This is a completely random post but I just needed to share.

Today I popped in a DVD while doing stuff around the house was reminded once again of exactly why I will always think Freaks and Geeks was one of the best shows ever put on TV:

Come on, you have to admit that's genius. Damn short-sighted, unoriginal network TV for not realizing it had a treasure on its hands and choosing to cancel this show. It was the only show I ever saw that even came close to approximating the real emotions and hideously ugly and shockingly beautiful things kids experience during high school age. And man, did they capture the feel of 1980. Plus, the kids LOOK like kids really look in high school--those, tiny, pre-pubescent freshmen contrasting with those big, post-pubescent seniors all desperately trying to act like they're oh-so-totally comfortable with their newly adult bodies...

I also have a soft spot for the character Lindsay, who was a lot like me growing up--a girl who was both nice and smart and hopelessly frustrated with the preconceptions everyone around her attached to those adjectives for girls. Watching her character struggle to find and grab onto something--anything--else that might provide a little breathing space of difference in a suburban community that really didn't offer much in the way of alternatives often had me feeling like I was watching my own high school self right there on the screen.

But most of all, man did the show make me laugh. And that's what I love about it the most. I've been laughing all day watching it.

If you've never seen the series, rent it on DVD, or better yet, buy the special edition box set, which is some of the coolest DVD packaging I've ever seen.

I was delighted to learn recently that my one of my favorite shows of all time (radio or otherwise), This American Life, is now also going to be on television. They've done a series for Showtime, which premiers on Thursday, March 22. Thought I'd give them a little free promotion, since I love them so much.

I've been listening to the show for years, and it has long been one of the most intelligent, thought-provoking, funny, quirky, unpredictable, and just plain entertaining programs I've ever had the pleasure to encounter. If you've not heard of it before, the combined promo taglines they're using on Showtime pretty much sums up what the show's about: "Unexpected stories--from real people--that happen to be true." Each week on their radio show, they take a theme, such as "Superpowers" or "Kid Logic" or "Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time" and bring you odd, unusual, real-life stories and interviews with Americans doing things related to that theme. Could be anyone from an artist to a soldier to a prison inmate to a six-year-old to David Sedaris. There is also the occasional piece of short fiction included. Each episode is a delight. If you haven't listened, check out their archives.

But how well does it translate to television? When I first heard a TV version was imminent, I had my doubts they could ever get the same feel through visual means. So much of the radio show relies on the leaps of imagination and emotional resonance that sound without image provokes.

Well, I'm happy to say they've worked a miracle. Even though the show isn't officially on the air until March 22, they've got the first episode up on OnDemand and I watched it last night. They've somehow managed to capture and maintain the feel of the radio program very well. Plus, it's simply visually stunning. Have a peek to see what I mean:

(You can also watch this and other trailers at the Showtime site here.)

The creative team working on it obviously took great pains to make sure nothing would be lost in the visual version of the show, and they've succeeded. I'm sure this is due in part to the fact that all the major players on the radio show were involved in the writing and production of the TV show. Clearly, they made sure no one messed with their baby. Good for them.

Plus, an added bonus is that Ira Glass, the long-time host of the radio show, is on camera narrating between stories. I'd never seen him before. Turns out he's just a hunka hunka burnin' alterna-geekboy-with-hipster-specs. Never thought I'd hear these two words emerge together from my lips, but, "Mmmmm....Ira." Gimme.

The only criticism I have of the TV edition of the show is that Showtime should have let them make it a full hour, just like the radio show is, rather than just a half hour. It was over too soon and I wanted more. Maybe next season they'll be able to expand. Till then, I expect to fully enjoy it. I highly recommend you do, too.

Damn Showtime for coming out with Weeds and now this. I really need to cut back on my cable bill, and this is going to make it impossible for me to get rid of Showtime now...

I've been waiting to see the new HBO show Flight of the Conchords ever since they started showing the teasers last month. It just looked random and funny in a bizarre, dry humor kind of way; and one of the guys looks like a Kiwi David Cross, and that's always a good thing...rrrawrrrr. (Yeah, I know, I have weird taste.)

Anyway, looks like MySpace is featuring the first episode before it actually airs next month. I watched it, and it met expectation. It's a great blend of deadpan humor and odd folk/rock music parody. Wanna watch the whole first episode free? Click play below. Or if that doesn't work for some reason, go here.

(Note: wait for the credits--the "solo" there left me cracking up (don't want to say more, or it'll spoil it).

Flight of the Conchords - Pilot

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Edit: I accidentally said the one guy looked like David CHASE (Sopranos creator) when I meant David CROSS (comedic actor). Mistake fixed, but David Chase, if you're reading this, you're still hot, too, honey, never fret.