I’ll be the first to admit that watching "Freaks and Geeks" never seemed to land high up on my to-do list. That is until I actually committed to watching the first episode of the show while trapped inside on a rainy day, and I found myself unable to stop. Many friends throughout the last year assured me the show was a must-see, but nothing appealing came to mind when I imagined sitting through yet another high school sitcom. I assumed it would be similar to watching "Gossip Girl" or "One Tree Hill," series in which the most popular kids in school whine about boyfriends and girlfriends and all of the other crushing problems they don’t actually have. OK, I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t watch them regardless of their obvious unrealistic qualities. However, when I thought about my experiences in high school compared to the ones dancing before me in pretty packages in these series, I never really felt like one of them. "Freaks and Geeks," on the other hand, is extremely relatable, maybe even alarmingly so.

The worst thing about "Freaks and Geeks" is that it was cancelled after one short season. That leaves us with only 18 episodes to cherish, each one chronicling the latest shenanigans from the group of truant burnouts (the freaks) or the lanky, science-fiction-loving jock prey (the geeks). The show’s all-star cast is pretty enticing in itself. James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Phillips and Linda Cardellini all got their start on this show and went on to wildly successful careers in television and film.

This show about high school outcasts has a hard-to-find sense of realism. Neither the freaks nor the geeks triumph very often, but it’s perfect because of that. The show stays true to the fact that in high school, you pretty much never win if you aren’t a jock or a cheerleader. Paul Fieg (creator), Judd Apatow (executive producer) and the writers based it on events that actually happened to them in high school, and the result is hilarious. The show, set in 1980, perfectly fuses dramatic tension and comedic relief. It deals with serious issues such as Neil’s cheating father and Ken’s girlfriend’s deepest, darkest secret, while also creating laughter in every episode with the geeks’ painfully socially unaware commentary and the freaks’ ballsy, misguided endeavors.

The characters of this show all have unique traits, making them irreplaceable. Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini), the show’s central character, is a sophomore at William McKinley High. She precariously teeters between her former identity as a valued mathlete and the badass reputation she’s forming for herself with her new friends: the freaks. Lindsay is the most relatable character I’ve seen in any high school series yet. She represents the quest for self-discovery that so many high schoolers navigate in the same confused manner. She’s that person who agrees to go to the wild party, but has made a bunch of responsible preparations beforehand. Although the show follows her in her time spent as a member of the freak crew, she is always just a little bit above them because she’s crazy intelligent, and the rest of the freaks are well aware of that. Yet, she still establishes a spot in their clique. Also, this show wouldn't have been the same if not for her distressed army jacket that I'm pretty sure appeared in every episode.

Lindsay's little brother, Sam (John Francis Daley), is a freshman at the same school. Unlike Lindsay, Sam is an incorrigible geek. His childlike body doesn't help him in the slightest when he tries to stand up to his jock bullies. His facial expressions are priceless, and his outfits always look like his mom laid them out the night before. My favorite aspect of his story line is his impossible crush on Cindy Sanders. He obsesses over her and is consistently friend-zoned until he finally gets his chance when Cindy decides she wants to date a nice guy. Turns out, Cindy is completely boring, and a hardcore Republican. Sam realizes that a pretty face isn't enough for a girl to be the one, but his pursuit of Cindy was pretty hilarious. One of my favorite scenes was Sam rocking out in front of his mirror after a disco-loving retail salesman convinced him to buy a Parisian night suit to impress the girl of his dreams.

"Oh, OH!" I'll admit that I've done the same thing many times.

The troop of loyal geeks that accompany Sam in many of his blunders are best described as dorkily lovable. His two best friends, Neil Schweiber (Samm Levine) and Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr), are regular sidekicks, and the group is sometimes rounded out by overweight, odorous Gordon Crisp and Harris Trinsky, the messiah of the geeks. Neil dresses like a fifty year old man and is way too overconfident considering his geek status. He's that person who is overly assured in his corny dinner jokes and tries to teach his friends kissing strategies although he has never been in close proximity to a female before. Neil was that character who initially came off as annoying and entitled, but certain events in his life made you feel bad for the kid. I couldn't help but cringe in embarrassment for Neil when he made his friends ride around on bicycles to find the garage that opened for the remote he had found in his cheating father's car. He also had a huge thing for Lindsay, and that was obviously never going to happen. Poor Neil.

My favorite geek and overall favorite character on the show is, without a doubt, Bill Haverchuck. Gangly Bill is the almighty human manifestation of awkward. Everything he says and does has a way of making me laugh. Bill's character is enough reason in itself to watch this show. He talks like he's a little slow, is allergic to life, and rocks a turtleneck to his first spin-the-bottle party. I liked Bill from the start, but my liking changed to full blown infatuation when he got into character as the Bionic Woman in the Halloween episode. His home life was a little lonely, and that made me sympathize with him. I felt bad for him many times in the show. He was just way too easy of a target for the brutal jocks of gym class. Although his character was pretty goofy, he offered some profound thoughts on social life - "I think people treat you nicer when you're pretty," and, "You couldn't be in love with someone you couldn't cut the cheese in front of" are both inarguably true. Bill's that guy you hope comes to the reunion because it would be hilarious, tragic, and twistedly expected if he hadn't changed a bit.

This is my favorite clip of Bill during a typical afternoon at home:

On the other end of the outsider spectrum are the freaks - still socially outcast, but few would dare mess with this tough crew. Not that anyone besides Daniel (James Franco) is actually tough, and even his hard-edge demeanor wavers at times. Nick (Jason Segel) and Ken (Seth Rogen) seem more like giant teddy bears than bullies. The freaks are accompanied by Daniel's trucker-mouthed girlfriend, Kim Kelly (Busy Phillips), and Lindsay is the group's new misfit recruit at the beginning of the series. The people that constitute the freaks are some of the most misunderstood at William McKinley High. They are undeniable magnets for trouble, but most of the time they're just trying to make a statement. They refuse to conform with the rest of the student body, which provides them their feared air of recklessness. Inside, they conceal tremendous pain. Their home lives suck, and their futures are precarious and unpredictable. The freaks' effortlessly battered style and killer taste in music add to the Carter/Reagan era reject feel of the show. The aesthetic value offered here is hard to come by, mostly because nobody can rock greasy hair and a flannel as well as James Franco.

"Freaks and Geeks" provides a glimpse into what it was like to be a teenager before technology played such a large role in our daily interactions. Although it lacks one of the aspects that defines millennials today, it is still eerily relatable. It deals with the indecisiveness and insecurity that accompanies coming of age, something that anyone who has abandoned the safety of childhood can identify with. The only thing I will never understand is why it was only given one season when that one season was such absolute, pure perfection.