Let's talk some MTV to start off this edition of One Season Wonders. Music Television launched on August 1st, 1981. Despite being the central hub for music videos at the time, what also set MTV apart from its competitors was its reliance of animation through the many classic identifications. In fact, you can see work from several known animators who would make it big in the 90s from Danny Antonucci to Joe Murray and even John R. Dilworth. Eventually MTV would take animation beyond the bumper and start to produce their own animated programs for the network. From Liquid Television to Beavis & Butt-Head to Daria, the network was strong with animated content, particularly in the 90s.
Moving into the 2000's also managed to bear fruit, but not as viable for MTV Animation. In this time we saw several shows only make to a one season run. Shows like Spy Groove, Downtown and 3 South, just to name a few. Not to mention one particular animated show that was unfairly cancelled, that I do intend to talk about, so let's talk about it. Let's review Clone Hi-Let's review Undergrads!
SERIES OVERVIEW
Undergrads was a Canadian animated series created by Pete Williams, and aired on MTV from April 4th-August 12th of 2001. The series chronicled the adventures of four friends on their first year of college (all four voiced by Williams). These protagonists being Nitz, our main character whose entire arc is wooing the one girl he's been in love with for years. Cal, a dimwitted slurring nice guy who always says "hey guy", and has sex with all the ladies on campus. Rocko, a frat boy who is so dumb he makes Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds look like Neil Degrasse Tyson. And finally Gimpy, a somewhat agoraphobic evil genius and ultimate Star Wars nerd. Also the theme song is "The Click" by Good Charlotte, right before their peak in popularity in the mid-aughts. Despite its cancellation in 2001, the show remained a staple of Canadian animation network Teletoon in many of its late night lineups. So let's get into the episodes.
Episode 1: Party. The first week of college has passed for "The Click". Gimpy is already trying to usurp power in Tekerson Tech, his college. Meanwhile Rocko is trying to get into the fraternity Alpha Alpha by intentionally hazing himself to get in. Cal is already a hit with the ladies while Nitz, well... hasn't done anything all week, and ultimately doesn't have any plans because he's as milquetoast as they come. When offered to come to the State U mixer, at first Nitz rejects it. He also meets Jessie (through her breaking into his dorm room), and before you can say "the obvious choice for Nitz", he is reunited with his longtime crush Kimmy Burton, and since she's going to the mixer, he goes to the mixer as well. However there's a catch. Since he wasted his first week doing nothing, he's got nothing to talk to her about, so he sets off on a quest to cram as much college life into three hours.
Nitz ultimately goes around doing some things while Cal gives out more flyers to the party, turning the sparsely attended party into a big event. Meanwhile Rocko continues to make himself look like an ass around town in his self-hazing, causing Gimpy to attempt to intervene. Meanwhile, the party goes well with Nitz becoming popular, despite his only interest being talking to Kimmy. And thanks to Cal stupidly telling Kimmy on the phone that she doesn't have to come to the party, it enrages Nitz further. Gimpy sends his nerd underlings to try to ruin Rocko's chances of getting into Alpha Alpha, but they end up earning him the pledge. In the end Jessie manages to lift Nitz's spirits by saying that while he did something stupid, there'll be others to do stupider, and they become better friends because of it.
For a first episode, Party does a good job in setting up the concept of Undergrads going forward. We get enough time with the central four characters to give us a better understanding in how they function. Cal is a lovable idiot who gets all the ladies, Rocko is a hard headed moron, and the one most embarrassed by his friendship, Gimpy is a paranoid strategist who already has his college under his control, and Nitz, well... is kind of terrible. Not in a cruel or horrible way, but he is a flawed protagonist. He doesn't care about himself or have any interest in much of the outside world beyond Kimmy Burton. She is all he cares about, to the point that he has a photo of her on his desk. To the point that he only tries to gain new friends and experiences just to get her attention. Thankfully this show isn't just 13 episodes with that as the main focus, but it will always be his most notable character trait.
Episode 2: Traditions. We open the episode with all of the click having dreams. Nitz is with sleeping with Kimmy (of course), Gimpy dreams of helping Queen Amidala while in bed, Cal dreams of just laying in bed, and Rocko dreams of sleeping with Cal and Keanu Reeves, meaning we're getting some good old fashioned early 2000's gay panic. It's made no better as there's an upcoming college event called the exposed expo, where freshmen run naked. Fearing going through his life and never doing squat, Nitz decides to do the expo (mainly because Kimmy will be watching). However, his main concern becomes his recent weight gain. Meanwhile, Gimpy tries to prove to his RA that he does leave his room by having others pull pranks for him under the alias of G Prime (so he doesn't have to actually leave his room).
Rocko helps Nitz lose the weight while wrestling with his homoerotic dreams, but all the weight goes to Nitz's ass, and he's out of time as the expo is underway. Nitz decides to back out of taking part in the expo. Meanwhile, Gimpy's plan to become tradition master backfires when his underlings all take credit for being G Prime. When Nitz realizes that he could end up as big a loser as his campus RA The Duggler, he finally goes through with the expo. Luckily some fog (caused by Gimpy, who reclaims his crown as top Tekerson prankster) covers up his exposed parts so that whole concern goes down the drain. Rocko sees Cal naked and realizes that it doesn't effect him, giving us a happily enough ever after.
This episode was good. A bit more focused than the last episode, giving the three main stories the right amount of time for each. Nitz having his focus being not entirely on Kimmy is nice, though it still remains the only factor for him doing squat in this episode, but he does ultimately realize that it's more about his own experiences, so I guess that's a win? The highlight is the Gimpy stuff as having his subordinates mess with Rita the authoritarian RA does lead to some good jokes. As for the Rocko stuff, it's far from the worst gay panic stuff. Mostly just Rocko being worried about saying certain things or being touched by others. It could have been far more offensive, but it works out fine. I'd say his whole other subplot of trying to photograph naked women was worse, but that thankfully was a far lesser plot thread. Cal doesn't get much other than to be the focus of Rocko's gay panic, but what he gets is still fun. A good episode all around.
Episode 3: Virgins. Rocko's ex-girlfriend is coming to State U, and he searches for a girl to make her jealous in his classic, disgusting manner. The main plot however sees Nitz, after going to a safe sex seminar, begins to worry about his virginity. However, after seeing Kimmy with a box of condoms, he begins to resent her because she's had sex before him, that he'll show her by becoming the greatest virgin of them all, while Cal joins him (despite not being a virgin in the slightest). After learning that it was all a misunderstanding with Kimmy, and seeing her put a condom on a banana (and passing out), Nitz now things that she obviously wants to have sex with him. So, he just watches a lot of blaxploitation porn to help him prepare for what he thinks is finally his big score, only for Kimmy to think he's just auditioning to be the new date rape actor. Rocko pretends to be sensitive and lands a girl, but since she's way too innocent, she won't force herself on him and it ruins his plan, and lands him a kick in the crotch for his deceit. Oh, and Gimpy's obsessed with Agent Scully or something.
This is an okay episode, but definitely one with less focus than the previous two. The Rocko subplot feels a bit skeezy, but it does lead to some fun bits with him trying to behave rationally. And Cal trying to be a virgin is funny stuff. My issue remains with Nitz and his whole Kimmy obsession, with this feeling more than ever that he sees having sex with her as his only goal in life. It also doesn't paint a good picture of him when he becomes scornful of her because she's had sex before him, almost as if he feels cheated out of being her first, I guess. Nitz is an interesting character, he's far from a horrible person for the most part, but he's also extremely flawed, and so far to this point, this is his most flawed moment. Also a lack of anything for Gimpy to do also hurt things too.
Episode 4: New Friends. After injuring his subordinate Mump, the rest of the students of Tekerson Tech turn on Gimpy and begin to follow the former ruler of the roost, Spud, or as he prefers to be called, Number 1. It's a battle of Trekkie vs... whatever the nickname for Star Wars fan is. Meanwhile, Nitz feels burned that his friends forget his birthday, and ends up hanging out with Jessie's friends. Rob Brodie, your average pretentious film critic, Kruger, who cusses a lot, and Dan, who just laughs a lot. He ends up hitting it off with them pretty quickly. Gimpy challenges Spud to a duel for control of the school in the most early 2000's way of all, a team death match in Quake. Gimpy enlists Cal and Rocko, but Nitz blows them off since he's still burned about them forgetting his birthday.
However, it turns out that Rocko and Cal, despite lots of using their joysticks, suck quite badly at Quake and all seems lost. Nitz eventually realizes the error of his ways and with the help of his new friends, manages to easily defeat Spud. Gimpy regains control of Tekerson Tech, and we end on a parody of Episode IV.
I liked this episode. They didn't have much for Cal and Rocko until the end (in fact, all Rocko was doing up until the Quake stuff was engaging in a one man fight club), but they did give Gimpy a lot more time and focus, which was sorely missing from the previous episode. Nitz was also good in this episode, managing to find friends outside of the click. Jessie's friends are all fun as well, and given enough time for their gimmicks to breathe. I've come across so many Rob Brodie-esque critics in my internet travels that he feels the most realistic. The final act was great too as a fun representation of Quake. Most likely if this were made now it would be Overwatch. Can't exactly see Gimpy as a COD fan.
Episode 5: Drunks. We open the episode with Rocko hallucinating about a giant whiskey bottle named Bobby Whiskey, which gives him the confidence to go on a bigger bender than usual. Meanwhile Nitz, who has never drank before, ends up going to a bar so he can once again impress Kimmy. However, he's also under 21, so no luck there. He ends up getting Gimpy to make him a fake ID, but in the process causes everyone else to want one from Gimpy as well. However Gimpy takes this fake ID business as if it's his artistic calling, only to soon realize nobody actually cares about the effort put into them, they just want lemon flavored gin.
Rocko ends up in jail after his night of debauchery, and later vows to never drink again. Nitz has his way into the bar, but now faces the issue of actually having to drink for the first time, so he and Rocko do a quid pro quo (or "Skid Row Bro) to teach each on on both sobriety and alcoholism. Eventually Rocko begins to fear that he's sending Nitz down the wrong path and tries to stop him. However, Nitz still doesn't want to drink, so he manages to distract everyone with a game of quarters. But before he's ultimately forced to drink, Rocko stops him by drinking his drink and returning to his vices.
A good episode, not great for certain. What I do like about this episode is that we actually get some more character for Rocko besides his basic violent drunk nature. Having him spend some time with Nitz to help him out actually comes off as perhaps the best part of this episode. Nitz's Kimmy obsession is also a bit more bearable in this one and I do like that he manages to stick to his non-alcoholic mentality by the end of the episode. I haven't brought up much on Kimmy, but I do like her character. Perhaps a bit too airheaded and oblivious (particularly in the fact that the obviously gay Mark is the object of her affection), but not a bad person, which makes her bearable. She still feels too much like a prize for Nitz to ultimately obtain, but at least she has some character.
Episode 6: Roommates. Nitz begins to get constantly annoyed by Cal. From having his food eaten, to Cal constantly playing his keyboard annoyingly. Jessie is also having roommate problems, so naturally the two end up rooming together. It doesn't take long for Nitz to start liking Jessie more, but after accidentally walking in on her naked, he becomes Kimmy level infatuated with her. Hell, even more so as he full on ogles Jessie. He tries to deny any attraction at first, but then goes overboard, as you'd expect from Nitz. Meanwhile, Gimpy begins to be out-hacked by a female hacker named She-Prime. Despite their constant arguing, they end up falling in love with each other (at least to the level of love two computer nerds can I guess).
After he starts to feel "PC Whipped" however, he starts being a jerk, which ultimately leads to She-Prime putting a potential virus on his computer until her apologizes. A lonely Cal hangs with Rocko, who hopes taking him to his frat will mean that Cal gets beaten up. But since Cal gets all the ladies, he's more popular than ever while Rocko wallows. In the end, Cal and Nitz reunite, he apologizes to Jessie for his creepy attraction to her, and Gimpy and She-Prime return to their friendly rivalry, forever unaware they're only a room apart in Tekerson Tech.
This is probably my least favorite episode as I feel none of the three stories really get much time to breathe. Nitz's stuff with Jesse becomes high cringe by the end of the episode which kind of hurts his character in a way. While it's obvious that there is a good relationship that could be found within the two, Nitz still acts as if a relationship is more a prize to win, kind of like his Kimmy obsession. The Gimpy and She-Prime stuff is the episode's highlight, to the point that I wish it had more focus involved as well. Also Cal and Rocko did stuff. Honestly, I think Cal was annoying in this episode, at least for the first act. His character is meant to be annoying obviously, but he does feel like it's a little too annoying for its own good. So, while not a horrible episode by any means, it does stand as my least favorite.
Episode 7: Jerks. After being tied of Rita the RA's tyranny, Gimpy sends Cal to sleep with her while and his underlings have Tekerson Tech to themselves. Rocko's annoyance causes him to be kicked out of Alpha Alpha for the weekend, and Nitz goes to the library to he can end up seeing Kimmy. However, she breaks the news to him that she's leaving for London for a whole semester. Nitz lies to her, saying he has a travel clock to give her. However his plans to actually get her the clock are ruined when Rocko decides to room with him for the weekend.
Due to Rocko's regular debauchery, Nitz ends up with no time to give her the clock. Meanwhile at Tekerson, with no order comes chaos as things have become too unruly. Gimpy manages to retrieve the clock that Nitz needs in time, but Rocko ends up accidentally destroying it. Nitz kicks Rocko out of his life, fearing he's lost his last chance with Kimmy. He badmouths Rocko in front of Kimmy, only for Rocko to show up with the clock he tried to fix, making Nitz look worse by comparison. Nitz apologizes to Rocko as they both realize they're jerks. Meanwhile things have gotten worse at Tekerson, to the point that the only way they can get Cal away from Rita is to use Rocko's mastery of being the worst person ever, which works. In the end, Nitz learns that Kimmy is no longer going to London, Terkerson is back to normal, and Rocko is still his regular awful self. That's enough of a win I guess.
This episode takes a bit to pick up, but it still is a good one. What makes it work is Rocko, as it is probably the best example of why he is a good character. Sure he's drunk, violent, drunk, sexist, drunk, somewhat racist, and drunk, but he does have a heart to him. It's just often buried in a husk of toxic masculinity. He's a terrible person, but having the friendship of Nitz and Gimpy (and Cal even if he hates him), does help set him straight when he strays too far. Outside of this, the episode does feel more like a stock sitcom plot with a lot of comedic misunderstandings and whatnot. Not that that's a bad thing, but it does make the story feel pretty predictable, even for this show. A good episode, but not the most memorable.
Episode 8: Rivals. Nitz and Gimpy turn out to be pop culture wizards, using their knowledge on an online game show called "Awww, what do you know?" However, their trivia camaraderie gets put to the test when both State U and Tekerson Tech are in a rivalry with one another.This whole rivalry situation escalates when Rocko tries to start a rivalry with State U and Alpha Alpha, while Cal becomes the State U mascot, the manatee. This leads to the majority of their story being Rocko beating up on Cal in the manatee costume. the trivia game has a school tournament underway, which means that both Nitz and Gimpy have to compete, representing their different schools. Nitz and Gimpy work together at first, but Gimpy's lackey Mump continues to try and drive a wedge in their friendship to get some attention. In the end, it comes down to State U and Tekerson in the finals, with Nitz and Gimpy at each other's throats over past indiscretions.
Cal's spirit gets as broken as his face when he realizes that State U doesn't care about school spirit, but just to see him get beaten up.On the day of the big finals, it seems like Gimpy and Nitz work together to throw the game out of friendship and whatnot, but it turns out that Gimpy really does want to win, leading to them still at each other's throats. Rocko interrupts, planning to take his ass kicking nationwide, but Cal finally has enough and starts fighting Rocko. Cal also is the one who eventually plays peacemaker, calming everyone down over their rivalry bug.
This is a great episode. A bit dogged due to feeling rushed, but a great episode nonetheless. Nitz and Gimpy's growing disdain is fun to watch, especially with Mump being the puppet master for a good percentage, and there's something hilariously therapeutic about Cal getting constantly beaten up by Rocko. Speaking of Cal, this feels like the first episode to really give him some stronger character focus, especially with him being the one to fix the whole mess in the end. That and his weird somewhat symbiotic relationship to the manatee costume is also hilarious. Definitely a highlight episode of Undergrads.
Episode 9: Financial Aid. Nitz's financial aid check gets lost, leaving him with little money. However, that becomes the least of his concerns when his accidental activism (sleeping in line) gains the attention of Kimmy, who suggests he joins her protest group. A protest group that she only really cares about, but one nonetheless. Meanwhile, Rocko learns that he's enrolled in an ROTC scholarship (having signed up to get a free Koosh ball) and has to join. However he soon learns the school's ROTC group isn't a group of gun-toting soldiers, but a bunch of friendly geeks. Rocko takes over the class and teaches it to be violent, unruly warriors, while Kimmy's protest group tries to help Nitz get his check. Nitz becomes the face of a protest against the bureaucracy of financial aid and a concert is held in his honor. It all goes well, until Nitz does learn that his check was just misplaced. In the end, Rocko's maligned militia stops the concert, Rocko saves Nitz, and everything's happily ever after... except for the whole protest fracas, I guess.
Kind of a bland episode, but that's not to say there weren't some enjoyable parts to this one. I like the whole ROTC stuff with Rocko, but I do wish it had a bit more time to flesh out. I also like seeing Nitz and Kimmy's relationship expanding a bit more, even if at the end she does kind of string him along after the fact to keep her protest concert going. Also Cal and Nitz are in this episode, but both feel very unimportant to the story, especially Cal, but that seems pretty par for the course at this point.
Episode 10: Identity Crisis. It's before winter break and we see that Nitz has managed to become quite popular around campus, with everyone knowing his name. Cut to after winter break however and suddenly everyone has already forgotten him. Burned at the fact that he's considered to be too forgettable, Nitz goes out to give himself a more memorable identity. Meanwhile, Gimpy informs Cal of an "I Hate Cal" newsgroup (mostly made by men who have had their girlfriends taken by him). This depresses Cal to the point where he seeks to change his identity, which of course means going to Rocko for advice. This mostly just leads to Rocko beating him up some more, as usual. Though this negative reinforcement works and Cal turns into a mini-Rocko. However, this backfires on both of them as Cal now becomes a Rocko-level jerk and Rocko begins to spiral deeper into insanity.
Meanwhile Nitz's attempts to stand out end up constantly failing to the point where he locks himself in his room, which in turn gives the identity of "Room Guy". Gimpy, jealous that Nitz has become popular on the "Room Guy" persona despite it being something he's been doing for years, tries to coax Nitz to leave his room to no avail. Ultimately it doesn't matter in the end, as people soon grow tired of the whole "Room Guy" thing, and Nitz returns to his realm of unpopularity. In fact, they've all become enamored with Cal, who has become "Tree Guy"after sitting in a tree and talking to squirrels. Nitz learns his lesson that he should focus on the friends he has, and the episode ends with everyone forgetting to help Cal get out of the tree.
This is a fun episode. A good use of all the characters, even if Gimpy feels the least used until about halfway in. Nitz's issue of identity works pretty well with a strong moral about not changing your persona and to focus on the friends you have, while we get a lot of focus on Cal for once as he wrestles with the issue of people not liking him. After ten episodes with him mostly being the side character, it feels good to see him get a bit more of a spotlight. Plus Rocko is hilarious as his sudden kinship with Cal drives him into utter insanity (moreso than usual at least for Rocko). Good story, good moral, great episode.
Episode 11: Work Study. Nitz finds the answer to his friends financial problems after he gets a credit card from his parents. However with great power comes great irresponsibility as Nitz quickly blows through the card's limit. So his only hope to ensure his mother doesn't see the card being grossly over the limit is to get a job at the school library, cleaning up after the students have sex in the stacks. With Nitz no longer being their money monkey, the others also try to find ways to make cash, with their own poor results. Particularly Rocko and Gimpy collecting sperm samples from the Tekerson students. Despite only making nine dollars, Nitz seems fine with his job, but gets bailed out by Rocko and Cal who are swimming in wads of... cash. That is until their wells begin to run dry (literally in the case of Rocko and Gimpy). In the end, everyone is broke, but happy. Nitz ultimately gives the card back and continues his work as a library jizz mopper.
This episode is good, though it moves at an almost breakneck pace. Hell, the B plot involving the other three getting money doesn't start until halfway through the second act, and then just keeps going. That being said, it's still got a good moral about not letting yourself get caught in something you may not be ready to take on, in this case the responsibility of a charge card. Also, this episode is chock full of references to Star Wars. Hell, almost more so than every other episode in the show. I think Pete Williams really likes Star Wars, guys. Haven't deciphered that yet.
Episode 11: Risk. We've reached the penultimate area, people. Gimpy unearths his Risk board game buried within the stuff he brought from home. Gimpy intends to play the click at one more game to finally defeat Nitz (mainly because Gimpy ends up pulling a kamikaze at the end of every game). Meanwhile, the spring fling is coming up, and Nitz is once again on high alert Kimmy obsession, agreeing to run the popcorn machine. However, Nitz ultimately agrees to play Risk as long as it finishes before the spring fling. Jessie, who is becoming annoyed at Nitz's constant fawning of Kimmy, decides to not bail him out, and joins in to keep Nitz from bailing.
Things go from bad to worse for Kimmy, who is understaffed in running the spring fling (also Good Charlotte is in this episode). Nitz tries to bail by flipping the game board, but Gimpy's lackeys manage to rebuild the game perfect. There's no bailing in this battle. Meanwhile, the popcorn booth catches fire, causing a massive blaze at the spring fling. Gimpy manages to get Nitz to stay, and we get our final battle. Rocko is eliminated early on, so Nitz and Gimpy form an alliance to eliminate Cal. Jessie suggests Nitz turn on Gimpy, which leads to a massive argument about how all Nitz has ever done is ditch his friends for Kimmy. Ulimately this then leads to Gimpy finally pulling a kamikaze, and in the end Cal ends up winning. In the end, despite the disaster, the spring fling still goes well and everything ends on a happy note.
This is one of the show's strongest episodes for a few reasons. First off, because it's hilarious with a lot of running gags like a pretentious Carson Daly parody, Cal bailing on three girls who think he's kidnapped, and Gimpy's kamikaze at the end. But what makes it work is that it ultimately does feel like everything has been building up to that one moment during the risk game. The ugly truth revealed that Nitz is starting to drift away from his friends and everything else because all he wants is Kimmy. She is his obsession and the only future he wants. I wish the episode didn't need to end the scene on a silly Cal moment because it should have had a chance to feel more sobering.
Speaking of Kimmy, I liked that we got a bit more from her as we see her trying in vain to maintain damage control on the spring fling. The ultimate example of her character being a nice girl who is way too much of an overachiever, but still manages to sort of win in the end. We also play up a lot more of Jessie's feelings for Nitz. How she tries to be his voice of reason, despite him being so hard headed and Kimmy obsessed. With one episode left for Undergrads, the show definitely gave us a great penultimate ep to get us ready for the big finale.
Episode 13: Screw Week. And here we are, the final episode of Undergrads. It's the final week of school, also dubbed "Screw Week", where the students have their last chance to have sex on campus. Which of course leads to Nitz worrying if he has one last chance with Kimmy, especially after seeing her crying with Mark the drama guy. This is compounded with the possibility that Kimmy may also not return next year While that's going down, Rocko leaves the frat after learning that everyone hates him, Cal looks to stay around as an RA in training, and Gimpy fears having to leave his room with the school year over. The foursome decide to try and be roommates, but have no luck in finding a place.
Nitz becomes Kimmy's shoulder to cry on, and despite hating her complaints, he sticks with it, much to the dismay of Jessie. The roommate plan also begins to fall further apart as Cal signs on to be an RA next year, while Gimpy and his cohorts choose to live on an off-shore anti-aircraft deck. Nitz thinks he's hitting it off with Kimmy, but learns she still pines for Mark the Drama Guy. Nitz then realizes that if Kimmy is gone next year, he has no reason to stay in college. Yeah, that's how obsessed he is. He literally only went to college to get to Kimmy. Yikes. Despite promising to help Jessie pack, Nitz ends up ditching her for his last shot at Kimmy. And, amazingly, he actually succeeds this time. Nitz ends up sleeping with Kimmy. It's not entirely stated that he has sex, but he did kind of get what he was looking for. But in the end it doesn't seems that worth it as he ends up getting chewed out at last by Jessie for his year of idiocy. And so the series ends with Cal as a new RA, Gimpy moving away, Rocko being brought back to the frat and Nitz, still unsure of his future, awaiting his next school year.
This is a strong finale for the series. One that makes it sting that it's the last episode of the series as it's left so open ended. We get to see the future for so many of the characters, and it's all tantalizing enough to want to see fulfilled. And, in the end, much like how we started with Nitz, we end with him still unsure of what he wants in life. He got his prize, as sad as that sounds. He got Kimmy. But even then it doesn't feel like it escalates to more than one night of sleeping together. In the end, it should be enough to make Nitz question if this obsession was worth it, and if he's lost more over his poor decision making. Now that's some character development I wish we could see more of. A great episode, and a great way to finish Undergrads.
BEST EPISODE: RISK
If I had to choose one episode to pick as the best, "Risk" takes it. It's paced well, the jokes are hilarious and on point, and it feels like it takes a lot of the tension that was building up in the series and uses it well. Again, that brief moment where everyone finally tells Nitz about how terrible he's been and him still not getting it is great, and I wish it had been focused on a bit more. It's a strong piece for the series and enough to make it contribute strong to what I feel is the show's best episode.
WORST EPISODE: ROOMMATES
DOES THIS SHOW HOLD UP?: YES-ISH
You know, rewatching this show for the first time in years, I forgot how much of the soundtrack is licensed stuff from the late 90s. If you had a favorite punk, ska, or alternative band from that era, chances are they're in the soundtrack. That's why I give it an "ish" rating, because I will say there are some elements to the show's background that does feel dated (Especially all the Phantom Menace jokes, and some gay panic humor). Despite that, it still holds up in covering a lot of stuff that does feel true to the concept of college life. Money issues, traditions, rivalries. Its message still feels very relevant. It doesn't hurt that the show is insanely hilarious and witty, even 16 years later. It's smart, quotable, and even if you don't like everything it represents, you will still find something to enjoy within.
DID IT DESERVE A LONGER RUN?: YES
FINAL THOUGHTS
I highly recommend this show. It hasn't aged perfectly, but I do feel it's worth giving a look at, either for the first time, or as someone who may have watched it in its initial run. It's a vastly underrated show that would up a victim of a brief shelf life. Will it ever get a second chance? Who knows, but for now, crank up the Good Charlotte, pull out the risk board, and have some fun with a great click. Oh, and insert a Star Wars quote here I guess, guy.
FINAL RATING: A
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