Call it the tragedy of the century in television programming: Freaks and Geeks lasted only one season. Apparently, Jeremy and I caught most of its 18 episodes when it aired in 1999 and 2000 while we were at seminary. But we’ve been enjoying it again, in all it’s DVD glory, over the past week. It’s one of the best programs ever… The characters are delightfully rich. Where the writers could have stopped at caricaturing Freaks and Geeks, they chose instead to give each one depth — and thus the beauty of this show. My favorite? Bill. If anyone knows what he’s been doing since Freaks and Geeks, let me know. Favorite scene? Sam and his Parisian nightsuit. Someone give the kid an Emmy for that performance!

Band of Brothers is the other DVD series we’re knee-deep in. Having watched it once before and having read Stephen Ambrose’s book, I understand the manueverings of war much better now. This HBO creation is simply outstanding and I highly recommend watching it at some point in your life. It’s television like this that actually makes me wish I was teaching again… History brought to life with such realism and interest. I hope the men of E Company were honored by this depiction of World War II.