Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 1.4 “Eye of the Beholder”

Posted on September 7, 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: The Next Generation, which aired from 2001 to 2015! The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi.

This week, Emma meets Sean.

Episode 1.4 “Eye of the Beholder”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on April 8th, 2002)

It’s time for the first Degrassi school dance of the year! Ashley is superexcited because she was able to talk Mr. Raditch into letting her throw a night dance. Unfortunately, that means that Manny’s parents will not allow her to go to the dance. With Toby and JT planning on staying at Toby’s to look at porn while Toby’s parents are out of the house, that means Emma will have to go to the dance all by herself! Emma is mad. Then again, Emma is always mad.

Meanwhile, a new student has shown up at school. He briefly went to the school last term but his family moved up north. Now, he’s back in Toronto and living with his brother and returning to Degrassi. He’s also having to repeat Grade 7, something that Jimmy mocks him for. He’s …. SEAN CAMERON!

Yes, this is the episode the introduces Daniel Clark as Sean Cameron. Sean would go on to become one the most important characters during the classic seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation. A sensitive juvenile delinquent who alternated between being a brooding rebel and a petty criminal, Sean is best-remembered for eventually dating Emma Nelson but it’s often forgotten that he also dated the supercool Ellie Nash. I’ve always preferred Ellie/Sean to Emma/Sean but I’m getting ahead of myself. That’s all in the future.

What’s important for this episode is that Sean also goes to the dance by himself. And when Jimmy continues to give him a hard time, Sean grabs him and prepares to beat up on him like Kendrick Lamar preparing to drop another diss track. With Mr. Raditch approaching, Emma cools off the situation by asking Sean to dance.

In the episode’s other main storyline, Terri is shocked when Spinner asks her to the dance. Paige is shocked as well. With the overweight Terri feeling insecure (it’s her first date — ever!), Paige helps matters by telling Terri she should have some sherry to calm her nerves. Soon, Terri is drunk and, by the time she and Paige make it to the dance, she’s a giggly mess. Long story short: Terri gets sick after one dance with Spinner and, the next morning, it’s clear that Spinner is now dating Paige. This is another case where it’s hard to watch this storyline unfold without considering the future. Paige and Spinner are not only destined to become a classic Degrassi couple but, ultimately, Paige is going to become a better friend to Terri than Ashley ever was. Eventually, Terri will get her first boyfriend. Of course, he’s going to turn out to be a complete psycho who, after putting Terri in a coma, will end up shooting up the school in a totally separate episode and putting Jimmy in a wheelchair. Agck! Seriously, these students have no idea what’s waiting for them in the future.

Finally, Toby and JT get caught looking at porn. Toby’s parents then force them to look at more porn and discuss how it objectifies both men and women. When Toby tells Manny and Emma about it, Manny and Emma both chime in with “Losers.” Yep, that about sums it up.

The main problem with this episode is that I never really bought Spinner asking Terri to the dance. It’s not because Terri’s fat. (Spinner wasn’t exactly skinny himself in these early episodes.) Instead, it’s just that Spinner and Terri really didn’t have much chemistry. Even in this very early episode, Spinner and Paige just seemed to belong together. Still, the most important thing is that Sean Cameron has arrived and Degrassi will never be the same.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 1.3 “Family Politics”

Posted on August 31, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the first day of school!

Episode 1.3 “Family Politics”

(Dir by Anthony Browne, originally aired on April 1st , 2002)

It’s the first day of school at Degrassi Community School and — hey! There’s all the folks we know.

Spinner (Shane Kippel) and Jimmy (Drake, then known as Aubrey Graham) make their first Degrassi appearance, demanding that Emma and Manny show them their hall passes and then laughing about how “Grade Sevens are such geeks.” Emma and Manny are soon referring to Spinner as being “the jerk,” little aware that — in the far future — Emma will end up marrying Spinner. As for Jimmy, he’s walking. That’ll change in another few seasons.

There’s Liberty Van Zandt (Sarah Barrable-Tishauer), already showing herself to be one of the most annoying characters in Degrassi history by zealously running for student council secretary.

There’s Ms. Kwan (LinLyn Lue), the first of many English teachers who are destined to torment Spinner.

There’s Mr. Raditch (Dan Woods), promoted to principal!

There’s Paige (Lauren Collins), bragging about her clothes and her plans to start a school spirit squad. Eventually, Spirit Squad drama will become one of the most enduring parts of Degrassi: The Next Generation. In this episode, Paige is presented as being fashionable and shallow and nothing like the complex character she would become in later seasons.

Finally, we meet Toby’s stepsister, Ashley Kerwin (Melissa McIntyre) and Ashley’s loyal friend, the insecure Terri (Christina Schmidt). Ashley is running for class president and struggling to get along with her new stepbrother. I don’t have any brothers to compare him to but I still imagine that I would struggle to get along with Toby too. At the start of the episode, Toby spots Ashley’s bra hanging in the bathroom and proceeds to put it on and run around the house. “MOM!” Ashley yells as the episode segues into “Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through…..”

Annoyed with the fact that no one is running against Ashley for school president, Toby convinces JT to run a joke campaign. “I’ll do what real politicians do,” JT says, “nothing!” The students love him! A poll comes out that shows JT beating Ashley. Who conducted the poll? Seriously, who polls a student election? Degrassi never tells us and that’s the kind of thing that’s going to keep me up at night.

Ashley finally bribes JT to drop out of the election. When Toby hears about the bribe, he threatens to expose Ashley to the school but, in the end, he doesn’t. Ashley wins the election and she and Toby agree to try to get along.

Watching this episode, I was struck by two things. First off, it was a less trampy remake of the first episode of Degrassi Junior High, with Ashley and Toby stepping into the roles previously filled by Stephanie Kaye and Arthur. Secondly, it’s easy to forget how much the first season revolved around Ashley and Toby. Much as happened with Stephanie and Arthur on Degrassi Junior High, both Ashley and Toby would become significantly less important after the first season as Degrassi shifted its attention to characters like Paige and Spinner. This episode, however, is all Toby and Ashley.

Seen today, this episode is a good example of an episode that does what it needed to. It introduced us to the main characters. It had a few moments of humor that indicated Degrassi was going to be slightly more clever than the average teen show. It established the hierarchy of the school. That’s really all the episode had to do. The entire student election subplot was pretty silly, as most student council storylines tend to be, regardless of which show might feature them. On television, student councils are always absurdly powerful. In real life, they’re just busy work.

Next week: It’s time for the first school dance!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 1.2 “Mother and Child Reunion: Part 2”

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Snake shows that whatever it takes, he’s going to make it through.

Episode 1.2 “Mother and Child Reunion: Part 2”

(Dir by Bruce McDonald, originally aired on July 1st, 2002)

Snake threatens to kill a guy in this episode!

Now, to be clear, the guy in question definitely had it coming. While Spike enjoyed her class reunion, Emma snuck out of the house, went down to a hotel, and waited for Jordan. Sitting in the lobby, she was approached by Mr. Nystrom (Jeff Gruich), who claimed to be Jordan’s teacher. Mr. Nystrom, who was carrying a pizza box, invited Emma upstairs to meet with Jordan. Emma followed him but, once she stepped into his hotel room and discovered that there weren’t any environmentally-minded teens around, Emma realized that there was no Jordan and “Mr. Nystrom” was actually the person who had been e-mailing her.

Fortunately, Manny, Toby, and JT figured out that Emma had gone out to meet Jordan so they hacked her e-mail (Emma’s password was “Pogues,” after Spike’s favorite band) and found out what hotel “Jordan” was staying at. They then ran to the Degrassi Community School and found Spike and Snake dancing at their reunion. They told Spike and Snake where Emma was. Spike and Snake then went to the hotel and Snake banged on the door until Mr. Nystrom answered.

(Oddly, neither one of them appeared to have called the cops on the way over to the hotel.)

While Spike ran into the room to get her daughter, Snake grabbed Mr. Nystrom, pinned him against the wall, and threatened to “snap (his) neck.” And I have to say that, as dorky as Archie “Snake” Simpson may usually be, that was pretty freaking hot.

Meanwhile, at the reunion, Joey heard Keith talking to Allison Hunter about how he wasn’t sure he actually wanted to marry Caitlin. That led to Joey getting into a brawl with Keith while Caitlin was giving her “most distinguished alumni” speech. Caitlin broke up with Keith and she and Joey reconciled. It wasn’t the first time that they reconciled and it won’t be the last.

At the house, Emma apologized for panicking Spike and then added, “Like you’ve never made a mistake? Like having me!” Wow, that’s …. kind of sad. Spike assures Emma that becoming a mom at the age of 14 was not a mistake. However, sneaking out to meet a guy you’ve never met is definitely a mistake! What Spike doesn’t mention is that this could have all been avoided if Emma wasn’t so obsessed with protecting the environment.

Next week: the school year begins! Hopefully, Emma will have learned her lesson about getting involved in the environmental movement.

(Spoiler: She won’t.)

Song of the Day: Dust (What I Know) by Downtown Sasquatch

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Shane Kippel!

Shane Kippel, as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, played Spinner Mason on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He started out as the school bully but, by the time the third season began, he was pretty much the heart of the ensemble. How cool was Shane Kippel? He was so cool that Spinner ended up getting held back three times just so there would be an excuse to keep Kippel on the show!

(“What type of idiot fails his own language!?” Spinner once said when confronted with his grade in English. Oh, Spinner!)

Today’s song of the day features Shane Kippel on drums. From Degrassi, here is Downtown Sasquatch with Dust!

(The other members of the band are Jake Epstein on vocals, Aubrey Graham on guitar, and Adamo Ruggiero on bass.)

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 12/22/24 — 12/28/24

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are a few thoughts about what I watched during the final week of 2024.

Check It Out (Tubi)

Look for my review of this show next Saturday.

Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

I’ve had a cold since the day after Christmas so I’ve been spending a lot of time in bed and rewatching the Degrassi franchise.

Dragnet (YouTube)

Joe Friday and Bill Gannon kept the streets safe in the episodes that I watched on Friday as I tried to get over my cold. Good for them!

Friday the 13th: The Series (YouTube)

In order to get a head start on 2o25, I watched an episode of Friday the 13th this week. Look for my review next Friday!

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown (Apple TV+)

I watched this classic special with Erin on Thursday. Someone needs to check on Charlie Brown. He’s sleeping in the snow! He’ll never finish War and Peace if he gets pneuomonia!

Highway to Heaven (Tubi)

I returned to Highway to Heaven this week. Look for my review next week!

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

Look for my review next week!

King of the Hill (Hulu)

Hank rented a truck for the holidays! “You mean …. a convoy!?” Absolutely one of my favorite episodes of this classic show and I was happy to watch it on Monday.

I went on to binge a few more episodes on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I’ve had a cold and this show has definitely kept me entertained as I’ve tried to will myself into good health.

The Love Boat (Paramount+)

I watched an episode of The Love Boat this week. Look for my review next week!

Malibu, CA (YouTube)

I forced myself to watch two episodes of this show on Sunday. Look for my reviews in 2025!

Monsters (YouTube)

I returned to Monsters this week. Look for my review next week!

Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Sunday Night, ABC)

I watched this holiday classic with my sisters on Sunday night. It made me smile, as it always does. I love the holidays!

Seinfeld (Netflix)

I watched the Festivus episode on Monday (which, appropriately enough, was Festivus!). I always enjoy it when Bryan Cranston shows up as the decadent dentist.

St. Elsewhere (Hulu)

Look for my reviews to return next week!

TV 2000 (Night Flight+)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video program on Friday night. They were really wild about Bruce Springsteen. I’ve never really gotten his appeal but then again, I’m not from New Jersey.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Prime)

I’m continuing my way through the fourth and final season. My reviews will return in 2025.

Bonus Horror on TV: The Curse of Degrassi (dir by Stefan Brogren)

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is a special episode of my favorite TV show of all, Degrassi! Originally airing on October 28th, 2008, The Curse of Degrassi features Degrassi’s main mean girl, Holy J Sinclair (Charlotte Arnold), getting possessed by the vengeful spirit of deceased school shooter, Rick Murray (Ephraim Ellis). Chaos follows! Fortunately, Spinner (Shane Kippel) is around to save the day. As any true Degrassi fan can tell you, only Spinner has a chance against the forces of the undead.

What I like about this episode is that, in the best tradition of Degrassi, it goes there. Holly J does get possessed. Just about the entire cast end up dying horribly. Spinner has to battle the undead spirit of Rick Murray and he has to do it without the help of Drake. And, as far as we know, this episode is canon. So, yes, Rick Murray’s ghost actually does haunt Degrassi Community School and yes, only Spinner can save us all.

Go Spinner!

Enjoy!

Bonus Horror On TV: Degrassi of the Dead

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hey, remember that time in 2007 when all the students at Toronto’s Degrassi Community School were turned into zombies? This 10 minute film takes a non-canonical look at what would happen to everyone’s favorite Canadian high school if there was a zombie apocalypse!

(By the way, I know what you’re thinking but this was actually made in 2007, long before the premiere of The Walking Dead.)

Enjoy watching Drake turn into a zombie!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/16/24 — 6/22/24

Posted on June 22, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I started out this week thinking that I was going to caught up with everything that I needed to watch and that I would be able to do a full set of Retro Television Reviews. Unfortunately, my Dad is currently having some health issues and, needless to say, most of my week ended up being consumed with that. Hopefully, next week will be better! Don’t worry — the site will be back to normal soon! The Power of Twonky compels us….

I ended up watching a lot of Degrassi which, as I’ve made clear, is my go-to comfort programming and I also watched perhaps a bit too much Dr. Phil. I watched both shows via Pluto TV and they largely served as background noise while I spent this week stressing out. The unfortunate thing about Dr. Phil on Pluto is that the episodes are somewhat randomly selected so it wasn’t uncommon for a “part one” to not be followed by “part two” or for “part two” to air without “part one.” I’m a completist so stuff like that drives me crazy.

I watched and reviewed episodes of CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Baywatch Nights, The Love Boat, and Monsters. I also watched an episode of Malibu, CA but it was so bad that I didn’t have the strength to review it. I’ll do so next week.

Finally, via Paramount Plus, I watched an old episode of the first Star Trek series on Wednesday. A creepy kid named Charlie came on the Enterprise and kept making people vanish. It was kind of easy to laugh at some of the acting of the crew members but Robert Walker, Jr. did a really good job as the bratty and neurotic Charlie.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/2/24 — 6/8/24

Posted on June 8, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Ugh. We got our power back on Sunday but this week still kind of sucked for me. I’ve just been in a funk, as you can probably tell by how little I’ve posted over the past few days. Going a week without power really threw me off of my rhythm. Even with the return of the lights, there’s been a lot of cleaning up to do, around both the house and the neighborhood. For that reason, I’ve put a lot of my regular posts on a temporary hiatus. My regular Retro Television Reviews, for instance, will return on June 17th.

So, I guess my point is — don’t give up on me! I’m in a funk right now but it happens and I’ll snap out of it, definitely sooner than later.

As far what I watched on television this week:

Degrassi: The Next Generation (Pluto TV)

I’ve watched only one show this week but I also watched 14 seasons of it. It takes a total of 7 and a half days to binge the entirety of Degrassi: The Next Generation. When the lights came on, Pluto was showing the very first episode, in which Emma ran afoul an online stalker and, as I write this, Pluto is approaching the final episodes, in which Tristan and Miles took the title of the worst Degrassi couple ever.

For the last seven days, I have been binging Degrassi. I haven’t rewatched every episode, of course. I’ve had to sleep. I’ve had to take care of my day-to-day responsibilities. But, when I needed to relax, I sat down on the living room couch and watched Degrassi. I reexperienced everything from Manny’s pregnancy to Craig’s breakdown to Ellie’s cutting to Jimmy’s shooting to Spinner …. well, acting like Spinner. Unfortunately, the show itself became a bit less interesting as the old cast left and the new students enrolled. (I’ve never been able to bring myself to care about Connor.) Later seasons of the show got a bit preachy and it was hard not to get annoyed by the fact that everyone was apparently in a band. (House arrest …. house arrest…. really gets stuck in your head.)

Still, revisiting this show helped to call my nerves during an otherwise stressful week. Thank you, Degrassi and Pluto!

From Inmate to Roommate (A&E)

I watched two episodes of this new reality show on Saturday. The show follows ex-cons as they leave prison and move in with people who have never been to prison. The two episodes were actually interesting, just because of the contrast between the former prisoners and their new roommates. None of the convicts really seem like they benefitted from being in prison. My personal favorite moment was when the leftist, justice reform activist discovered that his new former inmate roommate had no interest spending his first day of freedom at a political protest.

Happy Hour (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this silly 90s game show on Saturday. Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa hosted. Among the celebrities in the competition: Adam West, Vivica A. Fox, Kathy Griffin, Diedrich Bader, and Taylor Dane. The show provided several excuses for Dweezil and Ahmet to perform. Dweezil was (and is) obviously a great guitarist, even when performing on a show as silly as this one. As a vocalist, Ahmet …. well, Ahmet tried really hard.

Midnight Special (YouTube)

I watched an episode of this old variety show on Friday night. The episode was from 1973 and featured some mellow music and the comedy stylings of Fred Willard (amongst others). In fact, the whole thing was almost too mellow for me. I like loud music to which you can dance. Paul Williams showed up and talked about his role in the upcoming film, Battle for the Planet of the Apes. He really didn’t do a very good job selling the movie.