Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries - Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide aired from September 2004 until June 2007 on Nickelodeon.

James K. Polk Middle School was both a challenge and an opportunity for Ned ( Devon Werkheiser), a bright, upbeat kid who used his experiences to compile his own " survival guide" of tips . His best pals were rich , geeky Cookie ( Dan Curtis Lee), who seemed to be connected permanently to the Internet and Moze ( Lindsey Shaw), a vollyball jock who wanted to increase her social status with " the girls." Ned's tips popped up onscreen as he encountered one school sreriotype after another: Billy ( Kyle Swamm) the bully, Crony ( Teo Olivares) his crony, Coconut Head ( Rob Pinkston) with the unfortunate haircut, Susie ( Christian Serratos) the object of Ned's desire, Seth ( Alex Black) the handsome basketball star, Sandy ( Cathy Immordino) of the Huge Crew ( girl bullies) and Lisa ( Rachel Sibner) with her allergies. Locker wars, oversized backpacks and " fart boy" were all part of the day. The staff wasn't much better, with weird shop teacher Mr. Chopsaw ( Dave Florek), evil science teacher Mr. Sweeney ( Don Creech) and lazy janitor Gordy ( Daran Norris) among the more frequently seen.

A Review from The New York Times

FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; Having an Identity Crisis? You Must Be in Seventh Grade

By LISANNE RENNER
Published: September 12, 2004

MEN may be from Mars and women from Venus, but all teenagers are simply from Planet Hormone -- a rock that orbits erratically through middle school hallways, constantly threatening a meltdown of its inner core.

Planet Hormone will be spinning in two parallel universes on Nickelodeon tonight as the series ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' and ''Unfabulous'' have their premieres at 7:30 and 8 respectively. Each show features a mixed-gender trio of seventh-grade pals who zip through the angst and antics of early teenhood at growth-spurt speed.

''Unfabulous'' focuses on the growing pains and pleasures of Addie Singer, 13 (played by Emma Roberts, 13). With back-to-school bravado, she feels ''new and improved,'' even if the object of her crush doesn't seem to notice. ''I changed a lot over the summer,'' she says. ''It's hard to explain. I'm just different.''

Addie's guitar takes the place of a diary as she chronicles her life in songs about throwing up on the school bus, getting new shoes or being relegated to PG-13 movies: ''I can't drive and I can't vote. I can't even pierce my nose. So what does it mean to be 13?''

Well, for Addie it means confidently thinking ''the days of making a fool of myself are history'' and then not long afterward plunging headfirst into a punch bowl in front of her heartthrob, Jake Behari. (Later, alone in her bedroom with her guitar, she sings, ''I'm a punch rocker!'')

Adolescence ''is the quintessential moment of change and it's so full of angst, and there's a lot of comedy in that agony,'' said Sue Rose, the creator, writer and executive producer of ''Unfabulous.''

For Addie, lessons about white lies, cliques and unrequited love play out in exaggerated mishaps, with tolerable consequences. ''What I hope kids can take away from this character is that things aren't always going to go right,'' said Ms. Rose, who mined some of her own teenage Sturm und Drang for the show.

Over in Ned Bigby's universe there is also intelligent life, but the life-forms are wackier. Ned (Devon Werkheiser), an Everykid who favors plaid shirts unbuttoned over T-shirts, is the most normal of the bunch, dispensing school-survival wisdom jotted in a composition book. His friend Moze is having second thoughts about being a girl with two boy buddies, which seems understandable until you see the outlandish way she decorates her locker to impress her archrival. Cookie, Ned's other sidekick, acts as if he just stepped out of a cartoon -- changing electives without teacher approval or switching brussels sprouts to candy corn on the lunch menu by means of a hidden pocket computer with a projection lens mounted on his glasses.

Timeless staples of middle school -- lockers (that ''putrid rectangle of real estate''), the cool table in the cafeteria, team tryouts, photo day, backpacks, cheating -- are parlayed into slapstick physical humor, like Cookie racing to class in a janitor's wheeled mop bucket or Moze driving a drill bit through the shop teacher's hand.

''It's like a hyper-reality version of middle school,'' said Scott Fellows, creator and executive producer of the show and one of its writers.

Interspersed throughout the silliness are sensible tips, like get a haircut two weeks before the first day of school so a mistake can grow out.

''I picked the seventh grade because that was the grade when it all exploded for me,'' Mr. Fellows said. ''Recess is taken away; you have to remember locker combinations; they have dances; popularity becomes an issue.''

Ned and his creator share an optimistic outlook, Mr. Fellows said, but they differ in a crucial way: ''Ned has much better lines and much better comebacks than I ever did.'' Lisanne Renner

For an episode guide go to http://www.tv.com/neds-declassified-school-survival-guide/show/26526/summary.html

For the Official Website go to http://tviv.org/Ned's_Declassified_School_Survival_Guide

For more on Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned's_Declassified_School_Survival_Guide

For Devon Werkheister's Official Website go to http://www.devonwerkheiser.com/

For a Website dedicated to Lindsey Shaw go to http://www.lindseyshaw.biz/

To listen to the theme song go to http://www.televisiontunes.com/Neds_Declassified_School_Survival_Guide.html

For a Review go to http://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/Neds-Declassified-School-Survival.html