Starring Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogen, Carla Gallo, Charlie Hunnam, Monica Keena, Timm Sharp, Loudon Wainwright III
Written By: Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen
Directed By: Judd Apatow, Jay Chandrasekhar, Jon Favreau, Paul Feig, John Hamburg
Studio: Shout Factory
Buy on Amazon.com link

I was heartbroken when Undeclared got canceled after just one season. It was a great show, had terrific writing, a cool cast, and lots of funny guest stars. So if it had all that stuff, why did it fucking get canceled then FOX??! But after a long wait, the entire series/season is available on DVD!

Undeclared stars Jay Baruchel (dorky looking kid that was a groupie in Almost Famous) as Steven Karp. Steven is going to college for the first time and hopes to start a new life when he becomes a freshmen. He’s a bit of a nerdy dork who wants to try new things at college and actually go out with females. His roommate is a British heart throb who looks like Heath Ledger. Their suite mates are a sarcastic intellectual guy, and a hippie, stoner type guy. Just in that suite alone they cover over your typical college student. The 4 guys are friends with two cute girls across the hall, which Steven actually hooks up with during the first episode. The girl he hooks up with is the type of girl who has some sappy loser boyfriend who’s not in college and they end up breaking up and getting back together in each episode it seems. Meanwhile, Steven gets screwed because the girl still likes this asshole. Typical girl crap! Each episode deals with your typical life as a freshmen at college. It’s pretty frightening how much they got it RIGHT for a college show. Some of the guest stars on the show include Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller and Amy Poehler. So you can imagine the hilarity that ensues with some of those people on the show! But the original cast is what makes the show work.

The thing that made me like Undeclared the most, was how much I could relate to the show. Each episode had something different that I could relate to. Or there were certain situations that happened on the show that happened to me as well. Or maybe it was someone I knew that was same way on the show, like the kid who does a bunch of impressions. Yeah that’s me sometimes haha. I kind of stopped doing it after watching that episode! But I just kept watching the series and was like, “whoa,” that has happened to me in college too! I found myself relating with the title character the most. Well I’m an unlucky dork so I guess I have a lot in common with him. Plus I seem to like girls that have stupid boyfriends, so that’s another thing that’s similar. Plus at the time, my twin brother was going through a breakup and something like that happened on the show too so that was something to make fun of him about.

The drama and comedy had a fair balance. I really think the show got screwed because of viewership and probably would have been a lot more successful now with shows like The OC being on the air. Though Undeclared is more of a comedy than a drama. It would have probably done well after the OC. I think one of the main reasons why the series was so good was because of the writing. The characters were an eclectic bunch, and the stuff that they went through or did was dead-on for a college student. Plus the episodes were pretty damn funny. The show got funnier as the episodes went on, which makes it more of a shame that the show is done. But Judd Apatow directed the 40-year old Virgin, so we can appreciate his comedy with other things! But as far as the characters are concerned, the guys were a lot funnier than the female characters on the show. To me, the girls were cute and did showcase what some of the females were like in college. I certainly knew a few that were like Lizz and Rachel. Steven was funny and unlikely choice for the lead role but that’s what made the show unique. You’d expect someone like Lloyd to be the lead character because he’s a pretty boy Brit who’s a killer with the ladies. Ron and Marshall were a good combo when they were together. I didn’t even know Seth Rogen wrote some episodes, so that’s pretty cool!

I didn’t get a chance to really watch or view the extras on this DVD yet because I only got the first disc to review. There’s extras on the first disc but I was too busy watching the episodes again. I haven’t seen these episodes since they first aired so…It looks like there is plenty to view for extras though, like the uncut, unaired episodes. Plus a bunch of audio commentary and deleted scenes that I will no doubt be looking at once I get the full boxset of the series. Also included on the DVD are bloopers, auditions, and behind the scenes stuff.

I’ve waited a long time for this show to make it’s way into DVD and now it’s finally here. Sadly, FOX didn’t give it a shot after the first season (like with many other shows!), but maybe they will learn from their mistakes and leave good shows on the air like this one! If you went to college, more than likely, will find something to relate to. I highly recommend watching this DVD!

Features:
The complete series – 17 episodes, including an unaired episode and a bonus director’s cut.
18 commentaries with directors, writers and cast
Deleted Scenes
Bloopers
Auditions
Rehearsals
Behind-the-scenes footage
Table reading
Loudon Wainwright Live
Museum of Television & Radio Q&A
Lloyd’s Rampage

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC

Video:
Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: Pilot, Eric Visits, Truth or Dare, Jobs Jobs Jobs
Rating: NR
Running Time: 375 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: