History WesternAnimation / Undergrads

''Undergrads'' was a short lived animated series from 2001, made for Creator/{{MTV}}. Like other MTV cartoons, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead,'' it was adult-oriented and contained very mature content. [[ShortRunners Only 13 episodes were produced,]] and the show ended on a cliffhanger.

At the start of the year, two major people are introduced to the audience: Jessie, a hip, punk-ish girl who befriends Nitz and helps him learn the ropes (and later develops a crush on him), and Kimmy, a beautiful drama student with whom Nitz is smitten (and has been since high school). There are other recurring characters as well, including Rocko's frat "friends," Nitz and Cal's hippie-like Residential Assistant The Duggler, Jessie's friends (Brody, a film student with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and old movies, Kruger, a profanity-spewing chain smoker, and Dan, a geek who just laughs), Kimmy's (unbeknownst to her, gay) friend Mark, and Gimpy's minions.

''Undergrads'' was a short lived animated series from 2001, made for Creator/{{MTV}}. Like other MTV cartoons, such as: ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead,'' it was adult oriented and contained very mature content. [[ShortRunners Only 13 episodes were produced,]] and the show ended on a cliffhanger.

* LeFilmArtistique: The film Nitz watches with Jessie and her friends which is a parody of ''Film/TheThinRedLine'' and UsfulNotes/VietnamWar movies in general (although the former is actually a UsefulNotes/WorldWarII movie).

* SurpriseCreepy: When Gimpy is training Rocko and Cal to help him win in a video game, he briefly finds Cal in the bathroom with his joystick. When Gimpy demands to know why he's wasting time, Cal just says in a ''very'' creepy way "''Hey, Guy. I'm mastering my joystick.''" Gimpy then slowly backs away from Cal. Gets even creepier when you realize this is a reference to the "Gomer Pyle" suicide scene from ''FullMetalJacket''.

* PoesLaw: In "Virgins," Nitz's genuine attempts to seduce Kimmy in the health center are so over-the-top that she thinks he's auditioning as a date rape actor.

* TheSixties: The Duggler is pretty stuck in them. Kimmy has her moments, what with her role in campus protests.

* SurpriseCreepy: When Gimpy is training Rocko and Cal to help him win in a video game, he briefly finds Cal in the bathroom with his joystick. When Gimpy demands to know why he's wasting time, Cal just says in a ''very'' creepy way "''Hey, Guy. I'm mastering my joystick.''" Gimpy then slowly backs away from Cal.

* VirginityMakesYouStupid: Kimmy and Charity (Rocko's girlfriend during "Virgins").

* WeightWoe: In one episode Nitz plans to join in on a annual streaking event held at the college, only to be horrified when he realizes he's gained the freshman fifteen. He begins to frantically work out to lose the weight in time, but winds up streaking anyway since it's too dark for anyone to see his slightly pudgy build.

%%* FiveManBand:
%%** Nitz (TheHero)
%%** Jessie (TheLancer / SixthRanger)
%%** Rocko (TheBigGuy)
%%** Gimpy (TheSmartGuy)
%%** Kimmy (TheChick)

* SurpriseCreepy: When Gimpy is training Rocko and Cal to help him win in a video game, he briefly finds Cal in the bathroom with his joystick. When Gimpy demands to know why he's wasting time, Cal just says in a ''very'' creepy way "''I'm practicing my joystick.''" Gimpy then slowly backs away from Cal.

--> '''Rocko''': "I shouldn't beat Cal up because he's the mascot... I should beat Cal up because ''he's Cal''."

* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: After Gimpy's rival, Spud, takes control of the dorm, he takes revenge on Gimpy by forcing the latter to watch ''Star Trek''.

* RefugeInAudacity: In "Virgins," Nitz's genuine attempts to seduce Kimmy in the health center are so over-the-top that she thinks he's auditioning as a date rape actor.

-->'''RA:''' Thirty plugs going into one socket, broken windows, severe water damage and...an illegal ''hot plate''![[note]] In many college dorms, it's SeriousBusiness that hot plates aren't allowed, so that may be the joke instead.[[/note]]

-->'''Cal:''' Guess I'll just have to have sex on my bed.

--->'''Rocko''': Okay, there needs to be a bar in the basement, Gimpy needs a T1 line, and Cal requested a bi... det, whatever that is. And there needs to be a bar in the basement.

-->'''Nitz''': Wow, Rocko. That's actually a great idea.
-->'''Rocko''': Eh, law of averages.

-->'''Jessie:''' Relax, these guys are easy to get to know. Brody is always full of crap.
-->'''Brody:''' Creator/DreamWorks is interested.
-->'''Jessie:''' Krueger has one response...
-->'''Krueger:''' Fuck [=DreamWorks=].
-->'''Jessie:''' [[TheHyena Dan just laughs.]]

--> '''Nitz:''' Eh, I'm sure the clique doesn't need my help.
--> '''Rocko:''' Man, we could sure use Nitz's help!

-->'''Jessie''': Have you been walking around blindfolded again?
-->'''Nitz''': Uh, not since "the incident".

-->'''Brody''': I feel like I haven't cracked a textbook or seen the inside of a classroom all year.

!!Undergrads provides examples of:

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Kimmy to Mark, Nitz to Kimmy, Jessie to Nitz...
** Hell, in one episode Nitz to Jessie. That's right, they both manage to have unrequited love towards each other. Why she never bothered to reciprocate (or have mixed feelings) about this when he was openly crushing on her wasn't explained.
*** It could be that Jessie's earlier rejection of Nitz was meant to show that she knew he wasn't really into her because he liked her, but because he had accidentally seen her naked.
*** When Nitz initially proposes they go out (and then 'get in the same bed'), Jessie doesn't flat-out reject him - all she says is that she can't because she has a previous commitment that night to work on a project with her classmates. If Nitz hadn't subsequently made a big show of asking Jessie out in public, disrupting her plans and embarrassing her, she might well have reciprocated.

-->'''RA:''' "Thirty plugs going into one socket, broken windows, severe water damage and...an illegal ''hot plate''!"
** In many college dorms, it's SeriousBusiness that hot plates aren't allowed, so that may be the joke instead.

* BittersweetEnding: Gimpy's first love is She-Prime, a girl online. At the end of the episode it revealed [[spoiler: that their dorm rooms are located right next to each other. And neither of them ever found out.]]

* ButtMonkey: Cal - In one episode, Rocko tries to start a college rivalry with State U by beating up Cal after he becomes their mascot... A manatee. However, this doesn't have the desired effect, as nobody really liked the mascot anyway so they just start cheering Cal getting his ass kicked. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d at the end of the episode, when the characters remark on what they've learned...

* CatharticScream: In the last episode, Brody and Kruger are studying for exam week, when the social and academic pressures become too much for Brody. He opens up a window and starts screaming. Kruger declares it brilliant, and joins in, sparking a chain reaction which eventually causes the entire city to erupt in a massive chorus of screams.

* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Rocko's book of "Things Cal Does That Make Me Want To Kill Him Dead Dead Dead Dead Dead."

-->'''Rocko''': "Okay, there needs to be a bar in the basement, Gimpy needs a T1 line, and Cal requested a bi... det, whatever that is. And there needs to have a bar in the basement."

* {{Dominatrix}}: The female RA at Tekerson Tech dressed like this while Cal was visiting her, taking geek chic to a whole new level. See SheCleansUpNicely below.
* DoingItForTheArt: In-universe: Gimpy treats his creation of fakes [=IDs=] as this. Naturally, he doesn't take it too well when his "customers" don't take time to appreciate them.
* DramaticWind: The first time we meet Kimmy (bonus points because she is indoors.)

-->'''Nitz''': "Wow, Rocko. That's actually a great idea."
-->'''Rocko''': "Eh, law of averages."

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Parker Walsh and Justin Taylor are always addressed as "Nitz" and "Gimpy", respectively. By pretty much everyone.
** Finding out their real names is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it detail that you'd easily forget they even have a different name. Nitz is even written on his financial aid cheques and the birthday cake sent by his mom.

* FiveManBand:
** Nitz (TheHero)
** Jessie (TheLancer / SixthRanger)
** Rocko (TheBigGuy)
** Gimpy (TheSmartGuy)
** Kimmy (TheChick)

* TheFool: Cal, again. Everything always turns out the best for him, except the episode "Identity Crisis" that ends with him forgotten and stuck in a tree in the middle of winter.
* {{Fratbro}}: Rocko. He's so prone to WackyFratboyHijinks that he hazes himself when the frat doesn't. He spends the rest of his time drinking and being a perv.
** He's such a fratbro that he joined a fraternity ''even though he goes to community college''.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In ''Rivalries'', there's a guy in the crowd during the final showdown wearing a shirt that says 'Tuck Fech'. (The episode is about the competitiveness between Tekerson Tech and State U...)

* GilliganCut: In ''New Friends''.
--> '''Nitz:''' "Eh, I'm sure the clique doesn't need my help."
--> '''Rocko:''' "Man, we could sure use Nitz's help!"

* {{Hikikomori}}: Gimpy, natch. He'll go to extreme lengths to avoid leaving his room, going so far as to send Mump [[PaperThinDisguise poorly disguised as him]] to his home on Christmas vacation.

* LimitedWardrobe: Pretty much everyone. Nitz however favors the "closet full of the same outfit" version of the trope, as shown in the last episode when Cal gives out his clothes to girls after sleeping with them.
** Taken UpToEleven with one girl in "Risk" who literally owns nothing but one bikini, and spends most of the episode covering her boobs with her hands, looking for her missing top (Cal has it).

* ObliviousToLove: Jessie was never really that subtle about her feelings for Nitz, not that he ever got the message.

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: It's like no one at this college goes to class.
** This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the final episode.

* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: In "Drunks", Gimpy makes fake [=IDs=] for everyone to get into bars. Rocko already has his own fake ID though. See PaperThinDisguise above.

* RingRingCrunch: In one episode, Nitz stupidly promises Kimmy that he has a travel clock with an assload of features. While he's trying to find a clock to buy on the internet Rocko shows up and has nowhere else to go. Rocko decides the two of them should spend Friday night getting wasted rather than looking for a clock. Nitz doesn't drink and spends the whole night worrying about the clock. When he wakes up an hour before he meets Kimmy to give it to her he realizes he's fucked and Gimpy tells him to relax and it's on its way. When it arrives he goes to get ready to meet Kimmy. But since it's a travel clock designed for different timezones the alarm goes off waking up a hungover Rocko. Nitz returns to the room to find Rocko smashing it with a bat. Later, when Gimpy messages for help over the computer, Rocko holds up the same bat and say "Smash?"

* ShoutOut: Many, mostly to ''Franchise/StarWars''. The episode "New Friends" in particular, which focuses on a ''Franchise/StarTrek'' versus ''Franchise/StarWars'' conflict in Gimpy's university.
** Some to Series/TheXFiles and Film/TheMatrix (Gimpy's screensavers).

* TakeThat: Rocko has a homoerotic dream about Cal. When Nitz starts to say that it may not have been homoerotic, Rocko immediately asserts that Keanu Reeves was there.

* UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo: For almost every episode of the series, Jessie has a crush on Nitz. For one mid-season episode, he has feelings for her and she doesn't reciprocate.
** Though that was mostly because his way of approach was ''completely'' wrong.

* WhatTheHellHero: Nitz gets this frequently -- usually because he was ignoring his friends to chase Kimmy. Jessie gives him one of these frequently (and literally at least once), and the rest of his gang also mock him for bailing on them.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Rocko thinks he's about to enter a [[WackyFratboyHijinx wacky fratboy movie]] akin to ''Film/AnimalHouse''. Turns out that's not how his frat actually works.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Nitz's real name is Parker Walsh. It's mentioned a select few times. Nitz mentions in the pilot he's forgotten how and why he acquired the name. Gimpy and Mump's real names are never revealed, nor the story behind their nicknames.

* IAmSpartacus: Parodied: When the RA asks who has been pulling pranks around campus, all Gimpy's minions stand up and claim to be the man responsible. In a supreme act of ComicallyMissingThePoint, Gimpy gets angry with them, assuming they are all trying to mooch in on his fame. One of said minions even [[LampshadeHanging specifically says]] "I am Spartacus!"

* InkSuitActor: According to the [[WordOfGod commentary on the last episode]], just about everything about Jessie, from her personality to her character design, is based off of her voice actress (who is also the lady Jessie is based on).

** JerkWithAHeartOfGold: ...He does legitimately care about his friends ([[VitriolicBestBuds besides possibly Cal]]), though.

** Taken UpToEleven with one girl in "Risk" who literally owns nothing but one bikini, and [[RunningGag spends most of the episode covering her boobs with her hands, looking for her missing top]] (Cal has it).

The show is about four lifelong friends and their experiences during their first year at college. [[TheHero Nitz,]] the protagonist, is an {{Everyman}} who constantly lets college life stress him out. [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Cal,]] [[BrainlessBeauty his roommate,]] is a DumbBlonde [[TheDitz Ditz]] with an [[CluelessChickMagnet inexplicably rich sex life.]] [[JerkJock Rocko]] is part of a fraternity and is obsessed with girls, booze, and WackyFratboyHijinx, to the annoyance of his frat mates. The fourth, [[TheSmartGuy Gimpy]] (called G-Prime by his peers), is a tech geek who attends an MIT-like university and develops a personal cult due to his hacking prowess. He stays connected to the others mainly via the internet, though they all still live in the same city.

At the start of the year, two major people are introduced to the audience: Jessie, a hip, punk-ish girl who befriends Nitz and helps him learn the ropes (and later develops a crush on him), and [[TheDitz Kimmy]], a beautiful drama student with whom Nitz is smitten (and has been since high school). There are other recurring characters as well, including Rocko's frat "friends," Nitz and Cal's hippie-like Residential Assistant The Duggler, Jessie's friends (Brody, a film student with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and old movies, Kruger, a profanity-spewing chain smoker, and Dan, a geek who just laughs), Kimmy's (unbeknownst to her, gay) friend Mark, and Gimpy's minions.

* ColdTurkeysAreEverywhere: After spending the night in the drunk tank and waking up with a wicked hangover, Rocko goes to a church and swears off alcohol, only for the priest to offer him a drink from his hip flask. Rocko goes back to his frat house to find it was Alpha-Alpha's "Drink All Day Day".

* AManIsNotAVirgin: Played with in the show. Nitz at first had no real concern about being a virgin until he saw the girl of his dreams buying a ''heap'' of condoms and such. He then attempts to be a CelibateHero, but when that didn't work he decided to try and become a manly CasanovaWannabe persona. Then he realized it doesn't actually matter that much and stopped worrying about it.

The show is about four lifelong friends and their experiences during their first year at college. [[TheHero Nitz,]] the protagonist, is an {{Everyman}} who constantly lets college life stress him out. [[{{C|oudcuckoolander}} Cal,]] [[BrainlessBeauty his roommate,]] is a DumbBlonde [[TheDitz Ditz]] with an [[CluelessChickMagnet inexplicably rich sex life.]] [[JerkJock Rocko]] is part of a fraternity and is obsessed with girls, booze, and WackyFratboyHijinx, to the annoyance of his frat mates. The fourth, [[TheSmartGuy Gimpy]] (called G-Prime by his peers), is a tech geek who attends an MIT-like university and develops a personal cult due to his hacking prowess. He stays connected to the others mainly via the internet, though they all still live in the same city.

The show is about four lifelong friends and their experiences during their first year at college. [[TheHero Nitz,]] the protagonist, is an {{Everyman}} who constantly lets college life stress him out. {{C|oudcuckoolander}}al, [[BrainlessBeauty his roommate,]] is a DumbBlonde [[TheDitz Ditz]] with an [[CluelessChickMagnet inexplicably rich sex life.]] [[JerkJock Rocko]] is part of a fraternity and is obsessed with girls, booze, and WackyFratboyHijinx, to the annoyance of his frat mates. The fourth, [[TheSmartGuy Gimpy]] (called G-Prime by his peers), is a tech geek who attends an MIT-like university and develops a personal cult due to his hacking prowess. He stays connected to the others mainly via the internet, though they all still live in the same city.

[[caption-width-right:333:Clockwise from midnight: Cal, Rita, Jessie, Nitz, Rocko, Gimpy, Kimmy, Mump]]

''Undergrads'' was a short-lived animated series from 2001, made for MTV. Like other MTV cartoons, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead'', it was adult-oriented and contained very mature content. [[ShortRunners Only 13 episodes were produced]], and the show ended on a cliffhanger.

The show is about four lifelong friends and their experiences during their first year at college. [[TheHero Nitz]], the protagonist, is an {{Everyman}} who constantly lets college life stress him out. {{C|loudcuckoolander}}al, [[BrainlessBeauty his roommate]], is a DumbBlonde [[TheDitz Ditz]] with an [[CluelessChickMagnet inexplicably rich sex life.]] [[JerkJock Rocko]] is part of a fraternity and is obsessed with girls, booze, and WackyFratboyHijinx, to the annoyance of his frat mates. The fourth, [[TheSmartGuy Gimpy]] (called G-Prime by his peers), is a tech geek who attends an MIT-like university and develops a personal cult due to his hacking prowess. He stays connected to the others mainly via the internet, though they all still live in the same city.

** One of the girls in "Drunks" is wearing [[SpaceChannel5 Ulala's costume]].

Although the show is set in college, the characters are almost never shown in class; episodes mainly focus on other aspects of campus life, like dealing with roommates, fitting in with groups, attending mixers, getting student loans, and figuring out what to do in life. Oh, and girls and booze, naturally.

* CatharticScream: In the last episode, Brody and Krueger are studying for exam week, when the social and academic pressures become too much for Brody. He opens up a window and starts screaming. Krueger declares it brilliant, and joins in, sparking a chain reaction which eventually causes the entire city to erupt in a massive chorus of screams.

* ClusterFBomb: Pretty much everything Krueger says.

* FanDisservice: Toward the end of "Traditions," Gimpy strips naked to remove the evidence on his clothes that he had gone outside to prank the RA. When she goes into his room to confront him, she is notably {{squick}]ed at his appearance.

* InkSuitActor: According to the [[WordOfGod commentary on the last episode]], just about everything about Jessie, from her personality to her character design, is based off of her voice actress.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Brody and Krueger usually fit this role.

At the start of the year, two major people are introduced to the audience: Jessie, a hip, punk-ish girl who befriends Nitz and helps him learn the ropes (and later develops a crush on him), and [[TheDitz Kimmy]], a beautiful drama student with whom Nitz is smitten (and has been since high school). There are other recurring characters as well, including Rocko's frat "friends," Nitz and Cal's hippie-like Residential Assistant The Douggler, Jessie's friends (Brody, a film student with an encyclopedic knowledge of pop culture and old movies, Krueger, a profanity-spewing chain smoker, and Dan, a geek who just laughs), Kimmy's (unbeknownst to her, gay) friend Mark, and Gimpy's minions.