Attaining early access to comedians due to his mother's work at a local comedy club in upstate New York, Judd Apatow from pretty early on had his future firmly in hand. Most likely it hasn't always felt that way - during the '90s he produced two well received television shows only to have NBC and Fox cancel them. But despite the many set backs he's faced, Apatow has a distinctive voice that comes through clearly on whatever project he's working on. And even if most of what's he created over the last two decades has received its deference, it now deserves a reexamination.

Meeting and eventually living with Adam Sandler during the late '80s, Apatow experienced a number of random encounters that would help propel him to success - even if it came much later. So, in addition to counting Sandler as a personal friend, Apatow met Ben Stiller outside of an Elvis Costello show in Los Angeles in the early '90s. The relationship that the two struck resulted in Apatow writing and producing portions of The Ben Stiller Show, which unfortunately only made it through a single year on Fox before being canceled.

Through the rest of the decade Apatow worked on The Larry Sanders Show after the disappointment at Fox. But he also penned or rewrote a few scripts that after their life in theaters have garnered a modicum of respect. But it was two late '90s dramedies that really elevated Apatow to the status of sought after collaborator. Freaks and Geeks first aired in 1999 and followed the life of Lindsay and Sam Weir as each attempted to traverse high school, its cliques and awkward social situations. There was as much Apatow in each of the main characters as anyone else - Sam's love of Steve Martin, Airplane!, and any other gross out comedy from the '70s is ample proof of that. But regardless of the depth and humanity imbued in each character, the show only lasted a single season. On a network that sported That '70s Show the decision to kill the (arguably) smarter show is endlessly confusing. But there were without question a number of could-be problematic issues addressed within the plot. And as the season (and ultimately the show) came to a close, Lindsay was about to embark on a cross country tour to attend some Grateful Dead shows. Unfortunately, we'll never know what was going to happen.

The following season, though, Apatow returned with Undeclared. Utilizing some of the same actors - most notably Seth Rogen - the newer show seemed like a sanitized retread using college as a backdrop as opposed to suburban Detroit. Where Freaks and Geeks had a biting observational and intelligent comedic bent to it, the newer show was more focused on zany situations to drop the characters into. While the perspective of the show shifted, the players that made up the cast didn't seem as adept at their craft. There wasn't a genuinely likable character whereas in Apatow's previous effort, even the losers seemed like alright folks to be around. None of this really matters seeing as neither show will ever again be televised. But it does lend some sort of confusing glimpse into the inner workings of the Fox network.