Undeclared

Undeclared
Genre	Sitcom
Created by	Judd Apatow
Starring	Jay Baruchel Carla Gallo Charlie Hunnam Monica Keena Seth Rogen Timm Sharp Loudon Wainwright
Theme music composer	The Dandy Warhols
Opening theme	"Solid"
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	17 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Judd Apatow
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Apatow Productions DreamWorks Television
Distributor	Paramount Worldwide Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Fox
Picture format	480i 4:3 (SDTV)
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	September 25, 2001 – March 12, 2002

Undeclared is an American sitcom created by Judd Apatow, which aired on Fox during the 2001–02 season. The show has developed a cult following, and in 2012, Entertainment Weekly listed it at #16 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years".^[1]

Premise

The half-hour comedy was Judd Apatow's follow-up to an earlier television series he worked on, Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season. Undeclared centers on a group of college freshmen at the fictional University of Northeastern California. Unlike Freaks, it was set contemporaneously (early 2000s) rather than the 1980s.

Cast and characters

Main characters

Name	Actor	Major	Description
Steven Karp	Jay Baruchel	Undeclared	A celibate geek in high school, Steven has a particular affinity for The Matrix and The X-Files. He grew up only ten minutes away from the UNEC campus. In college, Steven is fairly popular among the students, but he is still somewhat nerdy.
Lizzie Exley	Carla Gallo	Psychology	Steven's highly enthusiastic, somewhat neurotic floor mate and eventual girlfriend. She initially dated Eric (Jason Segel) but she dumped him after she'd slept with Steven during their first day at UNEC.
Lloyd Haythe	Charlie Hunnam	Theater	Steven's English roommate. He often makes Steven leave their room so that he can have sex. Despite constantly picking on Steven, Lloyd is very protective of him and usually tries to look out for his best interests. Due to his popularity with women, Lloyd often serves as an adviser in romantic affairs to all his suite mates. He frequently emphasizes his "Britishness" and mannered temperament, however, Lloyd is shown to be the most aggressive of the group, and very quick to anger.
Rachel Lindquist	Monica Keena	Undeclared	Lizzie's roommate. Is initially nervous at the prospect of living away from her family, but eventually breaks free of her anxiety and embraces a party girl mentality.
Tina Ellroy	Christina Payano	Unknown	Lizzie and Rachel's suite-mate introduced mid-season. Moves into the vacated room in Lizzie and Rachel's suite during the unaired episode "God Visits".
Ron Garner	Seth Rogen	Business	Steven's wise-cracking, glasses-wearing, beer-guzzling, chubby Canadian suite-mate who comes to UNEC from Vancouver. With his dry sense of humor, Ron is the brains of the group. Briefly dates Kelly (Busy Philipps), a campus tour guide.
Marshall Nesbitt	Timm Sharp	Music	Steven's suite-mate who came to UNEC from Sioux City, Iowa. His parents still believe that he is a business major, although he switched courses at the last minute. Despite his less-than-stellar work ethic, he is Mr. Burundi's (Gerry Bednob) favorite worker at the cafeteria. He has a big crush on Rachel, but never has the courage to ask her on a date.
Hal Karp	Loudon Wainwright III	(N/A)	Steven's father, who experiences a mid-life crisis after being divorced by Steven's mother. Hal sometimes spends time socially with the gang, which often results in Steven's embarrassment.

Recurring characters

• Perry Madison (Jarrett Grode), bland, sarcastic dorm-mate who can DJ and free-style rap. (12 episodes)
• Eric (Jason Segel), Lizzie's obsessive ex-boyfriend whom she breaks up with after sleeping with Steven. Eric had been dating Lizzie since she was in high school, and he is several years older than she is. Eric works as the manager of a copy shop. (7 episodes)
• Adam (Leroy Adams), student who lives on the gang's floor. (8 episodes)
• P.B. (P.B. Smiley), student who lives on the gang's floor. (6 episodes)
• Trent (Jim Brooks), student who lives on the gang's floor. (4 episodes)
• Lucien (Kevin Rankin), nerdy RA on the gang's floor who has an obsession with Hillary the RA. (4 episodes)
• Hillary (Amy Poehler), the head RA who hits on Lloyd; and at one point, dates Hal. (2 episodes)
• Luke (Kevin Hart), a religious African-American student on campus who temporarily converts Steven to Christianity. (3 episodes)
• Greg (David Krumholtz), Eric's close friend and co-worker at the copy shop. (2 episodes)
• Eugene (Kyle Gass), Eric's other close friend and co-worker at the copy shop. (2 episodes)
• Mr. Burundi (Gerry Bednob), Indian boss at the school cafeteria where Steven and Marshall work. (2 episodes)
• Kelly (Busy Philipps), an attractive tour guide on campus who Ron develops a crush on and later begins dating. (2 episodes)
• Susuki (Joanne Cho), Tina's roommate, whose constant violin practice annoys Tina. (2 episodes)

Guests and cameos

• Jenna Fischer (as Sorority Girl, "Prototype" and Betty, "Sick in the Head")
• Simon Helberg (as Jack, "Prototype")
• Tom Welling (as Tom, "Prototype")
• Fred Willard (as Professor Duggan, "Oh, So You Have a Boyfriend?")
• Ted Nugent (as himself, "Full Bluntal Nugety")
• Mike White (as Pet Store Employee, "Eric Visits")
• Geoffrey Arend (as Jimmy, "Jobs, Jobs, Jobs")
• Katharine Towne (as Rebecca, "Sick in the Head")
• Allen Covert (as himself, "The Assistant")
• Jonathan Loughran (as himself, "The Assistant")
• Adam Sandler (as himself, "The Assistant")
• Greg Mottola (as Young Professor, "The Assistant")
• Jordan Black (as Card Guy, "Addicts")
• Will Ferrell (as Dave, "Addicts")
• Felicia Day (as Sheila, "God Visits")
• David Pasquesi (as Professor Beyser, "God Visits")
• Mary Kay Place (as Mrs. Lindquist, "Parents' Weekend")
• Kimberly Stewart (as Amanda Haythe, "Parents' Weekend")
• Amy Wright (as Debra Karp, "Parents' Weekend")
• Joel McKinnon Miller (as Mr. Nesbitt, "Parents' Weekend")
• Sarah Hagan (as Jordanna, "Eric Visits Again")
• Steve Bannos (as Dingleberry, "Rush and Pledge")
• Samm Levine (as Books, "Rush and Pledge"/"Hell Week")
• Natasha Melnick (as Jenni, "Rush and Pledge"/"Hell Week")
• Martin Starr (as Theo, "The Perfect Date")
• Youki Kudoh (as Kikuki, "Hal and Hilary")
• Ben Stiller (as Rex, "Eric's POV")

Broadcast

Episodes

When first shown on network television, many episodes were aired out of order, much to Apatow's dismay. When originally released on DVD, the episodes were presented in their production order, which was a mistake according to Apatow.^[2] However, newer versions of the DVD present the episodes in the correct chronological order, restoring all storylines and character developments. In addition, an alternate version of the second episode, titled "Full Bluntal Nugety" is included on the DVD release of the series.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code
1	"Prototype"	Jake Kasdan	Judd Apatow	September 25, 2001	101
On Steven's first day at UNEC, he meets and has a one night stand with Lizzie, unaware of the fact that she has a boyfriend. Steven's father Hal shows up at the floor party and announces that he's getting a divorce.
2	"Oh, So You Have a Boyfriend?" "Full Bluntal Nugety"	Paul Feig	Kristofor Brown	January 8, 2002	102
Lizzie admits to Steven that she has a boyfriend, but that doesn't stop him from pursuing her. The head RA Hillary has a crush on Lloyd, but Ron doesn't think it's a good idea for Lloyd to hook up with her. Marshall inspires a boring History teacher to revamp his teaching style, with cringe-worthy results.
3	"Eric Visits"	John Hamburg	Judd Apatow & Rodney Rothman	October 2, 2001	103
Lizzie's boyfriend visits her at UNEC. Steven convinces her to break up with Eric, but feels guilty and helps Eric win her back. Meanwhile, Ron brings up a whole keg of beer and urges his suitemates to help him finish it.
4	"Jobs, Jobs, Jobs"	Greg Mottola	Joel Madison	January 15, 2002	104
Steven is forced to get a job in the cafeteria to help pay his tuition until Hal finds "the right job".
5	"Sick in the Head"	Greg Mottola	Seth Rogen	October 16, 2001	105
Marshall gets sick, and Rachel volunteers to take care of him. Lloyd tries to start a real relationship with a girl. Steven makes friends in the rec room.
6	"The Assistant"	Judd Apatow	Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen & Nicholas Stoller	November 13, 2001	106
Adam Sandler holds a concert at UNEC, then hangs out at Steven's floor afterwards. Rachel hooks up with Adam's assistant, Loughran. Lloyd bonds with Hal, and Steven isn't happy about it.
7	"Addicts"	Greg Mottola	Jennifer Konner & Alexandra Rushfield	October 9, 2001	108
Ron and Lloyd invest in a stock that rises then quickly drops. Steven, Lizzie and Rachel pay a druggie to do their papers, but he fails to deliver.
8	"God Visits"	John Hamburg	Rodney Rothman	Unaired	110
A fellow student convinces Steven to accept the Lord, while a professor makes Lloyd believe that everything is meaningless.
9	"Parents' Weekend"	John Hamburg	Rodney Rothman	January 22, 2002	111
Marshall is reluctant to let his parents know that he isn't a business major. Ron gets propositioned by Lloyd's sister, Amanda. Rachel has to face the wrath of her control freak mother. Hal meets up with his estranged wife, Debra.
10	"Eric Visits Again"	Greg Mottola	Nicholas Stoller	November 20, 2001	109
Eric discovers that Lizzie cheated on him with Steven, and heads to UNEC to get his revenge. Lloyd helps Steven prepare for a fistfight.
11	"Rush and Pledge"	Jay Chandrasekhar	Kristofor Brown	December 11, 2001	112
Frustrated with the way his roommates have been treating him, Steven joins the Theta Delta Zeta fraternity. Meanwhile, Lizzie joins TDZ's Little Sisters.
12	"Hell Week"	Jay Chandrasekhar	Joel Madison & Seth Rogen	December 18, 2001	113
Steven is fed up with TDZ in more ways than one. He quits, but it is not without repercussions.
13	"Truth or Dare"	Greg Mottola	Teleplay by: Seth Rogen Story by: Judd Apatow	January 29, 2002	107
The boys play a scripted game of Truth or Dare to help their chances with the girls.
14	"The Day After"	Judd Apatow	Judd Apatow & Seth Rogen	February 12, 2002	114
Steven is unsure of where he stands with Lizzie, and Lloyd's ideas aren't helping him any. They spend their Saturday apart, but come to a revelation.
15	"The Perfect Date"	Greg Mottola	Judd Apatow & Brent Forrester	February 19, 2002	115
Steven plans the perfect date for Lizzie in order to show up Eric. Theo, Steven's friend from high school, shows up unexpectedly and ruins the day for Ron, Marshall and Lloyd.
16	"Hal and Hillary"	Jay Chandrasekhar	Kristofor Brown	March 5, 2002	116
On his way to see Steven, Hal meets and hooks up with the head RA Hillary. Ron and the gang see them getting it on, and Steven is bummed out. A jealous Lucien takes his anger out on Steven.
17	"Eric's POV"	Jon Favreau	Judd Apatow & Nicholas Stoller	March 12, 2002	117
Eric heads to UNEC to try to win Lizzie back. The boys sit in and watch Girls Gone Wild, while the girls try to add highlights to make Lizzie's hair look pretty, but fail miserably.

Planned storylines

The DVD contains the script to an unproduced episode, "Lloyd's Rampage" (written by Lewis Morton), which was written for the show's second season. It revolves around Lloyd getting into a fight with Kieran, the star student of his acting class, and deciding that he wants to experience real life. So, Steven and Lloyd go to a bar and end up in a fight with some working-class men, which impresses Kieran when Lloyd tells him about it. A subplot revolves around Marshall getting extremely drunk and throwing up in a bar. When he is throwing up, Perry takes a picture and video, and makes T-shirts and posters and puts them around campus. Marshall is embarrassed at first, but he is glad when he finds out about all of the attention that he gets as "Puke Dude". Unfortunately for him, this doesn't last long when everyone forgets about him after another student defecates in his pants in the library. Perry's last name is revealed to be Madison in this episode. The role of Kieran was written for That '70s Show star Topher Grace, but he never appeared in the episode because of a dispute between Apatow and That '70s Show co-creator Mark Brazill.^[3]

During a question-and-answer session, Judd Apatow stated that if the series had been picked up for a second season, there would have been an episode titled "Eric's Birthday" in which Lizzie and Steven would go to the birthday party mentioned in episode "Eric's POV". Linda Cardellini of Freaks and Geeks would have played his new girlfriend. In the episode, Eric would have had a cake with a picture of him and his new girlfriend printed on it. Lizzie would have been given the piece with Eric's new girlfriend's face. At the time, Segel and Cardellini were dating.

Syndication

In June 2010, it was announced that the Independent Film Channel had acquired the rights to air both Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks.^[4] Undeclared premiered on IFC on November 5, 2010.^[5] Both Undeclared and Freaks and Geeks began rerunning on the TeenNick network on June 13, 2011.^[6] Netflix also has Undeclared and has the episodes in their original chronological order.

DVD release

Undeclared DVD cover art

On August 16, 2005, Shout! Factory released the complete series of Undeclared on DVD in Region 1. The four-disc boxed set contains all 17 episodes, including an unaired episode and a bonus director's cut.

According to Apatow, the producers were unable to get clearance for all the music in the series (not being able to use about 10 songs). Since the uncleared songs were considered to not play a significant role in the series, they were switched with a suitable substitute.^[2]

Undeclared: The Complete Series
Set details			Special features
Studio: Shout! Factory 17 episodes 1.33:1 aspect ratio English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) Subtitles: None			A never-before-seen episode ("God Visits") Director's cut of the second episode featuring Ted Nugent ("Full Bluntal Nugety") 18 commentaries with directors, writers and the entire cast Deleted scenes, auditions, outtakes, rehearsals and extended takes Loudon Wainwright live concert footage Museum of Television & Radio Q&A 28-page booklet Script for unproduced episode
Release date
Region 1	August 16, 2005

Reception

Critical reception

Undeclared has received critical acclaim from television critics. At Metacritic, its first and only season earned a score of 85 out of 100, based on 24 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim".^[7]

Ratings

The show averaged 7.3 million viewers and was #93 in the rankings during its only season.^[8]

References

1. "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years." Entertainment Weekly. August 3, 2012, p. 41.
2. Scott Weinberg (June 27, 2005). "Undeclared - The Complete Series". DVD Talk. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
3. "Don't have a cow, man". Harpers Magazine. March 2002. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
4. Natalie Abrams (June 30, 2010). "Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared Return to TV". TV Guide. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
5. "Undeclared - Series - On Air". IFC.com. Retrieved October 30, 2010.
6. "Freaks and Geeks & Undeclared - Coming Monday!". TeenNick. June 9, 2011. Retrieved June 15, 2011.
7. "Undeclared : Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
8. "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002.

External links

• Undeclared at the Internet Movie Database
• Undeclared at TV.com