ledamss
I grew up watching "les années collège/ lycée" (Degrassi Junior High/High in French). Must have been aired for the first time in 88 or so, and I was in junior high myself at the time. I was already a TV freak, but I really got hooked by this show : sometimes heavy, sometimes light, dumb, harsh, cute, cruel, cunning, corny, vicious, talkative, stinky, laughing, moaning, crying, smart, boring, entertaining, wise, so-so, great... You get the idea : all and its contrary. Just like life. Big hit on TV. We would often talk about the episodes among ourselves the next day, and a few times with the teachers : there are times and things you just don't/can't discuss with your parents when you're in junior hi without feeling super dumb, shameful, sinner (continue the list) because you brought the subject. See what I mean ? My years were not as bad as these kids' in comparison. There was drama aplenty : I think maybe, what, 10 episodes overall ? say 5, do have happy endings.?. Kids in there, they got heavy blows. Ils prenaient cher! A bit of a Zola or Hector Malot's "Remy without family" trend. Somewhat refreshing, more relating to real life experiences : you get hit, recover and move on until the next. Teenagehood is drama, is an ordeal, is a sheat you have to live through and learn to cherish.I just learned here tonight that the show was Canadian which explains why the drama hooks you up. Americains would have put happy endings all over the place (in everything they do for the screen they need a useless happy ending, I just hate it) ; though I must admit that recent creations (nip/tuck, for example) finally got rid of the Disney coating, yes. Like a snake changing skin. An excellent social series, in phase with its time, with kids actually being kids, being black, yellow, red, cathos, Jewish, goths, hippies, slim, fat, with zits, braces and geek looking glasses, not rich... All what we've been through. Not cleaned 20 yrs old to play 13 yrs old ones. To my knowledge, sadly, there hasn't been any reruns back here, too bad. I'll have to get it on DVD, to show it to my daughter when she'll start wondering about the very same issues that were treated in Degrassi (she's only 3 now, but kids grow up faster than you'd think !). It definitely beats the sheat out of its descendants : 90210, Dawson, and, ow, I forgot the title, you know, that horrible good thinking and well mannered Wasp family the Dad is a preacher with 6 or 7 kids ?.. Yes, that one. I hate the general ambient of the series, wanna pop a cap in the TV ! I definitely recommend Degrassi Junior and High, as a must have in home video collection. Make a useful gift to a troubled pre and/or early teenager you know...
gracielaventura
Degrassi Junior High(DJH) was on Mexican TV in year 1993 in April, May and June. In that time I was 11 years old now I'm 21. I always watched it, I really enjoyed watching. I don't remember any episodes very well, but I'll try. I have watch no one in years like many of you, but in those days I remembered that I used to stay alone in the afternoons (no daddy, no mom, no sister at home), I turned on the TV and I watched it.I loved the character of Spike because of that `different' hair. In one or two episodes, she got pregnant and her boyfriend asked her if she wanted that he would marry her. Spike was sat down on the stairs and she said that she didn't want to have the baby.Another episode that I can remember is when one of the twins got pregnant in the summer holiday. She had an abortion. She went to a clinic. I would like to watched this TV-series again, but I think that in Mexico the TV-series won't be on TV again, too bad for Mexican teenagers.In Mexico the title of this TV-series was `The Degrassi's students' it was on Channel 7 in Mexico city.NEVER ANOTHER TV-SERIES WILL DO THE SAME LIKE DJH, no Saved by the Bell, no Ready or Not, no Beverly Hill 90210, no Dawson's Creek.
chriscuomo
Blessed with a talented cast and crew, and cursed with repeated stabs at "significance" and Big Issues, this was a unique import. Somewhat of a North-of-the-Border Room 222 with it's multi-ethnic cast and issue-driven story lines. While Room 222 is mostly forgotten today, Degrassi is still fondly remembered cult fave around the world. That's in part due to the talent in front of the camera. It's reputation ultimately hinges on the shows handling of the many weighty issues it tackled during its run: abortion! child abuse! suicide! It felt at times that the show's writers were a bit too determined to distance Degrassi from the superficiality of American teen TV. Many had a superficial tv-movie feel to them. Caitlin's epilepsy was never referred to again, for instance. All in all, a quality show that bowed out - or graduated - gracefully, rather than limp along like its fluffy American contemporaries (Saved by the Bell and 90210) did.
sean-189
The characters on this show had some of the worst problems you could ever imagine... and there weren't that many characters, so everyone had at least 2 or 3 horrible things weighing on their minds. There was the bulimic girl who's mom was an alcoholic. And the guy who fathered Spike's baby and eventually jumped off a bridge because LSD made him do it (this happened on Degrassi High, actually). Then, of course, there was Wheels. It wasn't bad enough that his real parents died in a car accident and his foster parents hated him so much that he ran away. Next thing you know, Wheels is jumping from a moving truck because the driver tried to molest him. But Wheels did co-write the song "Everybody Wants Something", so you know he's had some happy times. Anyway, I love living vicariously through other people's misery, and nothing delivers quite like Degrassi Junior High.
