Tag Archives: Degrassi Junior High

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/19/23 — 11/25/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!  Here’s a few thoughts on what I watched this week, in between shopping, eating Thanksgiving dinner, and celebrating Erin’s birthday!

The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)

The Race continued!  My sister and I need to get on this show while we still can.

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Apple TV+)

Erin and I watched this on Wednesday night, as we do every November.  You can read her thoughts here!

Check It Out (Tubi)

I watched another episode of this show earlier today.  Unless I fall asleep, I’ll be posting a review of it in an hour or two.  (Warning: There’s a very good chance that I might fall asleep.)

CHiPs (Freevvee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi here!

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

I watched an episode of Dr. Phil this afternoon, just because I needed some background noise.  Dr. Phil was yelling at a woman who was cheating on her husband.

Fantasy Island (Daily Motion)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Football: Commanders vs Cowboys (Thursday Afternoon)

Football: 49ers vs Seahawks (Thursday Night)

Football: Packers vs Lions (Thursday Morning)

Yep, the family was watching football all Thursday and I occasionally glanced at the television.  I was happy that the Cowboys beat the Commanders.  I can’t remember who won the other games.  I accidentally called the Commanders by their original name and I got yelled at by my cousin.  Bleh.

Happy Hour (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this 90s, celeb-themed game show on Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, one of the celebs was Danny Masterson so I cringed whenever the camera went past him.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here on Thursday.

Kitchen Nightmares (Tuesday Night, Fox)

On Tuesday, I watched the latest episode of Kitchen Nightmares, which featured Gordon Ramsay helping out a married couple who were on the verge of divorcing over their restaurant.  I always like it when Gordon shows off his nice side and he seemed to really care about this couple.  On Wednesday, I rewatched the classic Amy’s Baking Company episode on Hulu.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (Thursday Morning, NBC)

It’s not Thanksgiving without the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade playing in the background.  I watched some of it with my family.  I liked the balloons but I got tired of all the reporters talking.

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Snub (YouTube)

This is a British music show from the late 80s.  I watched the first episode on Friday night.  Three bands performed.  I particularly liked Fugazi’s performance.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Crazy Eye Kendra is gone so that’s a good thing!

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

WKRP In Cincinnati (DVD)

On Tuesday night, Jeff and I watched the classic “I thought turkey could fly” episode of this 70s sitcom.  This episode always makes me laugh.  Jeff has the entire series on DVD so who knows?  This could be a future entry in my retro television reviews!

Yes, Prime Minister (Monday Night, PBS)

This week’s episode was amazingly cynical, even by the standards of this rather cynical show.  Sir Humphrey effortlessly manipulated Jim Hacker into nominating a corrupt banker to an important post.  Somehow, it was also quite funny.  There’s just something about the way that poor, earnest (if occasionally pompous) Jim Hacker continually falls for every scheme that Sir Humphrey comes up with.  It helps that the schemes usually seem to turn out for the best.  If anything, Sir Humphrey might have a point about the importance of not giving the Prime Minister too much room to think for himself.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.10 “Smokescreen”

Posted on 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, Rick and Caitlin team up to save the planet!

Episode 1.10 “Smokescreen”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on March 22nd, 1987)

Caitlin has a crush on the school bad boy, Rick.  All of her friends say that Rick is dumb and a criminal.  He’s known for getting into fights (though, as we learned a few episodes ago, most of his bruises actually came from his abusive father) and he was also held back a grade.  Everyone tells Caitlin that she needs to stay away from Rick but Caitlin says they’re wrong about Rick.  Rick, she says, is sensitive and misunderstood and she can fix him.

Agck!  Seriously, I’ve been there.  I knew exactly what Caitlin was feeling and what was going through her mind because I’ve always had a weakness for the troubled bad boys who hide their poetic soul underneath a tough exterior.  When I was in high school, I idealized more delinquents than I can even begin to remember.  Unfortunately, it often turned out that guys who had a bad reputation had that reputation for a good reason.  But still….

Anyway, Rick also has a crush on Caitlin and he doesn’t realize that she had one on him despite the fact that she’s totally obvious about it.  (Maybe Caitlin’s friends have a point about Rick not being the smartest kid at school.)  After finding out that Caitlin is a member of the Environmental Action Committee, Rick decides to join as well.  At first, snobby Kathleen is like, “Rick can’t join, he’s a criminal!”  But Caitlin insists that Rick really does care about the environment.  Rick even signs Caitlin’s petition protesting the foul-smelling pollution that is being spewed out of a nearby factory.

Rick actually has some ideas for what the EAC can do to combat pollution.  He says that the EAC has to actually be about action and not just endless meetings.  Kathleen rolls her eyes but Caitlin thinks that Rick has a point.  In a scene that practically screams, “This was filmed in the 80s,” Caitlin and Rick get on the school’s public address system and perform a rap called “Stop the Stink” and yes, it’s just as cringey as it sounds.  It does, however, inspire all of the students to sign Caitlin’s petition.

Unfortunately, it turns out that the corporate overlords don’t really care that much about a petition from a bunch of 13 year-olds.  Upset because Caitlin won’t admit that the petition was useless, Rick goes outside and lights up a cigarette.  Kathleen spots him smoking and uses it as an excuse to kick him out of the EAC.  This leads to Caitlin telling off Kathleen and Rick tells Caitlin that he only joined the committee because he liked her.

(If all this sounds familiar, it’s because pretty much the same thing happened nearly two decades later, when Sean Cameron joined Emma Nelson’s environmental club and volunteered to help clean the ravine.  In that case, it was Sean’s delinquent friends who dragged Sean away from environmentalism while  Emma was so busy getting mad at Manny for changing her look that she barely noticed.  We’ll get to that episode sometime in the far future….)

While all this is going on, Yick Yu is upset because, as a class assignment, he’s supposed to bring in a family heirloom.  As a refugee, Yick has no heirlooms.  Arthur tells him to just tell the class about how he came to Canada but, instead, Yick buys a vase from an antique mall.  Unfortunately, Arthur breaks the vase when he accidentally knocks it off a desk so Yick is forced to tell his life story anyway and the entire homeroom is impressed.  Yick learns to be proud of his background.  It’s a good B-plot, though you do have to wonder how many more times Arthur is going to do something stupid before Yick gets tired of him constantly messing things up.  I mean, in this case, I almost feel like Arthur was specifically trying to destroy the vase when he “accidentally” let it fall off of the desk.  No one can make that many mistakes without a few of them being deliberate.

This episode was a classic Degrassi mix of relatable characters and cringey moments.  I could totally relate to Caitlin’s crush on the school bad boy but my God, was that environmental rap ever cringey.  The scenes of Kathleen running the the environmental club like a dictator made me smile because I think we all knew someone like that in school.  That said, for anyone who knows their Degrassi history, any episode that features Caitlin but not Joey is going to feel strange.  I’m watching Degrassi Junior High for the first time so I don’t know how exactly this whole Caitlin/Rick thing is going to play out, but I do know who Caitlin is eventually going to end up with and let’s just say that it’s not the environmentally-concerned tough guy.  That’s the way it goes with bad boys.  They never stick around.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/12/23 — 11/18/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I’m still trying to get caught up.  Big Brother and October really set me behind.  That said, I love The Amazing Race, even if I’m still figuring out who everyone is.

Baywatch Nights (YouTube)

I wrote about Baywatch Nights here!

Check It Out! (Tubi)

I watched a rather dumb episode of this Canadian sitcom earlier today.  My review will be dropping shortly.  Years from now, I’ll probably still be wondering what inspired me to review a silly Canadian sitcom that no one has ever heard of.

CHiPs (Freevee)

I wrote about CHiPs here!

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi here!

Fantasy Island (YouTube)

I wrote about Fantasy Island here!

Frasier (Paramount+)

I watched the first episode of the Frasier revival on Thursday night.  Kelsey Grammer was funny.  Frasier Crane is the perfect role for him.  Unfortunately, the rest of the cast was far less interesting and the first episode felt rather …. generic.  The most interesting thing about the show is Frasier apparently spent the last few years hosting a television show called “Dr. Crane.”  Now, personally, I’d rather see a show about him doing that than a show about him moving to Massachusetts and teaching at Harvard.  Indeed, with everything that’s happening on various elite college campuses right now, the last thing I want to do is watch a show about how great Harvard is.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Football Game: New York Jets Vs Las Vegas Raiders (Sunday Night, NBC)

I kind of watched this on Sunday, though I was also reading Britney Spears’s autobiography at the same time.  I have no idea who won but Jeff tells me that it was a great game.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

“Who does the Grail serve?”  I wrote about this week’s episode here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here …. here!

Kitchen Nightmares (Tuesday Night, Fox)

I binged Kitchen Nightmares this week.  Those were some disgusting kitchens!  Speaking of disgusting, the most recent episode featured one of the most obnoxious man babies that I have ever seen.  What a loser!  I’m amazed Gordon didn’t just toss him out in the alley and tell him to go home.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Friday night, Jeff and I watched an episode that was all about songs that were about food.  It was a tasty 30 minutes.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I have a feeling that we’re going to get a bitter jury this season.  Everyone has been shooting death glares at each other, this entire season.  Last night, I thought the latest person voted out was going to throw a punch before she left the island.

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back, Kotter here!

Yes, Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

Hacker’s predecessor died and, to Hacker’s barely suppressed delight, that meant that he would never actually finish his autobiographer, which was full of unflattering details about Hacker.  Unfortunately, Hacker also had to deal with the details of the state funeral and that meant dealing with the French.  I was pretty tired when I watched this episode so I don’t remember all of the details but I do remember being amused by the arrogance of the French ambassador.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.9 “What A Night!”

Posted on 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, it’s a shop-lifting episode!

(Whenever I watch one of these episodes, I’m tempted to send Target a check for all of the makeup that ended up in my purse during my junior year of high school….)

Episode 1.9 “What A Night!”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on March 15th, 1987)

The very first episode of Degrassi Junior High featured the end of a long friendship.  Disgusted by both Stephanie’s provocative way of dressing and her flirtatious campaign for the class presidency, Voula declared that she no longer wanted to be Stephanie’s friend.  Since that episode, Stephanie has tried to apologize to Voula many times and Voula has not only refused to accept her apology but she’s also somehow gotten even more judgmental.  While I know that the usual reaction of many fans is to condemn Stephanie and defend Voula, I’m totally on Stephanie’s side.  Voula really needs to get over herself and realize that not everyone wants to dress like a Mennonite child bride.  It’s not Stephanie’s fault that Voula’s parents are absurdly overprotective and controlling.

This week’s episode features both a Stephanie plot and a Voula plot.  Even though Stephanie and Voula do not interact, it’s hard to watch What A Night without thinking about how different things would be if the two of them were still friends.  Voula served as a voice of reason for Stephanie and Stephanie was someone who encouraged Voula to have fun in her life without taking things too far.  Both Stephanie and Voula have a pretty bad night in this week’s episode and it probably wouldn’t have happened if they were still friends.

Stephanie, for instance, is happy because her favorite soap opera actor, Damon King (Barry Tull), is in town.  Damon is promoting his new book, Confessions of a Soap Star.  When Stephanie goes to the bookstore to get his autograph, the sleazy, mullet-headed Damon flirts with her.  When Stephanie tells him that she’s 16 (actually, she’s 14), Damon responds by giving her his phone number.

This is where Stephanie could have used Voula’s advice.  Voula would have said, “This actor is going to burn in Hell for putting himself as a false idol before God,” and that probably would have freaked out Stephanie enough to convince her to throw away the number.  Instead, Stephanie is forced to get advice from her two new best friends, the Farrell twins!  Heather Farrell says, “Be careful” but Erica Farrell says, “Go for it!”  And since Erica is the more talkative of the two, it is Erica’s advice that Stephanie takes.

Stephanie calls the number and Damon tells her to wait for him outside of a shabby looking convenience store.  Stephanie sneaks out of the house and finds herself waiting, for way too long, in the worst part of Toronto.  Finally, Damon shows up in his sports car.  Stephanie gets into the car and Damon immediately starts grabbing at her.  Shouting that she’s only 14, Stephanie jumps out of the car.  Damon drives off and Stephane calls her mom for a ride home.

Voula, meanwhile, has been hanging out with Lucy Fernandez and tutoring her on her spelling skills.  After Lucy gets a good grade her spelling test, she celebrates by taking Voula out to the mall so that Voula can get some clothes that make her look a little less Amish.  Voula says that she doesn’t have any money for clothes but Lucy explains that she won’t need any money because …. LUCY IS A COMPULSIVE SHOPLIFTER!

Voula freaks out when Lucy stuffs a sweater in her bag.  In fact, Voula freaks out so much that a clerk notices her and Lucy and calls security.  Despite attempting to run both up and down an escalator, they cannot escape the stern-faced, bilingual Canadian security guards.  Both Lucy and Voula are dragged down to the Toronto police station.  Voula’s parents eventually show up to get Voula but Lucy’s parents are out of town.  And, since this isn’t the first time that Lucy has been caught shoplifting, she’s going to be charged!  Don’t worry, though.  This is Canada so Lucy only has to do a few hours of community service.

What’s weird about this is that Voula is very forgiving of Lucy getting her arrested.  Sure, Voula is mad at first but, the very next day, she forgives Lucy and agrees to keep tutoring her.  Voula feels sorry for Lucy because Lucy’s parents are never home.  So, Voula will never forgive Stephanie for kissing Joey Jeremiah and wearing a short skirt but she’s totally fine with Lucy almost causing her to get a criminal record?

Seriously, Voula’s the worst!

This episode was pretty good.  I think what sets this episode of Degrassi apart from all the other teen shows that have deal with shoplifting and sketchy men is that both stories felt like they developed naturally from the personalities of the characters involved.  Stephanie sneaking out to meet up with Damon totally fit in with all of the other times that she’s tried to prove that she’s more “grown up” than she actually is and it’s another reminder that Stephanie actually is fairly naïve about the world outside of high school.  Voula and Lucy becoming friends makes total sense when you consider that 1) Voula hasn’t really had close a friend since she got mad at Stephanie and 2) Lucy and Stephanie have so much in common that it makes sense that a scorned stalker like Voula would select Lucy as her new obsession.  (Seriously, Voula’s bitterness towards Stephanie borders on Fatal Attraction territory.)  And Lucy’s shoplifting makes sense when you consider that her parent’s apparently have next to nothing to do with her.  It may sound like a cliché to say that Lucy is acting out to her parent’s attention but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Next week: Rick become an environmentalist in a bid to impress Caitlin!  If this sound familiar, that’s because, two decades later, Sean would do pretty much the same thing to impress Emma.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 11/5/23 — 11/11/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Amazing Race (Wednesday Night, CBS)

I’m still struggling to get caught up with this season.  Hopefully, I’ll have a lot of thoughts to share on the show after this weekend!

Big Brother 25 (24/7, Paramount Plus and CBS)

This stupid season is finally over!  You can read my thoughts over at the Reality TV Chat Blog!

Check It Out (Tubi)

My review of this week’s episode of Check It Out should be dropping in about an hour.  Personally, I am proud of myself for the dedication that I have shown to reviewing a show that I don’t think anyone else has ever heard of.

C.H.i.Ps (Freevee)

Jeff and I watched two episodes of this extremely 70s cop show earlier tonight.  Jeff thinks I should review it for my next Retro series and I think he might be right!  The episodes we watched were all about disco roller skating.  It was fascinating in its own weird way.

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi Junior High here!

Dirty Pair Flash (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this anime on Friday night.  It was a fun episode, one featuring a lot of explosions and cute outfits.

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

Saturday night, I watched two episodes featuring Crystal and Anthony.  Anthony was accused of doing something unthinkable to his daughter by his former girlfriend, Crystal.  From the start, it was pretty obvious that Crystal was coaching her daughter and Anthony had not molested his daughter.  Crystal and her mother repeatedly yelled over Dr. Phil and at Anthony.  In general, people who are telling the truth don’t have to yell to make their point.

On Tuesday afternoon, I passed the time by rewatching the episode in which Dr. Phil talked to the creator of Jilly Juice, a disgusting-looking concoction that she claimed could regrow limbs, promote good health, and “cure homosexuality.”  I’ve been pretty critical of some of Dr. Phil’s shows but he was definitely at his best when he was exposing Jilly Juice, which had the unfortunate side effect of causing strokes.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th: The Series here!

Gun (Tubi)

I wrote about the final episode of Gun here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

Here, I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Nightmare Café (YouTube)

I finished up Nightmare Café this week.  My review can be found here!

Sally Jessy Raphael (YouTube)

On Tuesday night, I watched an old episode of this 90s talk show.  Sally talked to men who treated their wives like slaves.  It was a skin-crawling episode and hopefully, every guest on it got divorced after their appearance.

On Wednesday night, I watched an episode featuring teenagers who were upset that their moms were dressing slutty.  To be honest, the teens all came across as being kind of whiny.

The Steve Wilkos Show (YouTube)

On Tuesday night, I watched an episode in which a guy with a beard that made him look like a California cult leader was convinced that his stepdaughter’s boyfriend, who had a mustache that made him look like the owner of a 70s leather bar, was being abusive.  They both took lie detector tests and ended up shouting each other as the end credits rolled.

Survivor (Wednesday Night, CBS)

Just as with The Amazing Race, I’m dropping into this season late and still struggling to get caught up.  Hopefully, I’ll be caught up by the end of tomorrow.  For what I have seen, I am definitely Team Emily!

T and T (Tubi)

I reviewed T and T here!

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I reviewed Welcome Back Kotter here!

Yes, Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

When his predecessor as PM describes Jim in unflattering terms in his autobiography, Jim tries to suppress the book through the Official Secrets Act.  It all led to a bit of a scandal and a lot of laughs.  Bernard got to do quite a bit in this episode, which I appreciated.  Bernard is always a fun character, seeing as how he’s right in the middle between Jim’s cluelessness and Sir Humphrey’s manipulativeness.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.8 “Nothing To Fear”

Posted on 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!

On tonight’s episode …. hey, it’s Spike!

Episode 1.8 “Nothing to Fear”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on March 8th, 1987)

This week’s episode of Degrassi Junior High is important because it’s the first to prominently feature the character of Christine Nelson.  Played by Amanda Stepto, Christine was better known as Spike, because of the punk rock-inspired hairstyle that she wore throughout Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High.  Even when she appeared with far more conventional hair on Degrassi: The Next Generation, she was still frequently referred to her by her nickname.

Fans of the Degrassi franchise know that Spike is destined to get pregnant after having sex with her ill-fated junior high boyfriend.  They know that Spike is going to keep her daughter and that Emma Nelson is going to be the main character for the first few seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation.  And, of course, Spike is destined to eventually marry Snake.  Most of that won’t happen for a while.  On this week’s episode, she’s mostly present as a study partner of Voula’s (Niki Kemeny) and L.D.’s (Amanda Cook).  When L.D.’s father has a heart attack, Spike and Voula visit him at the hospital but L.D. keeps finding excuses not to.

That may seem selfish on L.D.’s part but L.D. has been terrified of hospitals ever since her mother passed away.  L.D. finds excuses not to go to the hospital, from cleaning the kitchen to helping out at her father’s garage.  I knew exactly what L.D. was going through, as I’ve also hated hospitals ever since my mom passed away and it’s always a struggle for me to find the courage to step through the front doors of one of them.  My Dad has been dealing with Parkinson’s for the past few years and I often do drive him to his doctor appointments so I’ve had to set aside my fear and dislike of them so that I can help him when he needs the help but my nerves still go into overdrive as soon as I step into one of those places.

Anyway, Voula does eventually talk to L.D. about her fear of going to the hospital and L.D. finally finds the courage to visit her father.  She arrives just as he’s being released to go back home.  So, for once, Voula actually helped someone out.  I still think she’s been way too unfair to Stephanie during this season but I’m sure we’ll return to that story in an upcoming episode.

Meanwhile, Yick and Arthur accidentally set free the school snake and they have to spend the entire episode looking for it.  It was a bit of silly subplot and I get the feeling that it was included to keep the episode from feeling too grim.  That said, the snake silliness really didn’t seem to fit with the scenes of L.D. struggling to come to terms with losing her mother and potentially losing her father.

As the episode ends, L.D.’s father says, “If you think hospitals are scary, try being the father of a teenage daughter.”  Apparently, not even a heart attack can defeat dad humor.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.7 “Best Laid Plans”

Posted on 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 goes there!

Episode 1.7 “Best Laid Plan”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on March 1st, 1987)

This week’s episode of Degrassi Junior High is cringe city.  I mean that in a good way.  Seriously, Degrassi Junior High may be close to 40 years old but awkwardness about sex, especially when you’re still trying to figure out what it’s all about, is a timeless subject.

Stephanie (Nicole Stoffman) has had a crush on Wheels (Neil Hope) since the series began but their one date ended in disaster when Stephanie had too much to drink beforehand.  Still, she finally works up the courage to ask Wheels if he wants to do something on Friday night and Wheels says yes!  Yay!

Voula (Niki Kemeny), who is absolutely one of the worst characters in the history of Degrassi, pops up to once again whine about Stephanie not thanking her when she won the school presidency and to accuse Stephanie of being sleazy just because she doesn’t dress like a member of polygamous cult.  SHUT UP, VOULA!  Your father won’t even let you stay out past 9:00.

Stephanie gets even more excited when her mother (Pat Beaven) tells Stephanie that she has a date on Friday and she’ll be out of the house.  Stephanie drops Wheels a note asking him to come to her house at 7:30.  Soon, everyone is school is talking about how Stephanie and Wheels are definitely going to do it on their date.  When the creepy twins ask Stephanie if she’s really going to have sex with Wheels, Stephanie shrugs in the fashion of someone trying to be more worldly than she actually is.

Meanwhile, Stephanie is still refusing to admit that Arthur (Duncan Waugh) is her brother.  This annoys Arthur but at least his best friend Yick Yu (Siluck Saysanasy) has managed to get his hands on a VHS copy of Swamp Sex Robots.  Yick wants to watch it but, this being the 80s, the only way to watch it would be to pop it in the living room VCR and his parents are always at home.  Wait a minute!  Arthur has a VCR and both his mother and his sister have dates!

Wheels, feeling insecure about sex, talks to his father (Timm Zemanek).  (Of course, true Degrassi fans know that Wheels is actually adopted and his real father is a drunk living on the other side of Canada but it’ll be a while until we reach that storyline.)  His father tells Wheels that it’s important to use protection so Wheels heads down to the local drug store and purchases some condoms.  The pharmacist is concerned that someone as young as Wheels needs condoms and she gives him a bunch of sex safe pamphlets.  What Wheels doesn’t know is that the pharmacist is also …. STEPHANIE’S MOTHER!

OH MY GOD!  Seriously, cringe!

It’s Friday night!  After embarrassing Stephanie and Arthur by giving them safe sex pamphlets at the dinner table, Stephanie’s mom is waiting for her date.  Stephanie is trying to get ready for Wheels without her mom seeing the slutty outfit that she’s wearing.  And Arthur wants everyone to get out of the house before Yick and his gang of pervs show up to watch Swamp Sex Robots.  Stephanie’s mom’s date arrives on time.  Unfortunately, Wheels shows up early and, when Stephanie’s mom opens the door, both dates are standing on the porch, holding flowers.

“You’re the boy from the pharmacy!” Stephanie’s mom says before yelling at Stephanie to come downstairs.

Stephanie’s hasty attempt to toss on a bathrobe as she comes downstairs doesn’t fool her mother.  After seeing how her daughter usually dresses outside of the house, Stephanie’s mom sends her date home and then yanks Wheels into the house so that she can give both Stephanie and Wheels a lecture about being too young for sex.  Unfortunately, before she can really get into that lecture, Yick and his friends show up wanting to watch their porn….

Seriously, this was a great episode and it represented everything that made Degrassi special.  It was honest but it was funny and it had me cringing as I had flashbacks to my own days of wannabe wild youth.  Like last week’s episode, Best Laid Plans (great title) proved to be too controversial for the UK and the BBC declined to air the episode.

Seriously, Degrassi goes there!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Televison: 10/22/23 — 10/28/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve got so much stuff piling up on the DVR.  I’ll get caught up on it all in November!

Big Brother (24/7, CBS and Paramount Plus)

I wrote about this stupid show over at the Reality TV Chat Blog!  I will be so happy when this season is over.  Every day, I pray for the cancellation of this show.

Check It Out! (Tubi)

I watched the fourth episode of Check It Out! on Friday.  My review will drop in a few hours.

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi Junior High here!

Dragnet (Weekday Morning, MeTV)

I woke up early enough on Monday that, when I turned on television, I found myself watching the episode of Dragnet where Joe Friday served on a review board that was investigating whether a police officer had failed to properly identity himself.  It was not one of the more interesting episodes of Dragnet.

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

On Sunday, I watched an episode of Dr. Phil in which Phil interviewed a woman who shaved her head and faked having cancer.  The woman said that she felt very guilty.  Dr. Phil didn’t buy it.

On Tuesday morning, I watched Dr. Phil talk to a woman who was in an abusive marriage with a total jerk.  Dr. Phil called the jerk a “loud-mouthed bully” but it didn’t really seem to do much good.  Later, on Tuesday evening, I watched an episode about an out-of-control teen named Taylor.  Phil yelled at the parents but he didn’t seem to do much good for Taylor.

On Saturday night, I watched an episode about a disastrous wedding that was still tearing a family apart.  Seriously, it was a really bad wedding.  I think the only solution was for the wife to get a divorce.  “Wow,” Dr. Phil said, in his condescending way.

Gun (Tubi)

I wrote about Gun here.

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

The Hitchhiker (YouTube)

I watched several episodes of The Hitchhiker this week, while choosing which ones to feature on the site.  It was a bit of an uneven show but, when it worked, it worked.  I loved Page Fletcher’s super-judgmental monologues.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Apple TV+)

Erin and I watched this classic on Thursday.  Read Erin’s’ thoughts on it here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here here!

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

Nightmare Café (YouTube)

I wrote about Nightmare Café here!

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

Toy Story Of Terror (Disney Plus)

Erin and I watched this on Thursday, after we watched It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.  I love the toys!  This isn’t their best adventure but it’s still nice to see and hear everyone again.

The Vanishing Shadow (Night Flight Plus)

I watched Chapter Three of this serial on Friday night.  In this episode, the invisibility ray was used.

Welcome Back Kotter (Tubi)

I reviewed Welcome Back Kotter here!

Yes Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

A member of Jim’s cabinet had a plan that he felt would help the economy and reduce unemployment.  Sir Humphrey felt that the cabinet member was a pointless radical and encouraged Jim to ignore him.  This episode featured one of my favorite sources of humor on this show, Jim’s tendency to just agree with whoever last spoke to him.  It feels like a very realistic portrait of the way governments work.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.6 “Rumor Has It”

Posted on 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, on Degrassi Junior High, Caitlin Ryan gets her first spotlight episode!

Episode 1.6 “Rumor Has It”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on February 22nd, 1987)

This week’s episode of Degrassi Junior High started the long and proud tradition of certain Degrassi episodes not being aired outside of Canada because of their content.  In this case, several stations in the US and the the BBC in the UK declined to air this episode because it dealt with Caitlin having dreams about her teacher, Ms. Avery (Michelle Goodeve).  Becuase Ms. Avery is rumored to be a lesbian, Caitlin starts to get nervous about what her dreams mean and whether she will also be the subject of rumors and whispers.  This episode was not only the first Degrassi episode to not air in some markets but it was also the first one to focus on Caitlin who, as played by Stacie Mistysyn, would go on to become one the key figures in the franchise.

(Interestingly enough, this is also the first episode of Degrassi Junor High to not feature Joey, outside of a few scenes where he’s in the background.  It’s perhaps for the best.  Middle school Joey does not seem like he would be quite as sensitive about Caitlin’s feelings as adult Joey would have been on Degrassi: The Next Generation.)

For an episode that apparently quite controversial, this episode seems remarkably tame today.  Indeed, half of the episode doesn’t even deal with Caitlin and her dreams but instead features Arthur and Yick following around Rick because they’re  convinced that Rick stole a hundred dollars from Yick’s locker and then used it to buy a big bag of black licorice.  Arthur, who dreams of either becoming a cop or at least heading up a neighborhood watch, even brings an oversized magnifying class so that he can investigate the crime.  Arthur and Yick follow Rick everywhere, watching as he forced his big bag of black licorice on everyone he meets.  Rick claims that he won a hundred dollars in the lottery.  If you won a hundred dollars, would you waste it on a bag of black licorice?  Then again, if you stole a hundred dollars from someone’s locker, would you waste it on a bag of black licorice?  And seriously, who likes black licorice anyway?  I mean, is life in Toronto so boring and unsatisfying that black licorice is actually the only thing that people have to look forward to?  For that matter, Rick was introduced as the brooding delinquent who never smiled or talked to anyone.  Since when does he care if everyone has black licorice?  (This really does sound more like something Joey would have done.)  Eventually, Rick gets tired of Arthur and Yick following him around and tells them to leave him alone or risk getting beat up.  Immediately afterwards, Yick finds the missing money.  It turns out that it was in the locker all the time!

Meanwhile, Caitlin is haunted by a dream in which Ms. Avery, her favorite teacher, calls her to the front of the class and praises her classwork.  Suddenly, Caitlin is aware that all of her classmates are whispering about how both she and Ms. Avery must be lesbians.  Caitlin wakes up, shaken.

The next day, at school, mean girl Kathleen lists all of the evidence that has convinced her that Ms. Avery is a lesbian.  (It’s not a surprise that Kathleen is the one spreading the rumor.)  Ms. Avery is unmarried.  Ms. Avery does not have a boyfriend.  In fact, the only man that Ms. Avery is ever seen talking to is Mr. Raditch and apparently, no one can imagine the idea of anyone ever dating Mr. Raditch.  Ms. Avery is given a ride to school every day by a woman and, one day, Kathleen swears that she saw Ms. Avery and the woman kiss each other on the cheek.

Despite the fact that Kathleen and Caitlin have nothing in common and should, by all logic, hate each other, Caitlin still invites Kathleen to a sleep-over at her place.  Kathleen, Susie Rivera, Melanie, and Caitlin spend their time prank calling teachers.  When Caitlin calls Ms. Avery, she’s surprised when a woman answers and she quickly hangs up.  It is, to be honest, the lamest sleep over ever.

Because Caitlin refuses to join in the rumor-mongering about Ms. Avery, Kathleen tells Susie that she should stop hanging out with her because Caitlin might be a lesbian and soon, everyone will think the same of Susie.  When Susie tells Caitlin what people are saying, Caitlin freaks out.  The next day, when Ms. Avery attempts to put her hand on Caitlin’s shoulder while praising her latest essay, Caitlin asks Ms. Avery not to touch her.  Ms. Avery tells Caitlin to speak to her after class.

After class, Caitlin tells Ms. Avery that people think she might be a lesbian.  Ms. Avery asks what evidence they have and then she explains that being single doesn’t make you a lesbian and neither does having a roommate and neither does sharing an innocent peck on the cheek with a friend.  Ms. Avery and Caitlin step outside of the school together and …. hey, it’s Mr. Raditch, waiting to give Ms. Avery a ride home!

Sensitive by 1987 standards and tame by today’s standard, this episode cops out a little at the end by saying, “Ms. Avery’s sexuality is no one’s business …. but, by the way, she’s definitely not a lesbian.”  Stacie Mistysyn and Michelle Goodeve deserve a lot of credit for their performances in this episode and, in the role of Kathleen, Rebecca Haines was the perfect mean girl.  But, at the same time, there was also all of that stupid stuff with Arthur, Yick, and Rick.  For all of its notoriety, this is actually a pretty uneven episode.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 10/15/23 — 10/21/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

TV!?  Who has time for TV in October!  I’m going to have so much to catch up on in November, I swear.  Here’s some thoughts on what I did watch over the previous week!

ALCS Game One (Sunday Night, FOX)

I watched this baseball game, between the Rangers and the Astros, on Sunday night with my sister, Erin.  The Rangers won, which made Erin happy and that made me happy.

ALCS Game Two (Monday Afternoon, Fox)

I watched a bit of this with Erin on Monday.  She was happy that the Rangers won so I was happy too.

Big Brother 25 (24/7, CBS and Paramount Plus)

I wrote about Big Brother here!

Check It Out (Tubi)

I watched the 3rd episode of Check It Out earlier today and my review will be dropping in about 90 minutes.

Degrassi Junior High (YouTube)

I wrote about Degrassi here!

Dr. Phil (YouTube)

Find someone who loves you as much as Dr. Phil loved saying “Sugar Daddy web sites” in 2017.  The episode that I watched on Sunday was from 2017 and Phil said either “Sugar Daddy” or “Sugar Baby” over a hundred times in 40 minutes.  It all came across as being a bit silly.

On Monday, I watched an episode in which a woman and her 81 year-old fiancé accused her ex-husband of being abusive.  Phil didn’t believe a word that the woman had to say and the woman proceeded to have a meltdown on stage.

On Saturday, I watched the first part of an interview with a young woman who thought she was pregnant with Jesus (as in literally Jesus).  Special guest star Dr. Stork from The Doctors visited to tell her that she wasn’t pregnant.  She accused him of lying.  The audience gasped.

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

I wrote about Friday the 13th here!

Gun (Tubi)

I wrote about Gun here!

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I wrote about Highway to Heaven here!

Jennifer Slept Here (YouTube)

I wrote about Jennifer Slept Here …. here!

Jenny Jones (YouTube)

On Tuesday morning, I watched an episode about young teenage girls who dated older teenage boys.  The youngest of the girls was like 13 and she was dating a 17 year-old.  Jenny got extremely flustered while interviewing the idiots on her stage.

Monsters (Tubi)

I wrote about Monsters here!

Night Flight (Night Flight Plus)

On Saturday morning, I watched a 1988 interview with director Brian De Palma where he came across as being about as confident as could be.  That’s probably because the interview was filmed after The Untouchables and before The Bonfire of the Vanities.

Nightmare Café (YouTube)

I wrote about Nightmare Café here!

T and T (Tubi)

I wrote about T and T here!

The Vanishing Shadow (Night Flight Plus)

Our serial continued with chapter two, which I watched on Friday night.  Having escaped using the Invisibility Ray at the end of the previous chapter, our hero spent this chapter being chased by villains who were carrying a Death Ray.  It was a fun 30 minutes.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

Gabe’s father came to visit and I wrote about it here!

Yes, Prime Minister (Monday Morning, PBS)

This week’s episode as Yes, Prime Minister was very, very British as it resolved around Prime Minister Hacker selecting a new bishop.  The entire episode was full of jokes about how the Church of England was less of a church and more of a social club.  As someone of an Irish/Italian Catholic background, I had a good laugh.