Degrassi Junior High

If you went to high school during the 80's then you will undoubtedly feel a strong sense of nostalgia when you see the clothes and hairstyles, and hear the general attitudes of the kids in this classic tv drama. Three seasons take place in Junior high school, grades 7-9, and it continues for two additional seasons in high school, with much of the same cast. In this way it feels like we are actually watching these kids grow up, as they really are, on camera. Growing up watching this show on PBS I almost feel like i literally went to school with these people. I was sad to discover that Stephanie Kaye disappeared for season 3, because she went to private school after her parents won the lottery. She was my favorite character. She would come to school dressed like an innocent little girl, then she would transform herself into an 80's MTV Princess in the school bathroom. Her outfits were so over the top that she looked like a hooker! She believed, like so many teens, that looks were the only thing that mattered. She learned later on, that this isn't always the case. And Joey Jeremiah LOVED her, probably because he was as shallow and as narcissistic as her, with his rock and roll clothes and pimp hats. I think the most interesting, and most well written character though, was Kathleen. She was the ultimate waspy, stuck up blonde bitch, that looked down her nose at EVERYBODY. For three years she tried to persuade the faculty to administer a school "dress code," And during the "Animal rights" episode, she was the only one to show no pity for animals being used for painful experiments by makeup companies. Kathleen would have made a fine "Hitler youth." Her mother was also a raging alcoholic. Another great character was Luke, the boy who was being physically abused by his dad. His was a sad but likable character. And the tall, glamorous Lucy, with her absentee parents who showed their love by giving their daughter the freedom of an adult, was a personal favorite too. The shoplifting episode is one of the best. And I liked how they dealt with Shane's being an unwilling father of Spike's baby. He didn't exactly step up and do the right thing, but he didn't turn his back on his responsibility either; he did what any kid his age could have done; very believable. It annoys me to hear people criticize the acting abilities of the young cast. The whole point was that they WEREN'T actors, but rather real kids. A quality that some find amateurish, I personally find lends a level of realism to the show. Anyway, it is rare to find a tv production where the characters are so vivid that you feel like you know them. Thankfully the entire series is available on dvd, so fans can revisit this amazingly sweet and unique show.

Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler produced a decade of critically acclaimed "coming of age" programs based on the characters of DeGrassi Street. Spanning from The Kids of Degrassi Street (1982) to Degrassi Junior High (1986) to Degrassi High (1989) to School's Out: The Degrassi Feature (1991) to Degrassi Talks (1992).

DeGrassi Street is a real street in Toronto Canada but on the series, it is located in an "unnamed North American town" as to represent any kids in any town. However, one who pays close attention to the show will see and hear references to "The Beaches" which is the section of Toronto that the show was filmed around. The Degrassi characters were ethnically and culturally diverse kids from a working class neighborhood. The series captured the every day rituals, pressures, indignities and rites of passages of growing up. Exposing turbulent real world issues such as abortion, AIDS, homosexuality, drug addiction, molestation, and suicide. Yet they also captured humorous and precious moments that make life sweet, such as a slumber parties, squirt gun fights and toilet paper raids. The Degrassi series was consistently intelligent, moralistic, and uplifting.

The Degrassi characters literally grow up on the show. The Playing With Time repertory consisted of a mass group of real kids recruited from local schools. Although many of the characters became famous, there were no "stars" on the show. A rare quality is that the actors are mentioned solely on the end credits as the show was to emphasize the controversial issues as opposed to characters. Costumes consisted of clothing from the actor's own wardrobes and they took turns washing the lunch dishes. Fans affectionately refer to the show as being low budget and full of technical bloopers. The actors describe it as being similar to "a bunch of kids filming a home movie". Then why was it such an international success?

Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High portrayed teenagers AS THEY REALLY ARE. Their problems were consistent, with no one easy answers or one episode resolutions. We all found a character that matched our own personalities and a story plot that (painfully) resembled our own lives. We cried when Heather had an abortion. We laughed when the Zit Remedy filmed a rock video from a garbage dumpster. We shivered when Caitlin had her epileptic seizure. We sighed when Arthur finally got his first kiss. It was the ultimate coming of age series. So universally understood that Director Kevin Smith made references to Degrassi in Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy. We all wished that we could be a "broomhead" or "narbo" on Degrassi Street.

OK, lets get this out of the way. I'm 30 years old at the time of this review. I was in grade 6 when Degrassi junior high started. I remembered Degrassi Street from Sunday morning, and hated it--I was not about to like this show. Little by little throughout the year, I was hooked. By the time I graduated high school I had spent 6 years with this kids. Second item. The acting was terrible! Even as a kid, I knew it, but that was part of the success of the show. These were regular thirteen year old drama student acting as thirteen year old kids dealing with issues. Some of the actors went on to act in other shows, movies etc..., some did not. Others posts have mentioned that this may be the best show ever to come out of Canada, and that may be true...sadly. This is not M*A*S*H though. This is not high drama. This was a show that captured the moment precisely. It caught the correct vibe of the time. I don't know if it has aged well since it first aired and I don't care. This show, even if you couldn't directly relate to a single character, was bang on, on what was going on at school at the time. I may not have had Wheels, Snakes or Joeys problems, but they were my classmates. I watched them year after year, for years. No class trips to Australia, no Rolls Royces, no mansions, no rich daddies. Just real issues, year after year. Thank you, for those years. Long live Zit Remedy.

Ah, Degrassi!

It's so neat to read the reviews from the United States, because I thought that it never went beyond the 49th parallel!

Part of Degrassi's strength was that it was so low budget. The non-slickness of it was very refreshing. They played the same Gowan song at every party... I believe the song was called "High Fashion Model". Anyway, It was nice to see realistic characters living in realistic homes with realistic parents.

Two fave episodes: The condom dispenser episode, and the episode in which Snake, Wheels and Joey attempt to gain entry to a strip joint.

Degrassi really was very valuable for talking about Issues Facing Teens.

Long live Degrassi in our hearts and in reruns on CBC!

For years, I never thought that any channel would bring this show back.

The Next Generation is entertaining, but I've always wondered if they'd show this version at some point... I got the answer later last year.

In comparison to the current Degrassi, this seems a bit tamer. All the same, it still has the drama that everyone enjoys. (By the way, "It Creeps" is my favorite episode.)

I just have to say one other thing: watch this series, and then watch Next Generation and compare and contrast the original cast members... man they look different!

This series is up to par with it's current counterpart.

8/10