Kind of shocked there aren't any user reviews of what ultimately turned out to be the last episode of the greatest "one-season" show in TV history. I guess I'll just have to crank one out.
I caught it again last night on The Sundance Channel, and it pretty much encapsulates all of which was great about this show (i.e. excellent period re-creation, and cringe-worthy laugh out-loud dialog set to a great soundtrack).
The geeks hold their famous Dungeons & Dragons game, and somehow rope James Franco (as the coolest freak Daniel) who they met in the A/V club where Dan was serving detention, to show up. Amazingly, Daniel seems to have fun bonding with the geeks and tells them so, even though they're nursing Faygo soda as the night's drink of choice. The geeks take this as a plus, and they just might be getting a teeny bit cooler (in their minds, anyway).
Meanwhile, Jason Segel as Nick has quit smokin' weed, and has hooked up with a new babe (Lizzy Caplan's Sara) but still pines for Lindsay. Sara has got him entering a dance contest at the local bowling alley/disco club, which fortunately was a short-lived phenomenon of early-80's suburbia. Even though Nick can't come close to competing with a disco dancing magician, he gives it his best shot in a dance which gets more painful each time I view it. Of course, Seth Rogen as Ken (sporting some bitchin' sideburns he seemed to have copped from Springsteen's "The River" album cover) shows up to heckle all that was disco, including Joel Hodgson reprising his role as the smarmy mall store manager, now moonlighting and spinning Gloria Gaynor records.
Finally, Linda Cardellini as Lindsay has duped her parents into thinking she's heading to an academic summit in Ann Arbor when summer starts, when in fact she gets off the bus at the Univ. of Mich. terminal and quickly hops into a late 60's VW van, heading out on The Golden Road to follow The Grateful Dead on tour with Kim and another couple, all to the calming tones of Jerry G. crooning Ripple off "American Beauty". It was enough to get a cynical, middle-aged guy a small lump in his throat.
I caught it again last night on The Sundance Channel, and it pretty much encapsulates all of which was great about this show (i.e. excellent period re-creation, and cringe-worthy laugh out-loud dialog set to a great soundtrack).
The geeks hold their famous Dungeons & Dragons game, and somehow rope James Franco (as the coolest freak Daniel) who they met in the A/V club where Dan was serving detention, to show up. Amazingly, Daniel seems to have fun bonding with the geeks and tells them so, even though they're nursing Faygo soda as the night's drink of choice. The geeks take this as a plus, and they just might be getting a teeny bit cooler (in their minds, anyway).
Meanwhile, Jason Segel as Nick has quit smokin' weed, and has hooked up with a new babe (Lizzy Caplan's Sara) but still pines for Lindsay. Sara has got him entering a dance contest at the local bowling alley/disco club, which fortunately was a short-lived phenomenon of early-80's suburbia. Even though Nick can't come close to competing with a disco dancing magician, he gives it his best shot in a dance which gets more painful each time I view it. Of course, Seth Rogen as Ken (sporting some bitchin' sideburns he seemed to have copped from Springsteen's "The River" album cover) shows up to heckle all that was disco, including Joel Hodgson reprising his role as the smarmy mall store manager, now moonlighting and spinning Gloria Gaynor records.
Finally, Linda Cardellini as Lindsay has duped her parents into thinking she's heading to an academic summit in Ann Arbor when summer starts, when in fact she gets off the bus at the Univ. of Mich. terminal and quickly hops into a late 60's VW van, heading out on The Golden Road to follow The Grateful Dead on tour with Kim and another couple, all to the calming tones of Jerry G. crooning Ripple off "American Beauty". It was enough to get a cynical, middle-aged guy a small lump in his throat.