What are you doing on Monday night, March 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time?

No, wait--don't answer just yet. I'll tell you what you SHOULD be doing, and then you decide if whatever nonsense you have planned is actually more important than what you SHOULD be doing.

What you SHOULD be doing is watching a brand-spankin' new episode of Freaks and Geeks on NBC. After it's over, once you're tickled pink by the smart comedy and brash realism of the show's depiction of high school, you SHOULD sit down and surf on over to this comprehensive "save the show" page [http://students.washington.edu/draheim/freaksandgeeks/] and find out what you and I, the lowly viewers, can do to help keep Freaks and Geeks on the air. This is a show in trouble, and there's no good reason why it should be, because it's brilliant television.

I used to be lost on Monday nights. It's a rough night anyway, considering that the week has just begun and you've got four more days of soul-numbing work to suffer through before another weekend arrives. The fact that there was nothing decent on TV didn't help matters much. For a time, Ally McBeal did the trick, and then I realized they were simply retelling the same five jokes over and over. When Ally lost her charm, those wacky kids on That 70's Show filled the gap. They're funny, but their comedy's too broad and lampoonish to consider as anything more than a harmless diversion.

Whereas so many other evenings had their own nuggets of amazing television to offer, from the fantastic Sunday night animation block on Fox to Tuesday night's Buffy and Angel pairing, Monday had nothing to give. Every other day, every other day, every other day of the week is fine, yeah. But whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes, but whenever Monday comes you'll see me cryin' all over town.

My quest for great TV on Mondays ended when I discovered Freaks and Geeks. I'd considered watching the show when the season began, but a tragic Saturday night placement meant that I'd have to tape the show just to give it a test spin, and I felt my TV plate was already full. Little did I know that this show is a little like Jello; there's ALWAYS room for Freaks and Geeks.

I've babbled on about how Freaks and Geeks makes Monday nights worthwhile, but I haven't mentioned why. There are two big reasons. One is the subtlety and nuances in its humor. There's so much emotion behind it, in the Geeks' desperate attempts to fit in, in the Freaks' desperate attempts to find their way, in the desperate attempts of Harold and Jean Weir to ingratiate themselves into their childrens' lives. There's an acknowledgement of where these characters are in their lives, of the turbulent changes that these growth periods offer for family and friends, and yet there's still an affection for the characters that shines through in every episode.

The other reason to watch is because its approximation of the high school experience is so realistic that it will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand at attention. The writers on the show have made a clever assumption about most Americans: we all felt like a Freak or a Geek in high school. That's because we were teenagers, and that's how most teenagers feel. So even if we've tricked ourselves into believing that high school really wasn't that bad, Freaks and Geeks can help you to remember that yes, it really was that bad. Only it's not a painful revival, although it can be. It approaches the commonalities of the high school experience, stuff like rejection, low self-esteem and more rejection, with sensitivity and understanding. Yeah, your heart will break with Sam Weir as he's rejected by a pretty cheerleader, but you'll also blush a deep shade of red, because whether you're male or female, jock or dork, you were in Sam's shoes once. It's eerie and affecting in its effortless recreation of the heady emotional mix that high school life conjures up.

You know Ally McBeal sucks now. You know VH1 will rerun whatever damn Behind the Music it's showing. You know Monday Night Football is months away. And Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? Oh, come on. Regis and his antics have their place, but they can't stack up to well-written, well-acted ensemble dramedy, delivered with equal slices emotion and reality. Freaks and Geeks deserves to live, and only YOU can make it happen. Watch it, love it, write to NBC. Then watch it and love it some more, and hope that someone somewhere has the insight to understand how brilliant this show really is.

P.S. Hey, remember that All the Rage column I wrote last year about how worthless these fan campaigns to save TV shows are? I was wrong. I take it all back. I'll wax your car or kiss your cat if it will earn back your trust. Just watch the show. Please.