Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.12 “Natural Attraction”

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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 High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1989 to 1991! The series can be streamed on YouTube!

Welcome back to Degrassi Hiiiiiiiiiiiigh!

Episode 1.12 “Natural Attraction”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on January 23rd, 1990)

This week’s episode of Degrassi High centers around the Farrell twins. I always have a bit of an issue with the Farrell twin episodes because I can never remember which one had the abortion and, beyond that, they’re really not that interesting as characters. I know that one is more talkative than other and that the one who didn’t have an abortion ended up making out with Wheels at a party. But again, personality-wise, they’re both kind of boring characters.

Anyway, this week, Erica is dating an 11th grader who reminds her of the boy who impregnated her over the summer. (“Who does he remind me of?” “Kyle, from the summer.” “Oh yeah!”) Heather is concerned that Erica is going to get pregnant again and they’re going to have to take another trip to the abortion clinic and once again run into that old woman with plastic fetus doll. Erica doesn’t think her abortion was that big of a deal but it haunts Heather, who feels that she took part in a murder by accompanying Erica to the clinic.

And I will say this. Particularly when compared to the way Degrassi: The Next Generation and Netflix Degrassi dealt with the issue of abortion, Degrassi High deserved a lot of credit for treating both sides fairly. No one — whether they agree with Erica’s decision or not — is reduced to being a caricature on this show and that’s something that I personally appreciate. That doesn’t necessarily make the Farrell twins any more interesting than they were before but even that feels like a good move on the show’s part. Not everyone who has an abortion is interesting. Sometimes, they’re kind of boring and have a habit of glaring at anyone who talks to their twin.

As for the rest of this episode, I’m going to guess that the show’s “stars” must have been on vacation because it’s pretty much dominated by students who usually don’t get storylines. Dorothy (Annabella Waugh) encourages her friend Tessa Campanelli (Kirsten Bourne) to ask Scooter to the school dance. This is the first episode to give Tessa storyline and, while it’s not much of a story, it is interesting for those of us who know the important role that Tessa is going to eventually play in the history of Degrassi. As for Scooter, he doesn’t know how to slow dance so his friend Bart teaches him.

Meanwhile, Alison (Sara Holmes) and Amy (Jacy Hunter) get into a fight over the fact that Amy is going to the dance with Snake, despite the fact that Alison used to like Snake. They end up getting into a big argument and throwing all of the clothes that they’ve borrowed from each other all over the girl’s restroom. I could relate because, going to high school with my sister one grade above me, we certainly had our fights and arguments about …. well, exactly the same thing that Alison and Amy were fighting about. But, at the same time, this is really the first episode in which Alison and Amy have been major characters. I like that Degrassi High was an ensemble show but there were definitely times when the show would suddenly push a character into the spotlight without giving the audience any opportunities to get to know the character ahead of time. For instance, I had totally forgotten that Alison liked Snake. Doesn’t she knows that Snake is destined to marry Spike?

Next week, Joey discovers he has a learning disability!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.11 “All In A Good Cause:

Posted on February 2, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Claude shows that in yourself, you must believe.

Episode 1.11 “All In A Good Cause”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on January 16th, 1990)

There’s a wonderful moment in this week’s episode in which Claude tells Caitlin that they have a moral obligation to vandalize a factory that is being used to make nuclear weapons. (Yikes! In downtown Toronto!? Really, Canada!?) Claude says that Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t let the law stop him.

Caitlin agrees.

The Chicago Seven, Claude continues, didn’t let the law stop them from protesting for what was right.

“Who are the Chicago Seven?” Caitlin asks.

Claude gets frustrated. “They were seven guys from Chicago.”

“What did they do?”

Claude, after a pause, “They were totally radical!”

Of course, Claude is incorrect. The Chicago Seven were not seven guys from Chicago. They were seven (originally eight) guys who came to Chicago from all over the country and they were arrested during the 1968 Democratic Convention. As for whether or not they were totally radical …. well, it depends on who you ask. Abbie Hoffman thought they were radical. Bobby Seale thought all of them were poseurs with the exception of himself. Jerry Rubin went on to become a businessman. Tom Hayden went into state politics and married an Oscar winner. As for the other members …. well, who cares? There’s a movie about them if you really want to subject yourself to it.

Claude is like a lot of young activists. He’s passionate and he’s convinced he’s going to save the world but he’s also totally shallow and given to hyperbole. Claude’s plan to vandalize the factory amounts to spray painting one anodyne anti-nuke message on a wall in the middle of the night. Caitlin serves as his lookout. When the cops arrive, Claude runs and leaves Caitlin behind. That stupid hippie!

Catilin does the right thing She dumps that pretentious douchebag! Good for her. Don’t get me wrong. I get it. I went through a period of time where I had a weakness for passionate activists as well. It was between my first bad boy phase and my second bad boy phase. But Claude was just so annoying and, even worse, Caitlin dumped Joey for this loser. Joey may not have known much about politics but Joey also would never have abandoned Caitlin to the cops.

This was a really good episode. Along with the Caitlin/Claude fiasco, this episode also features Kathleen finally reporting her abusive ex-turned-stalker Scott to the police and getting a restraining order against him. Good for Kathleen! (Rebecca Haines really did a good job portraying Kathleen’s ordeal with Scott and, in the best Degrassi tradition, she showed the audience that there was more to Kathleen than they may have originally assumed.) Even Arthur got a decent storyline this episode. Eager to show that he could be just as dangerous and daring as Yick, he and Yick toilet-papered Raditch’s house. What was funny about this plotline is that Arthur wanted to impress Luke. This is the same Luke who gave Shane the PCP that caused him to fall off a bridge. Get better heroes, Arthur!

This was an excellent episode. It’s tempting to hope that Caitlin learned a lesson from this experience but those of us who have watched Degrassi: The Next Generation know better.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.9 & 1.10 “Sixteen”

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we have a special one-hour episode of Degrassi High!

Episode 1.9 and 1.10 “Sixteen”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on January 9th, 1990)

Everyone’s turning sixteen at Degrassi High and they’re all dealing with in their own different ways.

Snake and Joey, for instance, are old enough now to take Driver’s Education. Snake is nervous. Joey says that he’s been driving since he was twelve. Both of them end up failing their driving test. Don’t feel bad, guys! It took me a few tries too! Snake actually turns out to be an even worse driver than Joey and even takes out a cardboard family at one point. Thanks to Joey and Snake’s bad driving, their poor driving instructor ends up with two black eyes and wearing a neck brace. Nancy (Arlene Lott) finally get her first storyline in forever as she easily shows up Joey and Snake and gets her license on the first try.

(When I was learning how to drive, the instructor claimed that I had a lazy eye and yelled at me so much that I went home in tears. My mom went to the driving school and raised Hell. I never had to drive with that instructor again.)

Michelle, meanwhile, celebrates her birthday by moving out of her house. Apparently, in Toronto, you only have to be sixteen to leave your parents and live on your own. Michelle moves out because her racist father (Richard Krovsky) is upset with her for dating BLT. Michelle gets her own apartment but she also has to take a job to pay the rent and she soon finds herself exhausted and sleeping through school. Concerned with his physical and academic well-being, BLT sets aside his differences with Michelle’s father and tells him where to find her. Michelle and her dad have a conversation. Michelle is going to continue to live on her own but her father is going to help with the rent. So …. okay. I mean, Michelle left him because she didn’t want to live under her father’s rules and that was understandable because Michelle’s father really is a jerk. But now that she’s on her own, Michelle’s father is going to pay her rent. So, presumably, Michelle is once again in a position where her Dad can make the rules. What if he tells her that he won’t pay her rent if she keeps seeing BLT?

While that’s going on, Lucy shoots a video for LD’s 16th birthday. LD is still in the hospital, battling Leukemia. LD doesn’t want anyone to know that she’s sick or that she’s lost all of her hair. Still, Lucy does tell the Farrell twins about what’s going on. Anyway, there’s a sweet scene in which Lucy, the twins, and Alexa visit LD in the hospital and bring her a birthday cake. It was a nice scene and well-acted by Anais Granofsky (who plays Lucy) and Amanda Cook (who plays LD). This episode was LD’s final appearance on Degrassi High which …. well, that’s kind of ominous, isn’t it?

Finally, Alexa can only watch helplessly as everyone announces that they will be missing her sweet sixteen birthday party. Even her boyfriend, Simon, is going to be busy filming a commercial on Alexa’s birthday. “Fine!” Alexa shouts, after cancelling her part, “I’ll be fifteen forever!” In fact, the cake that Alexa brings to the hospital for LD was actually supposed to be for Alexa’s party. “I’ll just have my mother bake another,” Alexa says. Good for you, Alexa!

This was a bit of an uneven episode. I actually preferred the driving class scenes to all of the birthday drama. Of course, as a longtime Degrassi fan, I know that Joey is going to grow up to be a used car salesman. Watching him struggle to drive made me smile.

Next week: Caitlin discovers that Claude is no good! It’s about time!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.8 “Little White Lies”

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s time for another party!

Episode 1.8 “Little White Lies”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on December 19th, 1989)

There’s yet another party being held and Diana (Chrisa Erodotu) desperately wants to attend!

Who?

Diana has been on the show for a while but this is the first episode to feature her at the center of a story. She’s a friend of Kathleen’s and she wears glasses and …. well, that’s pretty much all we’ve learned about her in the past. In this episode, it’s revealed that she’s Greek, her parents are dead, and she lives with her overprotective brother (Nick Stamiris). Her brother doesn’t want Diana to go to a party. In fact, when he catches her smoking, he throws a fit and he ground her. He may seem a bit harsh but I had some sympathy for the character. He’s barely an adult himself but he has to keep an eye on and take care of Diana. I think he’s being too overprotective but I get where his mind is at.

Diana, however, decides to sneak out of the house and go the party on her own. She has a crush on Yick and he might be there! When she arrives, she has a drink and sits on the couch while holding a bottle of alcohol. How could this go wrong …. oh wait, who just walked into the party and spotted Diana sitting there with the alcohol? It’s her brother! Diana gets dragged home and has a big fight with her brother.

Poor Diana! That said, this is something that happened to a lot of Degrassi students over the course of the series, most of whom I felt I knew a lot better than Diana. Diana’s just kind of been a nonentity up until this episode so it’s hard for me to get worked up, one way or another, over her situation. It doesn’t help that Diana continually compares herself and her friends to The Outsiders and yes, I do mean the book about the juvenile delinquents in Oklahoma. Degrassi High deserves some credit for giving the less-cool students just as much attention as Joey, Caitlin, and the main stars but the whole Outsiders is just a bridge too far for me.

Speaking of Joey, he, Snake, and Wheels decide to go a strip club! It doesn’t work out, even with the use of fake IDs. First off, when they arrive at the club, they discover that two of the fake IDs have Joey’s name on them. Joey is sure the bouncer won’t notice. Then, they discover that they’ll only have enough money to pay the cover charge if they pool all their money together. Unfortunately, since they’ll also have to order drinks inside the club, they still only have enough money for two of them to go in. Snake and Wheels head in to the club, deserting their friend Joey. A prostitute approaches Joey and asks if he would like to have a good time but the clueless Joey says that he has to get home. Meanwhile, Snake and Wheels pay $8 for two Cokes and are then kicked out when they say they can’t afford anything else. Who would have guessed life in Canada could be so difficult!

This episode felt a bit too familiar for its own good. Diana’s story is one that we’ve seen dozens of times on Degrassi. And Snake, Joey, and Wheels are always doing something stupid and getting kicked out of places. This episode wasn’t bad but it wasn’t particularly memorable either.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.7 “Just Friends”

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Wheels breaks another heart.

Episode 1.7 “Just Friends”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on December 12th, 1989)

Heather Farrell has a crush on Wheels so Erica Farrell helps her throw a party so she can invite Wheels to their house and share a dance with him and maybe discover if he feels the same way about her that she does about him. Of course, Wheels doesn’t feel that way about Heather and is surprised when Snake informs him that Heather obviously has a crush on him. Still, that doesn’t stop Wheels from making out with Heather on her front porch while all of the party guests watch through the front window.

Heather has a boyfriend!

Well, no. Actually, Wheels tells Snake that he still doesn’t like Heather like that and that making out with her is just something that happened. He’s only interested in her as a friend. (AGCK! I mean, don’t get me wrong. This is actually a lot more realistic than what happens on most high school shows but poor Heather!) Wheels is supposed to call Heather when he gets home so that they can talk. Of course, Wheels doesn’t call Heather and he ends up with not one but both of the Farrell twins mad at him and giving him their trademark evil eye.

(Of course, as we all know, Wheels is eventually going to be sent for prison after he runs over a kid while driving drunk so, really, the Farrell twins kind of lucked out here.)

The main problem with any episode that centers around the Farrell twins is that it’s difficult to remember which is which and neither one of them is really that interesting of a character. I spent most of this episode trying to remember whether it was Erica or Heather who had the abortion. I’m pretty sure it was Erica, which explains why Erica freaked out when she saw Heather making out with Wheels. Erica doesn’t want the same thing that happened to her to happen to Heather. But, aside from that, the Farrells have always kind of been boring characters and their party looked kind of lame as well.

Lucy was invited to the party but, instead of going, she instead went to the hospital to visit with L.D., who had just been told that she had Leukemia. Good for Lucy! One of the best parts of Degrassi High has been watching Lucy go from being self-centered and kind of mean to being one of the show’s most genuinely nice characters. To the show’s credit, it’s shown her slowly becoming more emotionally mature as opposed to just having her change overnight. It’s another example of how Degrassi High was realistic in the way that most teen shows were not and still aren’t.

Finally, Kathleen, Melanie, and Diana went to a movie but they didn’t invite their friend Maya (Kyra Levy) because Maya is in a wheelchair. They didn’t think Maya would have been able to take the “streetcar” to the movie and the theater was not wheelchair accessible. The next day, an angry Maya tells them that she could have gotten a ride from her mom and that they could have gone to a different theater that was accessible. Maya angrily tells them not to assume that she can’t do things just because she’s in a wheelchair. Good for Maya! Myself, I’m just happy to see that Kathleen has apparently dumped the abusive Scott and is refusing to speak to him. Good for for Kathleen!

This episode was a good example of how Degrassi High dealt realistically with being a teenager. The Farrell twins are kind of boring but the L.D. and Maya subplots were well-handled. This was a good episode, even if both Joey and Caitlin were noticeably absent.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 4.6 “Nobody’s Perfect”

Posted on January 5, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh Romeo, Romeo….

Episode 4.6 “Nobody’s Perfect”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on December 5th, 1989)

This week’s episode is all about relationships, good and bad.

Patrick (Vincent Walsh), a student from Ireland, sees that Spike is wearing a Pogues t-shirt and asks her out. Spike replies that she wants to but she can’t because she has to take care of baby Emma at night. Patrick suggests a day date instead. Spike agrees, even if she’s still struggling to deal with her feelings about Shane.

(Shane, having suffered brain damage after a bad LSD trip, is not enrolled at Degrassi High. We won’t see him again until the third season premiere of Degrassi: The Next Generation.)

Meanwhile, despite having broken up with him so that she can date “Clode,” Caitlin still volunteers to be Joey’s scene partner for home room. They’re supposed to perform a scene from Romeo and Juliet and …. yeah, there’s no way that’s going to be awkward, right? Caitlin tells Joey that, even though they’ve broken up, she hopes they can still be friends. Joey awkwardly says, “Yeah.” They talk about why they broke up. Caitlin even says, “It’s not you, it’s me.” Those of us who know our Degrassi history know that this is a scene that’s going to be frequently repeated over the next twenty years or so.

Finally, Kathleen has convinced herself that she’s totally in love with Scott. Afterall, Scott is always telling Kathleen how much he loves her. He gives her jewelry. He sends her flowers. He wants her to spend all of her free time with him. Of course, when Scott isn’t doing all of that, he’s beating on her and telling her that she’s stupid for wanting to have any interests outside of being his girlfriend. When Kathleen is disappointed to discover that she hasn’t been cast in the school play, Scott informs her that she’s just not a very good actress and she shouldn’t worry about it. When Kathleen says that she wants to try out for a play at the community center, Scott tells her that she needs to make time for him. When Kathleen tries to have lunch with her friends, Scott drags her away so that she can have lunch with him. When Kathleen stays after school to practice a scene with her scene partner (who happens to be Luke, the guy who gave Shane the acid), Scott goes absolutely crazy and beats her up in the classroom.

“Kathleen,” Scott insists as Kathleen finally walks away from him, “I love you!”

Kathleen turns to look at him. We get a freeze frame of her bruised face and then the insanely cheerful Degrassi theme music starts playing. It makes for an interesting juxtaposition. (Combining cheerful music with depressing freeze frames was a Degrassi tradition.)

This episode deserves a lot of credit for realistically portraying Kathleen and Scott’s relationship and Scott’s abusive personality. Everything that an abuser does — from the gaslighting to the subtle insults and the sudden accusations to the desperate begging for forgiveness — is present in this episode and Kathleen’s reactions (“I can change him!”) are all too real. Degrassi High was a show that dealt with real issues and it usually managed to do it without resorting to melodrama or false hope. The thing that makes this episode so powerful is that we don’t know if Kathleen had the courage to reject Scott after that freeze frame or, if like so many other girls and women in the same situation, she once again forgave her abuser. Rebecca Haines deserves a lot of credit for her performance here, as does Byrd Dickens, who is terrifying as Scott. This episode was Degrassi High at its best and most important.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.4 “Dream On”

Posted on December 8, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Love is in the air …. for some.

Episode 1.4 “Dream On”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on November 20th, 1989)

I hate bullies.

Sadly, bullies are a part of life and they have been since the start of recorded history. I imagine that even cavemen had their own versions of bullies and nerds. Bullies deal with their own insecurities by picking on outsiders. Most people hate bullies but they keep quiet when they see bullying because the unspoken threat is that, if they speak up, they could be the next one to be targeted. That’s especially true in high school.

Degrassi High has its own set of bullies. The episode features Tabi (Michele Johnson-Murray), who has decided to spend all of her time standing in front of the ninth grade lockers and refusing to allow the niners to use them. When Kathleen and Melanie walk by Tabi, Tabi sprays her hairspray in Melanie’s eyes. That’s not just rude but it’s also potentially dangerous. Kathleen is usually not a particularly likable character but, when she finally stood up to Tabi at the end of this episode and yelled at her to get away from the lockers, I wanted to cheer. Kathleen stands up to Tabi and a stunned Tabi walks away, saying something about niners being crazy but surrendering nonetheless. Yay, Kathleen!

Where did Kathleen find the confidence to stand up to Tabi? In this episode, she finally gets a boyfriend! Scott Smith (Byrd Dickens) is an 11th grader with a really ugly mustache. Looking at Scott, one can automatically smell the beer and see a future in which he spends all of time getting drunk at hockey games. That said, he seems to like Kathleen and he encourages her to try out for the school play. He even escorts her across the quad, which Tabi and her friend Dwayne previously declared to be off-limits for anyone in the ninth grade. Kathleen has a boyfriend and there’s no way this could go wrong, right? I mean, it’s not as if the Degrassi franchise has a long history of episodes in which insecure girls end up with older boyfriends who turn out to be abusive, right?

Meanwhile, Arthur has a crush on Caitlin and he’s overjoyed when he overhears Caitlin talking about how she’s getting tired of dating Joey, who is insensitive and only cares about his “dumb band.” However, it turns out that Caitlin is not interested in Arthur. Instead, she likes Claude, who has a goat-tee and is massively concerned about the environment. Claude (pronounced “Klohd” because he’s either really pretentious or he’s from Quebec and maybe both) invites Caitlin to a French movie.

“Do you know Jean-Luc Godard?” Claude asks.

“No, does he go here?” Caitlin replies.

It’s okay. When I was fourteen, I didn’t know who Jean-Luc Godard was either. That said, I am old enough now to know that Godard’s post-70s films were not exactly date material. Maybe Claude is asking her to a showing of Breathless. Still, I think Claude should have waited for a Truffaut and a Lelouch film to come to town.

My point is that Claude is kind of a douchebag. It’s obvious to everyone but Caitlin but sometimes, relationships are like that. That’s especially true when there’s an age and educational difference. I can understand Caitlin liking Claude, even if Claude seems pretty annoying to everyone else. But I can’t see this relationship ending well.

Oh well — at least Joey has time to work on the band! We all know from watching Degrassi: The Next Generation that Joey’s future lies in selling cars, not playing the keyboards.

And don’t worry about Arthur. He may get his heart-broken in this episode but the actor apparently had a growth spurt between Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High and he now basically towers over everyone in the cast. No one is ever going to bully Arthur again.

Next week, the drama continues!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.3 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s time for another Degrassi divorce!

Episode 1.3 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 13th, 1989)

I’m running a bit late tonight so here is a very quick rundown of this week’s episode of Degrassi High.

Joey is so consumed with his band (which has now been renamed The Zits) that he doesn’t seem to notice that his girlfriend, Caitlin, is more interested in political activism than forgettable pop music. Caitlin is offended when Joey tries to convince he to wear a bikini for a Zits music video. Soon, she is having lunch with douchey environmentalist Claude Tanner (David Armin-Parcells).
Joey does convince Allison (Sara Holmes) and Amy (Jacy Hunter) to appear in his music video while wearing bikinis, albeit in return for him paying them forty dollars that he got from Snake and Wheels. Snake and Wheels are offended at the idea of their money being spent to hire girls to wear bikinis. Lucy is offended that Joey wants to borrow her video camera to shoot “a sexist video.” Long story short: Joey does not shoot his music video but Snake and Wheels start to take more interest in his plans for the band.
Lucy admits to LD that she has a crush on Wheels. This would usually be a minor point but it’s actually really heart-breaking for those of us who know that Wheels is destined to nearly kill Lucy while driving drunk.
Erica doesn’t want everyone to know that she had an abortion but rumors are spreading through the school. Nancy (Arlene Lott), who has been on the show since Junior High, finally gets some dialogue when she awkwardly asks Heather if the rumors about Erica are true. This scene not only reveals that people know about Erica’s abortion but it also answers the question of why Nancy usually wasn’t given any dialogue.
Erica is upset when someone paints “Baby Killer” on her locker. Well, who wouldn’t be?
The episode’s main storyline features Michelle’s parents breaking up. BLT is hopeful that this means Michelle will decide to move in with her mother and say goodbye to her father, who doesn’t want Michelle dating BLT because BLT is black. But, when Michelle sees how helpless her father is (he can’t cook and doesn’t separate colors while doing the laundry), she decides that she has to stay with him and BLT will just have to keep seeing her in secret.
Yes, this is another divorce episode. Degrassi usually did a pretty good job with divorce episodes and that’s a good thing because it’s never easy for someone to watch their parents split up. I know that from personal experience. This episode handled things well, though I have to admit that Michelle is one of those characters who I always tend to forget about. (Either that or I mix her up with LD.) If this episode was made today, Michelle probably would have dramatically denounced her father and then moved out of the house. I appreciated that Degrassi High took a more realistic approach to the story.

Next week …. more drama!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.1 and 1.2 “A New Start”

Posted on November 17, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Degrassi Junior High becomes Degrassi High!

Episode 1.1 and 1.2 “A New Start”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 6th, 1989)

It’s a new school year and, due to the Junior High burning down, all of the Degrassi kids are enrolling at Degrassi High! Along with finally getting to go to a new school, they also finally get a new theme song and title sequence.

Just going to a new school isn’t going to stop the drama, of course. Joey is still trying to make the Zit Remedy into something more than a mediocre garage band. Snake and Wheels are still politely listening to Joey’s plans. Caitlin and Joey are now dating but there’s a smarmy junior named Claude Tanner (David Armin-Parcells) who really seems to appreciate the blonde streaks in Caitlin’s hair. (Caitlin, it should be noted, does have the best hair in the school.) Arthur and Yick Yu, who both appear to have had major growth spurts over the summer, are growing apart. Alexa is not happy when Simon’s recent success as a male model makes him popular with all of the other girls at the Degrassi High. For neither the first nor the last time, Alexa dramatically gives Simon back his ring while Simon responds with genuine confusion. We even meet the new homeroom teacher, who assigns the students to read Lord of the Flies. (If you’ve seen the entire series, including the sequels to the original Degrassi High, it’s hard not to smile at the first of many references to Lord of the Flies.)

Dwayne Meyers (Darrin Brown), the bully who beat Joey up during the second season of Degrassi Junior High, is now attending high school and, as soon as he sees the new students, he decides that it’s time to bring back initiations. Soon, students are getting covered in white paste, tied to flag poles, and being otherwise ritually humiliated. Dwayne especially has it out for Joey. Unfortunately, for Joey, Mr. Raditch has found a new job as DHS’s vice principal and he doesn’t have much sympathy for Joey’s predicament.

That said, the main storyline here involves the Farrell Twins. I have to admit that I groaned a bit when I discovered this was going to be a Farrell Twin episode because the twins were always the weakest characters on Degrassi Junior High. However, I have to say that Angela and Maureen Deiseach actually did a pretty good job in this episode. Erica Farrell (Angela Deiseach), having lost her virginity at camp over the summer, discovers that she’s pregnant and considers getting an abortion. Her twin sister, Heather (Maureen Deiseach), is opposed to abortion and, at first, refuses to go with Erica to the clinic. After talking to Spike, who also opposes abortion but who, as a single mother, also understands Erica’s fear, Heather finally shows up at the clinic to support her sister as she walks through a throng of protestors.

Eventually, unwanted pregnancies would occur so frequently on Degrassi that they would become something of a cliche, as would the inevitable decision to get an abortion. A New Start is one of the better pregnancy episodes, handling the storyline with sensitivity but also bringing nuance to its portrayal of the abortion debate. Especially when compared to how heavy-handed the show would get in its final seasons, it’s really interesting to see how intelligently and respectfully both the pro-life and the pro-choice positions are presented in this episode. The episode makes clear that there are no easy answers and there’s also no easy villains, which is something that Degrassi itself would forget during it’s four seasons on Netflix. As Erica and Heather enter the clinic, a protestor holds up a plastic fetus, an image that was considered to be so controversial that PBS actually censored it when this episode aired in America.

(At least this episode actually made it to America, albeit in edited form. The next Degrassi pregnancy episode would sit unaired for three years.)

It’s not a great way for the Farrell twins to start the school year but it’s proof that, even as Degrassi Junior High becomes Degrassi High, it will continue to “go there.”

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.16 “Bye-Bye Junior High”

Posted on November 10, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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!

This week, Degrassi Junior High comes to an end!

Episode 3.16 “Bye-Bye, Junior High”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on February 27th, 1989)

The school year is ending and things are looking fairly positive for the majority of the students at Degrassi Junior High.

The ninth graders are looking forward to finally getting to enroll at the local high school next year. The eighth graders are looking forward to finally being at the top of DJHS’s social hierarchy. The teachers are happy because they’ve given their final exams and almost every student has done well.

Even Wheels! Even though he skipped most of the year and spent a lot of time in detention due to his behavioral issues, Wheels manages to get passing grades. Of course, his grades still aren’t that impressive. Wheels just scrapes by. However, his homeroom teacher says that everyone knows that Wheels has had a difficult year and the important thing is that Wheels showed improvement when he finally did come back to school. In other words, Wheels will be moving on to the 10th Grade.

Spike, who has not been allowed to attend school in person, struggles on her final exams. But Ms. Avery (Michelle Goodeve) talks Spike into taking some correspondence courses over the summer so that Spike can move on to the 10th Grade and take part in Canada’s version of the gifted program.

As for Joey, he gets two A’s and several B’s. Unfortunately, he gets one C, in French. (Seriously, how do you live in Canada and not know French?) Joey’s parents told him that, if he got a single C, he would not be allowed to go to the last dance of the year, the all-important Graduation Dance. Fortunately, Joey’s parents reconsider this rather harsh deal and they allow Joey to go to the dance with Caitlin. Caitlin gets to wear a really pretty dress and Joey finally attends a dance without bringing his keyboard.

Even Shane shows up for the Graduation Dance! Of course, he’s using a walker and has obviously suffered severe brain damage from falling off that bridge but hey, at least he’s not dead.

It’s the most positive episode of Degrassi ever …. until the school burns down.

Yep, you read that correctly. This episode ends with Degrassi Junior High burning down. Throughout the episode, the fire alarm keeps accidentally going off and we hear the principal making announcements about how there’s some sort of electrical short in the boiler room. Well, during the school dance, a fire breaks out in the boiler room and this time, the fire alarm has a good reason for going off!

Degrassi Junior High ends with the students and teachers standing outside and watching as their beloved school goes up in flames. Never has the cheerful Degrassi Junior High theme music felt more awkward than when it plays over images of flames exploding out of a school.

Why did Degrassi Junior High end like this? As longtime fans of this franchise know, schools are always burning down in Toronto. In this episode, we watch as Degrassi Junior High burns down in 1989. We watch this with the knowledge that, 20 years later, Lakehurst High School is going to burn down and send all of its students to Degrassi Community School. Though Degrassi Community School never actually burned down, it did see its share of fires. Whenever this show needed an excuse to bring in a bunch of new transfer students, a school would burn down.

(In this case, DJHS burned down so that all of the incoming ninth graders, like Joey and Caitlin, would be able to attend the high school with Wheels, Lucy, Snake, and the rest of DJHS’s final graduating class, therefore keeping the cast together for Degrassi High.)

This was a good finale for Degrassi Junior High. It was nice to see everyone happy and this episode certainly did capture the way that I always felt at the end of any school year. Even the school burning down brought a nice bit of finality to everything.

Next week, we start Degrassi High!