Judd Apatow and his motley crew of contributors are having a great year. And you know what? Apatow deserves it. The guy has been involved in a lot of great projects over the last few years. So, to celebrate his success, I decided to go to YouTube and hunt down some of my favorite moments from these projects.

And here they are, in chronological order.

Freaks and Geeks - You Have a Beautiful Body

This scene has so much of what makes the later projects Apatow has been involved with great. It’s hilariously funny, mindbogglingly embarrassing and surprisingly endearing. It’s an tough combination to do well, but it is also at the core of why films like Knocked Up and 40-Year-Old Virgin are so special.

One interesting tidbit about freaks and Geeks is that although Apatow was the executive producer and certainly had a lot of creative input, the series was actually created by Paul Feig. But while Apatow has been very successful since the end of the series, Feig hasn’t been so lucky. He directed the dreadful Unaccompanied Minors last year and has mostly kept himself busy by directing some TV. Too bad, he deserved better.

Freaks and Geeks - Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Can you imagine any other network television series having a scene like this? Any television series period? It’s such an odd little scene. Not funny, at least not in any typical way. Endearing, for some people. Sweet, in an offbeat way. But above all, it feels real in a way that not many scenes in television or movies ever feel. I just love it.

And the scene is supposedly taken directly from Apatow’s own childhood.

I could keep listing scenes from freaks and Geeks forever, but I’ll stop now. The show was consistently brilliant, and if you are looking for a DVD to add to to your library getting the first (and only) would be a very good choice.

Undeclared - Truth or Dare

You know, I don’t love this series. And yet, I have to admit that it had some very strong moments.

Anchorman - Fight!

People sometimes forget, because Ferrell is such a strong presence, but Anchorman was produced by Apatow. The film turned out to be Apatow’s first true hit. It was also one of the movies that helped to usher in a new (and awesome) generation of comedy actors, directors, writers and producers.

40-Year-Old Virgin - Bags of Sand

Again: Funny, embarrassing and endearing. I laughed, I cringed, I loved it.

40-Year-Old Virgin - Aquarius

Yes, it is kind of silly. Yes, it doesn’t make much sense. And yet, it does. How could you convey better just how great sex was for Andy without some off the wall scene like this? I don’t know. What I do know is that this scene, coming when it comes, was just pure joy to watch.

Talladega Nights - Baby Jesus Prayer

Same director, main actor and producer as Anchorman. Hey, if it worked once why not try again?

The most remarkable thing about Talladega Nights is that it managed to have fun with the Nascar culture without being offensive. People who like Nascar could also like Talladega, and have fun laughing at both themselves and at the sort exaggerated views that some people have of Nascar. Once again, a very hard line to walk. But walk it they did.