Freaks and Geeks/Discos and Dragons

Discos and Dragons
Season 1, Episode 18
Airdate	July 8, 2000
Production Number	113
Written by	Paul Feig
Directed by	Paul Feig
← 1x17 The Little Things	— N/A
Freaks and Geeks — Season One

Discos and Dragons is the eighteenth and final episode of the first season of Freaks and Geeks. Lindsay is selected to attend a summer camp for the smartest students in Michigan. Daniel is forced to join the Geeks in the A/V club. Nick gets a new girlfriend who causes him to change drastically.

Guest Stars: Dave (Gruber) Allen (Jeff Rosso), Steve Higgins (Mr. Fleck), Joel Hodgson (D.J.), Lizzy Caplan (Sara), Stephen Lea Sheppard (Harris), Jerry Messing (Gordon Crisp), Steve Bannos (Mr. Kowchevski), Ron Marasco (Mr. Casper), Trace Beaulieu (Mr. Lacovara), Samaire Armstrong (Laurie), Russell Harper (Victor), Flynn Warner (Freak), Teddy Lane, Jr. (Bouncer), Joe Monti (Eugene), Ben Ziff (Jock #1), Scott McAfee (Jock #2)

Plot Overview

Lindsay, Daniel, Ken, and Kim attempt to disrupt a local disco, only to discover Nick there with a girl, Sara. At school, the Geeks bemoan the fact that they will be subjected to intimidation for all of their high school lives, despite a pep talk from their A/V club teacher. Sam begins to feel tired of being labeled a geek. Daniel and Ken find Nick with Sara at school, and are put off by her chirpiness. Daniel plans to cheat on his math finals. When his plans go awry he attempts to pull the fire alarm to delay the test, but gets caught by Jeff. Meanwhile, Lindsay is informed that she has been selected for a two-week long academic summit at the University of Michigan for the top one percent of the state's students.

Jeff assigns Daniel to the A/V club as punishment for his fire alarm stunt, to the Geeks' horror. He also has a word with Lindsay, and is surprised to learn that she isn't all that keen on attending the summit. Suggesting that she may be stressed out, he recommends that she listen to The Grateful Dead album 'American Beauty' to help her relax. Ken accuses Nick of hanging out with Sara to make Lindsay jealous, pointing out that Nick used to hate disco and now he's entering into a disco dance contest. Nick denies the accusation vehemently. Harris informs the Geeks that he has acquired the latest Dungeons and Dragons game-book and invites them all to play.

Lindsay listens to the album Jeff gave her and is inspired by the music. She chats with some Grateful Dead fans (Deadheads) at school and learns that they follow the band from place to place and that all the fans bond through their shared experiences. Sam contemplates not joining up with the others for Dungeons and Dragons because of its inherent geekiness. He also defends Daniel when the Geeks complain about his presence in A/V, saying he isn't that bad a person. Daniel is assigned to run the projector for a class and is embarrassed in front of his friends when he fails to do it properly, prompting him to later read the manual and try to figure it out. Nick prepares for his dance contest with Sara while assuring her that he's completely over Lindsay.

While the Geeks are discussing Dungeons and Dragons, Daniel listens in and starts asking questions about it. Harris invites Daniel to join them that evening, and Daniel agrees. Sam is surprised by this and agrees to join them. Ken drags Lindsay to the disco contest to try to talk Nick out of it. The ensuing conversation reveals that though they are ostensibly over their relationship, both Nick and Lindsay still harbour some feelings for each other. Nick performs in the contest and is jubilant, but receives a shock when the next competitor performs. Daniel joins up with the Geeks and thoroughly enjoys playing D&D and asks to play again the next day. The Geeks see this as a sign of them being cool. Lindsay bids farewell to everyone as she seemingly heads for the academic summit, but she and Kim have secretly made alternate arrangements...

Notes

• Final Episode: This episode is the final episode of the season and of the series.

Featured Music

• "Hot Number" by Foxy
• "Box of Rain" by The Grateful Dead
• "Ripple" by The Grateful Dead
• "I Don't Want to Be a Freak" by Dynasty
• "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor
• "The Groove Line" by Heatwave
• "Space Funk" by Paul Feig

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Nick's girlfriend: Nick gets together with Sara.

• Daniel and the Geeks: Daniel enjoys hanging out with the Geeks, and appears interested in joining up with them again.

• End of school: The school year ends in this episode.

Characters

• Lindsay: Is saddened by the fact that Nick appears happy and has cleaned up his act because of another girl. She abandons her academic opportunity in favour of going on the road and 'connecting' with people.

• Sam: Almost forces himself to stop being a geek to be more socially accepted, until he realizes that being a geek isn't all that bad.

• Daniel: Begins to gain an appreciation for the geek way of life.

• Nick: Hooks up with Sara, ostensibly to make Lindsay jealous because he still has feelings for her. He isn't really as happy as he wants to appear.

Referbacks

• D&D: Daniel plays D&D with the Geeks in this episode. In the episode Looks and Books Daniel asked Harris about his D&D book, and Harris told him he'd make a good Dungeon Master.

• Daniel & Math: As in the episode Tests and Breasts, Daniel gets into trouble by trying to cheat in a math exam.

• Break-Ups: Neal asks Sam if he thinks he's cool because he broke up with Cindy - this happened in the previous episode, The Little Things. Nick and Lindsay's former relationship and break-up has cropped up in several prior episodes.

• Porno: Neal mentions to Sam that Daniel once gave him a porno, which happened in the episode Tests and Breasts.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• Dungeons & Dragons: The Geeks play the popular fantasy tabletop role-playing game 'Dungeons and Dragons' which was first published in the mid 1970s and was well established by the early 80s.

• Monty Python & the Holy Grail (1975): The Geeks become excited about getting to watch the classic Monty Python comedy in their A/V club.

• The Fonz: - Rosso asks Daniel if he thinks he's cool, and likens him to The Fonz [1] from Happy Days. The Fonz is a pop cultural icon who once epitomized coolness.

• The Grateful Dead: Rosso gets Lindsay hooked on the rock band 'The Grateful Dead' by lending her their album American Beauty, which he claimed helped him with stress relief. The band had a dedicated set of fans called Deadheads who followed them around from concert to concert.

• Allen Funt: Ken alludes to Nick's behaviour being a part of a Candid Camera stunt, the show which was created and hosted for a period of time by Allen Funt. The show was designed to place unsuspecting subjects in strange or awkward situations in order to capture their reactions.

• Romeo and Juliet (1968): The film Lindsay's class gets to watch at the end of the year is Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation of Shakespeare's tragic play.

• Mr DeMille: When Daniel struggles to get the projector working, the teacher mockingly likens him to the legendary filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille.

• Saturday Night Fever (1975): Ken tells Nick to call him once he gets over his Saturday Night Fever, a reference to the 1977 disco themed film starring John Travolta.

Memorable Moments

• Daniel plays D&D with the Geeks

• Nick's disco dance effort