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05.11.2006

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must-see dvd tv: curb your enthusiasm, undeclared
by Yee-Fan Sun
| 1 2
continued from page 1 
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undeclared
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Carla Gallo, Charlie Hunnam, Monica Keena, Seth Rogen, Timm Sharp, Loudon Wainwright III
Buy: The Complete Series

Undeclared centers on the trials and tribulations of a motley group of freshman at the fictional University of North Eastern California who, thanks to the gods of random housing assignment, end up living on the same dorm floor. Our unlikely hero is a gangly geek by the name of Steven Karp [the perfectly cast and unapologetically gawky Jay Baruchel], who shows up move-in day to find himself sharing a suite with a too-sexy-for-his-own-good Brit named Lloyd [Charlie Hunnam], a mild-mannered musician named Marshall [Timm Sharp], and a wryly sarcastic business major named Ron [the rather hilarious Seth Rogen, also one of the show’s writers]. Just across the hall (because this is one of the beauties of college dorm living) are the girls: neurotic pretty Lizzie [Carlo Gallo], whose on-again off-again relationship with her too-devoted townie boyfriend causes constant angst, and sexy Rachel [Monica Keena], who doesn’t have a whole lot of patience for all the immature guys constantly slobbering over her. As they hook-up and break-up, pine and whine, juggle relationship troubles with roommate tensions with, oh yeah, those pesky papers and exams, these six freshman learn a little something about each other and about themselves, about where they might want to be heading and who they might want to be, while they slowly get used to being on their own for the first time.

Created by Judd Apatow, who also brought us the brilliant high school dramedy Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared is another one of these great shows that got canceled before it ever got a chance to establish an audience (see Firefly, and Wonderfalls, and, of course, Freaks and Geeks). Like F&G, it derives a large part of its funny by not being afraid to revel in the sheer awkwardness of growing up and trying to forge your identity; featuring one of my favorite former F&G cast members, Seth Rogen -- so funny! so unexpectedly sweet! -- and a slew of guest appearances by other alum (including Busy Phillips, Martin Starr and Samm Levine, as well as Jason Segel in a disturbing but amusing recurring role as Lizzie’s unhinged ex), it might even be seen as Freaks and Geeks Go to College, though there are almost two decades between when the two shows take place. The characters are quirky and incredibly appealing, the dialogue is funny and fresh, and the cast’s chemistry makes their friendships seem completely believable. Moreover the show’s writers have a knack for taking stereotypical college experiences -- fraternity hazing, random hook-ups, identity crises, the freshman fifteen -- and turning them into something a little weird, a little unexpected, and a lot more true to what all that stuff actually feels like when we encounter it in our real-world lives. Undeclared is one of the few TV shows I’ve ever seen that actually gets the college dorm experience just right. Get your hands on the DVD, and revel in the memories.

o

recent must-see dvd tv:
lost, veronica mars |carnivale, deadwood | dead like me, wonderfalls | more

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