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

Posted on September 27, 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, 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!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.9 “Against All Odds”

Posted on September 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Emma and Manny go to a rave and have another big fight.

Episode 3.9 “Against All Odds”

(Dir by Stefan Scaini, originally aired on November 5th, 2003)

When Ms. Kwan asks Sean for his thoughts on Julius Caesar, he dismisses Shakespeare as someone who has no relevance to his life. Another student, Chris Sharpe (Daniel Morrison), speaks up and says he loved the play because it was all about betrayal. Ms. Kwan says she’s glad Chris got something out of it. Chris replies, “Unlike my friend Slim Shady over there, I actually read the play.”

That’s all it takes for Emma to decide that she’s in love.

Manny is super excited about the idea of attending a rave. (Woo hoo!) According to the flyer, the DJ is going to be DJ Jacob Sharpe, Chris’s cousin, who always lets Chris spin at least one set at every rave. Manny convinces Emma to come with her. She also convinces Emma to actually dress up. Emma puts on a blue top and a knee-length pink skirt and then worries that her modest outfit is going to make everyone look at her. Manny, who has fully embraced her new wardrobe of crop tops and visible thongs, tells her that the idea is to get people to look at her. Emma and Manny sneak out of Emma’s basement bedroom to go to the rave. As Emma explains it, she doesn’t want her mom to see her new outfit. Personally, I think it’s more probable that it was Amanda Stepto’s week off and the show’s producers needed an excuse for why Spike, for once, is not clinging to her daughter and demanding to be her best friend.

The rave is kind of lame, and Chris doesn’t really seem to be that great of a DJ, but he sure is excited to see Emma. He even forgives her after she trips over a wire and unplugs his sound system. The only problem is that Chris has a girlfriend, and Emma doesn’t believe in cheating. Manny, however, does believe in cheating, which is why she invites Craig to the rave and then abandons Emma, heads back to the Nelson/Simpson household, and ends up fooling around with Craig in the basement. When Emma finally arrives home (she had to take a cab), she stumbles in on Manny and Craig and, needless to say, she is not happy. Normally this is where I would make a joke about Emma never being happy, but for once Emma is kind of justified in being upset.

Meanwhile, Marco and Spinner go over to Jimmy’s apartment so they can study for an important test. Spinner is worried that Marco is going to hit on him, and then he’s offended when Marco informs him that he isn’t Marco’s type.

The next day, Spinner is ready for his test. Yay! However, Emma is not ready to forgive Manny. When Manny lets it slip that she and Craig have been cheating for a while, Emma accuses Manny of not caring that Craig is dating Ashley. Manny says she doesn’t want to be Emma’s friend anymore. She calls Emma a judgmental prude, and Manny isn’t wrong. Emma then replies that she’s not interested in being friends with the “school slut.”

OUCH!

Oh, this episode. There was a lot about it that left me cringing because it brought back a lot of memories of my own time in high school. (Let’s just say that I was very much aware of how to climb out of my second-story window and make it to the ground without breaking my ankle, and leave it at that.) On the one hand, Emma has every right to be upset over Manny ditching her at the rave and then using her basement as a place to hook up with Craig. On the other hand, from the very first episode of Degrassi, Emma has basically been ordering Manny around and freaking out anytime Manny showed the slightest hint of independence. (Remember when Emma threw a fit just because Manny wanted to join the Spirit Squad?) Emma has spent two and a half seasons giving people the Emma Nelson Death Stare, and Manny has every right to be tired of it. Emma continually demands to be allowed to live her own life and make her own decisions, but when Manny does the same thing, Emma calls her a slut. In the end, Emma’s the hypocrite here.

As for the Spinner/Jimmy/Marco storyline, it was cute. I like anything involving Spinner, and it always amuses me how, whenever anyone goes to Jimmy’s apartment, the show uses the exact same ominous establishing shot of a huge building set off a freeway. Jimmy’s parents are rich and they’re never around, and the inside of the apartment is always oddly dark, as if Jimmy is scared to turn on all the lights. In this episode, Jimmy spends most of his time watching an adult movie on his television. “Thank God for satellite!” he says, before adding, “You are looking at the future Mrs. Jimmy Brooks.” It’s one of those things that probably wouldn’t be memorable except for the fact that Jimmy is being played by Drake.

As for Chris, he’s a nice guy, but even in this episode it was already obvious that Emma was just using him as a substitute for Sean.

This was a good episode, but it ended on a dark note. Allow me to lighten things up by noting that the episode is named after a song by Phil Collins. The summer after I graduated from high school, my sisters and I took a trip to Europe. While we were in Switzerland, we stayed in a ski lodge. Our host told us that the chateau next door was rumored to belong to Phil Collins. That night, I went out on the balcony of my room and noticed that there was a light on in the chateau. At the top of my lungs, I started to sing, “Well, take a look at me now!” I wasn’t really sure how the whole song went, so I mostly just focused on the chorus and tossed in a few lyrics from “In the Air Tonight.” The light in the chateau went dark while I was singing. Did Phil Collins personally turn off the living room light while I was singing? I have no way of definitively saying, but .… yeah, I’m pretty sure he did.

Next week on Degrassi, Rick Murray shows his true colors and sets in motion a drama that won’t be resolved until halfway through the fourth season.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 3.1 “Father Figure: Part One”

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we start season 3!

Episode 3.1 “Father Figure: Part 1”

(Dir by Bruce MacDonald, originally aired on September 17th, 2003)

The third and fourth seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation were Degrassi at its best so, over the upcoming year, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. Unfortunately, though, we have to start things off with some Emma drama.

The season premiere finds Emma in a bad mood. Yeah, that’s a shock, right? Emma was always in a bad mood. This time, she does have a somewhat legitimate grievance, even if, as usual, she seems to be totally unaware that other people have lives that don’t necessarily revolve around whatever she’s upset about at the moment. Her mother has always refused to tell Emma much about Shane McKay. Emma’s only memory of her father is visiting him in a clinic and Spike telling him that he couldn’t be a part of Emma’s life. Emma thinks that Shane was a doctor. Of course, all of us veteran Degrassi watchers know the truth. Shane McKay was a flakey high school student who suffered brain damage when he dropped acid and fell off a bridge.

Sean, quite sensibly, says that maybe Emma should just let it go for a bit, seeing as how she actually has a nice home and mother and stepfather who love her. (Emma often seems to forget that Sean has essentially been abandoned by his entire family.) Sean also points out that Spike is pregnant and doesn’t need the extra pressure of Emma constantly losing her temper. Realizing that Sean is making too much sense, Emma instead partners up with Craig and tracks down Shane. As the episode ends, she discovers that Shane (played by Jonathan Torrens) is living in an assisted living facility,

While all of that is going on, Paige is freaking out because of the location of her locker. Spinner makes a series of deals which leads to him eventually convincing new student Chris Sharpe (Daniel Keith Morrison) to trade lockers. Chris’s locker is located in Degrassi’s best hallway. Paige is happy about that. But the locker still looks old and dingy. Paige would rather have Jimmy’s locker. Good luck with that, Paige. Despite agreeing to set aside their differences at the last school dance, Jimmy is back to hating Spinner.

This episode also features the return of Caitlin Ryan, who comes back Toronto for Spike’s baby shower. (The creepy Farrell twins show up too. AGCK!) Caitlin meets Joey’s new girlfriend, realtor Sydney (Elisa Moolecherry). Before realizing who Sydney is, Caitlin rambles on about how she and Joey have such a complicated romantic history. This was the episode in which Caitlin was suddenly changed from being a level-headed professional woman to a neurotic klutz who continually got into awkward situations.

This is a two-part episode. We’ll conclude the story of Shane McKay next week!