Degrassi: The Next Generation

[Forever8]

Oh, I agree very much regarding Alex. It seemed her season of character progression and growth went out of the window. 

Just in case if you were wondering Deanna is up to these days. 

Deanna Klymkiw, MA | Psychology of Criminalized and Risky Behaviours Lab (PoCaRB Lab) (ryerson.ca)

[OzFrog]

One thing I will say about the first 4-5 seasons (at least) of DTNG… their long-term story projections and character development were *gold*. Daytime soaps could learn a s***load from them.

Craig’s bipolar is a prime example. Major props to Jake Epstein for playing it so obviously in hindsight even though we didn’t know at the time that he had it.

Paige and Alex should have been endgame - they just *got* each other. Maybe in another universe they do end up back together. I hate how they just about obliterated all of Paige’s character growth in the Hollywood movie, especially when she slapped Marco

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. Yes she regretted it afterwards and tried to patch things up, but man she regressed in such a short time!

I just watched the Manhattan movie, and as much as people pay out Emma and Spinner, it kinda does make sense that sometimes love can be spontaneous. I could just imagine a longer-term storyline where Sean comes back from the Armed Forces and a Sean/Emma/Spinner triangle ensues (pure soapy goodness). Throw in Jane for good measure, and it’s a quadrangle that would last for *years*.

Jay & Manny - . The one couple that shouldn’t have worked, but did. The way Jay helps to get Manny back on track in the Hollywood movie - you can see just how much he had changed for the better. And I will *always* love how he managed to salvage her Smithdale application.

Holly J’s character redemption through the seasons is also something to behold. I always skipped her scenes at the beginning because she was just downright horrible, but somehow she plausibly became a heroine later in her run. Again, the writing was solid for her.

But the one thing I did not even realise about the long-term impact of Degrassi TNG - it launched the careers of both Drake and Nina Dobrev! It didn’t click until a couple of seasons in that Jimmy was Drake!! And also when Nina started playing Mia, I was like “where have I seen her before?”. And then the penny dropped on that too.

Like I said… many many thoughts!

[Taoboi]

And good thoughts for so many.   

 

Yeah, that is why a lot of us here are all about Season 1-5 the first 'new' class. You could see the development and the growth like the writers knew what they were doing. 

 

I'm a Sean/Emma fan so Imma just gonna go

 

Ikr re: Holly J. I used to loathe that girl (and if you haven't already Degrassi used to do little shorts and one of them is her vs Paige which is great to watch ) but I admit that she grew on me and by the time she got with who she got with, I was on board. 

 

NINA!!!! Oh, Katherine Pierce...gone but not forgotten. Yes, I love it started so many careers for actors and actresses (Stacy Feaber was just on SUPERMAN AND LOIS all last season for example as Head Henchwoman). Drake is a mixed bag for me because for the longest he never seem to want to acknowledge where he came from. But he dropped the I'M UPSET video which is basically a Degrassi Reunion video, barring two people, and all has been forgetten. Also worth a watch since you are caught up enough to get all the references and see how so many of them look now...well...then now. lol. 

[OzFrog]

Firstly, I loved Sean and Emma as well - they were just so good! I don’t know what the deal was with Daniel Clark, but it is a shame he couldn’t stick around longer term - there’s a lot more mileage the writers could have done with that story.

As much as some people found Ellie annoying, I did love Stacey Feaber’s portrayal, particularly as she gained enough confidence to finally break away from Jesse, who quite frankly was treating her like s***. Yes she did not handle some things the right way (the whole shaming Caitlin in public, for example). And I also like how they maintained her crush on Craig throughout the seasons - again, long-term writing excellence here.

I wonder how many people watching young Spinner in Season 1 would have ever thought he would turn out to be the father figure quasi moral compass of later seasons - his character development was mind-blowingly incredible.

Speaking of Spinner, having Shane Kippel front and centre with Drake in the I’m Upset video was top notch! And yes, totally awesome to see how they all looked in 2018! That was a smart move by Drake.

[BetterForgotten]

Jane was definitely Spinner's most mature and equal relationship (Paige dominated him and later used him for sex, and Darcy was a mess of a character who was no saint herself, but expected Spinner to be).

They could have easily just reunited them when they decided to write him off instead of the Emma sh!t - and it's frustrating that they had the opportunity to do so and didn't. Even if Sean didn't come back for Emma, they could have written her out some other way. 

[OzFrog]

A random question… I know that Wheels apologised to Lucy early on in TNG for the car accident that happened in School’s Out, and at the time, Lucy still had a lot of anger towards him. Did she eventually forgive him for what happened?

[Forever8]

All I remember is what she said after he apologized to her on TNG was that she couldn't help but feel sorry for him to Raditch before going back inside the school. But I don't recall her mentioning it again during her stints between seasons 1 and 2. Nonetheless, Wheels did get to make up with Snake during Season 3 when Snake was going through his cancer battle. 

Another long-running story was that Spike's friend Liz, who was pro-life, later became a midwife on TNG and delivered Jack in Season 3. 

 

 

[OzFrog]

Yeah that’s the scene I was thinking of with Wheels and Lucy. It kinda irked me when the others were having their pre-reunion chat and Lucy was saying that Wheels got off “scot free”, and I was like “hang on, the guy did his sentence, spent 10 years in prison for drink driving and manslaughter, and has to live with the consequences for the rest of his life”. Yes Lucy had years of rehab to get her back to where she was, but it wasn’t as though she didn’t make a conscious decision to get in the car with him (I know she was angry with Caitlin at the time for accepting Joey’s proposal, pre-revelation of his affair with Tessa).

I am also glad that Wheels and Snake did patch things up - I know they were on not-so-good terms around the time of School’s Out, so was nice to see them reconnect in TNG.

[DramatistDreamer]

Okay, this is old school DH but whoever did this has my gratitude because this video had me screaming!

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[victoria foxton]

@DramatistDreamer Thanks for sharing the video with us. Joey had a nice butt. I don't think Joey's butt was shown on PBS. But maybe i'm wrong. As a teen i remember PBS showing some nudity at times. Anyway, it was a great trip down memory lane. ''All the way with Stepanie Kaye''. 

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Edited July 31, 2022 by victoria foxton

[DramatistDreamer]

I remember PBS showing a LOT of nudity when I was a kid.   Channel 13 was surprisingly explicit, mostly after 8 pm on weekends though.

[DramatistDreamer]

@victoria foxton Here’s a good example of what I was talking about. This article talks about a dance piece that full frontal nudity, both men and women, being recalled by another PBS station and only shown in the NYC area.

https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/20/archives/dont-look-now-busby-but-some-of-those-dancers-are-nude.html

[Liberty City]

JOEY!

[I Am A Swede]

Wow, talk about nostalgia..... 

[DramatistDreamer]

Did you peep Tessa Campanelli’s reaction to Joey in all his glory? The show really played the long game in how they played that story out.

Those one-line zingers were everything! 
“Hi Daddy!” - Kathleen to expectant father Shane

” I’m a wench!” -an excited Melanie.

” I must have order!” -Snake, no doubt preparing for life as a high school teacher and administrator.

”This stupid piece of junk!” -Joey, future car dealership owner, as he angrily kicks the tire of his car.

Spike, contemplating her unplanned pregnancy possibly ruining her life, as the peppy music and closing credits zip through. Spike, the mother of the next Degrassi generation.

I hope this person does more Degrassi High, there’s so much more material to draw from. 

Also, I love how everyone basically failed driver’s Ed except for Nancy, who on Monday would drive into the Degrassi parking lot, with best friend Tim in tow, riding in what looks like a shiny new mini-coupe.