Confessions of a Spec Tater — Big Men on Campus

Columns

On April 22, 2001, MTV premiered Undergrads, a prime-time cartoon about college students. Twelve episodes and four months later, the show was cancelled.

A month after the sudden demise of Undergrads, Fox premiered Undeclared, a live-action sitcom also about college students. Sixteen episodes and three months later, that show was also taken off the air.

Just as each show offered a touchingly honest portrayal of co-ed college life told through the eyes of four young men, both were cancelled just as they began to hit their stride.

Thankfully, both shows have been granted life after cancellation — as each has found a legion of loyal fans ready to keep the candle burning through the power of TV-on-DVD.

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Undergrads

Characters — Undergrads focused on four childhood friends as they attended their first year of college. The show featured characters that were at once both stereotyped clichés and well-drawn out and believable representations of college life.

Show creator Pete Williams distinctly voiced each of the four main characters.

Nitz acted as the show’s straight man, giving emotional weight to the plot with his urgent need to win the heart of his high school crush.

Gimpy was the resident nerd, isolating himself in his technology-filled habitat emerging only to make a Star Wars reference.

Cal was a horribly dull-witted man-cub who still managed to pull in all the ladies with his good looks and childish charm.

Rocko proudly flaunted his crass nature through a constant state of alcohol-fueled daze.

I can guarantee you that each of the four main characters will remind you of somebody you went to school with.

Episodes — From traditions and school rivalries to financial aid, sex and underage drinking, no area of college activity was left untouched throughout the run of Undergrads.

With a cast of characters with such distinct personalities, Undergrads was able to provide different takes on classic college chestnuts such as an issue with bad roommate that was seen from both sides of the coin.

Stand out episodes include “Risk,” in which the four main characters indulge themselves in a non-stop game of Risk, and “New Friends,” in which Nitz is faced with the thought of growing up and leaving his high school buddies behind.

The entire series takes place over the course of a single school year, giving a somewhat satisfying conclusion to the show.

DVD — The good news is that “Undergrads” is available on a two-disk set from MTV. Unfortunately, special features are sparse and the disk itself is harder to come by than a parking spot in a campus garage. If you are lucky enough to find a copy, snatch it up. You won’t be sorry. You can also visit the official show site for crudely animated cartoon shorts featuring the continuing adventures of Nitz, Gimpy, Cal and Rocko.

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Undeclared

Characters — As the show’s pilot begins, Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel) is excited about his 7-inch growth spurt during the summer between high school and college. Looking forward to leaving behind his former nerd identity, Steven is ill prepared for the soap opera-like antics of his co-ed dorm.

Charlie Hunnam, Seth Rogen and Timm Sharp co-star as Steven’s roommates. During the course of the series’ run, each of the characters manage to develop distinct personalities and relationships with each other.

The real relationships showcased in the series, though, are between Steven and his on-again-off-again girlfriend Lizzie (Carla Gallo) and his recently divorced father (Loudon Wainwright III).

A mixture of genuine drama with typical college-based humor sprinkled in, Undeclared showed great potential as a show and served as a launching pad for much of today’s top talent.

Episodes — Most of the 17 episodes dealt with either Steven’s relationship with his father, a man handling a mid-life crisis, or Steven’s constant pining for Lizzie, who has given her heart to another, slightly creepier young man (played by Jason Segel). Each episode added to relationships built in previous episodes, offering genuine character development over the course of the series.

Stand-out episodes include “Addicts,” in which Steven becomes addicted to buying pre-written term papers from a local townie (played by guest star Will Ferrell) and “Eric’s POV,” in which guest director Jon Favreau offers insight into Lizzie’s relationship with her obsessive older boyfriend.

DVD — Undeclared is available in a four-disk set from Shout! Factory. While the collection includes an impressive array of extras, the episodes are presented out of order, leading to some jarring confusion during potential marathons of the show. A handy instruction guide provided in the DVD case, though, will help fans plan out the order in which to watch the series.

Series creator Judd Apatow has gone on to much success since the cancellation of Undeclared. Thankfully, he has used his success to shine a spotlight on a large portion of the show’s cast, including them in the films he produces and directs.

Robert Saucedo hopes Community does not fall under the same curse that killed Undeclared and Undergrads. Visit him on the web at www.robsaucedo.com.

Robert Saucedo is an avid movie watcher with seriously poor sleeping habits. The Mikey from Life cereal of film fans, Robert will watch just about anything — good, bad or ugly. He has written about film for newspapers, radio and online for the last 10 years. This has taken a toll on his sanity — of that you can be sure. Follow him on Twitter at @robsaucedo2500.