"Discos and Dragons" is the eighteenth episode of the Freaks and Geeks TV series. It was written and directed by Paul Feig. The episode first aired on July 8, 2000.
Summary
Daniel is sentenced to audio/visual class as punishment for attempting to pull the fire alarm. Lindsay is accepted to a two-week academic summit, but isn't excited and isn't sure about going. Nick has a new girlfriend and takes up disco dancing.
Plot
By chance, Lindsay and the freaks find out that Nick has been dating Sara and she has been teaching him to dance for an upcoming disco competition. Daniel, afraid of failing another test, is caught trying to pull the fire alarm. As punishment, he is forced to join the Audio/Visual club. The geeks respond to his presence coldly at first, but they later invite him to a game of Dungeons and Dragons. As a result of Lindsay's outstanding grades, she receives an invitation to an academic summit at the University of Michigan taking place for two weeks during the summer. However, she decides not to go to the academic summit and decides to go on the road with her friends to follow the Grateful Dead.
Trivia/Goofs
- In the summer of 1981, the Grateful Dead did play nine shows in a week and a half, starting at The Summit in Houston, Texas and finishing up at McNichols Arena in Denver, Colorado exactly as Laurie stated to Lindsay when describing her summer plans.
- When Daniel is setting up the movie in the English class, the poster of books behind him shows "The Color Purple". This book wasn't even written until 1982.
- Daniel and the Geeks are playing D&D using a copy of the Players Handbook with the Jeff Easley cover art. This was not issued until 1983. Also, they're all drinking cans of Diet Faygo English Style Ginger Ale, which wasn't released until 1985.
- The little green "Cosmic Cutie" from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" wouldn't have been painted on the side of the Dead Head van as early as 1980 or 1981 when the show takes place. The original novel was published in 1979 without the famous icon on the cover, which was introduced in a later cover version.
- In the ending sequence after the VW bus takes a right turn to set off to the open road, a modern sleek looking 1990s era Chevy Astro van is seen approaching in the opposing lane. The usual method taken by the production for open street scenes was to use a short lens to place out of time vehicles out of focus from being recognized.
- For his work in this episode, Paul Feig was nominated for a 2001 Emmy for Best Writing in a Comedy.
Cast
Further to the regular cast members appearing in all the episodes, the present episode also has the following recurring cast and guest stars:
| Recurring roles | Guest stars |
|---|---|
|
opening credits:
end credits:
|
opening credits:
end credits:
|
Episode Soundtrack
| Song title | Artist | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Hot Number" | Foxy | Hot Numbers | 1979 |
| "Box of Rain" | Grateful Dead | American Beauty | 1970 |
| "Ripple" | Grateful Dead | American Beauty | 1970 |
| "I Don't Want to Be a Freak (But I Can't Help Myself)" | Dynasty | Your Piece of the Rock | 1979 |
| "I Will Survive" | Gloria Gaynor | Love Tracks | 1978 |
| "The Groove Line" | Heatwave | Central Heating | 1977 |
| "Spacefunk" | Paul Feig |
Videos
External links
- Discos and Dragons at the IMDb
- Discos and Dragons at www.tv.com
| Episodes |
|---|
| 1: Pilot - 2: Beers and Weirs - 3: Tricks and Treats - 4: Kim Kelly Is My Friend - 5: Tests and Breasts - 6: I'm with the Band - 7: Carded and Discarded - 8: Girlfriends and Boyfriends - 9: We've Got Spirit - 10: The Diary - 11: Looks and Books - 12: The Garage Door - 13: Chokin' and Tokin' - 14: Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers - 15: Noshing and Moshing - 16: Smooching and Mooching - 17: The Little Things - 18: Discos and Dragons |