"Undeclared" (2001) TV series 2001-2002

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Creator:

Judd Apatow

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

25 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Forget about home. There's no place like a co-ed dorm.

Plot:

College freshman Steve Karp and his fellow dorm-mates embark on one the greatest experiences of their lives...unfortunately for Steve, his lonely and recently divorced father is tagging along for the ride.

Plot Keywords:

College | Divorce | Father Son Relationship | Dorm Life | Dormitory

Cast

Jay Baruchel	...	Steven Karp (17 episodes, 2001-2003)
Carla Gallo	...	Lizzie Exley (17 episodes, 2001-2003)
Charlie Hunnam	...	Lloyd Haythe (17 episodes, 2001-2003)
Monica Keena	...	Rachel Lindquist (17 episodes, 2001-2003)
Seth Rogen	...	Ron Garner (17 episodes, 2001-2003)
Timm Sharp	...	Marshall Nesbitt (17 episodes, 2001-2003)
Loudon Wainwright III	...	Hal Karp (13 episodes, 2001-2003)
Jarrett Grode	...	Perry (12 episodes, 2001-2003)
Christina Payano	...	Tina Ellroy / ... (11 episodes, 2001-2003)
Leroy Adams	...	Adam / ... (8 episodes, 2001-2003)
Jason Segel	...	Eric (7 episodes, 2001-2002)

Runtime:

30 min | USA:30 min (16 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Apatow Productions

Trivia:

During filming of 'Undeclared,' Seth Rogen approached Judd Apatow with his script for Superbad (2007). They read the script with Rogen reading for Seth, 'Jason Segal' reading for Evan, Martin Starr reading for Fogel, and Kyle Gass and 'David Krumholtz' as the two police officers.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The exterior shot of the dorm the characters reside in is only 3 stories high, yet the characters live on the 4th floor and Hillary lives on the 10th floor.

Quotes:

[Lloyd thinks life is meaningless]
Perry: Oh, what's the matter, dollface? Down in the dumps? Sucks to be you, huh? What's the matter, Lloyd's of London? You take one "mind-blowing" philosophy class, and all of a sudden you're Jean-Paul Sartre? Oh, so now you've got this existentialist-hook-thing too...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Freaks and Geeks: Noshing and Moshing (#1.15)" (2000)

Truly Great TV Shows of the New Millennium that never had a chance (aka Requiem for a Sitcom pt. 2)

In the year 2000, a clueless network named NBC succeeded in preventing the promotion of, and ultimately cancelling the little seen one hour dramedy `Freaks and Geeks' despite the desperate pleas of loyal fans. Since then the show - about the not-so-glamorous side of high school in the 80s - has become a solid cult TV classic, making rounds at college campuses, among those who had the foresight to tape it, and regarded by many as nothing short of one of the very best TV shows of all time (what TV fan's Top Ten list is complete without it?). Then in an oddly innovative 2001 season (that included good shows that actually hit in 24 and Scrubs) creator Judd Apatow delivered his follow up on Fox. And Apatow delivered exactly what we wanted to see - `Freaks and Geeks go to College'.

With `Undeclared' (there couldn't be a more perfect title), Apatow manages to meet (and in a few little ways surpass) the lofty expectations for his sophomore series - although that may require a little bit of watching beyond first impressions by those hard-core 'Freaks' fans. The series opens on the first day of college with our admittedly dorky hero Steven Karp (perfectly captured by Jay Barucel). We meet his eclectic selection of suitemates – including British playboy roommate Lloyd (Charlie Hunnam) who will engage in a spot-on `Fight Club` homage before it‘s over, series writer and ‘Freaks' alumni Seth Rogen, Marshall (Timm Sharp) who has sheepishness nailed down to a science, and series babes: Lizzie (Carla Gallo) and beautiful Rachael Lindquist (Monica Keena). Before the end of the first episode Steven and Lizzie will `do it', breaking the heart of every ‘Freaks' fan who wants to see their characters break away from this kind of mainstream TV cliche. Yet, if we can overcome this seemingly commercial hurdle we will see that what Apatow has done here is cleverly eliminate the `Will they or won't they' storyline that certain other series' are based on entirely – right there in the first episode.

The show had its flaws, such as an over-reliance on celebrity guest stars (Adam Sandler, Will Farrell, Ben Stiller, etc.) in Apatow's circle. As well as a strange, pointedly unnecessary thread that runs through the series involving Steven's divorced dad horning in on his new life. However, as the series progressed in it's criminally short 16 episode run it only got better and better. The cast grew together to form a solid comedy team – all contributing to the laughs and, if I may say, all quite endearing. The writing got sharper, the characters grew richer and the show found its vision.

During the many adventures of 'Undeclared' we were graced with more `Freaks and Geeks' alumni. From Samm Levine in a Emmy caliber guest spot as a fraternity leader to Martin Starr as Steven's friend from back home who shows up babbling about `Freddy Got Fingered' and `The Matrix' to Busy Philipps as the object of Rogen's affection. But best of all was Jason Segel who ran away with entire episodes (and almost the series) as Lizzie's obsessive schmuck of a boyfriend Eric. Watching Segel and his print shop co-workers trading geek barbs adds a whole extra level to the show and is the stuff that spin-offs are made of.

In addition to transporting Apatow's actor's into the 21st century (and every piece ripe for satire that that implies), one thing that is different and arguably superior between `Undeclared' and `Freaks and Geeks' is that while `Freaks' mixed teen angst drama with laughs, `Undeclared' is without-a-doubt, balls-out, walking the tight rope of pure comedy. And often times it was hilarious. In one hilarious 2-part episode they skewed fraternities depicting them like cults, in another Steven dealt with the horror of his father dating and possibly marrying his RA, but much of ‘Undeclared' focused on the sheer dull minutia of college. Our characters followed stocks on the internet, sought part-time jobs, played Truth-or-Dare and did just about anything find something, anything, to do in the freedom and correlated boredom of college.

What is truly tragic about `Undeclared' is, not so much the show itself, but the infinite potential of it, as it's cancellation seemed to cut it off just as Apatow and his cast were really hitting their stride. What other show would spend an entire episode with most of its cast parked in front of a `Girls Gone Wild' tape? Well, there is one. In more ways than one, `Undeclared' overtly recalls a new millennial version of the sitcom king itself: `Seinfeld'. This hip, timely, purely funny gem could have very easily been the next `Seinfeld'.

Oh, well. Right?