I appreciate the guest post, Ignacio Phillips

When it comes to great teen drama, there are few shows that can measure up to the brilliance of “Freaks and Geeks,” a series that shockingly lasted only one season. Over the course of 17 episodes, this series, which I watch on TV By Direct when I have the chance, wittily portrayed the ups and downs of life in a midwestern town in the early 1980s.

The key players are Sam and Lindsay Weir, who are both very nice teenagers. Sam is a sweet freshman in high school who spends his days palling around with wise-cracking Neil and gangly Bill, who have been his best friends since early childhood. They are extremely nerdy and revel in such activities as setting off rockets, watching “Airplane!” and playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Lindsay is an intelligent junior who is reevaluating her life’s path following the traumatic experience of witnessing the death of her grandmother. She takes up with the “freaks,” a group of teens who don’t really fit in anywhere. Daniel is a typical bad boy, and his girlfriend Kim is bitingly cruel at first, while Nick is kind but perpetually stoned. Eventually, she gets to know them all better, and they influence each other as they struggle through school together.

By turns hilarious and poignant, Freaks and Geeks shows just how tough and rewarding high school can be.