Before Judd Apatow (The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad) ruled Hollywood with his signature brand of adolescent dude humor, he was producing the less successful, but somewhat-less gender-biased Freaks and Geeks. The show depicted the lives of a group of gawky high school students in 1980. It aired on NBC from 1999-2000. Yes, like many a brilliant dramedy before it, Freaks and Geeks was canceled after just one year.

But what a year it was! Lucky for fans of painfully perceptive shows about the high school experience, Freaks and Geeks, which featured future Apatow mainstays Seth Rogen and Martin Starr, will be reissued in October on DVD in its bonus-filled Yearbook Edition (Shout, $169.99), marking the second time this version of the cult show hits DVD. (Suppose it has something to do with the newfound popularity of Rogen and Starr?)

If Apatow’s gross-out humor doesn’t make you chuckle, fear not: Freaks and Geeks was really a vehicle for the underrated Linda Cardellini (Scooby-Doo). Cardellini portrays Lindsay, an honor roll student whose academic decline serves as the show’s backdrop. You know you’re going to see some hellbent teenage rebellion with a show whose opening credits blast Joan Jett & The Blackhearts’ "Bad Reputation." … continue reading