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"Only the good die young," a certain piano man once sang. He could've been talking about Undeclared, the hilarious, yet heartfelt college comedy from Judd Apatow (The Larry Sanders Show). Alas, FOX had even less patience than NBC and cancelled it after 16 episodes, rather than the 17 granted Apatow's other fan favorite, Freaks and Geeks. Directed by Jake Kasdan (The Zero Effect), the pilot ("Prototype") sets the scene. Steven Karp (Jay Baruchel, Million Dollar Baby) is a nerdy 18-year-old who grew seven inches over the past year and is looking to make a new start at the University of North Eastern California. Well, good news, bad news. At his first party, he makes it with Lizzie (Carla Gallo, Carnivà le), the bubbly girl down the hall--then finds out she has a boyfriend. Worse yet, Steven's dad, Hal (singer/songwriter Loudon Wainwright III), crashes it to announce he's getting divorced. Fortunately, Hal hits it off with Steven's roommates: Marshall (Timm Sharp, Six Feet Under), Ron (Seth Rogen, Freaks and Geeks), and Brit chick magnet Lloyd (Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Nickleby). Other regulars include Lizzie's boyfriend, Eric (Jason Segel, Freaks and Geeks), and roommate Rachel (Monica Keena, Entourage). Steven's freshman year will be an eventful one. Aside from the loss of his virginity, he'll get his first job ("Jobs, Jobs, Jobs "), he'll meet Adam Sandler ("The Assistant"), he'll hire a speed freak (Will Ferrell) to write a term paper ("Addicts"), and his RA (Amy Poehler) will have a fling with his dad ("Hal and Hillary"). Other guests include Fred Willard ("So You Have a Boyfriend"), Mary Kay Place ("Parent's Weekend"), and Ben Stiller (the Jon Favreau-directed "Eric's POV"). This set includes all 16 episodes, plus one that wasn't broadcast ("God Visits") and an alternate, Ted Nugent-ified version of the second ("Full Bluntal Nugetry"). --Kathleen C. Fennessy |
