There isn't a day that goes by that one small part of my brain fails to wish for a hidden cache to be found containing never-seen-before episodes of Freaks and Geeks, even though none of the cast or crew has ever hinted at more episodes existing. Well, that hasn't happened yet, but star John Francis Daley dropped a handful of behind-the-scenes photos from the show that I've probably never seen before, and now I just want to start mourning this show's 16-year-old cancellation all over again. Check them out!
The best of the bunch, as far as the heartstrings are concerned, is the shot of John Francis Daley laying across the lap of his TV sibling Linda Cardellini. Lindsay and Sam Weir didn't always get along, with their close ages conflicting with their wildly different interests (at least as far as Lindsay's rebel year went), but they remain one of the best brother/sister combinations in TV. I like to think that they, along with Wonder Years siblings Kevin and Karen, would be fantastic friends in adulthood. (Unlike Cardellini's current fictional family situation on Netflix's Bloodline.)
Then we have the shot of bow-legged Daley going all freak-out in the middle of William McKinley High, as co-star Jason Segel looks on amused in the background. Both of these guys look almost cartoonishly young here, especially for anyone who watched the actors go through adulthood on TV - Daley on Bones and Segel on How I Met Your Mother. Fun fact: that is exactly the pose and scream-face I'd make if the impossible-to-accomplish Freaks and Geeks Season 2 ever got announced. (I think they could do it like Wet Hot American Summer did for their Netflix series and just pretend they're all young again.)
And I'll end with the lovely on-set shot of not-yet-wildly-famous Judd Apatow talking with the show's titular geeks: Daley, Samm Levine and Martin Starr. It's unreal how much Hollywood influence and talent is in this shot, given how big their careers have gotten. In fact, when putting the Vacation reboot together, John Francis Daley had the plan to include Levine and Starr for an onscreen reunion, but it ended up falling through. One day...
Daley shared the photos on his Twitter page, crediting Freaks and Geeks writer Gabe Sachs with taking the photos. Let's all give Sachs a big round of applause right now for giving us a mental trip back to the lovely past of the 1980s in 2000. He's the creator of the current medical drama Night Shift, which will air the second part of its two-part Season 3 finale on Wednesday, August 31.
So while these images don't completely heal our woes, they do offer us the inspiration to go back and watch its 18-episode entirety (which can be found on Netflix). Sing with me: "I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation!"
