-Jeff Kahn
Mark,
I have no interest in talking with you on the phone any more. I know
you are very successful and think that gives you the right to judge people
and berate them regardless of the facts, but I have had enough of you for
one day. I know it's hard to believe that your rock band TV idea, which
every writer in this town has thought of at one point, was not on my mind half a year after you told it to me. Yes, you thought of breaking the fourth
wall. Groucho and George Burns stole it from you. Maybe you should sue
Bernie Mac. Why don't you sue the guys who have that new show "How To Be A Rock Star" on the WB. I must have told them your idea. Nobody has ever goofed on rock bands, not Spinal Tap or The Rutles or 800 Saturday Night Live sketches. I should have told everyone on the show, no rock band sketches, that's Brazil's area. So hold on to your hate and rage, even though it makes no sense. I'll go back to my life of thievery and leaching. As for the cancer, I'll wait till you get it and then steal it from you. By the way, that joke was one of my writer's, Rodney Rothman (see I credited him).
See, I have no original thoughts. Sorry I bothered to figure this out.
Judd
Judd,
How appropriate that you had to use someone else's joke to take a swipe
at me. I told you my idea. You did it two weeks later, VERBATIM. Spew revisionist shit all you want. Everyone knows you're a hack. Also, everyone knows how you fucked over Paul Feig on the new show. All your press mentions"your" brilliant Freaks and Geeks, as if Feig didn't even do the series.
It must have killed you when the true genius behind it got nominated for
an Emmy. Is your wife still livid about someone in the neighborhood
building a house just like hers? Tell her I know how she feels. The reason I
called was to tell you to piss off. We'll never be "friends", regardless of
the pussy whining from your last e-mail. I respect you zero.
See ya at the upfronts, bitch!
Well...unless you get canceled before that.
Until then, die in a fiery accident and taste your own blood.
(Is that too angry?)
Love, Brazill
Mark,
I hope your anger is a joke, because if it isn't...wow. Here's a line
by line reply. I have starred (*) the replies if you are confused by my format.
How appropriate that you had to use someone else's joke to take a swipe
at me.
***That was the joke. How interesting that you couldn't understand
that. You would think someone with the lineage of "Yard Dogs" would have the intellectual acumen to pick up on that. I feel for the writers that
have to pitch to you. Never doubt how much they hate you.
I told you my idea. You did it two weeks later, VERBATIM. Spew revisionist shit all you want.
***How could I hear your idea, steal it, and then have it air two
weeks later? It was a filmed sketch show . Sketches were written months
before they aired. They were filmed six weeks before they aired. I thought
you were a producer. Shouldn't you understand how these shows are made? Do you start writing episodes two weeks before they air? Maybe you stole "Yard Dogs" from me.
Everyone knows you're a hack.
***That's why I kiss the ass. Let me know who thinks I am a hack so I
can kiss their ass as well. I also suck dick lately. That's how I got my Dreamworks deal.
Also, everyone knows how you fucked over Paul Feig on the new show. All your press mentions"your" brilliant Freaks and Geeks, as if Feig didn't even do the series. It must have killed you when the true genius behind it got nominated for an Emmy.
***I'm sure it's hard for you to believe, but I do not control the
national media. That is only true in your paranoid mind. If I create a show
they often mention the last show. If you create a new show by yourself, I
doubt they will spend a lot of time talking about the Turners. When they
write about "That 80's Show" I am sure they won't ever mention "That 70's
Show." I wrote an entire article in the LA Times, a cover story in the
calendar, that credited Paul for his work. He went from a struggling actor to an established writer/producer over the course of a year. He is still my friend and I am very happy that he was nominated for two Emmy's. He deserved it. I wasn't upset about his Emmy nominations, I already have enough. The certificates are so big you can only hang so many before
it starts looking tacky.
Is your wife still livid about someone in the neighborhood building a house just like hers?
*** Yes.
Tell her I know how she feels.
***I'm on it.
The reason I called was to tell you to piss off. We'll never be "friends," regardless of the pussy whining from your last e-mail.
***The funniest part of these e mails is how bad your sense of humor
is. You neither get nor can tell a joke. After you said "get cancer" did
you really think I was looking to heal our relationship? Usually the
cancer insult is a closer. I'm sure everyone who has suffered with that appreciates your sharp wit.
I respect you zero.
***Oh no.
See ya at the upfronts, bitch!
Well...unless you get canceled before that.
***If you think cancellation hurts me at this point, you haven't been following my career as closely as I thought. I guess you are too busy tracking my real estate problems.
Until then, die in a fiery accident and taste your own blood.
***That's a Sam Kinison line you stupid fuck!!!! Hypocrite!!!! J'accuse!!!!
(Is that too angry?)
Love, Brazill
***Mark, I have enjoyed this. It's good to see the tragedies of the
past few months haven't watered down your passion. I guess if Mark Brazill doesn't go insane over stuff that makes no sense, the terrorists win. Good luck with "That 80's Show." And I look forward to "That 90's
Show."
Judd Apatow
There really is nothing more pathetic than two screenwriters having a catfight.
Since it's screenwriters for bad television shows, yes.
You really think Freaks & Geeks was bad?
Excellent. I think I'll make that my sig.Until then, die in a fiery accident and taste your own blood.
Tivo picked up another episode, so it is definitely showing. As Billy Wilson would say, FYMF'inI
I haven't seen Freaks & Geeks, but I'm damn sure That 70's Show is bad.
Ok Jason, that means you were half right. Apatow is the talented half of the above argument and I think he comes across that way. Um... barely.
Not as bad as "That 80's Show."
And I loved the 80's, man...
WoW! How in the world does that get leaked? It's like a Hollywood "Smoking Gun" find.
Just imagine the shit that goes on via email in "The Biz" now that people can bitch at each other immediately, while they are at the height of their anger, and can say everything they want to without having to say it face to face.
BTW, I thought "That 70's Show" was going to suck when I first saw the promos, but I think it's pretty funny. The "80's" version sucks ass even with the lesbian thrown in. How lame is that? I do not think lipstick lesbians were as cool in the 80's as potrayed on the show. Sure, today it's all the rage, but in the 80's, nope.
Yeah, That 70's Show is surprisingly good. Pretty funny when they're in the basement smoking dope and the camera pans around.
So one of those two guys leaked that email. I'd guess it was the guy on the receiving end trying to show what an asshole the other guy is. Entertaining stuff.
Arise!
Paul Feig is holding forth on Freaks and Geeks over at the A.V. Club. Part 1 is here. It's a good read, and inspires me to rewatch the series.
"This party ruled!"
Wow... 4 months shy of a 10 year necro. Well done! I didn't even notice until seeing the Guest login.
Also, the email chain has got to be a joke right? Do people really get that worked up in emails, instead of just forums where they have an audience?
These creative types...they do give a damn about their bad reputations.
Shit, that is some serious thread necro. Loved F&G though.
Yes, people get that worked up in emails. The email exchange above is relatively tame for the (apparent)level of animosity between the two people in question.
I could show you some emails between my ex and I that make that email exchange look tame, rational, and concise. Don't worry I won't.
Arise again! Some pics from the Freaks & Geeks cast reunion:
Linda Cardellini needs to get more work. The one thing no one ever seems to mention enough about the Freaks & Geeks cast is how much better than nearly everyone else in it she is.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/osc...eaks-and-geeks
Season 2:
Sam Weir (John Francis Daley)
Sam’s future was going to be drama club. Because that was my experience in school: I got deep into drama club. That was the storyline I was most excited about, because I was going to portray what actually happened to me. I thought he’d be more on the stage crew than actually performing, just because that was kind of interesting, the guys that were keeping it together from behind the scenes. But my drama teacher, who was one of the biggest influences on my life creatively, was an alcoholic, and over the course of my sophomore through senior year, she got worse and worse and started depending on me. I’d get called away from class under the guise of an emergency, and it would be her on the phone saying, “You’ve got to come pick me up. I left my car at the bar last night.” So I was really excited to get that going, this weird kind of taking-care-of-an-adult relationship, while he’s still learning amazing stuff from her, this tortured drama-teacher soul. That bummed me out the most, not getting to play that story out.
I knew Judd pretty well in High School and I actually worked for him at our HS radio station. So much of F&G is a huge flashback for me. He was the funniest, sarcastic and most intense person I knew. I wasn't surprised at all when he became successful.
Linda Cardellini also seems to be getting hotter with age.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
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