‘Freaks’ and Viewers

Enjoyed Judd Apatow’s piece on the struggles of the fine show “Freaks and Geeks” (“How I Got Kicked Out of High School,” April 23). It isn’t the first show of quality to fail in the ratings and it won’t be the last. Just this past summer, your own Howard Rosenberg raved about a wonderfully clever sitcom, “Thanks,” which ran for just six episodes and was then yanked. My family taped every one and loved the mix of political satire and silly slapstick (plus, the great Cloris Leachman playing a Puritan grandmother was a hoot!).

Sometimes TV viewers whine that they want something original, then when they get it they scratch their heads and say, “What is that?” Please give shows like “Freaks and Geeks” and “Thanks” a chance to grow.

MIKE LAMPNER

Los Angeles

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In his letter last Sunday, Keith L. Hall suggests that because “Freaks and Geeks” did not, in his opinion, properly punish its characters for the damnable crime of mailbox bashing, its demise--and producer Judd Apatow’s subsequent slipped disc--were well-earned.

Yes, the program’s main character was not prosecuted for her horrible crimes against humanity, but she was punished after a fashion. She and her friends egged a trio of trick-or-treating kids, who turned out to be her brother and his friends. She did feel guilty and saw the error of her ways. The producers apparently felt that her brother’s anger and disappointment were sufficient enough punishment for her. Had Hall continued to watch the show, he would have seen that the characters’ shortcomings were often addressed, just not in the conventional TV manner.

Oh, and I lived in rural areas for 26 years and lost a mailbox or two during that time. Sure, it was a pain, but I don’t recall wishing anyone ill with the same amount of righteous vitriol Hall displayed. He sounds a bit too tense for the country.

PAUL GAITA

West Hollywood