Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi Junior High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1987 to 1989!  The series can be streamed on YouTube!

In yourself, you must believe….

Episode 2.4 “Dinner & A Show”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on January 25th, 1988)

It’s a night of awkward dates and dinners on this week’s episode of Degrassi Junior High!

Yick Yu finally works up the courage to ask Melanie if she would like to go to a movie with him.  While Kathleen rolls her eyes in the background, Melanie says that she’d love to see a movie with Yick.  Yick suggests that they see Revenge of the Reptile, which is really gory and features killer reptiles!  Melanie says that she’s not into any of that and suggests that they instead see Crying Into The Wind.  Yick agrees, even though it’s obvious that Crying Into The Wind is not a film that is going to appeal to a typical 13 year-old male.

After Yick leaves, Kathleen makes fun of Melanie for having a date.  Melanie replies that it’s not a date.  She and Yick are just friends and Melanie is looking for “a man.”  Right on schedule, Snake walks up and asks Melanie if she wants to see a movie.  Melanie, forgetting all about her plans with Yick, says, “Sure!”  Snake suggests Revenge of the Reptile.  Melanie, forgetting that she’s not into gory reptile films, says, “Sure!”

Poor Yick is heartbroken when Melanie tells him that something has come up and she won’t be able to go to the movies with him.  Arthur suggests that Yick cheer himself up by going to see Revenge of the Reptile….

Meanwhile, Shane’s parents want to have dinner with Spike and her mother.  Shane’s parents have decided a few things.  First off, the baby is going to be given up for adoption.  Secondly, Shane is going to private school.  While sending Shane to a private school might not be a bad idea, deciding what’s going to happen to the baby before they’ve even met Spike or her mother is definitely not cool.  Shane’s parents are the first of many bad parents that will show up over the course of Degrassi’s long history.

Spike decides to just not tell her mom about the dinner invitation.  But then Shane’s parents call personally and invite them to a fancy restaurant.  Needless to say, it’s not a pleasant dinner.  Shane’s father not only wants to send Shane to private school but he also thinks that Spike should be sent to a home for unwed mothers, like a character in a 1930s farm melodrama.  Shane’s mother, meanwhile, makes no secret of the fact that she blames Spike more than she blames her son.  Finally, Shane stands up for himself and says that he’s not going to go to private school.  Of course, Shane then ruins the moment by saying that he’s ready to be a father.  No, Shane, you’re not.  You’re barely ready to be in the 8th Grade.

At the movie theater, Snake and Melanie discover that they really don’t have much in common.  Snake may be a nice guy but he’s a terrible conversationalist.  Joey and Wheels, upset that they don’t have dates, show up and spend the whole time making snarky comments.  (Joey brings along a toy Godzilla that he uses to try to scare Melanie.)  Worst of all, Yick shows up and finds himself staring straight at Melanie.  Melanie smiles awkwardly while Yick’s heart breaks once again.

The next day, at school, Melanie tells Kathleen that her date wasn’t that great.  Meanwhile, Spike asks Shane if he even wants her to have the baby and Shane can’t answer.

I loved the way the episode contrasted the awkwardness of Melanie’s date with the awkwardness of Spike’s dinner.  Melanie’s problems are nowhere near as serious as Spike’s but both of them are a result of immature people trying to make mature decisions.  The main theme of this episode is that no one is ready to be an adult.  Melanie says that she’s ready to date “a man,” but she can’t even find it in herself to be honest with Yick.  Yick and Snake both want to start dating but they’re still incapable of understanding that Revenge of the Reptile is not exactly a romantic movie.  Shane wants to be a father but can barely stand up to his own parents.  Shane’s parents may be adults but they don’t understand that being an adult means talking to other people before deciding their lives for them.  The only person who truly understands how lost everyone is Spike and all she can do is try to make it day-by-day.

Watching an episode like this, it’s nice to know that Spike will eventually find happiness with Snake and that her daughter will grow up to be Emma.  I can only imagine how emotionally devastating all of this must have been for people watching it for the first time in 1988.  Degrassi Junior High rarely offered false hope, which is why it remains relevant today.