Undergrads | |
---|---|
Created by | Pete Williams |
Developed by | Pete Williams Josh A. Cagan |
Directed by | Jerry Popowich |
Starring |
|
Opening theme | The Click by Good Charlotte |
Composers | Jono Grant Chris Ross |
Country of origin | United States Canada |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Producers | David McGrath Beth Stevenson |
Editor | Martin Jefferson |
Running time | 22 minutes |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | MTV (US) Teletoon's Adult Block (Canada) |
Release | April 22 – August 12, 2001 |
Undergrads (stylized as underGRADS) is an adult animated sitcom centered on the lives of four college undergraduate freshmen. [1] Originally broadcast on MTV in 2001, only 13 episodes were created. It has since been shown on Teletoon's Adult Block in Canada, and Trouble in the United Kingdom. [2]
The show was created by Pete Williams, who dropped out of New York University at the age of 19 during his sophomore year to work on the show in 1997 after winning an MTV animation contest. [2] Williams performs most of the voices on the show. [3] The series was produced by David McGrath.
After an unsuccessful revival attempt in 2004, Williams in 2018 announced a Kickstarter campaign for funding a feature-length series finale called Undergrads: The Movie. As of August 2023 the film is currently in development from Brain Power Studio, and is likely set for a 2025 release. [2]
This section is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.(August 2012) |
The show depicts a typical freshman college experience. Characters in the show represent stereotypical college types; including the everyman (Nitz), the "frat boy" (Rocko), the "ladies' man" (Cal), the nerd (Gimpy), the punk girl (Jessie), and the "ditz" (Kimmy). Typical situations depicted in the show include student loans, bad cafeteria food, questioning of identity, fraternity rivalries, odd traditions, unpleasant RAs, money problems, peer pressure, and the "freshman 15". Few episodes depict the characters in class; the one exception is Rocko's ROTC class in the episode, Financial Aid.
The location in the show has never been named. It appears to be a typical North American college town. However, it has been hinted in several episodes that the show takes place in New England, and Pete Williams, the show's creator, attended a university in this region. Episode 2, Traditions, features the "Xposed Xpo," a naked run, and a classic tradition of the University of Vermont. In episode 12, Risk, there is a free Ben & Jerry's day, as well as a Spring Fling, another UVM tradition. In the episode Drunks, both Jessie and Nitz hold fake New York state driver's licenses. The episode Identity Crisis takes place at the start of the second semester and reveals bare trees and snow, conditions more likely to be found in northern states in January. However, in episode 1 Gimpy disguises Mump as a California Highway Patrol Officer to follow Rocko.
This section is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.(August 2012) |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Teletoon air date [5] | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Party" | Jerry Popowich | Josh A. Cagan | April 22, 2001 | June 30, 2001 [6] | 101 |
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. | ||||||
2 | "Traditions" | Jerry Popowich | Scott Sonneborn | April 29, 2001 | July 1, 2001 | 102 |
3 | "Virgins" | Jerry Popowich | Nahnatchka Khan | May 6, 2001 | September 8, 2001 | 103 |
Nitz is a virgin but thinks that Kimmy wants to have sex with him when she invites him to the clinic where she works. | ||||||
4 | "New Friends" | Jerry Popowich | Andy Rheingold | May 13, 2001 | September 9, 2001 | 104 |
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 has lost command of his band of minions and must fight Number One for control. | ||||||
5 | "Drunks" | Jerry Popowich | Josh A. Cagan | June 8, 2001 | September 16, 2001 | 109 |
Nitz who is underage 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. | ||||||
6 | "Roommates" | Jerry Popowich | Julie Rottenberg, Elisa Zuritsky, Josh A. Cagan & Andy Rheingold | June 15, 2001 | September 23, 2001 | 110 |
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's attracted to Jessie but then tries too hard to get her. Gimpy falls in love with a girl hacker. | ||||||
7 | "Jerks" | Jerry Popowich | Josh A. Cagan | June 22, 2001 | September 30, 2001 | 107 |
Gimpy, unable to further tolerate Rita's tyranny, enlists Cal to woo her into submission. But the plan works a little too well. 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. | ||||||
8 | "Rivalries" | Jerry Popowich | Brad Sonneborn & Scott Sonneborn | June 29, 2001 | October 7, 2001 | 112 |
Nitz and Gimpy enter a trivia competition but end up competing against each other in an inter-college competition. | ||||||
9 | "Financial Aid" | Jerry Popowich | Nahnatchka Khan | July 6, 2001 | October 14, 2001 | 113 |
Nitz does not receive his financial aid check and so joins the local student action group. Rocko joins the local college ROTC. | ||||||
10 | "Identity Crisis" | Jerry Popowich | Josh A. Cagan, Andy Rheingold & Pete Williams | July 22, 2001 | October 21, 2001 | 105 |
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. | ||||||
11 | "Work Study" | Jerry Popowich | Scott Sonneborn | July 29, 2001 | October 28, 2001 | 111 |
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. | ||||||
12 | "Risk" | Jerry Popowich | Andy Rheingold & Pete Williams | August 5, 2001 | November 4, 2001 | 106 |
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. | ||||||
13 | "Screw Week" | Jerry Popowich | Josh A. Cagan, Andy Rheingold & Pete Williams | August 12, 2001 | November 11, 2001 | 108 |
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. |
In June 2018, Pete Williams acquired the rights from MTV to produce a film based on Undergrads, to serve as feature-length series finale. [7] The film, Undergrads: The Movie, is in development from Brain Power Studio, with a budget of $150,000 (acquired following a successful Kickstarter campaign), [8] [9] and is set for a 2025 release. [2]
The theme song, "The Click", is written and performed by the band Good Charlotte, who appear in the episode Risk. Much of the music featured in Undergrads include songs from various indie rock bands and Canadian artists, such as Vibrolux, Alkaline Trio, Knacker, Sam Roberts, Reggie and the Full Effect, Sloan, The Planet Smashers, The Brodys, and The Rosenbergs, among others. The score of the show was composed and produced by Jono Grant. A list of bands and songs used in each episode can be found at the show's official website.
This style of music was also heavily featured in another Decode Entertainment series, Radio Free Roscoe, which had the same music directors as Undergrads.
The American broadcast used different songs by artists such as Linkin Park, Madonna, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, and the Foo Fighters. [10]
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