Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.18 “Rock and Roll High School”

Posted on November 8, 2026 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, it’s Downtown Sasquatch vs Hell Hath No Fury at the Degrassi Battle of the Bands. Ashley writes a killer song but Craig writes an even more killer song. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Spinner rap.

Episode 3.18 “Rock and Roll High School”

(Dir by Stefan Scaini, originally aired on March 8th, 2004)

It’s time for the school’s Battle of the Bands! The winner will win free studio recording time. At first, it seems like Downtown Sasquatch will be the clear frontrunner. With Craig singing, Jimmy playing guitar, Marco on bass, and Spinner pounding away on the drums, they’re the ultimate Degrassi band. However, Ashley has formed a band of her own. Hell Hath No Fury features Ashley on vocals, Ellie on drums, Hazel on keyboard, and Paige on guitar. After Craig hears Ashley’s song “Mr. Nice Guy” and realizes that she’s attacking him for cheating on her with Manny, he gets hit with a serious case of writer’s block.

Can he conquer the block and come up with lyrics before the competition?

Of course, he does! Actually, he comes up with them right before the band plays. Amazingly, Jimmy, Marco, and Spinner are able to perform perfectly despite having never heard the lyrics before. I mean, they are incredibly good for a high school band. It’s almost as if the actors are lip-synching to a pre-recorded track.

This episode somehow manages to be Degrassi at both its best and its silliest. On the one hand, Ashley’s band actually wears t-shirts that feature an image of Craig burning in Hell. On the other hand, Craig’s song is really good. On the one hand, Ashley is amazingly quick to forgive Craig for cheating on her just because he wrote an apology song. On the other hand, I’d probably forgive Craig too because the song was really good.

This episode features two standout scenes. First, there’s this scene in which the future Drake raps. This may actually be the first time Drake was ever featured performing on a show.

And then there’s Craig’s performance of “Dust.”

This is an important episode. Not only is this the episode that leads to Ashley and Craig getting back together, but it also sets up one of the storylines that will dominate the show’s fourth season. This episode also establishes that Spinner and Jimmy are Sasquatch-obsessed. Remember Squatch Wear? We’ll get to that …. well, probably sometime in 2028. We’ve got quite a ways to go before we reach that episode. Good lord, am I still going to be writing about Degrassi in 2028? Actually, I probably will. It’ll provide a diversion from the 2028 Presidential election.

For now, the main thing is that Craig got in touch with his emotions and won the Battle of the Bands.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.17 “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

Posted on November 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Terri hits her head.

Episode 3.17 “Don’t Dream It’s Over”

(Dir by Allan Eastman, originally aired on February 23rd, 2004)

Ellie and Sean are dating! The only problem is that Ellie has only had one previous relationship and that was Marco, who was just using her to try to keep people from realizing that he was gay. Even though Ellie really has every right to be pissed off with Marco (and Marco, over the past few episodes, has gotten pretty self-righteous and whiny), she still brings him along on her first movie date with Sean. As you can imagine, it’s kind of awkward. That said, Sean also invited Jay and Alex to tag along with him and it’s not like Ellie has anything in common with the two of them. Both Sean and Ellie need to ditch their friends and just learn how to spend time alone with each other.

Anyway, eventually, Marco tells Ellie that he’s tired of being her “security blanket” and that Sean could be really good for her if she’s willing to let down her defenses. Ellie apologizes to Sean for not being “a very good girlfriend” but then adds, “But you haven’t been a very good boyfriend either.” Sean replies that he doesn’t hate Marco but “I’m dating you.” He and Ellie reconcile. Awwwww! They’re such a sweet couple! I’ve never forgiven Degrassi for not keeping them together. But we’ll get to that during season 4.

Ellie and Sean are just the B-plot for this episode. The main plot features Terri and Rick Murray. Remember how Terri swore that, after Rick hit her multiple times, she would never forgive him or take him back? Well, it turns out that was a lie. Rick turns on his nerdy charm and says that he’s been getting therapy and Terri takes him back. Before taking Rick back, Terri was the only one of her friends who was still single. Now, she has a boyfriend but her friends are angry at her. During a weekend road trip, Paige tells Terri that Rick is a psycho. Rick overhears and gets angry. When Rick runs off, Paige yells at Terri to follow him if she likes him so much. Terri does that and discovers that Rick has run off to a field that, for some reason, is full of cinderblocks. Rick is yelling and screaming. Terri tells him to calm down. Rick shoves Terri and Terri falls to the ground and her head hits a cinderblock.

As a result, Terri ends up in a coma. Paige and Spinner blame themselves, with Spinner worrying that he’s going to be abusive, just like Rick. Rick withdraws from school but, as every Degrassi viewer knows, he will return in Season 4. However, Terri will not. This was Terri’s next-to-last appearance on Degrassi. Apparently, the actress who played Terri wanted to focus on her modeling career so the show’s writers put her in a coma. Yikes!

This is not a bad episode. I love Ellie/Sean as a couple and Ephraim Ellis gave a strong performance as Rick quickly switched from being sweet and nerdy to angry and dangerous. The most interesting thing about this episode is how it set up almost all of the major Season 4 storylines, from Rick’s return to Sean’s breakdown to Ellie’s growing confidence.

Next week: it’s the battle of the bands as Craig and Ashley go to war!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.16 “Take On Me”

Posted on October 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Degrassi does detention.

Episode 3.16 “Take On Me”

(Dir by Philip Earnshaw, originally aired on February 16th, 2004)

One Canadian Saturday, Jimmy, Hazel, Sean, Toby, and Ellie all find themselves serving detention while Mr. Raditch works out in the gym. Sean has detention for talking back to Raditch. Jimmy and Toby have detention for hacking into the school’s computer system to change one of Jimmy’s grades. Hazel was caught looking at porn in her computer class. Ellie says that she has detention because she skipped class, but actually, she’s there because she’s gathering information for a story about the thefts at Degrassi. She has a tape recorder in her backpack and is recording every conversation. By the end of detention, Raditch has realized that he was apparently being too hard on his students (because who hasn’t tried to hack into their school’s system, right?), Hazel and Jimmy are dating, Sean and Ellie are dating, and Toby …. well, Toby doesn’t really get much of anything out of the experience. The show’s writers had obviously run out of things for Toby to do.

This is the famous Breakfast Club episode of Degrassi, and it’s one of those homages that people either love for its sincerity or dislike for how obvious it makes everything. I’ve always liked this episode, and I actually reviewed it a few years ago. My feelings haven’t really changed since I wrote that first review, so I won’t rehash it all here. I will say that, when I rewatched this episode, I did find myself cringing a little more than usual at how thoroughly it rips off The Breakfast Club. The scene where Sean says that he doesn’t join groups is a bit overwritten. That said, Stacey Farber and Daniel Clark had such a natural chemistry that, even after all these years, I still find myself wondering how different Degrassi would have been if the show had made Ellie and Sean into a couple earlier than it did. After all the drama with Manny’s pregnancy and Rick putting Terri into a coma, this episode provided a nice relief and a reminder that serving detention can be fun as long as you have the right attitude.

I still like this episode, even if Mr. Raditch’s decision to let everyone leave early still doesn’t make any sense. Most schools would have expelled Jimmy and Toby for doing what they did. Seriously, they were getting off easy with one day of detention!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.15 “Accident Will Happen Part Two”

Posted on October 18, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we finish up the storyline that was started last week. In other words, Degrassi goes there!

Episode 3.15 “Accidents Will Happen Part Two”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on February 9th, 2004)

Manny is pregnant and frightened. Craig, however, is overjoyed and can’t wait to be a father at 15. During their lunch period, Craig shows up with a book of baby names. When Ashley sees and hears Craig and Manny debating what they should name the baby, she immediately figures out what has happened. She then proceeds to announce it to the entire cafeteria.

Craig is still enthusiastic about being a father, but Manny is having doubts. When Emma briefly leaves Manny and Craig alone with Baby Jack, Craig freaks out over having to change the baby’s diaper. Manny realizes that if Craig can’t handle that, he can’t handle being a father. She decides to get an abortion. Both Emma and Craig are upset by Manny’s decision. Emma, who knows that her mother considered getting an abortion when she was pregnant, feels that Manny should give the baby up for adoption. Craig still thinks that he and Manny can raise the child themselves. But Manny says that she can’t handle the idea of giving birth and that she’s too young to be a mom. In the end, Emma supports Manny’s right to make her own decision, even if she doesn’t agree with it.

As much as I complain about Emma as a character, Degrassi deserves a lot of credit for how this episode portrays her reaction to Manny’s decision to get an abortion. Emma’s opposition to abortion is treated respectfully, and the episode allows the viewers to make up their own minds about the issue while also making it clear that neither Manny nor Craig was mature enough to raise a child. It’s the type of thing that Degrassi did so well in its early seasons. (Unfortunately, later seasons would be a bit more heavy-handed when it came to dealing with issues like abortion.)

Unfortunately, this episode’s nuanced and intelligent take on abortion is matched with one of the worst B-plots in Degrassi history. After JT tells Liberty that he will never like her and that it’s time for her to get over her crush, Liberty shifts her attention over to Sean. When Sean and Liberty are assigned to work together on a class assignment, Liberty starts trying to act “tough” to win Sean’s interest. Of course, for Liberty, this means dressing up and talking like a minor character in Grease. Eventually, Sean says, “You’re as edgy as a butter knife,” and Liberty is crushed once again. However, it turns out that Sean’s friend, Towerz (Travis Donegan), likes smart girls. So, Liberty finally gets a boyfriend!

Oh, this was just embarrassing to watch. I felt bad for everyone involved. Not only was Liberty made to look like a crazed stalker, but the idea of her dating Towerz—who is a part of the crew that’s been stealing supplies from the school—made no sense at all. It didn’t help that all of this played out in between scenes of Cassie Steele and Miriam McDonald doing some of the best work that they ever did on Degrassi.

This episode was considered to be so controversial that it didn’t even air in the States until 2006, two years after it originally aired in Canada.

Bonus Horror On TV: Degrassi of the Dead

Posted on October 14, 2026 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 episode of Degrassi Minis 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, this was made in 2007, long before the premiere of The Walking Dead.)

Enjoy watching Drake turn into a zombie!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.14 “Accidents Will Happen: Part One”

Posted on October 11, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Degrassi goes there!

Episode 3.14 “Accidents Will Happen: Part One”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on January 26th, 2004)

Jimmy, Spinner, and JT are planning on going to Buffalo so that they can see DJ Mad Bullets. Toby wants to come as well but Jimmy’s no longer talking to Toby. The official reason is because Toby’s stepsister, Ashley, broke Jimmy’s heart. Another reason is that Toby keeps saying things like, “What up, dawg?” whenever he sees Jimmy.

When Toby overhears Jimmy saying that he won’t get to go to the concert if he doesn’t pass his Algebra midterm, Toby offers to hack into the school’s system and change Jimmy’s grade. Jimmy says that he would be willing to take Toby to the concert in return. Toby attempts to hack the system from his laptop but he accidentally gives Jimmy a grade of 8,888 instead of 88. Toby’s laptop then dies. Jimmy insists that Toby try again from the computer lab’s main console. Of course, Mr. Raditch just happens to step into the lab and sees what Toby is doing. Jimmy and Toby both get Saturday detention. Jimmy tells Toby that, “You’re a fake rap fan. You’re a fake computer hacker. You’re just a fake.” OUCH! Painful …. but probably deserved.

Meanwhile, several students are sick with the stomach flu but that’s not why Manny runs from Ms. Kwan’s classroom so that she can throw up in the girls restroom. Manny has also been in training for an upcoming gymnastics meet but that’s not why her period is several weeks late. Manny asks Paige how she would know if someone used a condom. I’ll admit that I always yell, “OH MY GOD!” whenever I hear Manny ask that question but look at it from Manny’s point of view. She was raised in an extremely traditional household. She was apparently very sheltered. It’s totally believable that no one in her family ever talked to her about sex. Craig was her first and, when Manny eventually asks him point blank if he used a condom, Craig says that he assumed she was on the pill. OH MY GOD! I just yelled it again.

After talking to Spike about what it was like when Spike got pregnant as a teenager, Manny finally takes a pregnancy test and gets a positive result. Manny is scared. Craig is overjoyed. The guy who can’t even handle putting on a condom just can’t wait to be a father!

More than anything, this episode is about the importance of sex education. Both Manny and Craig are about to deal with something that neither knows nothing about. Ironically enough, this episode did not air in America until 2006, a full two years after it aired in Canada. It was considered to be too controversial for America. In America, the people who actually needed to see this episode were not allowed to.

This is a two-parter. We’ll deal with the second part next week!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.13 “This Charming Man”

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

If you’re a fan of the Emma Nelson death stare, this episode is for you. Emma spends the entire episode giving Sean the death stare.

Episode 3.13 “This Charming Man”

(Dir by Stefan Scaini, originally aired on December 10th, 2003)

Emma says she’s ready to move on from Sean, and for her, that means dating Chris (Daniel Keith Morrison). Chris is happy to finally be with Emma, but it soon becomes obvious that she’s not done being obsessed with Sean. Convinced that Sean and Jay are responsible for stealing both Snake’s laptop and the school’s DVD player, Emma tells Mr. Raditch that she and Chris saw Sean and Jay putting the DVD player into Jay’s car. When Sean learns he’s been fingered by an anonymous tipster, he figures out it was Emma. “You know I’m on probation!” he shouts at her. Raditch tells Sean to calm down. Sean tells Raditch to go to hell. Sean gets two months of morning detention, while Emma smiles.

This is a good example of how Emma is never really held responsible for any of her actions. The truth of the matter is that Jay and Sean are the ones stealing stuff from the school. However, Emma still lied about seeing Jay and Sean with the DVD player. Chris calls Emma out for lying and breaks up with her. After Emma apologizes to him (but not to Jay, Sean, or Mr. Raditch), Chris takes her back. Chris doesn’t seem too worried that Emma literally tried to send her last boyfriend to jail.

From the start of this season to her final appearance on the show, the perpetually self-righteous Emma really did become insufferable. Fortunately, this episode has an amusing B-plot in which Spinner, Paige, Hazel, and Jimmy all take driver’s education together. The problem is that their instructor, Mr. Falcone (Jim Thorburn), is a total hunk, and Paige gets so distracted by his presence in the car that she runs over several orange cones. Spinner, meanwhile, gets so jealous that when it’s his turn to drive, he runs over a cardboard cutout of a family trying to cross the road.

“Really, Spin!?” Paige says from the back seat. “A family!?”

Spinner then accidentally crashes into a parked car. No license for him!

Oh, this plot made me smile. I had such a hard time with driver’s ed, and it was mostly because the instructor wouldn’t stop talking. “Both hands on the steering wheel.” “Watch the road.” “You’re on the wrong side of the street.” “YIELD!” Bleh!

I actually came home from driving school in tears once. My mom immediately went down to the school and yelled at the instructor. Then the owner of the school rode with me to see if I was really as bad a driver as the instructor claimed. Her verdict was that I had a lazy eye, which I definitely don’t. Anyway, the important thing was that I eventually got my license and now I speed everywhere.

Where was I? Oh yeah, Degrassi. Emma’s the worst, but at least this episode featured some quality time with Paige and Spinner.

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

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Can you believe it? The first day of Horrorthon is nearly over! I’ve got tears in my mismatched eyes.

You may remember, from previous horrorthons, that I like to end each day in October by sharing a classic example of televised horror. Much as with the the horror movies that I share at the start of each day, it should be remembered that I’m a bit at the mercy of YouTube here. If YouTube decides to yank down a video after I share it on this site, there’s nothing that I can do about it. That’s why I encourage everyone to watch these now! Don’t wait until 2035. Who knows if YouTube will even still be a thing in 2035?

Let’s start things off with The Curse of Degrassi!

This is a special episode of my favorite TV show of all, Degrassi: The Next Generation! Originally airing on October 28th, 2008, The Curse of Degrassi features Degrassi’s then-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.

Enjoy The Curse of Degrassi!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.12 “Holiday: Part Two”

Posted on September 27, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we finish up Christmas in Canada!

Episode 3.12 “Holiday Part Two”

(Dir by Philip Earnshaw, originally aired on December 17th, 2003)

Craig has no idea how to cheat.

It’s Christmas and he currently has two girlfriends. He’s scheduled to perform in Degrassi’s holiday pageant with Ashley. At the same time, he’s told Manny that he and Ashley have broken up. For Christmas, he buys gifts for both Ashley and Manny. Ashley gets a badass Ramones t-shirt. (Ashley reminds me a lot of myself). Manny gets a pink sweater and a skating bracelet. Foolishly, Craig leaves Ashley alone in his room and Ashley discovers the gift bags. She sees all of the gifts.

Later, at the Christmas pageant, she notices that Manny is wearing the bracelet. And she has a gift bag with the sweater in it! When Ashley asks Manny who gave her the gifts, Manny refuses to say. However, she does tell Ashley that she hopes Ashley can move on after losing Craig. Agck!

The holiday pageant does not go well for Craig. Ashley walks out on stage and slaps him. So much for their deut of All I Want For Christmas Is You. Joey later finds Craig sulking in the hallway. Joey tells him about the time that he cheated on Caitlin with Tessa Campanelli. Craig responds be telling Joey that he’s obviously still in love with Caitlin.

*sigh*

(By the way, that’s a sigh of frustration, not romance.)

Yes, this is the episode where Joey realizes that he’s still in love with Caitlin and dumps Sydney on Christmas Eve. The first time I saw this episode, I thought that the way that Joey rushed down to the airport and caught Caitlin before she left for Montreal was romantic. Rewatching it, I realized just how self-absorbed both Caitlin and Joey are. Joey treats Sydney like dirt, despite the fact that Sydney has spent months looking after his daughter, taking care of the house, and devoting almost all of her time to him. The show tries to turn Sydney into a villain but all she did was ask Joey’s ex-girlfriend to start trying to break into his house. To me, that seems pretty reasonable.

As for Caitlin, it’s hard to know where to even begin. When this show started, Caitlin was portrayed as being a largely down-to-Earth, mature human being. With this episode, Caitlin is suddenly transformed into a neurotic klutz. Suddenly, she’s slipping a love note through Joey’s mail slot and then getting stuck in the kitchen window when she tries to break in to retrieve it. That’s not the Caitlin who was previously on the show. I assume the show’s writers were trying to make her into an adorkable romantic comedy lead but, as it is, she just seems like someone who has an unhealthy hang-up on a guy who cheated on her in high school.

Oh well. I do appreciate that this was a Christmas episode. All of the snow looked lovely. That said, I will always feel bad for Ashley and Sydney. They both deserved a better holiday.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.11 “Holiday: Part One”

Posted on September 20, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s the holidays!

Episode 3.11 “Holiday: Part One”

(Dir by Philip Earnshaw, originally aired on December 17th, 2003)

It’s Christmas in Canada!

While snow blankets the ground, Sydney and Joey have a tree-trimming party that is attended by Caitlin and Spike. Caitlin reveals that she’s going to be spending Christmas alone but it doesn’t matter because it’s just one meaningless day out of the year. Joey is horrified at the thought of Caitlin being by herself for the holidays. Sydney, on the other hand, is wondering why her boyfriend is so worried about what his high school ex is going to be doing over the holidays. Still, when Joey and Sydney need someone to babysit Angie for a night, Sydney reaches out to Caitlin. Caitlin allows Angie to stay up too late and to wear the red dress that Sydney made for her to wear on Christmas day. Sydney is not amused. Caitlin says, “Don’t blame her….” “I’m not,” Sydney replies.

Caitlin, shaken over rightly being called out for her own irresponsible behavior, stumbles out of the house. Joey follows her and says that Sydney didn’t mean to be harsh. Sydney just likes things a certain way. Then, he and Caitlin kiss.

Meanwhile, Joey’s stepson, Craig, is torn between his girlfriend Ashley and his secret girlfriend Manny. Manny gives Craig an ultimatum. She tells him to pick either her or Ashley. Craig picks Manny and then goes over to Ashley’s house to tell her. Before Craig can say anything, Ashley gives him a guitar that once belonged to her grandfather who, she says, played it with Django Reinhardt. Craig forgets about dumping Ashley.

The next day, Manny sees Craig at school. He’s sitting next to Ashley and playing his guitar. Manny is not amused. Craig lies and tells Manny that he and Ashley have broken up but “I haven’t told her about us yet.” The school Christmas show is coming up and Craig and Ashley are scheduled to perform a song together. Craig explains that it would make the performance awkward if he told Ashley that he liked Manny. Manny accepts Craig’s lie. For now.

And that’s it! If this episode seemed a little anti-climatic, that’s because “Holiday” was actually an hour-long Christmas special that was split into two episodes for syndication. The action, as it were, doesn’t really pick up until the second half. We’ll take a look at that next week.

For this week, let me just admit that I’ve always had mixed feelings about this episode. On the one hand, I love the holidays and, of the many relationship dramas that played out over the course of this series, the whole Ashley/Craig/Manny triangle was a favorite of mine. But it’s always bothered me that, in this episode, Sydney was suddenly transformed into a bitch just so the show could justify Caitlin and Joey getting back to together. I mean, really, what did Sydney do wrong? She wanted the house to be neat. She wanted the tree to look nice. And she didn’t want Angie to ruin her pretty dress. Somehow, all of this is supposed to make Sydney look bad. Meanwhile, Caitlin is a grown woman who is still obsessing over the boyfriend who treated her terribly in high school.

We’ll conclude this holiday next week!