Degrassi Junior High

Hmm just finished Degrassi Junior High and I thought over all it was great.

Not so sure about the acting at times, but there were some good moments. Especially from the actor who played Joey Jeremiah.

I remember the first time I watched Degrassi Junior High. It was in 7th Grade Health class and the teacher put it on for us to watch. I don't know if I liked it(but then any sort of show watching during what would be a boring day in class would leave me wanting more...) But after reading that apparently Kevin Smith was a fan(apparently there are several Degrassi easter eggs in some of his movies and such) I decided to go back to Junior High. I do remember that I loved The Next Generation(though once most of the main cast had left the series I lost most interest in the show) So with these 2 things, I decided to give it a try. I am happy that I did.

While the show deals with topics teens go through such as Pregnancy, Anorexia, Suicide, drug use, alcoholic parents, touching a bit on AIDS, and racism, they were not preaching some bigger lesson. Even after Wheels's parents death at the hands of a drunk driver, Wheels comments that while he won't partake in drinking he doesn't care if his friends do. It also mentions in an episode dealing with an alcoholic parent that while drinking is fine in moderation, its best to know your limits. Which I suppose is refreshing because it seems like anytime the subject is brought up, they don't normaly give the whole 'Its fine in moderation' type thing. Atleast from my experience.

I once read a review on the series and they mentioned that its more about showing teens that what they are going through is something they are not dealing with alone. But yeah you can definitely see some of the intended, but not mentioned, lessons involved.

Now there is one thing that bugged me. the Degrassi series takes place in Toronto, Canada. In fact the premise of Kids of Degrassi Street(which would inspire the following series) was about kids living on or around De Grassi street in Toronto. But in an episode where Melanie steels 20 bucks from her mom... they show US Currency. I had to rewind to see that it was infact Jackson on the 20. Also noted that there were some US Ones. Within Degrassi Junior High its never actually explained where they live but it was a Canadian Teen Drama... so. Yeah. For some reason that just bugged me. lol

What was really great about this series is seeing the start of many of the characters that would later be in The Next Generation.

Spike. Dude I love her hair. Actually alot of the hair styles in the series was really... weird. But I have to admit I liked her best. It was also really cool to see Emma as a kid, even if it was briefly at times. But it was fun to finally see her backstory in full. Not to mention it was interesting to watch how Spike and Shane(Emma's biological father) were like around each other. in TNG you only get a small glimpse of things and it really didn't seem to do much justice as to what really happened. I think I wanted to watch Junior High purely for this at one point. lol

Snake. Again it was just great to see Snake as a teen rather then the loveable teacher he is in TNG. For the first season he didn't have much to say and was mostly in the background(or so it seemed) Degrassi always did have a knack for bringing smaller characters into the front.

Joey. Now he is probably my favorite character in the series. He is drasticaly different then what we see in TNG. In one episode he sells Vitamin C tablets telling the buyers that they were actaully some sort of drug. He also has a little problem with telling lies or greatly exagerating things. While sometimes he can be a real Broomhead(ha! I love that insult) he is fun character and the kind of guy you would want to have as a friend.

Arthur and Yick Yu. You just can't hate these 2. Well maybe you can. Arthur starts off as a brainy 7th grader whose older sister shuns him and pretends he doesn't exist. Yick Yu is a refugee from some country, and does horrible in class. But after being tricked by Joey who locked them in a janitor closet, they become friends. Its an interesting contrast between characters but ultimately really fun to watch. It was funny watching them tail Snake to see what he ate to make him so tall.

Wheels. Now he is one of my lesser favorites, but he had a great storyline. He was adopted when he was a baby and in an episode he meets his biological father(who sprung up a few child molestor jokes. Its the mustache I guess *shrugs*) and eventually losing his adoptive parents and going thruogh some serious depression. I don't know if he reprised his role in TNG(it turns out quite a few made a brief appearance in the early TNG seasons) but it was fun to watch him through Junior High.

Stephanie. She left the series at the end of Season 2. She was interesting because she hid her appearance from her mother. She would change in the bathroom before school. She went from this snotty 8th grader who thought she was above everyone else and made enemies of her best friend Voula. By the end of season 1 she changed and decided she wanted to be better. But there is one episode that she did brilliantly in(atleast in my opinion) Her Father is trying to obtain custody of her again, her mother is marrying some guy she doesn't like, and she is in general just depressed. Out of all of the episodes this one I will remember the most as she talks about killing herself, and dreaming about this bridge and even visiting it later in the episode. The episode was fantastic... not only because there was this incredibly cute puppy named Phil. Why he chose Phil I have no idea.

Caitlin Ryan. Again it was just fun seeing her backstory. We see her in many episodes of TNG as a successful reporter and such. We even find out she was in some sort of relationship with Kevin Smith. Which is a little amusing if its true he is a fan of the series. Anyways in an episode that revolved around Animal Rights she was at first dead set against it, but was urged to view both sides of the story. Overall it was just fun seeing her grow as a reporter and writer.


There are other great characters and moments in Degrassi but I have to love Season 3. Early on in the season there is mention of the Boiler being broken. The Janitor complains that she can't help it if the part she ordered a year ago hasn't arrived. I think maybe in a later episode there is actually an announcement about the Boiler. Though it may have just been in the same episode. Either way it was a nice little foreshadow for the Junior High Finale. lol

A bunch of great moments, the same lessons every other show like this has, and I loved how sometimes the story doesn't necessarily wrap up in one episode. Sometimes its only brought up in one episode and it isn't until a later episode that anything is done about it. In fact there are some story plots I hope that will find some end in Degrassi High.

For the most part I think IMDB has Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High as just Degrassi High with 5 Seasons.

Overall I thought it was great. The first 2 seasons of Degrassi Junior High can be viewed for free on Youtube thanks to PBS. The quality for some reason is weird though. Sometimes there are these lines that sorta distort the image. Not to bad or anything but it just seemed odd that they couldn't upload better quality.

If by some chance you do ever get a chance to watch the series I say take the chance and atleast check it out.

If it helps it is very similar to The Next Generation in the way the shows work.

Also I am officially a Caitlin and Joey Shipper.

Its just sad that I know it wont work out in the long run.