Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi: The Next Generation 2.4 “Karma Chameleon”

Posted on February 1, 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, several important characters make their first appearances!

Episode 2.4 “Karma Chameleon”

(Dir by Stefan Sciani, originally aired on October 21st, 2002)

This week, Ellie makes her first appearance!

Though she doesn’t do much in this episode, Ellie Nash (Stacey Farber) would go on to become one of the most important characters on Degrassi: The Next Generation. (And Farber herself would go on to have one of the more-successful post-Degrassi careers of the show’s regulars.) When I first watched Degrassi, I related to Ellie, largely because we both had red hair, we both tended to wear black, and we both had a weakness for Craig Manning. (There was another reason why I related to Ellie but I won’t go into that until we reach season 3.) Now that I’ve gotten older, I can see that, in high school, I actually had more in common with the overly dramatic Ashley Kerwin than I did with Ellie but still, Ellie is one of Degrassi’s best characters.

In her first appearance, Ellie refuses to move to another computer, despite Paige ordering her to so that Paige can sit next to Hazel. Later, she provides some sarcastic comfort to Ashley after Ashley’s latest poorly conceived plan blows up in her face. “That went well,” Ellie says and yes, it’s a little bit snarky but that’s what made Ellie so cool. As I said, Ellie doesn’t do much in this episode. (Stacey Farber wouldn’t become a regular until the third season.) But she definitely makes an impression.

As for Ashley, she spends this episode trying to get back into everyone’s good graces. Following Terri’s suggestion, Ashley swallows her pride and apologizes to Paige, Jimmy, and Sean. Everyone seems to be willing to forgive Ashley, except for Paige. Paige continually warns everyone that Ashley is just being manipulative. Jimmy, however, wants to restart his romantic relationship with Ashley. But when Sean calls Ashley and asks her on a date, Ashley happily accepts. Terri says that Ashley is going to hurt Jimmy if she goes out with Sean because Jimmy thinks that he and Ashley are about to get back together.

Ashley rolls her eyes, explains that she’s single, and then tells Terri that “Ter, one day when a guy likes you, you’ll understand how this works.”

AGCK!

I mean, actually, Ashley’s right. She didn’t tell Jimmy that she wanted to get back together again. (She did say that she missed having Jimmy around and I would say that Ashley should have been able to guess how Jimmy would interpret that, given their past relationship.) And there’s no reason why she shouldn’t date Sean Cameron if she wants to. And, for that matter, no one likes Terri.

(At least not yet. Eventually, Terri’s first boyfriend will end putting her in a coma and then shooting up the school but that’s a while off….)

But Ashley definitely could have put things a bit more diplomatically. One reason why I cringe so much watching this is because I can remember saying similar stuff when I was a teenage and not understanding why people got offended until many years later. Ellie never would have said something like that.

Meanwhile, Toby has a girlfriend! Kendra Mason (Katie Lai) loves anime even more than Toby! The only problem is that …. KENDRA IS SPINNER’S ADOPTED SISTER! At first, Toby is terrified to talk to Kendra because of Spinner. But Toby finally finds the courage to stand up to Spinner and tell him that he’s going to talk to Kendra whether Spinner likes it or not. Spinner says that he will disembowel Toby is Toby hurts his sister. Toby says he’s prepared for that. (Toby, never prepare for something like that.) It’s nice that Toby has a girlfriend and can presumably stop whining about Emma liking Seasn. It’s just too bad that Kendra’s going to vanish after this season and never be mentioned again, not even by her protective older brother.

Also, all the boys in school are in love with the new science teacher, Ms. Hatzilakos (Melissa DiMarco). This was Hatzilakos’s first appearance. It’s only one scene of Spinner and Jimmy drooling at their desks. Of course, Ms. Hatzilakos is destined to eventually become principal of Degrassi and her son Peter will eventually enroll as a student, break a lot of hearts and law, and write the deathless song House Arrest.

Anyway, Jimmy gets mad at Ashley. Sean gets mad at Ashley and calls off their date. Paige tells Terri that she has to make a choice between four years of being popular or four years of being an outcast and Terri decides to be popular. Ashley breaks down crying as her school picture is taken. So ends another happy episode of Degrassi!

Oh, this episode. It’s actually pretty good for an Ashley episode. And the freeze frame of Ashley getting her school picture taken as a tear sloppily rolls down her face? That’s image pretty much sums up Degrassi perfectly.

Next week, Spinner is a part of a science experiment and …. well, this would never happen on American television.

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!

Horror on TV: Degrassi: The Next Generation 4.14 “Secret, Part One” (dir by Eleanore Lindo)

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Tonight’s televised horror comes to use from the year 2004 and the nation of Canada! Love you, Canada!

In this episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the students at Toronto’s Degrassi Community School are still struggling to come to terms with a recent school shooting that left one student dead and another paralyzed. What better way to help the school deal with their trauma than a play? And what better play to select than an adaptation of …. Dracula?

J.T. (Ryan Cooley) and Libertry (Sarah Barrable-Tishauer) are directing their own script. Starring in the play is Emma Nelson (Miriam McDonald). Before the shooting, Emma was known for being rather strident about her political and environmental activism. After the shooting, Emma has been spiraling out of control. And, as we all know, spiraling out of control on Degrassi inevitably leads to a visit to the ravine where all-around trouble-maker Jay (Mike Lobel) has a van and a collection cheap bracelets.

Meanwhile, in another part of the school, Ashley (Melissa McIntyre) tries to get Craig (Jake Epstein) to join a support group that will help him deal with his recent bipolar diagnosis. Craig is upset to discover that Ellie (Stacey Farber) is in the same group. This episode was the start of the very long and very angsty Craig/Ellie relationship arc. When I first watched Degrassi, I always related to Ellie and I still do to a certain extent but, in retrospect, I think I was probably a lot more like Ashley when I was in high school.

This episode of Degrassi aired, in Canada, on November 30th, 2004. This episode was considered to be so controversial that it actually made national news when it later aired in the United States. (I can actually remember watching some outraged wannabe censor talking about how Degrassi was a corrupting influence.) Part Two of Secret, which we’ll get to tomorrow, was even more controversial.

As for how this fits in with October …. it’s Dracula! And really, when you think about it, Jay’s a bit of a real-life Dracula. That’ll especially become clear in the next episode.

Anyway, here is tonight’s episode. Remember — whatever it takes, you can make it through!

A Blast From The Past: Degrassi of the Dead

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, Halloween and this year’s horrorthon are both nearly over.

Since I started things off with The Curse of Degrassi, it only seems appropriate for me to end my part of it with Degrassi of the Dead! 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!

Back to School Part II #44: Degrassi Takes Manhattan (dir by Stefan Brogren)

Posted on September 17, 2016 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Cassie Steele, Mike Lobel, Miriam McDonald, and Shane Kippel in Degrassi Takes Manhattan

(Much as with my previous post, this review probably will not much sense to you unless you’re a longtime Degrassi fan like me. Sorry!)

One year after Degrassi Goes Hollywood, the third Degrassi movie was released. Degrassi Takes Manhattan was broadcast on July 9th, 2010 and, ratings-wise, it was a huge success. Not only did it bring TeenNick its highest ratings ever, it was the number one show viewed by teens that summer.

Why was it such a huge success?

Largely, it was because Degrassi Takes Manhattan served as not only the conclusion to season 9 but it was also the finale of Degrassi: The Next Generation. By the end of Degrassi Takes Manhattan, all of the original Degrassi: TNG plotlines had been resolved. Emma Nelson, who was the show’s main character for 6 seasons, married Spinner Mason. When the series returned for season 10, it would drop The Next Generation from its title and it would simply be known as Degrassi. All of the original characters would be gone, replaced with new students. Degrassi Takes Manhattan was a chance to celebrate what had been and a chance to say goodbye.

And yet, Degrassi Takes Manhattan remains very controversial among the Degrassi fandom. To be honest, a lot of people can’t stand it. My feelings on it are mixed, though I tend to like it more than some.

One of the big problems with Degrassi Takes Manhattan is that none of the original characters actually go to Manhattan. Emma, Manny, Spinner, and Jay all remain in Canada. Instead, the Manhattan portion of the film features Holly J. Sinclair (Charlotte Arnold), Fiona Coyne (Annie Clark), Jane (Paul Brancati), and Fiona’s creepy twin brother, Declan (Landon Liboiron). The New York portion of the film deals with Fiona, Holly J, Declan, and Jane all staying in a Manhattan penthouse and having various adventures in New York. As seems to happen to at least one Degrassi student ever semester, Jane launches a singing career. Holly J interns and falls in love with Declan. Fiona get jealous. It’s nothing all that interesting though it does feature the classic line, “This is New York Holly J, bitch!”

(Say what you will about the character she was playing, Charlotte Arnold was always great at delivering angry one-liners.)

Instead, the part of the film that everyone remembers is Emma (Miriam McDonald) falling in love with Spinner (Shane Kippel) and drunkenly marrying him at Niagara Falls. After Spinner and Emma first look into getting an annulment, they suddenly realize that they really do want to spend the rest of their lives together and they have a recommitment ceremony at the beach!

And it’s actually a pretty sweet scene. As someone who has watched every season of Degrassi, I liked the scene at the beach. It provided closures for a lot of characters. But, that doesn’t change the fact that it didn’t make any sense! In the 9 seasons that led up to Degrassi Takes Manhattan, Spinner and Emma interacted with each other a few times during the first season but, otherwise, they never had much to do with each other. The two of them falling in love came out of nowhere and, at the risk of being dramatic, it almost felt like a betrayal. Anyone who has ever watched Degrassi (and those would be the only people who would really have a reason to watch Manhattan), knows that Emma’s soul mate was Sean Cameron. As for Spinner — well, he dated pretty much everyone on the show at some point, with the notable exception of his future wife, Emma. I always thought he and Darcy made a good couple but, by the time Manhattan went into production, Shenae Grimes was starring on 90210 and presumably wasn’t available to return so that Darcy could get married.

(One thing I did like about the ceremony is that it was conducted by Jay Hogart — played, of course, by Mike Lobel. Jay, of course, was once responsible for Emma getting gonorrhea so it’s nice to see that she’s so forgiving. That said, Jay did look pretty hot all dressed up…)

In the years since this movie aired, snarky fans like me have been joking about how Spinner and Emma probably got divorced a week after the beach ceremony. But, as we all learned from watching the recent reunion episode on Netflix, Spinner and Emma are apparently still married! Well, good for them.

Anyway, controversy aside, I still liked Degrassi Takes Manhattan but, then again, I like anything related to Degrassi. As opposed to School’s Out and Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Degrassi Takes Manhattan is for hardcore Degrassi fans only.