'' was an Animated Television Series centered around the lives of four college Undergraduate Freshmen . Originally broadcast on MTV during 2001 , only thirteen episodes were created. It has developed a Cult Following on Comedy Central in the United States , Teletoon in Canada and Trouble in the UK .
The show is a Microcosm of College life much the same way Gilligan's Island represents everyday life. Each character represents a specific type of college aged individual; Nitz represents the average college student trying to find a balance between his high school friends and finding inclusion into college life. Rocko is the hardcore, boozing fratboy. Cal is the " Ladies Man ". Gimpy is the computer geek. Also seen are the Tomboy in Jessie, the Ditz / Girly Girl in Kimmy, and the flamboyant Drama student/ Homosexual guy in Mark. What made the show unique in the eyes of many, however, was that while these archetypes are used, there's a deeper, more realistic hidden side underneath every persona that arises through the show's true-to-life drama.
The show was conceived by Pete Williams when he was 19 and had dropped out of college to create the series. He does most of the voices on the show.
- - The main character who bears a striking resemblance to David Duchovny . Almost all the episodes revolve around him in some way. He is shy and attends State U, the ficitional college meant to represent any and all state universities. He is at a point in his life where he feels he has no proper place or identity of his own. He often criticizes himself for being so attached to the past, including his friends, during a time where he feels he should be embracing change and new experiences. However, he cannot help but stay close to his lifelong friends. He often finds himself at odds with his friends, wishing for more time to try and woo Kimmy, who he has had a crush on since highschool. However, his love for his old friends often gets the better of him. This is a conflict in Nitz which often plays a major role in the episodes' plotlines. Eventually, his obsession with Kimmy begin's to agitate his other friends, especially where Gimpy and Jessie are concerned. Nitz is based on series creator, Pete Williams.
- - The jock/fratboy. He attends the local Community College ''Central State Junior Community College'', majoring in abnormal psychology, and is member of the Fraternity ''Alpha Alpha''. His fraternity brothers seem to often question their decision into letting Rocko join ''Alpha Alpha''. His only interests center around Alcohol and girls. Rocko seems however, to be completely aware of his addiction and wishes to change. His addiction is very strong however, and seems to be currently trapping him in alcoholism. This has even gone so far that Rocko has started hallucinating an imaginary talking bottle of liquor named "Bobby Whiskey" who talks to him and usually tells him to solve his problems by drinking. Obviously, this character represents Rocko's addiction. Although he puts on a tough exterior, he seems to be troubled by his lack of friends other than the other three members of the Clique . Doesn't like Cal very much, which seems to stem from a fear of homosexuality (see episode ''Traditions''), but tolerates him regardless.
- - The womanizer/" Ladies Man ". Tall, handsome and blonde, Cal seems be able to get any girl into bed without any effort whatsoever. Cal is Nitz's roommate and a Drama major. He has a rather peculiar tendency to Drool , makes a sucking noise while talking, and often ends his sentences with the word "guy" (showing hints of a Canadian Dialect ). To say Cal isn't the brightest bulb of the bunch is an understatement. Cal repeatedly demonstrates that he lacks a great deal of intelligence, often saying completely random statements regardless of whats going on around him, and displaying a rather humorous obliviousness to everything. This nonetheless, seems to attract women to him even more, for some reason. Because of his countless liaisons with many different women, it's obvious that he has a Sexual Addiction , as he can't seem to endure an entire hour without a woman. His obliviousness often irritates Nitz and Rocko a great deal. His neverending, albeit unfocused, enthusiasm still often maintains the friendship.
- - The at many things other than his Star Wars fixation.
- - Jessie also goes to State U. She becomes friends with Nitz on the first week of college. Nitz does not realise that she is attracted to him. Jessie has a very laid back, ly and even rudely when Jessie begins to give Nitz more hinting to her feelings. Eventually this frustration blows up into anger at Nitz leading to the series' Cliffhanger ending, which sadly has yet to be followed. The character is voiced by Jene Yeo, who is in fact who the character is based upon.
- - The Crush of Nitz. She went to the same high school as the four main characters and graduated the class ahead of them. Kimmy also attends State U. It is revealed that this may have been Nitz's sole reason for going to the unversity. She tries to be involved with everything going on at school. She seems, like the case with Jessie to Nitz, to be totally oblivious to Nitz's crush on her. Although she is somewhat of an overachiever, it is revealed that her life is in shambles. Kimmy, like everyone else at college, is uncertain and nervous about her future, and she begins to see Nitz as something of a "shoulder to cry on". While this frustrates Nitz he seems excited at slowly coming closer to her. Kimmy, however, has an interest in Mark, another drama student at the college. But unbeknownst to either Nitz or herself, this student is actually a Homosexual . This isn't revealed to them until the final episode, but it is quite obviously implied from the very first episodes to the audience. While Kimmy means well, she seems rather oblivious to the feelings of others.
- - Gimpy's lead Minion . Attends Tekerson Tech with Gimpy. He is a Short , Overweight , red-haired young man. A Nurse once stated that "''He may be below average in height, but he's way above average in weight!''". As well as being the lead minion in Gimpy's little Troupe of Tekerson Tech geeks, Mump is shown as being something of Gimpy's sidekick as well. Although he is often nice enough, he seems to be rather fiercely protective of his and Gimpy's friendship. He is at first, extremely jealous of Nitz and Gimpy's apparently very close friendship although this dissipates to friendly neutrality eventually. Mump was a former Trekkie (a Star Trek fan) before Gimpy came and inspired Mump to such a degree that he mimicked Gimpy's love of Star Wars as well. Although he's also a fan of Star Wars, he seems to be a fan more or less, just to get along with Gimpy. He often dotes on Gimpy and often agrees with him regardless of whether he should or not. He claims that there is a "b" in his name, and that the "b" is silent. This could be however, more mindless doting on Gimpy or a reference to his unsaid real name. Deep down inside, it is constantly hinted that Mump is somewhat insecure with himself, which would explain his rather fierce protection of the friendships he does maintain. Mump is obviously a nickname akin to the nicknames of the main 4, however his real name is never mentioned. Briefly suffers from a case of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome .
- - The Resident Assistant (RA) at the State University dorms where Nitz and Cal reside. He is something of a social relic from the 1970s , and still sports an overall Hippie -like motif. He always wears a Bathrobe , which he reveals to Cal is something of an unofficial uniform for State U. RA's. He's something of a social inept, often denying himself to partake in unofficial student events and hijinks, as well as just plain fun. He seems in a constant state of denial about this, which gives one the impression he lives something of a sad and lonely life but won't admit it. Part of this denial is constantly convincing himself that he's having a good time away from the real fun, even if he apparently isn't. Often mentions that one does not have to "follow the crowd", so to speak. He has a rather forced, Trendy way of talking and seems to be not very much cared for by the students. Often refers to himself in the Third Person including the "The".
- - A female . To test this, Gimpy denies one of SHE PRIME's requests to which she becomes offended and threatens to destroy Gimpy's computer with a Computer Virus . This crisis is averted and the two are set against each other as rivals again. However, both seem to have a desire to know each other's identity. SHE PRIME has dyed purple hair wrapped in a bandana. Although she is quite the Femme Fatale online, in real life she seems somewhat shy and withdrawn. Although she has never met Gimpy, their dorm rooms are immediately next to one another.
- - A rather unusual young man who is a diehard Trekkie . He even wears the yellow uniform as seen in the original series as normal attire. He originally led a vast majority of Tekerson Tech's students in a big Star Trek fan club. When Gimpy attends Tekerson, he asks Spud about the Prime Directive , the directive from the Star Trek universe, which states that it is forbidden to directly interfere or force beliefs on intelligent life that one has come into contact with. Gimpy merely states that since Spud is doing just that to the Tekerson students, he's breaking that very rule. Unable to grasp onto this Paradox , Spud flees and Mump and the others stare in awe at how easily Gimpy "defeated" Spud. Gimpy attributes it to The Force , and goes on to get everyone hooked on Star Wars . Spud appears as the main Antagonist in one episode (New Friends), by attempting revenge on Gimpy. He appears through brief cameo's later on. He often says the word or sound "Shmaa…" in all his sentences and has something of a creepy, mumbling way of talking.
- - The drama guy/homosexual. Attends State U and is found often by Kimmy's side. Kimmy has a huge crush on Mark but is entirely oblivious to the fact that he is a Homosexual (a fact the viewer can detect almost immediately). Nitz feels threatened by Mark because he is ruining his chance to be close to Kimmy. Mark recognizes Nitz as "Kimmy's friend". He has a boyfriend named Lance.
- --- - Mark's boyfriend. Attends State U. He is more often than not mentioned by Mark than seen.
- - These are friends of Jessie. They hang out together quite often. Out of all the background characters, these three are the most Defined . They form a friendship with Nitz along with Jessie's help when Cal, Gimpy, and Rocko forget about Nitz's birthday. He has second thoughts about how the new friendhsips are developing and returns to his high school friends. However, he remains good friends with this group, who are seen in numerous episodes after ''New Friends''.
- --- - A Film student whom has quite the makings of a future Film Critic . He represents the type of college kid with a one-track mind and perpetual obsession. He talks about movies constantly, and is often spouting trivia and personal opinions on movies. He often talks about movie news as well, quite enthusiastically. He seems to consider himself destined for greatness, and as a result can be rather naive and egotistical. He is also somewhat famous for starting the famous shout in the last episode.
- --- - A succinct description of Kruger is he's a foul-mouthed smoker. Every other word and sentence spoken by Kruger is Censored . He often disagrees with everyone, and seems quite the pessimist. A scathingly cynical, gothic chain smoker, he says just what's on his mind all the time in rather less than diplomatic ways. His favourite word to say is " Fuck ".
- --- - He has literally no speaking lines in the entire series. All he does is laugh at various things. He laughs at others' misfortunes, jokes, anything. All he really does is laugh. As such, there's not a whole lot to explore about him. It's a possibility that he could have mental problems.
- - A Troupe of Nerd s and Geek s led by Gimpy at Tekerson Tech. They are very much his minions, and do everything he commands much like a private army. Mump is the semi-leader of these "troops", or maybe a Second In Command to Gimpy. Whatever the case, aside from Gimpy and Mump themselves, none of this group's names are mentioned, although by appearance they appear somewhat often.
- --- - Probably the most seen of the troupe, he is somewhat pudgy and speaks with a rather peculiar accent. It is reminiscent of a Hebrew accent but not quite.
- --- - He doesn't really do much on his own, but is easily distinctive.
- --- - He pretty much looks like the youngest member.
There are many others in the troupe as well, although the characters above appear most often.
#''Party'' - After arriving at college Nitz realises after a week he hasn't done anything so tries to cram a weeks college experiences into a day in order to have something to talk to Kimmy about.
#''Traditions'' - Tradition Week at the colleges. State U's ''eXposed eXpo'' means that during the first Snow fall of the winter all of the freshman run naked through the college quad.
#''Virgins'' - Nitz is a virgin but thinks that Kimmy wants to have sex with him when she invites him to the clinic where she works.
#''New Friends'' - Nitz's friends forget about his birthday so he decides to start hanging out with Jessie and her friends. At the same time at Tekerson Tech, Gimpy's has lost his command of his band of minions and must fight Number One for control.
#''Drunks'' - Nitz who is Under-age tries to get into a bar so he can talk to Kimmy. Rocko vows never to drink again after Hallucinating about a giant Whiskey bottle.
#''Room Mates'' - After Cal begins to make Nitz go crazy he starts sleeping in Jessie's room, whose roommate has gone for the week. Nitz suddenly realises that he attracted to Jessie but then tries too hard to get her. Gimpy falls in love with a girl Hacker .
#''Jerks'' - Kimmy tells Nitz that she is moving to England so he offers her his travel clock even though he doesn't have one. Rocko drags Nitz around town all night and then destroys the travel clock that Gimpy found for Nitz.
#''Rivalries'' - Nitz and Gimpy enter a trivia competition but end up competing against each other in an inter-college competition.
#''Financial Aid'' - Nitz does not receive his financial aid check and so joins the local student action group. Rocko joins the local college ROTC .
#''Identity Crisis'' - After returning from winter break, nobody seems to remember Nitz so he locks himself in his room to create an identity. Rocko converts Cal into a version of Rocko.
#''Work Study'' - Nitz receives a credit card from his parents but goes over his limit so must get a job. He ends up working at the library while Rocko, Cal and Gimpy manage to get large amounts of money without trying.
#''Risk'' - Gimpy finds his risk board and invites the rest of the clique around for a game. But Nitz has promised Kimmy that he would help at the Spring Fling carnival. Gimpy schemes so that Nitz cannot leave and Nitz's absence causes a fire.
#''Screw Week'' - During the final week of college, Nitz tries desperately to attract Kimmy. Jessie becomes more annoyed with Nitz for ignoring her obvious attraction to him.
Although it aired to generally positive reviews, Undergrads did not achieve the ratings MTV wished for. As such, it was cancelled before the second season could be produced. However, originally the series was set to continue. Teletoon and Decode whom produced the show were all but ready to make a second season, and were also highly interested in it. However, at the last minute, MTV pulled the plug on their funding of the show. Although the show was taken to Comedy Central and hopes were high that the network may fund a second season, ''Undergrads'' was shown at a relatively late time slot at night and as such did not receive very high ratings. The show still airs on Teletoon to stable ratings. Many of the show's fans believe the show did not get the chance it deserved, as on MTV its schedule was somewhat unstable, and Comedy Central had given it a plain bad time slot.
While the show has its share of detractors, to fans the show is often said to be far above average, as it is one of the few shows in general to show a realistic portrayal of Campus life with some exaggerations from the characters. Also, the last episode of Season one leaves at something of a cliffhanger that many wished to see resolved. Many feel the show has more than enough potential material to go on, and that its cancellation was a great injustice. Pete Williams has stated that he would be very interested in reviving Undergrads, and Teletoon and Decode maintain that they too remain interested in continuing the series. The one problem is funding. After almost 5 years of inactivity fans have lost hope, however a faint glimmer of hope still exists that the show may be brought back. The show's originality and cult-status, as well as the relatively early (and some say unjust) cancellation have caused many to link it to the other MTV cartoon programme Clone High , which, like Undergrads, aired to broadly positive review but was cut due largely to poor airtime management and resultant underexposure.
Recently, '' Adult Swim '' in South America has aired ''Undergrads''. This has given many hope that ''Adult Swim'' will air the show in other countries as well within the near future. The hope is that this will give Undergrads much needed exposure to broader audiences, especially in North America .
In addition, Pete Williams, the shows creator still believes that there is indeed hope for the shows revival. In a recent Jan 27, 06 blog post he mentions that he wishes still to
"to rally as much support for a SECOND SEASON as possible. Sure it's been almost 5 years since we wrapped production. Sure, everyone else involved with the show has moved on with their lives. But what can I say? I'm still not ready to put that final nail in the Undergrads coffin. I NEED to finish telling their story!"
He plans to post forthcoming developments as much as possible on his new Undergrads blog on the official teletoon website.
- Each episode contains at least one '' Star Wars '' reference and the ''New Friends'' episode uses many elements based on '' A New Hope ''
- The Theme Song , The Click, is written and performed by the band Good Charlotte who also appear in the ''Risk'' episode.
- As well as Star Wars there are also references to '''' series, '' Full Metal Jacket '', '' Friends '' and '' Daria ''. The Video Game , '' Quake '' is used as the scene for the climax of the episode ''New Friends''. There are also numorous subtle jabs at various popular culture fads such as online Blogs , and e-dating.
- One of ''Undergrads'' most prominent attributes is that it is one of the few forms of visual media that has explored the less than perfect aspects of College life. As opposed to the now all so famous Harvard University stereotype of college as a clean, fun filled time in life, ''Undergrads'' instead depicted what many of the shows' College going fans consider the true image of College life; A stressful and uncertain time of life to most. As such, many very well known College challenges rarely mentioned in most College portrayals are explored such as Student Loans, extremely long lines, questioning of identity, fraternity rivalries and odd customs, unpleasant RAs, money problems, and the all so infamous "Freshman 15" (the problem of College students gaining weight very fast during their freshman year due to all the time spend studying and often unconsciously snacking on various unhealthy foods)
- The episode "New Friends" contains 24 f-words (censored), all used by Kruger.
- Kruger isn't the only character that swears. In the episode, ''Identity Crisis'', Nitz was trying to get a new personality based on many people at the college and said at least 2 f-words (both censored). Nitz was taking the swearing personality of Kruger.
- The song performed near the end of the final episode, ''Screw Week'', was ''Overboard'', by The Rosenbergs .
- The place ''Undergrads'' takes place in is never completely mentioned. It looks much like one's typical college town. However, it has been hinted in numerous episodes lightly that the show takes place somewhere in California . For example, in episode 1 Gimpy disguises Mump as a CHP or California Highway Patrol Officer for assorted Hijinks . It should be noted however, that in episode five as the camera pans out an aerial shot of Manhattan can be seen; thereby rendering the show's location difficult to place.
The only season of Undergrads was released on DVD on August 5 , 2003 with a few special features like a commentary and DVD-ROM goodies.
All of the 13 episodes are in this DVD, but there are no changes (swearing and nudity are censored).
|
