This week in tv history – week of Sept. 25

Sunday, September 25th

1999

On this day in 1999, the first episode of the sadly short lived series, “Freaks and Geeks premiered. The series, created by Paul Feig, revolved around the lives of Michigan high schoolers during the 1980’s. The show starred some of the most famous people of today (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini) at very young ages. Each episode followed Lindsay Weir (Cardellini) and her brother Sam (John Francis Daly) as they struggled to fit in at McKinley High School, Lindsay as a junior and Sam as a freshman, each with vastly different friend groups.

I recommend this show first and foremost because it’s one of the most relatable of its kind. It captures real high school experiences, as opposed to those generic and recycled story lines most teen TV characters go through on shows today. Instead, Feig and writer Judd Apatow got their inspiration from their own high school experiences. The show is frequently referred to as one of the best cancelled TV shows of all time and in my personal opinion, it’s timeless.

Monday, September 26th

1969

In 1969, America met a lovely lady and a man named Brady and their blended family in the ’60s and ’70s classic, “The Brady Bunch.” The show ran for five seasons and was about a single mother with three blonde daughters who had just married a widowed father with three sons of his own. The show is typically mocked nowadays for its cheesy jokes and antics, but it’s still referenced and revived every now and then. After the show ended in 1974, there has been a countless number of spin-offs including “The Brady Bunch Hour,” “The Brady Girls Get Married” and “A Very Brady Christmas,” among others.

If anyone is still looking for their Brady-fix, eldest daughter Marcia Brady (played by Maureen McCormick) is currently competing on the reality show ‘Dancing with the Stars’ every Monday night. Last week, for the show’s “TV Night” theme, McCormick and her partner danced to “The Brady Bunch” theme song and were accompanied by her former TV mom, Florence Henderson.

1996

On this day in TV history in 1996, one of the most highly regarded episodes of “Friends,” entitled, “The One Where No One’s Ready,” premiered on NBC. The episode is what is referred to as a “bottle” episode of a television show. This means that in order to reduce costs that week of filming, the creators limited guest appearances and extra sets in the episode. The whole thing takes place in Monica and Rachel’s apartment while everyone struggles to prepare for Ross’ big museum event. It features one of the funniest moments in which Joey puts on all of Chandler’s clothes in an effort to get him back for stealing his underwear. It’s a must watch.

Tuesday, September 27th

2007

The Office has been a show that over the past couple years has become a staple to those who are into binge watching on Netflix. On this day in 2007, “The Office” launched its fourth season with many surprises such as Michael Scott hitting Meredith, one of his co-workers, with his car and (finally!) the beginning of Jim and Pam’s relationship. The two part episode, entitled “Fun Run,” had a major plot about Michael holding a 5K run in honor of Meredith and to prevent rabies. Watch it again, and again and laugh more hysterically every single time.

Friday, September 30th

2010

“Grey’s Anatomy,” now in its thirteenth season, always figures out a way to break our hearts. The show is about doctors in the Seattle area dealing with the ups and downs of relationships both inside and outside the hospital they work at.  “Grey’s Anatomy’s seventh season delivered the heartbreaking episode, “Shock to the System,” in which Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) finally tells Derek (Patrick Dempsey) that she was carrying and evidently miscarried their baby during that horrific shooting at the hospital in season six on Friday, Sept. 30, 2010. One might not recommend re-watching this specific episode, as you’ll just be reminded of how perfect “Mer” and “Der” really were and how truly devastating Grey’s can be.