The Jarrett Grode thread [trust me; we need this!]

[JCriquet]

I know that there've been a lot of new threads started up of late, but I think we need this one.

Jarrett Grode, a.k.a. Perry. Need I say more? I guess I probably do, as I'm the one starting this thread.

I really wanna know where I can see more of this guy. He's just way too classic to slip through our fingers. As such, I'd like to propose an exhaustive search of the Internet to find out everything we can about this bright-faced youngster.

Just something to do until April!

]

[JCriquet]

Okay. First stop: Google.

This woman had an email from a Jarrett Grode. Sounds a lot like Perry to me, and Judd has always said he likes to cast before writing parts.
vidiocy.com/2003_07_13_testpatternarchive.html

NOTE: Jarrett and I went to high school together. He lived in my neighborhood but was rich, so he lived at the top of the hill and I lived at the bottom (I kid you not). His parents were drug-addled Hollywood types, and he was in desperate need of attention. In 1996, when we were 15 but I was going on 16 and thus an authority figure, I told him which records to buy. He was very rude and would often make inappropriate comments about my still-developing breasts. He got a really hot girlfriend for a few weeks, but still didn't soften up. One day, he tagged along with me to a rave and took his first hit of Ecstasy, and was nice for exactly four hours. Then he went back to being grumpy, anti-social and crass. But I always put up with him nonetheless, because he was hilarious. He had a photocopied "zine" called Grode Zone. Even the name makes me crack up to this day, even though the only articles I can remember was one about white kid appropriation of hip hop slang and another full of suggestions for a spinoff of "Friends". After I booked it out of LA for Chicago, he got a "development deal" (like with most of the gossip i get from jarrett, i learned this from him shouting it out his car window whilst he passed me walking through the old neighborhood on a visit) and wrote a pilot based on his high school experience, and actually shot it at our old high school. UPN picked it up, but it never aired (which was probably a good thing. I mean, how many UPN shows about upper-middle class white teenagers can you name?).

A zine called 'Grode Zone'?! I love him even more! But is it him?

This site had more to offer on the aforementioned pilot:
www.trektoday.com/news/170301_02.shtml

Struggling netlet UPN continues its round of changes this week, both on the programming front and in its relationship with its affiliates.

First of all, the netlet has just ordered a pilot for the new comedy series 'Whatever'. Created by 19-year-old actor/writer Jarrett Grode, the show was passed over first by rival network Fox before being snapped up by UPN.

The show promises to feature an authentic teenage voice. "I wanted to avoid kids talking about the prom or kids that come up with long soliloquies about existential angst," Grode said. "For my friends and I, high school was mostly about boredom -- four years to kill. And when you're that bored and have that much free time, you can develop a really weird sense of humor."

And the UPN site itself had some shtuff:
www.upn11tv.com/news/2001/03/01.htm (down the bottom)

Teen Writer Does 'Whatever' for UPN
Fri, Mar 16, 2001 11:20 AM PDT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - While "Felicity" isn't likely to hire any more alleged 19-year-old writers, UPN is willing to risk it.

The network has ordered a pilot presentation for a high school comedy from 19-year-old actor-writer Jarrett Grode, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Grode, a Southern California native, wrote the script for "Whatever" 18 months ago. His stand-up performances at local alternative comedy clubs caught the attention of producers Robert Greenblatt and David Janollari, who signed him to a development deal.

"Whatever" chronicles the daily life of a 10th grader whose primary ambition in life is to fend off boredom.

"It really has the true voice of a teenager because it's written by a teenager," Greenblatt said. "In a world where the audience can tell the fakes from the real thing, this is the real thing."

Whatever.

Nice one. I think we've got our man. Furthermore, we can ascertain that Jarrett's about 21-22.

And of course, how could I forget TV Tome?

• Jarrett wrote and created a TV series pilot titled Whatever right after graduating from high school. The pilot was bought by the UPN network but was never picked up for a full season and therefore never aired on television.
  
• As a kid Jarrett took karate classes with fellow young actor and Golden Globe nominee Thora Birch (American Beauty, Ghost World).
  
• Jarrett appeared in an episode of Undeclared titled God Visits which was never aired on television.
  
• Jarrett's character Perry on Undeclared was first introduced as a hip DJ but later on in the show he became known as the sarcastic straight-faced student with connections (he introduced the kids to Adam Sandler and to a drug-addicted term paper writer) and lived in a dorm room that doubled as the janitor's closet.

That last one was kinda unnecessary information for us, but hey. At least this confirms that there is indeed only one Jarrett Grode.

Which begs the question: how could there possibly be another?

I'm all Groded out for now.

[JCriquet]

This is just the cutest.

From an AOL Live celebrity group chat with Thora Birch, July 31, 1996:
thora.org/interviews/aolchat.html

AOLiveMC11: From IKldRgrRb:

Question: My name is Jarrett Grode and I went to karate class with Thora! Ask her if she remembers me!

BirchThora: Oh! Yeah! Say hi to Emil if you still go to classes!

Phew... is this healthy?

[Splash]

JCriquet said:

Phew... is this healthy?

Short answer: Hell yes!!!

You're exactly right. We do need more threads like this. After reading this one I'm thinking about creating a new category on the board called "The Stalker Series" just for threads like these, partly so they don't infect the others. But mainly to serve as an easy-to-access resource for info on everyone involved with F&G and Undeclared.

Go James with the research!

[harvey]

better move this there then.

www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/g/golden-palominos/dead-inside.shtml

[Splash]

Looks like I can move topics after all

[BlackCherry]

My two cents:

Jarrett Grode is a sexy bitch ;D

[treeman]

Jarett grode is a specially clever character. I enjoyed his whit in undeclared the fact that he wasn't cool but he thought he was. He did it well anyway.
-Ben

[Splash]

treeman said:

the fact that he wasn't cool

That is so going to get you into more trouble, Treeman.

[JCriquet]

treeman said:

Jarett grode is a specially clever character. I enjoyed his whit in undeclared the fact that he wasn't cool but he thought he was. He did it well anyway.
-Ben

You are a moron, Treeman.

Lucky for you, that's how I like 'em.

[Splash]

JCriquet said:

You are a moron, Treeman.

Lucky for you, that's how I like 'em.

Awww, I was waiting for you to unleash... UNLEASH YOUR WRATH!

[JCriquet]

Splash said:

Awww, I was waiting for you to unleash... UNLEASH YOUR WRATH!

Since you are the Dungeon Master, I'll do just that.

PERRY IS COOL. Why? Because he doesn't give a fuck about what anyone else thinks. And he's totally wired into everything and everyone. Just look at the episode "Truth or Dare". Perry admits his virginity to the group, and initially it appears that he is humiliated, met his comeuppance, all of that. Instead, he ends up doin' the nasty with Rachel - and that was his plan all along!

Dig the start of that same episode. Perry's in his room... and his room is a student's paradise. Cheap. Gets the chickies naked. Plenty of cabonated beverages. Awesome video collection.

Don't sell Perry short because he doesn't fit the usual 'cool' persona. That's Lloyd's job.

His room may be warm, but Perry's the coolest person in the whole show.

[Natalie]

I enjoyed his whit in undeclared

That's what I liked about him also. Ben you remind me a little bit of Perry you know.

[doppelganger]

JCriquet...these are for you.









Jarret has also written for a Los Angeles based magazine called La Innuendo. So too has Dave "Gruber" Allen.

[JCriquet]

Guest-doppelganger said:

JCriquet...these are for you.

Wow. You're damn good.

Where did you get these?! Or rather, how did you find them?

I'm amazed. You've done that which I never could: find online images of Grode that aren't just that one still of him behind the desk in Undeclared. Bravo!