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

Posted on November 12, 2023 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.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: Degrassi Junior High 1.1 “Kiss Me, Steph” and 1.2 “The Big Dance”

Posted on October 1, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As much as I love Degrassi, I have to admit that I’ve never really sat down and watched the two shows that launched the entire franchise, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. I figured why not give it a shot now?

Episode 1.1 “Kiss Me, Steph”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on January 18th, 1987)

Welcome to Toronto! It’s time for a new school year at Degrassi Junior High!

As I watched the first episode of Degrassi Junior High, the first thing I noticed was just how grainy and depressing everything looked. As opposed to the bright lighting and vibrant colors of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the world of Degrassi Junior High looked overcast and not always inviting. The school itself looked old, as if it had been a while since anyone bothered to paint the walls or even sweep the floors. In short, visually, Degrassi Junior High looked pretty much like a real middle school. The overcast imagery neatly mirrored the way that most people feel when they’re starting the first day of school, especially if it’s a new school.

It’s the first day of school for Arthur Kobalewscuy (Duncan Waugh) and, being short and way too trusting for his own, it doesn’t take long before the school prankster, Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni), tricks him into getting locked into the janitor’s closet. Poor Arthur but, far more importantly …. JOEY! As any true fan of Degrassi knows, Joey would go on to become one of the most important parts the franchise, both in the original series and a good deal of The Next Generation as well. In the first episode, he’s far a cry from the likable Joey that we all know. Instead, he’s just an obnoxious kid who wears a fedora to school.

Arthur is the younger brother of Stephanie Kaye (Nicole Stoffman), who is the most popular girl in the school. One would think that this would be a good thing for Arthur but Stephanie begins the school day by ordering Arthur not to talk to her because she’s in “grade 8” and he’s only in “grade 7.” Stephanie and Arthur’s parents are divorced, with Stephanie living with her mother and Arthur living with her father. Stephanie is determined to have a new image for Grade 8 and, as soon as she steps into the school, she heads to the bathroom and takes off her boring white blouse and blue skirt to reveal the crop top and tight jeans that she’s wearing underneath. Her best friend, the somewhat dour Voula (Niki Kemey), watches in horror as Stephanie puts on makeup. (I usually waited until I arrived at school to do my makeup as well.)

When Stephanie hears an announcement that student council elections are coming up, she decides to run for President. Voula is happy to serve as Stephanie’s campaign manager until Stephanie starts exchanging kisses for votes. Voula is scandalized that Stephanie isn’t talking about the issues and is running with the slogan, “All The Way With Stephanie Kaye.” Voula warns Stephanie that none of the girls are going to vote for her but Stephanie explains that she only needs the votes of the boys. Of course, the main reason why Voula is upset is because Stephanie is giving all the credit for her successful campaign to Joey instead of her.

(Interestingly enough, one of the first episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation also featured a student council election and a sister trying to ignore her dorky younger brother.)

While Stephanie is winning over the boys, Arthur finally manages to get a new friend named Yick Yu (Siluck Saysanasy). Yay, everyone needs a friend!

Stephanie wins the election. The announcement is made while Stephanie is in home room where her teacher is none other than Mr. Raditch (Dan Woods), who would later be the first of many principals on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Joey jumps up and hugs Stephanie as the announcement is made. “Mr. Jeremiah!” Mr. Raditch snaps, “Not in my class! Save that behavior for the polls!”

(Fortunately, Mr. Raditch would warm up to Joey by the time that Joey’s stepson was enrolled in the school. But that’s not going to happen for a while….)

Having won the election, Stephanie discovers that she’s actually expected to do a lot of stuff, like give a speech to the PTA. Stephanie begs Voula to write the speech for her but Voula tells Stephanie that she doesn’t want to be her friend anymore. “You’re on your own, Ms. President! You and your new image!”

Oh well. With great power comes great responsibility and all that stuff. Personally, I think Stephanie should just blow off the speech. And really, Voula is being a bit too self-righteous here. I mean, it’s student council. It means nothing! The episode ends with Stephanie swearing that she’s going to be the best president that the school has ever had but it shouldn’t be that difficult since it’s not like the president makes school policy or anything. As Stephanie, once again dressed modestly, leaves the school, she finally acknowledges Arthur as her brother and Arthur offers to write the speech for her.

This was not a bad way to start the franchise and I enjoyed spotting future Degrassi stars like Wheels, Snake, and Spike wandering around the school. This episode did a good job of capturing the silliness of student council elections and also the way every day of high school and middle school can feel like the biggest drama ever. Arthur and Yick are likable in their nerdy way. I related Stephanie. Voula kind of needs to get over herself but we all had a friend like that in school, didn’t we?

Episode 1.2 “The Big Dance”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on January 25th, 1987)

It’s time for the fall dance!

Voula, who is still unreasonably angry with Stephanie, suggests that they use the dance as a way to raise money for the foster child that the school is sponsoring. Everyone thinks this is a great idea and they think Voula should give a speech while handing over the money at the end of the dance. Unfortunately, Voula’s superprotective father (Paul Brock) refuses to allow Voula to stay out past 9:30. He also freaks out when he sees that Voula is wearing lipstick and suddenly, it makes more sense why she’s so jealous of Stephanie.

As for Stephanie, she asks Wheels (Neil Hope) to take her to dance and — OH MY GOD, IT’S WHEELS! Now, as anyone who knows anything about Degrassi can tell you, Wheels eventually became one of the most important characters on the show. As soon as I saw Joey talking to him, I immediately started to think about the fact that this is the same Wheels who is going eventually lose his parents to a drunk driver, get molested while hitchhiking, develop a drinking problem, and end up going to prison shortly after graduating high school. In this episode, though, he’s just a pleasant-natured friend of Joey’s.

Voula lies to her father about spending the night with a study group and instead, heads to the dance. Meanwhile, Stephanie goes to the house of her friend Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) so she can change into her school dance clothes. (Fans of Degrassi know that Lucy is destined to end up getting temporarily blinded and crippled as a result of Wheels driving drunk.) Along with the two creepy twins, Heather and Erica (Maureen and Angela Deiseach), Stephanie ends up having way too much to drink at Lucy’s.

The end result is that Stephanie shows up drunk at the school dance and ends up embarrassing herself in front of Wheels while Voula is caught breaking curfew by her father. In typical Degrassi fashion, no one gets a happy ending!

I kind of groaned a little when I saw that this was going to be a Voula episode but actually, the episode did a good job of showing why Voula got so angry at Stephanie. As well, in what would be a Degrassi hallmark, the episode handled the theme of underage drinking with sensitivity as opposed to judgmental melodrama. Yes, Stephanie has too much to drink and ruined her date but the episode understood that, rather than being the end of the world, this is just a part of growing up. On Degrassi Junior High, teenagers were allowed to make mistakes.

Finally, during the dance, I spotted Joey dancing with Caitlin (Stacie Mistysyn), who is of course destined to become the great love of Joey’s life. It was a nice case of (probably inadvertent) foreshadowing.

Next week: Yick thinks Mr. Raditch is a racist!