Britt's On

Last night was the finale of the second summer o' Degrassi, and our final glimpse of this year's grade 12 class. Although...I recall hearing from Stephen Stohn (one of the show's creators) / Kary's Degrassi Blog that there was still a 'one-hour special' that will air this fall as sort of a send-off to these characters, similar to how we said goodbye to Jane, Spinner, Manny, Emma, and Jay a year ago with the New York movie. I certainly hope that's true, because it felt like these last few episodes were about highlighting the future grade 12's as opposed to saying goodbye to the current cast.

In terms of a review of the overall half-season, I think the show did one thing way better than last year, and one thing I have mixed feelings about. The way better comes from the way they integrated characters into secondary plots. It's something the original series did really well ("Hey, there's Yik and Tessa talking in the hallway!") but the current incarnation has always struggled with - you generally only saw characters when it was 'their week' (or episode, as it were). By bringing in the characters / having them create atmosphere, it allowed us to further their character development and remind us of how they fit in within the school. Great example? Jenna's one-liner at Marisol and Katie's presidential debate, regarding Marisol and KC's affair. Great reminder of one of the season's best plots, and how it didn't just end with their break-up.

In terms of the not-so-great? I have mixed feelings about the direction the show is moving in - to long-term plotlines. Degrassi is a short and sweet little show that in the past, gave you half an hour to 'get' a story, and sometimes left things unresolved. Now they're doing more long-form plots - to the point where every character this summer had one, if slightly meandering, plot line. This means if you don't like someone's plot, they're pretty much a write-off for the season. Also Degrassi has such a huge cast, it felt like the pushes forward in each character's plot were sometimes totally out of nowhere / you'd kind of forgotten, etc. etc. Not that the original format didn't suffer from weird plot inconsistencies. Degrassi is just a really weird show for that I guess. The main reason why this has cropped up in my mind is reading the Degrassi Blog this summer, I noted that each person really had one, and only one story, other than minor involvement in secondary plots. It never felt like that before, and I'm not sure what to make of it...it made for a slightly slower summer, admittedly.


Anyway! Back to the grads. This batch has a special place in my heart because they are the last of the 'crossover' characters that interacted with the original cast members, having arrived in season 7 with the Lakehurst / Degrassi merger. Except Chante, who has been on the show since what...season 5? 6? and probably should have graduated a year or two ago. Anyway. I really liked these kids, and I felt like they did a good job of growing them and giving them interesting plotlines all around.

Everyone knows by this point that I think Holly J (Charlotte Arnold) is all kinds of awesome. I don't know that she loves being 'famous' all that much, and I've heard she's off taking journalism at Ryerson, so I'm skeptical that she'll go the Hollywood route, despite being a fantastic actress and probably my most to-be-missed characters on the show. I loved her original 'Mean Girl' role when she first joined the cast, but I also appreciated that she grew up and became an ambitious, mature, respectable character.

Chante (Jajube Mandeila)? Well, she never had a major plotline, like, ever. She had a b-plot that one time, getting Principal Snake to listen to the students...and I half-expected her to lead an end-of-season revolution to BRING BACK REGULAR CLOTHES! But kudos to Degrassi for sticking to their guns, because really, the uniforms only came into play 'half a school year' ago. There's no way they'd scrap them that easy. Anyway, I don't have much to say about Chante. Really. I don't.

As for Anya, I generally liked Samantha Munro's portrayal of a ditzy, clueless, but sweet, lost girl. They finally made her grow up and get interesting in the last couple of months, and it's sad that her development ends here - but again, thumbs up to the writers for giving her a little rebellious streak that made sense with all of her plotlines. I actually enjoyed the Ownya (Owen & Anya) relationship as well. He is a 'type' of guy I think every girl knows, and they made their 'haters gonna hate' relationship work well. It'd be neat if next season they did a 'long-distance relationship' thing with the two of them, because they haven't really to this point. Neater still if something terrible happened to Anya. Not in a sadistic way, mind you, but in a "how much does this relationship mean?" way.

Sav (Raymond Ablack) kind of fizzled out, mostly because his primary castmates graduated the previous year, and he had no real friends in his grade. So they hinged the bulk of his storyline on Holly J until their inevitable break-up, and then he disappeared, only to reappear for Ally's runaway plot and his bizarre, awkward romance with Mrs. Oh. The addition of Moe gave him a friend in the final episodes, and made him interesting again imo - Sav works well with other actors - but otherwise kind of an unmemorable character post-Studz. I hope he makes an appearance here and there given Ally's still kicking around.

Riley / Zane. Well, Zane's not part of the Lakehurst crew, but I LOVE him just the same. I seriously hope Shannon Kook-Chung goes to Hollywood as I find him mesmerizing on-screen. Unfortunately the two of these characters were buried in gay-land tales, instead of getting to participate in other, non-sexuality related plotlines, so their departure (especially since their surprising break-up) isn't that sad to me, other than I'll miss the rare occasions they let Zane appear in an episode. I wish them well as they ride into the Brokeback Mountain sunset at 'Eastern U'.

As for next season? We've got some new niners. When I think back to S8 (cited by many as one of the worst evarrr), aka the last time we had new grade 9's, I do cringe at the immaturity of some of the plotlines - like Connor and KC fighting over a pre-makeover Clare. I hope the producers learned their lesson and can come up with a way to make us fall in love with these kids the way we have with those former grade 9's, who are now about to join grade 11. When they graduate? Man that'll be tragic. The new crop of grade 12's are actually ALL new characters that joined in the last year, so I'm not quite as attached to them (Eli!). But the grade 11 class, at this rate, by the time they graduate we'll have been with them for about 5 years of television time. So maybe that'll be the time to hang up the Degrassi hat and say farewell to the show? Doubtful, as they're masters at introducing new characters and continuing on the awesomeness, but we'll see.

- Britt's On

So we're more than halfway through Degrassi's summer season, and while I'm enjoying it and clamouring for the next episode the second the one I'm watching is done...something feels off about it and I can't put my finger on what. I actually like what they're doing with the season, and I've thought all of the storylines have been good apt choices, and I appreciate that they're not neatly (or ambiguously) wrapped up in 22 minutes...but what is it? Maybe that there is a certain level of inevitability to most of the storylines? Or all the previews online kinda spoil a lot of the drama? Or that there isn't this insane level of buzz that surrounded the show the first time they did the 24 episode summer? I'm debating.

Either way, thinking about Degrassi and Project Runway - my two fave summer TV fixes, along with Pretty Little Liars - inspired me to look back at two posts I wrote about last year in regards to stuff these shows had (surprisingly) not tackled yet.

The Degrassi post touched on issues I was surprised weren't that prevalent in this incarnation of the Degrassi-verse. Here's a quick rundown of what I said, and what Degrassi has or hasn't done about it:
- Adoption: Came up in a big way this season with Holly J's increasing health worries. I appreciated that they put a very tricky, sticky human life element into the story...but I also feel like Holly J's health issues have overshadowed the turmoil of emotions she should be experiencing right now. Consider Wheels' downward spiral in the original Degrassi compared to Holly J's laissez-faire "Well I'm still reeling, but I need a kidney so whatever." There's no family drama to be seen - it's all health-based.

- Suicide: I listened to a Stephen Stohn interview while making dinner one night and he explained the discrepancy here. First, he didn't think the way they handled Claude in the original series was the best storyline, and I agree - the show wrapped up shortly after that episode if I recall so there was a lack of reverb (particularly for Kaitlin). Second, they were worried about copycat situations in real life. Third, and this was skirted around, they don't want to kill off a character the fans are invested in. Obviously Eli would make the most sense at this point, but can you imagine the Eclare hysteria??? HOWEVER. I suspect that if Eli is scooped up by a US network at some point, he'll be the one to carry the suicide storyline.

- He Said, She Said: I'd say to a degree this has happened with Clare and Eli, although Adam seems to be doing fine straddling their collective friendships. There has been a big focus on "I heard you..." between the two of them, Jake, Katie, Imogen, etc.

- Duelling Exes: Underway with Eli and Jake. Weird - I'm feeling like the Degrassi people read this blog lol.

- Interracial Dating Tension: This is sort of happening with Alli and Dave right now, however it's more about Dave as a person versus Dave's 'race'. But the Bandari household is a copout for this plotline - we've seen seasons worth of material regarding Sav not being able to date who he wants to date.

- Aboriginal: Still no aboriginal characters, which is a shame. Like I said before though, I see why the show is probably super hesitant to dip their toe in this - from a political and a story-relevance-based point.

- School Cheating: Still nothing major here, which is so weird to me. Oldest trick in the book I say, and I can't think of a single major example of this being pulled off effectively. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Season 4 of One Tree Hill had a cheating storyline as a major plot point, and they did it well.

- Depression: Eli was on anti-anxiety (codename for depression?) drugs this season. I'll give the writers credit there.

- Stalking: Imogen seems to be a borderline stalker / psychopath so far, which I appreciate. I like that she's in the school versus an outsider, like Darcy's temporary stalker.

- Uppers & Downers: Ummm hm. Anya's cocaine addiction is similar, but not directly tied to this plot point.

Now I also wrote a post about Project Runway challenges I was surprised they'd never done.

The only piece of advice they heeded from me was...oddly...fitness wear. Except it was 'active wear' for Heidi's Amazon.com line, and it was really moreso loungewear. Not stuff you'd actually work out in, but might run around town in, or wear post-gym while grabbing a carton of milk on your way home.

I still think my other ideas were awesome. And the season is still young, but I doubt I'll see any of them come to fruition. I also thought the other day about designing tennis dresses! It harkens back to the practical-meets-fashion requirements of designing a skating costume of one of the earlier seasons, but tennis wear is KNOWN to be super innovative and interesting and downright trendsetting. Having Anna K or Maria Sharapova or one of the Williams sisters in the house would make for an interesting judging panel.

Now to brainstorm a dozen other ideas for Degrassi to steal...use...in Season 11!

- Britt's On

Some musings on various television-watching excursions this summer:


1) I'm currently watching 'The Riches' with my boyfriend, after the owner of the company I work for lent it to me. We watched the premiere eons ago (okay, months) and are finally making our way through it. Such an interesting show because SO much happens in every freaking episode, and yet...it's only been a week or two at most in the character's lives. And we're on episode eight already. I can see why the show got cancelled ultimately - their skewering of us everyday 'buffers', aka the people who watch highbrow cable concept shows like The Riches, would definitely alienate the show's target audience. Plus I want more 'gypsies fitting in the 'burbs' hijinks and less 'gypsies are going to hunt you and kill you' nastiness. Generally though, I'm enjoying. Super bizarrely funny.


2) Just thinking about Pretty Little Liars. This season has definitely been slower-paced than the previous one, and the revelations not quite as revelatory...almost reminiscent of the final seasons of Lost. It's nice that the girls clued in on Garrett and Jenna, and the show clarified that Jarrett are NOT 'A' based on the fact they 'suspect' the girls know that Ian didn't kill Allison (when in fact, A has told them as much). A is also getting pretty damn crafty, sneaking into Emily's hospital room, medicine cabinet, and garbage.

One thing that has crossed my mind this season in particular is how refreshing it is to see Aria outside of her still-wrong-still-creepy relationship with Ezra. Season 1 was SO focused on them being together, and Season 2 they're in this weird in-between of allowed to be together (and Ezra's ex KNOWING they're a couple) but also it still being super weird and they're clearly trying to split them apart via Jason.

I bring up Aria because the way she was introduced - and really, the way she's focused on in a lot of the marketing of the show, at least initially - pointed to her as the slightly-more-important / relatable protagonist. But really, out of the three girls, she is the character I understand the least. I could easily classify the other girls' personalities:


Hanna - often there for insensitive, slightly dumb-blonde-esque comedy relief. Defensive but also fiercely loyal. Critical. Along for the ride compared to the others.


Spencer - the brainy, investigative one who is easily the most consumed by the Ally affair. She will be the last one to let it go, even when she says she is. Her type A, overachiever traits are well-suited to being the ringleader of the Ally-vestigations.


Emily - the most anxious and freaked out of the bunch, she's also the most introspective and independent - surprisingly really. Just the fact she has other activities and friends that are often the focus of her plots makes me think she's okay being a bit of a loner, apart from the liars.


Aria - is a big question mark. She never really initiates things in the group, especially when it comes to Ally. The other three girls all have three very distinct viewpoints on every decision they make - Hannah, hells no! Spencer, hells yes! Emily, let's think about it! Aria...I just never remember her contributions to things, and it seems like she's only randomly involved in anything the group does, like Spencer pulling her into last night's candy striper mission.

Anyway, still a fun and twisty and freaky show. I'm curious to see where they go with it, but concerned they blew their load in season 1 a bit.


3) Degrassi is back! Hallelujah! Overall enjoying the season so far. I think they've come a long way in the way they're blending characters together - last season struggled when you had episodes focused solely on the characters who had plot lines in that episode. This season they're giving many characters a few lines per episode, even when it's not their episode. It helps progress people's relationships in a much more organic way - see, Fiona and Eli's little bed bug exchange in the last episode, although their relationship is odd to me, or Bianca's excursions with Anya - and is a nice way to keep new characters top-of-mind. I'm kind of glad they haven't pitched this as something that will peak in the mid-season finale like last year's 'Boiling Point', which was ultimately a letdown. The teaser stuff with Drew and the gun has already rolled out and we're now enjoying the aftermath. Sigh. Sometimes I really wish this show had an hourly format to really stretch its legs, although they manage to do so much in a half-hour.

S'all.

- Britt's On

I promise this'll be my last Degrassi post for awhile, other than to review their season premiere that's happening on October 8th. I'm just about finished up with rewatching the first six seasons (having watched seasons 7-10 in the last year) and I just read a fantastic article with the show's current Exec Producer, Stephen Stohn, that had a ton of insight for fans of the original series, the next generation, and the current generation (just titled 'Degrassi' these days). Check it out here: http://www.ksitetv.com/ksitetv-interview-with-degrassi-executive-producer-stephen-stohn/

Anyway in the article Stohn mentions they've done 236 episodes, in contrast to the original 65 episodes Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood produced thinking they had told every story there was to tell. You may drop your jaw at that number and think, has Degrassi REALLY covered 236 issues? The short answer is no. While the first few seasons of TNG had a much more issue of the week format, as the series has progressed many issues are told across multi-part A-plot episodes, while others branch out across dozens of A-Plot and B-Plot storylines that could last a season or longer (see: Marco's sexuality). So realistically if I sat down and counted, they've probably covered countless issues, plus a good number of the shows plots, particularly in the later seasons, dealt with 'event' issues - like who to cast in a play, the stress of year-end finals, reactions to the shooting or JT's death, etc.

That being said, there is still a fair bit of ground for Degrassi to cover, shockingly enough. Some of these ideas are borrowed from the original series, some are things that just haven't been done, and some are modifications of existing plotlines. Without further ado, I bring you: Issues Degrassi Hasn't Dealt With:

ADOPTION - Other than Liberty giving up her baby for adoption and Derek briefly telling Liberty he was adopted, this plot hasn't ever really been fully explored. It could be a piecemeal development, spurred on by the likes of 'multicultural day' to find out one's heritage, only to realize something isn't quite adding up. Someone I know found out their dad wasn't their real dad via a letter delivered to their high school...needless to say it made for a pretty emotional showdown between kid and parent(s), and has space for future development i.e. trying to hunt down the birth parent with no luck, meeting the birth parent, considering leaving their adoptive parents for the birth parent only to find it's a bad idea, or living with the birth parent and loving them, getting angry and rebelling against the adoptive parents, etc. So many possibilities Degrassi! This was a big plot for Wheels on the original series, but it could definitely be reinvented for the next next generation.

SUICIDE - The show always has to tread a fine line between storylines that will seriously screw their characters' storylines up and storylines they can conceivably come back from. This is why you don't see them getting DUI's, even though drinking and driving IS a teen issue. Anyway, it's shocking Degrassi has never done a suicide storyline as it was the major death plot point in the original series, and it's the only teenage type death they haven't done yet (and would make for a huge plot point on par with the series' two other deaths), other than a tragic car accident or something (ahem, drinking & driving). Rick did not commit suicide (unlike his school shooting compatriot on One Tree Hill, Jimmy, ironically enough), and JT certainly didn't, other than his half-hearted attempt with the pills...there's definitely a few characters that could be potential suicide victims. Perhaps Eli's tortured artist will catch up with him, Fiona's mental instability, Riley being bullied for being gay (see: the recent rash of suicides in the USA), or Adam's identity challenges will make him do the deed. A suicide pact might also be an interesting tip-off for one character, it's just a question of whether the series will save the hero before they die. Obviously it's way more powerful when a character does leave, they just have to make sure they're okay with them leaving. Hence, don't kill Eli!

HE SAID SHE SAID - Can I just say this was one of the most frequent plot points in my actual high school? A couple would break up and rumours would run rampant about who did what as the couple basically divided everyone between who was friends with who. By the time we graduated things got a little fragmented. There was obviously an opportunity to do this with the KC/Jenna/Claire triangle, although Jenna & Alli seem to have patched things up and Claire was even around them at the S10's mid-season finale dance prep. Perhaps if Eli and Claire breakup this could be an interesting storyline.

DUELLING EXES - In theory this has been done, but primarily between the ladies and not strongly enough (again see: missed opportunity for Clare/Jenna drama). I think with Declan's return this season there is room for some interesting developments for Declan to try and win back Holly J from Sav's grimy clutches.

INTERRACIAL DATING TENSION - I give credit to Degrassi for being 100% realistic about this, that interracial dating isn't an issue for 99.9% of the population these days. That being said, this was a choice storyline from the original series between Michelle and BLT, and I'm surprised not a single one of these oh-so-traditional, uptight 'cultural' parents (Marco and Riley's in particular) haven't been inserted into an oblique "You're dating HIM/HER"? plot line.

ABORIGINAL ISSUES - This is a minefield, and one that isn't particularly relevant to the show's huge US fan base, so I don't blame them for not tackling it. If anything it's something they would have done in the earlier seasons. Regardless, I can't believe Degrassi has never had an Aboriginal character, as there is a rich amount of opportunity for them to be a good role model for the Aboriginal community and also tackle some of the issues facing Aboriginal people in Canada. If they came from a disadvantaged family, wanting to break the mould would make for an interesting storyline.

SCHOOL CHEATING - This is such a basic issue that has barely been touched by Degrassi. Toby tried to hack the system for Jimmy and Paige handed in a bought essay in University, but the show has never done the classic 'steal the test answers' plot line that is used on so many other shows, which would make perfect sense for a character that is struggling with their studies. Or there's ye ol' chestnut from the original series where Yick handed in a paper that Arthur's older sister Stephanie Kaye (ah she was so cool hah) wrote the previous year - Yick received a better mark on the paper than Stephanie did, proving Raditch's bias.

DEPRESSION - I wish they had done more to explain Paige's S6 breakdown. I know someone who has been prescribed as having actual panic attacks, and that is another specific plot device they could have used (while also visiting the checks and balances of taking your meds vs. being overmedicated). Anyway, the show hasn't ever really tackled depression. Craig had a mental disorder and Emma's extreme mood swings post-shooting and during Spike & Snake's split were tied to other issues (safe sex & eating disorders), so the show hasn't ever really had a character that is suffering from clinical depression. Might be a good lead-up to a suicide storyline!

STALKING - We had Darcy's creepy internet 'pal' and Rick was debatably interfering with Terri's life, but no character has ever been continually stalked for longer than one episode. Perhaps it might be a way to write off one of the two villainous duds introduced this past season - Fitz or the antagonistic football player, Owen - as they stalk Bianca or something.

UPPERS & DOWNERS - Have there seriously been no caffeine pills consumed on this show?

I could go on...all one has to do is look at episode lists for the likes of Dawson's Creek, The OC, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, etc. to see there are plenty of opportunities abound for the show to continue on.

Finally a parting thought: we now have three Degrassi babies circulating out there. Who do you think will lead the third generation's development? If the show continues on its current schedule of one school year every year and a half (they've talked about next summer being the wrap-up for the current seniors), then:

Mia's Baby Isabella - Conveniently named after a Twilight character, Bella will be teenaged (at least grade 9 aged) in about a decade. She was three years old when we met her and Mia was in grade 10. Mia would now be a senior with Holly J, Sav, and Anya which would make Bella five, so for her to be a full-blown 13 or 14 year old is ten years down the road which seems ample time for a reboot. By then, Nina Dobrev's CW-infused career might be flagging and she might be willing to come back, or they could just cast someone new as her mom, or she could be living with her dad since her mom is in theory a supermodel.

Liberty's Unnamed Baby Boy - Adopted boy is off in Seattle, and was born when Liberty was in grade 11, which would make him about three years old by now. Perhaps his journey could start by opening up the chest Liberty gave him and discovering he's, gasp, adopted!

Jenna's Unnamed Fetus - At this point the show looks like they're going to make Jenna go through with the baby. This is the only baby storyline they haven't tapped yet - despite arguments that Mia's storyline was all about the rigors of being a teenaged mom, Jenna's is part Liberty's (being a pregnant mom) AND part Mia by taking us through her baby journey from start to finish. Although a miscarriage might make for an interesting late-in-the-game twist (would she feel sad? relieved?), I suspect she'll have the baby. Obviously this one will take the longest to mature which means it's either the most or least likely to lead the crusade for D:TNG 2.0.

S'all. Any other Degrassi topics you can think of that have never been touched? I think suicide & adoption are the two biggest ones for sure. Yes they were covered on the original series, but there's a ton of new, long-term development ways they could look at them.

- Britt's On

Okay kids, I've been adding steadily to my drinking game for Degrassi the Next Generation in my previous post, but I thought it was time to repost here as I finish up with Season 6. I promise to simply update the date next time around, but since I fundamentally changed the layout of it I figured it was worth a repost.

So my friends, take a sip, or a shot, every time:

IN GENERAL
- There’s a confrontation in the bathroom (a bizarre replacement for ‘confrontation in the stairwell’ of the original series)
- Characters talk about one another using their full first and last names
- Kid Elrick is mentioned
- A teacher is totally incompetent at catching a misbehaving student
- An original series cast member makes a guest appearance (unless they're credited as regulars)
- Somebody gets stuffed into or slammed against a locker
- Downtown Sasquatch or Studz plays
- Whenever someone brings up Heather Sinclair
- The show goes meta and uses internet slang (as per Palex) or talks about how 'West Road' has 'terrible writing' and is so 'issue of the week'
- There is a reference to Bollywood
- Someone brings up how something didn't happen on school property
- Someone says the word Lakehurst
- A dance is held
- A Degrassi couple breaks up
- Dream sequences!
- A new character with speaking lines shows up
- Somebody dies
- The Spirit / Power Squad needs or gets new uniforms

EMMA, MANNY, JT, TOBY, LIBERTY & SEAN
- Emma protests something
- JT wears a top hat
- JT pretends to be gay
- Sean talks about being poor
- Sean wears a wife beater
- Toby mentions his bubby (grandma) or being Jewish
- Manny uses the term 'Coo coo bananas'
- Someone makes a joke about how slutty / skanky Manny is
- Emma talks about the environment
- Liberty is at a student council meeting / involved with morning announcements

PAIGE, ASHLEY, TERRI, HAZEL, ELLIE, SPINNER, JIMMY, & CRAIG
- Paige says ‘hun’
- Paige & Spinner call each other Honey Bee
- Spinner gets a new hairstyle
- Paige changes her mind on whether she's interested in men or women
- Someone calls Ellie 'Frosh'
- Ellie calls Jesse 'Boss Man'
- Anytime Marco or someone else talks about Marco being gay
- Terri has a storyline or scene regarding her weight
- Spinner misuses a word
- Ellie does something related to journalism
- Jimmy develops a new talent
- Jimmy wears something from Triple 5 Soul

DARCY, ALEX, JAY, PETER
- Darcy does something deliberately un-Christian (see: breaking Paige's leg, drinking beer, running an online semi-pornographic site)
- Peter has a camera with him

The NEW Next Generation Kids (Season 7 Onwards)
- Holly J has a clipboard in her hands
- Clare talks about her faith and morals
- Bianca wears hoop earrings
- Alli and KC demonstrate why they don't belong in the advanced Grade 9 class
- KC makes a reference to his shady past / halfway home situation


Finally! Drink if anything on the show happened to you!

- Britt's on!

I’ve talked about Degrassi way, way too much in here lately, but I will say that I’ve been rewatching the earlier seasons of the new series (you could call it V1.0 of The Next Generation, we’re now in V2.0) and have been working on a drinking game to accompany my original series drinking game. If you google ‘Degrassi Drinking Game’ the majority, if not all drinking games, are dedicated to the new series. I haven’t looked at any of them in eons (last time was when I was trying to find an original series game), so my list is as original as I can be based on my own observations. I plan to update this list in future posts as I continue to spot patterns on the show.

So my friends, take a sip, or a shot, every time:

- There’s a confrontation in the bathroom (a bizarre replacement for ‘confrontation in the stairwell’ of the original series)
- Characters talk about one another using their full first and last names
- Emma protests something
- Kid Elrick is mentioned
- A teacher is totally incompetent at catching a misbehaving student
- An original series cast member makes a guest appearance (this excludes regular cast members like Snake, Mr. Raditch, and Joey, but includes Emma’s mom Spike / Christine when not credited as a regular)
- Paige says ‘hun’
- Somebody gets stuffed into or slammed against a locker
- Downtown Sasquatch or Studz plays
- Whenever someone brings up Heather Sinclair
- Sean talks about being poor
- Anytime there is a reference to Bollywood
- Someone brings up how something didn't happen on school property
- A dance is held
- Someone makes a joke about how slutty / skanky Manny is
- Emma talks about the environment
- A Degrassi couple breaks up
- Paige & Spinner call each other Honey Bee
- Spinner gets a new hairstyle
- Anytime Marco or someone else talks about Marco being gay
- Terri has a storyline or scene regarding her weight
- A new character with speaking lines shows up
- Ellie does something related to journalism
- Jimmy develops a new talent
- Holly J has a clipboard in her hands

In other news, my other random summer fixation is a pretty terrible one. I’ve become addicted to TLC’s “Say Yes To The Dress”. Although I find the show mostly horrifying – capped off most recently by a Jersey bride buying a HIDEOUS $27,000 dress – it does make me want to go wedding dress shopping. Just not at New York’s Kleinfeld’s.

I tend to like the Atlanta incarnation a little better. Although the two main stars of the show, Monte and Laurie (?), keep on using the same phrases, primarily “Jack Her Up” (to describe when they throw on a veil and some gems to give people a glimpse of the bride to be), I generally find the people that work at Laurie’s place a little more relatable. Also the prices are far more reasonable – most of the people come in with budgets of $1000 to $2000, while only a handful have spent closer to $5000, and nothing over that (again, unlike some of the horrifying episodes I’ve watched of the original series).

This isn’t the place to get into it, but I’m pretty ambivalent about the wedding hoopla that exists out there these days. I feel like its become such an ‘industry’ and that you only do all these crazy things because there’s this expectation that it’s ‘what’s done’. I went from wanting to be a wedding planner as a kid to recoiling at the thought of being a bridesmaid at least 2 or 3 more times in my life. Other than shopping for a pretty dress, getting married to my boyfriend, and having some hot damn photos, I’m not really excited about the whole wedding thing. I’ll admit though, of all the wedding concepts TLC has tried to float over the last decade (remember that terrible “do your wedding on $5,000! And your friends will plan it for you!” one?), Say Yes To The Dress is the only one that makes me the tiniest bit excited, if simultaneously repulsed. At least their staff is probably paid pretty damn well.

- Britt’s On

The title of this post is a reference to the supreme cheese documentary segments the original Degrassi series ran in the 80s, featuring Caitlin Ryan (Stacey Mistysyn) singing the theme song. "Degrassi taaaaalks!". Anyway it's summertime, so there isn't much to talk about. Summer movies are balls this year (I've written about the only two worth seeing - Toy Story 3 & Inception), and the only other good shows worth talking about - Mad Men and Friday Night Lights - were covered in my last post.

But really, I have to give kudos to Degrassi for the best week to date of this summer's jam-packed soap opera style scheduling (and oh god do I wish the show were always on four times a week). Or perhaps, just the two best episodes to date. The nice thing about the series this season is they aren't just giving a storyline two episodes and letting the after-effects sort of flutter along. Instead, they're allowing a story to percolate across several episodes, and you get the sense that things aren't really over when the show indicates they might be.


For example, Fiona's abuse storyline earlier this season led into her trying to buy Holly J's friendship which led to Holly J not liking Declan trying to buy her affections which led to Holly J and Sav's illicit affair which was played out to nice effect in last night's episode. And oh yeah, Fiona's abuse storyline is still going to come back later this season. Noice!


I have to say though, I'm pretty impressed at how they've handled this transgender storyline that was the big to-do about the summer series. For the first few weeks when Adam was on screen, they didn't really explain his situation, although I was well aware of it from the online promos / blogs I've read. It helps that the actress that plays the character is named Jordan. I asked my boyfriend if he would have realized if Adam was a girl had I not told him and he said it was pretty close.

Anyway here's the thing. I'm not part of the LGBT community, so I'm sure there will be some dissenters out there who will complain about Degrassi's oversimplification of the issues at hand or not like the treatment of the storyline in one way or another, but to be perfectly honest, I think the show did a fantastic job of enlightening me about the struggles of transgender people, especially young ones.


I never realized how complicated the whole situation was - that you are mentally one gender but born into the opposite body. Adam's mom's struggle to accept that her daughter was long gone, the whole-hearted acceptance from his jock strap brother, changing his identity to appear as a girl to make his grandma and classmates more comfortable, using the special needs bathroom, the self-mutilation that occurred when Adam tried on his Gracie identity again - just everything made me go Wow. That is seriously tough. I sympathized with everyone involved, but also respected the way the actress played the role as someone who managed to be both 100% confident and comfortable with themselves, but also 100% aware of how many people weren't. I fully believed in Jordon Todosey's performance, especially during the scenes when Adam looked fully uncomfortable dressed up in girls clothing. I believed in and understood Adam over Gracie, and that is pretty impressive for a half-hours serial to do.

I hope this relatively groundbreaking plotline is embraced by the LGBT community out there, and I hope Degrassi doesn't drop the ball on this in future episodes. Kudos to them for tackling an entirely new, complex situation with such grace, empathy, and honesty.

Other quick points: Anya finally getting a non-Sav storyline was a refreshing change of pace. The scene when she finally cracked down after Holly J's not-so-big confession felt very honest and one of the actress' best moments on the show to date.


Also, Eli has quickly become one of my fave characters on the show. There is something entrancing about the actor that plays him (he's not nearly as creepy as the previews for the season made him out to be, but there is something enigmatic about his performance) and I look forward to every season with him. Double kudos for the vast improvements to Clare's character this season. I've always liked the actress that plays her, and now she's finally got a developing personality of her own. The natural chemistry between her and Eli has been a highlight this season, and their involvement with Adam this season has been fantastic. Love!

- Britt's On

I know I’ve talked about it a few times on here already, but I am an admitted Degrassi fan. I watched the original series after school in the 90s (during its first set of reruns) on CBC, and was eager for the reboot at the turn of the Millennium. I lost touch with the show around season 6, but after a chance viewing of ‘Degrassi Goes Hollywood’ last summer I scooped up all of the original and new series, and caught up with TNG just in time for Season 9.

Some people have complained the show isn’t as fresh as it used to be, but I’ve enjoyed the majority of the new characters and felt like they have broached some new topics, while taking different approaches on others they may have tackled in the past. This summer’s daily dose of Degrassi has been a welcome treat as I sit down for a bite-sized portion of Canadian teenage drama, and I like the gradual introduction of the new characters, who so far have only played second fiddle to our (also relatively new) main stars.


In the last week in particular we’ve been introduced to a new villain in town, Drew Torres, a transfer student that came to Degrassi with hopes of snagging the QB1 spot on their supposedly awesome team (the fact they are the Degrassi Panthers cast an ironic light on the lack of football or its importance on the show in comparison to the Dillon Panthers on Friday Night Lights).

In his first week, Drew blackmailed his fellow teammate with a secret about his sexuality in order to (more or less) take over as QB1. He also established himself as the school’s new resident eye candy as various extras fawned over him, and supremely shallow sophomore Alli threw herself at him with a game of strip ‘Would You Rather?’, and was rewarded with a post-school booty call.

I kind of hope Degrassi will keep Drew a villain. Because here’s the thing. Every character EVER on the show that has been introduced as a villain, or even a slightly offbeat dark house, eventually evolves to become a downright likable, interesting, ‘lite’ version of their badass former selves. In fact the show is more successful when it lets its straight edge kiddies dip into the dark side (Sean, Ashley, Spinner, Craig) versus having someone come onto the scene, guns-a-blazin (not literally) and stay that way.


My one quasi-exception to this phenomenon is Ellie Nash, introduced early on as the punky alternative playmate for outcast former prepster Ashley Kerwin. Although Ashley’s edginess lost its teeth, Ellie always remained slightly offbeat (albeit with better hair and less Hot Topic accessories) and dark in the social schema that was Degrassi. Although...much like Jane of the second next generation, she got a bit of a glamover / personality upgrade by the end of her time on the show. As for everyone else? Let’s review.


Jay Hogart was sort of the proto-Degrassi villain. He led a band of misfits that appropriately looked too old to be in high school (they always do!), got into fights, bullied people, stole things, and coerced our cleaner, greener students to behave badly. He also spread an STD throughout the school, in a truly inspired villainous move. The show let Jay have his moments of redemption – the odd one-liner, his acceptance of Alex’s sexuality – while also continually using him as the fallback bad boy totem whenever they wanted a character to do something ‘wrong’ with an enabler by their side.


Then came Manny in Season 7. By this point Manny was one of the alpha females, which automatically meant her relationship would get a lot of airtime. To my surprise and delight, they paired Jay and Manny together in an unlikely sham of a relationship that blossomed into something genuinely sweet. In fact by the time I got to ‘Degrassi Goes Hollywood’ when Jay and Manny finally got their sh*t together, I was desperate to find out what had made Jay become the ultimate ragamuffin with a heart of gold, and their storyline over seasons 7 and 8 was one of my favourites. After that, Jay’s appearances were mainly to facilitate the Jay and Manny show, and to give Spinner someone to talk to.

And thus, Jay Hogart the villain was more or less destroyed. To the show’s credit, they’ve never let Jay do a complete turnaround (as per Spinner’s brief stint as a Christian born again virgin), as per one of the main reasons for his split with his major split with Manny had to do with theft, but his persona certainly softened from ‘ravine guy that gives out STDs’ to ‘Manny’s true love’.


While we’re talking about Jay, one of his top cronies, the female Jay and his early-on h-core girlfriend, Alex, also got the soft and sweet treatment. This was developed through her seemingly random but partially honest lady friend relationship with alpha girl Paige, but also in the episode where former bully Alex was bullied by younger kids when she came back to Degrassi to upgrade her marks for college. Suddenly we had the bully getting pelted with carrot sticks, and we were meant to felt bad for her. Again, to the show’s credit, Alex always maintained her tough girl streak, but she was also a big melodramatic softie when it came to Paige.


So those are the original ‘bad kids’, and how they evolved. Their second ‘next’ generation counterparts were kids from the merger between Degrassi and some other randomly named high school that possibly involved the words east, side, woods, or river. When Johnny DiMarco and his buddy Bruce were introduced, they were sort of Jay and co 2.0, in fact there is a great, misleading promo of Johnny doing a voiceover about taking over Degrassi. Well, that didn’t happen. Johnny wasn’t ever quite the enabler that Jay was (perhaps too easy for the show), and his conflicts with others were mostly reserved to menacing glares and snide comments. His most compelling, realistic storyline was his relationship with Alli and what it meant for his hard-edged persona. Unlike Jay, he never quite opened up and showed his inner muffin to the world (or did, and broke up with his girlfriend when it happened), but the fact his biggest storylines were about dating should tell you how much of a non-badass he was. Bruce in comparison was there for comic muscle relief.


Technically speaking, Jane was originally introduced to fill the gaping void Ellie and h-core Alex had left (although she was never mean). If you watch Season 7 when she is first introduced, it’s stunning how transformed she became as the seasons went on. Gone are the ugly dreads, boy-ish clothing (now reserved for transgender characters like Adam), and off-putting makeup. In its place we gifted with the alternative to the popular alpha girl, a bright, strong female character – although one whose controversy often stemmed from her facing her weaknesses over having some sort of badass reputation. Jane was one of my fave newer characters though, so I won’t complain too much.


Now, in comparison to the above, the prototype for Drew is pretty different. We’re talking preppy jock a-hole. The closest comparison we’ve got can be found in the charmingly awkward Peter, who appeared around season 6 in a memorable episode where he convinced Manny to strip for a video that was then broadcast on the internet. During that season Peter was persona non grata, causing him and Emma to have a clandestine relationship. Peter to me is one of the most interesting characters on the show because he has filled so many random roles. It’s like the writers never really knew what to do with him, and thus Peter had many an identity (and girlfriend) crisis. He was more of an example of a socially awkward menace that burned a few bridges over an actual villain. Drew in comparison to Peter has given us someone who is much more confident in following through with his arrogance, although he hasn’t exactly made any friends yet that will help him overcome the awkward social situations to come once his initial antagonism phase is over.


There are other people I could mention here. For the girls, think about Ashley Kerwin, the original mean girl, was taken down many a peg by the end of Season 1 and was given a slightly whiny but mostly sympathetic character during the rest of her tenure. Ditto to Paige, whose early rape storyline made it hard to ever see her as much as a villain as the show sometimes liked to paint her as. Even Holly J, who started out as a brownnosing snot but has become one of the show’s most dynamic characters has revealed a heart of gold under that ambitious shell.


For the guys, obviously there is Rick, he of the school shooting. Rick wasn’t introduced as a villain however, and it was mostly (aside from his accidental abuse of Terri) through his final act that he has been remembered as one, but even then, moreso as a troubled, bullied student. Declan was somewhat of a cocky villain (in the same vein as Drew) when he was first introduced last season, however these days he sits around pining for Holly J and avoiding twincest. Derek, the curly-headed pal of Danny’s in the middle years of the series, was sort of a jerk through and through, but not exactly a villain.

I get that Degrassi is trying to show multiple sides to each character, and I appreciate that they don’t let the kids who have a badass introduction completely transform to become one of the ‘good’ kids (although Jane is a notable exception here, based on how she was portrayed at first). Holly J and Paige still have their mean streaks, Jay was still an enabler to his last days as a regular on the series, and Peter was still ruining friendships last year…but ultimately every person that is introduced on the show as a villain softens once their initial antagonistic plot point is resolved. I wouldn’t mind seeing Drew go on a testosterone-fuelled rampage of antics on the football team and with the ladies, although I suspect his relationship with ‘Adam Torres’ (the transgender character I can only presume is Drew’s sibling) will give him his entry into the softer, sweeter side of Degrassi.

Finally for the record, Degrassi is by far not the only show where this phenomenon occurs. As one of TV's longest running youth-oriented programs, it just happens to be the most obvious one. Think of Luke, the hyper-aggressive Drew-esque villain of Season 1 on the OC, and how he became almost comically sad by the end of that season when his dad turned out to be gay and he sat around trying to strum a guitar backstage at a Rooney concert. Or for that matter, one of TV's most realistic shows, Friday Night Lights, where Tim Riggins has been continually toed the line between saintly and sad, a far cry from his Season 1 womanizing and extreme boozing antics. It's natural for a show to want to make their characters sympathetic, and taking them out of their villainous comfort zones seems to be the only way they can think to do it. I guess there are two sides to every archetype.

Ah well,

Britt’s On

I just finished Candace Bushnell’s latest book, The Carrie Diaries, which was conveniently tied in with the launch date of the second floppy movie…which I’m putting off seeing. I’ve just heard too many bad things about it (other than lots of “I surprisingly liked it!” facebook statuses) to make me that excited for it. People keep on talking about how ‘hilarious’ it is, but I have a hunch these are the same people who laughed at the line about ‘Charlotte poughkipsed in her pants’ in the first movie, a line I thought was horribly punny and a plot element I thought was totally unnecessary.

I have problems with the first film, too many to list, but there are also things I liked about it that stayed true to the series. I understand that with a 30 minute show it’s easy to tie things together on a centralized little theme, while expanding that timeline to 5x its length makes it more of a challenge – hence the veering off into a bunch of little pointless subplots that sorta only kinda impacted the main story for each character. I fear the second film is more of those subplots and pratfalls than the emotional resonance and genuine humor that emerged with the original show.

Anyway back to reading. CB’s (did you ever notice Candace Bushnell = Carrie Bradshaw?) latest book is an origin story for Carrie in her senior year of high school. Contrary to what little was revealed about Carrie on the show – her mother died when she was a tween and her father is raising her and her two little sisters (on the show her father left her and her mother, no siblings mentioned). She’s a funny, brainy, pretty virgin that’s fixated on her future and defiant of convention, while her friends are running around being typical high schoolers. Basically it sets up a lot about who Carrie will become and why she is the way she is. Some of it is very heavy-handed, some of it is clever nods.

I’m surprised Bushnell wanted to do, or chose to do an origin story. Admittedly the premise was delectable for many – if Bushnell has been blockaded about writing about Carrie’s present (which has been extensively documented on screen), why not open up a new chapter in her past? The book opened up all sorts of questions for me though, ones that would be hard to answer because the show and book present different versions of Carrie’s youth.

That being said, whether Bushnell continues to write the misadventures of a young Carrie or not, I’m curious to see whether this becomes a film, as a way to reboot the franchise (produced by SJP with a cameo of course) on the screen as well. Or for that matter, a TV series of Carrie’s early days…fascinating, although I think it could run away with itself without a clear framework, like what’s laid out here.


If that does happen, I am nominating Degrassi The Next Generation’s Charlotte Arnold, who plays uber-ambitious queen bee Holly J Sinclair – for Carrie. Charlotte Arnold is easily my favourite actress / character on the show right now, she’s been fantastic as a super bitch, mega loser, practical romantic, and ambitious role model. Although it’s a bit hard to picture her with Carrie’s curls, she has enough of a resemblance, suitable voice, and a strong set of acting chops to pull off this iconic role.




I think there might be some outcry if The Carrie Diaries is made into a movie, but I honestly would be curious and happy to see it come to fruition. Again, there are certainly problems to resolve regarding the continuity of the two, but I’m all for it!

Till the day comes when Carrie graces our screens with dignity and interest again…

- Britt’s On

I am JUST about at the end of the road when it comes to rewatching all of the original Degrassi episodes with my two best friends. We started this journey in the fall and it’s taken us about six months to get through about 60 episodes of the show – we’re just two away plus the crazy ‘Schools Out’ movie from being finis!

I have to say, I’m super keen on rewatching the new series now as well, as even that’s a decade (!) old. I watched the first six seasons as they aired, although CTV has been so thankless with scheduling it I lost track of it for seasons 7 and 8…until I watched the Degrassi goes to Hollywood movie last summer which inspired me to pick up said ‘lost seasons’ and watch them in time for S9, which is on hiatus right now till…sometime soon.

Anyway there are a handful of episodes left for this year. It’s been a decent season, although some of the storylines were pretty nonsensical (I’m looking at you KC) and the four new characters are probably some of the worst new ones ever introduced on the show. Declan is sort of the classy version of Peter that was supposed to exist but never did (as evidenced by the premiere). Fiona was accurately cast as a beard for Riley – as her character is nothing more than a beard for an actual character…they have yet to make me care about her. Jenna is hyper-annoying, although she provided a good, realistic foil to KC & Clare’s blah relationship. And new guy / random cousin of Chantay, Dave, is supposed to be the new comic relief a la Toby & JT, but he’s just random right now.

Anyway now they’ve announced the Degrassi NYC movie and the crazy giant S10 of the series will be airing on MuchMusic this summer as a daily ‘soap opera’ of sorts. I’m not sure how I feel about that. In my opinion, based on watching the last 3 seasons in rapid succession, CTV should have moved to doing an hour-long program on a weekly basis, since most episodes were two-parters anyway. I imagine the format of the show (A storyline, B storyline, and C storyline for comic relief / continuity if it’s a two-parter) will change dramatically if they’re moving to a daily show.

I also worry that they’ll expand the cast that much more and bring on more thankless characters and pollute the story. One of the strengths of the show is the natural evolution of shifting lead characters as the core original cast grew up and moved on, and I’d hate for them to lose that by opening up the cast.

I recently read several interviews from the original, ORIGINAL Degrassi saying they did indeed opt to stop the series after 5 seasons because they felt like they’d done every serious issue they wanted to cover. If Degrassi moves to a daily soap opera digest, that focus on a specific issue per episode will likely devolve. On the flip side, it will also lead to less ambiguity at the end of each episode – a hallmark of the show is to put their characters through insaneeeee trials only to end things without much follow-up (although they’ve made an effort to improve things in that regard during recent seasons).

Overall I think it was perhaps a wise move to do a soap opera style for the summer, perhaps to catch some bored teenage minds and entice them to watch during the rest of the year. Plus I myself can’t get enough of the show – I grew up with the original series (in reruns granted) and was a few years older than the kids when they started the new series, but loved it all the same. I just hope this move to MuchMusic / shift to daily drama (for six weeks anyway) doesn’t bust up the series in a bad, bad way.

- Britt’s On

This summer, bored by reruns and with no real TV on DVD to watch, I PVR'd the Degrassi: The Next Generation (hereby TNG) movie set in Hollywood...and kind of fell in love with the show all over again.

I remember coming home after school in junior high and high school and watching the original Degrassi series on CBC and being proud to have seen every single episode when all was said and done...and this was BEFORE the days of PVR people. When TNG started up around 2K, my family was all over it - we used to sit down and watch it together every week, even as the involvement of the original cast dwindled.

Unfortunately, Degrassi TNG entered into some sort of weird partnership with US teen channel The N whereby the scheduling went completely out of wack, and Degrassi became very difficult to track down on the tube. We lost touch at the end of Season 6. That is, until I watched the movie this summer and promptly ran out and bought Seasons 7 & 8 in anticipation of the currently running 9, and indeed I love the show, even though I miss the original TNG cast.

Anyway, amongst all of this TNG excitement, it also made me pine for Degrassi of yesteryear. I asked my two best friends to join me on a thrilling journey back to the late 80s where we would rewatch all of the original series and follow up with TNG.

One of my friends mentioned there used to be an awesome original Degrassi Junior High / Degrassi High School drinking game but alas we couldn't find it, the site that seems to have published it has since taken it down. So...based on her faint recollections and our overall enjoyment of the first two seasons of Junior High, here is the KLM version of the Degrassi Junior High / Degrassi High School drinking game (with additions to come I'm sure).

Take a drink everytime...

- Stephanie gets changed in the bathroom

- Yik & Arthur engage in an overtly nerdy activity (ex: using walkie talkies, renting swamp porn)

- Someone places a phone call in a phone booth

- Mr. Raditch is magically immediately on the announcements right after class

- There's a confrontation in the stairwell (including physical fights, arguments, or chase scenes) or in the high school years, on the wheelchair ramp

- Mr. Raditch abandons his teacherly duties (ex: not breaking up a stairwell confrontation)

- Joey gives a new meaning to the middle initial of his name

- Lucy's parents are negligent and leave a phone message ("There's sushi in the fridge!")

- Students are either signing something or handing something out in the hallway

- The word 'broomhead' is used

- An exterior shot is repeated within an episode or between episodes (easier if you watch them back to back)

- Someone shops at the local pharmacy

- Someone sings 'Everybody's Got Something'

- One of the twins (Heather & Erica) is NOT wearing something black or white

- Dream sequences or memory flashbacks occur (note the soft focus around the edge of the screen)

- A non-major character has a speaking role (ex: the chubby girl Nancy, the red-headed girl with freckles, the guy who enjoys carrots and makes a horrible speech on watching TV)

- The girl in the wheelchair defies the lack of wheelchair accessibility of Degrassi (or alternatively, when you notice there is no possible way for her to get up those front stairs as students stream in)

That should have you nice and buzzed within an episode, and nice and hammered within two. Until I continue onwards, this is definitely a great start to the Degrassi High / Degrassi Junior High drinking festivities!

- Britt's On