Freaks and Geeks/Tricks and Treats

Tricks and Treats
Season 1, Episode 3
Airdate	October 30, 1999
Production Number	102
Written by	Paul Feig
Directed by	Bryan Gordon
← 1x02 Beers and Weirs	1x04 → Kim Kelly Is My Friend
Freaks and Geeks — Season One

Tricks and Treats is the third episode of the first season of Freaks and Geeks. With Halloween around the corner, everyone makes plans. Sam decides he's too old for going out trick-or-treating this year. Mrs. Weir looks forward to handing out treats together with Lindsay. Both Lindsay and Sam end up changing their plans, with dire consequences for everyone.

Guest Stars: Dave "Gruber" Allen (Jeff Rosso), Chauncey Leopardi (Alan White), Sarah Hagan (Millie Kentner), Stephen Lea Sheppard (Harris Trinsky), Hariet S. Miller (Mrs. Whitman), Pamela Gordon (Chain-Smoking Woman), Denalda Williams (Angry Mother), Jon Kasdan (Tommy), Maura Soden (Mrs. Kent), Anna Coman-Hidy (Popular Girl #1), Ashley Power (Popular Girl #2), Amanda Lipin (Jill)

Plot Overview

After a pre-credits sequence involving Bill making $10 on a bet, the Weir family discuss Halloween plans over breakfast. To Mrs. Weir's dissapointment, Sam decides he's too old to go out trick-or-treating this year. Lindsay agrees to continue the tradition of handing out candy to kids with her mom.

Both end up reversing their decisions however. Sam decides he doesn't want to be a young adult just yet when his English teacher hands out a tough reading assignment befitting his age group, and convinces Bill and Neal to join him. Harris decides to tag along with them. Lindsay is invited to hang out with the Freaks during Halloween evening, a proposal that she agrees to after some hesitation.

As Halloween evening commences, Sam and the Geeks head out trick-or-treating. Lindsay darts off quickly when the Freaks arrive to pick her up, leaving behind an upset Mrs. Weir, whose bad day continues when she learns that parents are having their kids throw away her home-made cookies because of fears that they may be poisoned or contain razor blades. While out cruising with the Freaks, Lindsay gets her first taste of vandalism and begins to enjoy it. Sam and the Geeks run into Alan and his buddies, who beat them up and steal their candy. As a disheartened Sam and Neal get into a heated argument, the Freaks drive by and Lindsay inadvertently eggs Sam in the face.

Lindsay heads back home distraught; Sam heads back home fuming, but doesn't reveal that Lindsay was the one who egged him. A guilt-stricken Lindsay tries to make amends for her misdeads by joining her mom to hand out treats for the rest of the evening.

Notes

Featured Music

• "The Monster Mash" (Boris Pickett) - performed by Becky Ann Baker
• "Gonna Raise Hell" by Cheap Trick
• "Roller" by April Wine
• "Free-For-All" by Ted Nugent

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Depressing Halloween: Halloween ends up being quite a downer for the Weirs this year - Sam and the Geeks end up being beaten up and losing their candy (as well as feeling too old to be out trick-or-treating), and he gets egged by Lindsay resulting in some friction between them. Mrs. Weir discovers that Lindsay has made some unsavoury new friends and that society seems to be becoming a lot meaner. Lindsay ends up looking somewhat foolish in front of her friends, breaks family tradition and upsets her mom, and ends up being at odds with Sam.

Characters

• Lindsay: She continues to try and fit in with the Freaks, and although she enjoys herself for a while, her actions ultimately cause her regret, and fail to win her much favour with Kim and Ken.

• Sam: He tries to cling on a little longer to his childhood once he realizes that being a young adult isn't all it's cracked up to be. He finds himself to still be at the mercy of Allan, his tormentor.

• Nick: He continues to try and woo Lindsay, defending her from Kim and Ken's jabs.

Referbacks

• Fight with Alan: Neal reminds Alan that they fought him on an earlier occasion and won, an event that occurred in the Pilot.

Trivia

Allusions and References

• Battlestar Galactica: A poster for the original 1970s Battlestar Galactica sci-fi TV series can be seen in Sam's room.

• The Bionic Woman: Bill dresses up as Jaime Sommers AKA the titular Bionic Woman of the TV series from the late 70s.

• Groucho Marx: Neal dresses as the comedian Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers.

• The Day the Earth Stood Still: Sam dresses as the robot Gort from the 1951 sci-fi classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still".

• Crime and Punishment: Sam's English class is given the classic 1866 novel "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky as reading material.

• Star Wars: It turns out that Sam had done his book report on the novelization of Star Wars, a fact his English teacher didn't find amusing.

Memorable Moments

• The 'Bionic Woman' gets all kinds of looks as he parades along the street with Groucho Marx, Gort the robot, and Harris (with a knife in his head) all in tow.

• Lindsay's first act of vandalism leads to her losing her shoe in a pumpkin.

• Sam and the geeks get pummeled by Alan and his buddies, followed shortly by Sam getting egged in the face by Lindsay.

• Sam chastises his assailants without revealing who they were as Lindsay watches fearfully.

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