Tag Archives: Shane Kippel

A Blast From The Past: Degrassi of the Dead

Posted on 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!

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

Posted on 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 whim 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 2024.  Who knows if YouTube will even still be a thing in 2024?

Anyway, let’s start things off with The Curse of Degrassi!

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.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m7cdfCl_T0

(Before anyone asks, yes, I did share this same episode last October.  What can I say?  I really like Degrassi and forcing people to watch my favorite Canadian obsession is a bit of a tradition around here.  We’re all about tradition here at the Shattered Lens.)

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

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Well, can you believe it?  Halloween is nearly over!  In just four more hours, it will be midnight on the West Coast and October will officially be ended and so will our annual horrorthon.  Thank you to everyone who contributed and read and commented this year!  Y’all make all the hard work more than worth it!

Well, here’s our final excursion into the world of televised horror.  Ready for it?  I’m getting a little teary-eyed.

This is a special episode of my favorite TV show of all, Degrassi!  Originally aired 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!

Happy Halloween and Enjoy!

Love you!

Back to School Part II #46: Dog Pound (dir by Kim Chapiron)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

dog_pound

The 2010 film Dog Pound is a disturbing and rather sad film but that really shouldn’t be a surprise, since it deals with the American justice system.  Even more specifically, it deals with the juvenile justice system and portrays, in exacting detail, how a mere juvenile delinquent can be transformed into a hardened criminal.

The film opens with three teenagers being either sentenced or transferred to the (fictional) Enola Vale Juvenile Detention Center in Montana.  Enola Vale is the type of place where the walls are covered with inspiring but ultimately empty-headed slogans.  It’s the type of place that claims to teach young offenders the importance of self-respect and respecting authority but ultimately, all it does is teach them how to be better criminals.  The staff is largely portrayed as being well-meaning but ineffectual.  Not only are they incapable of controlling their prisoners but they also remain oblivious to much of what is going on inside the prison.  The real power is held by the prisoners who have managed to reach the rank of trustee.  If you stay out of trouble long enough, you can become a trustee.  And then, of course, you can do whatever you want to whomever you want…

The three newest prisoners are a mixed bunch.  One can take one look at 15 year-old Angel (Mateo Morales) and 16 year-old Davis (Shane Kippel, best known for playing Spinner Mason on Degrassi) and tell immediately that neither one of them is tough enough to survive inside.  Angel is a non-violent car thief.  Davis is a drug dealer and something of a momma’s boy.

And then there’s Butch (Adam Butcher).  Butch is 17 years-old and he’s been transferred to Enola Vale from another facility.  Butch attacked an officer at the previous facility, gouging out the man’s eyes.  The angry Butch may be dangerous but he’s also the best friend that Angel and Davis could hope for.  When the three of them find themselves being targeted by a sadistic trustee named Banks (Taylor Poulin), Butch is the one who eventually ends up beating Banks nearly to death.  With Butch now the most feared prisoner at Enola Vale, Davis and Angel are safe.

Or, at least, they are until Butch witnesses a frustrated guard kill a prisoner.  While the death is being investigated, Butch is put into solitary confinement, leaving his friends at the mercy of the other prisoners…

Dog Pound is a dark and harrowing look at the juvenile justice system, one that challenges the popular belief that incarceration is always the best (and only) solution.  In fact, Dog Pound makes the argument that maybe — just maybe — automatically tossing non-violent offenders in with violent offenders may not be the ideal way to deal with delinquency.  That may sound like simple common sense but this is America and we love the idea of “lockin’ people up and throwin’ away the key.”  If the film’s plot occasionally seems to wander without any clear direction, that’s because these are characters who literally have nowhere to go.  They may only be teenagers but their lives are pretty much over.  The film’s episodic nature captures the pitiless randomness of their own existence.  The few scenes in which they actually get to behave like regular teenagers are poignant precisely because they are so rare.

Dog Pound is a well-directed and acted film, featuring especially strong work from Adam Butcher and Shane Kippel.  Reportedly, many of the smaller roles were played by actual inmates and they add a disturbing and, at times, heart-breaking authenticity to this film.  Show Dog Pound to anyone who is fond of saying that “bad kids” need to be “scared straight” and taught to “respect authority.”  At a time when many people seem to be increasingly comfortable with the idea of a police state, Dog Pound is a film that needs to be seen.

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

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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

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.

Back to School Part II #43: Degrassi Goes Hollywood (dir by Stefan Brogren)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Before I get around to actually reviewing the 2009 made-for-Canadian-TV Degrassi Goes Hollywood, I should start out by admitting that if you’re not a Degrassi fanatic like I am, this review probably won’t make any sense.  Then again, if you’re not a Degrassi fan, you probably wouldn’t be reading this review in the first place.

I should also address a rumor that is currently circulating around the TSL offices.  Some of my fellow contributors seem to be under the impression that the only reason I announced that I would be reviewing 56 back to school films was so I would have an excuse to review the four Degrassi films.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  The reason I started this series of reviews was so that I’d have an excuse to review Andy Warhol’s Vinyl.  The Degrassi films are just a nice side benefit.

Got it?  Okay, let’s talk about Degrassi Goes Hollywood!

degrassi-goes-hollywood-690648l

Degrassi Goes Hollywood premiered on August 14th, 2009 and it served as the finale of Degrassi‘s 8th season.  As such, it also served as the conclusion for several long-running Degrassi plot lines, which I’ll get to in a minute.  For the non-Degrassi fan, Degrassi Goes Hollywood is probably most interesting because it features Jason Mewes playing himself and coming across like a surprisingly normal human being.

To really understand Degrassi Goes Hollywood, you have to understand that Kevin Smith is a long-time and very outspoken fan of Degrassi.  In fact, he even appeared, as himself, in seasons 4 and 5 of the show.  In the world of Degrassi, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes came to Canada so that they could film their latest film, Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh?  They filmed the majority of the film at Degrassi Community School and used several Degrassi students as extras.  Kevin also served as the catalyst for the Joey/Caitlin break-up, which a lot of people have never forgiven him for.  Myself, I would just point out that when Craig Manning stopped taking his medication and ended up living on the streets of Toronto, Kevin was the one who went on television and asked Craig to come home.  So, Kevin wasn’t all bad!

(As I said, this review won’t make a damn bit of sense if you’ve never watched Degrassi.)

As Degrassi Goes Hollywood opens, we learn that Jason Mewes is about to make his directorial debut.  His film, Mewesical High, is an autobiographical film about his youth in New Jersey and his love for a girl named Trixie.  Jason wants to cast former Degrassi student Manny Santos (Cassie Steele) as his Trixie.  However, the studio demands that Jason cast Paige Michalchuck (Lauren Collins) in the role.  Believe it or not, Paige also went to Degrassi!  She was in charge of the Spirit Squad and she and Manny once got into a memorable fight.

(Actually, Manny got into a lot of fights when she was a student at Degrassi.  That was kind of her trademark.)

When she hears that Paige might be replaced in the film, Manny decides to go to California and fight for the role.  Fortunately, her ex-boyfriend, Jay (Mike Lobel), just happens to have a school bus.  So, he agrees to drive Manny to Hollywood.  Accompanying them on the bus are the members of the Studz, one of Degrassi’s many bands.  They want to convince Jason Mewes to use their music in the film.

Now, here’s where it is helpful to know your Degrassi history.  The lead singer of Studz is Peter Stone (Jamie Johnston).  When Peter first appeared on Degrassi, he was portrayed as being almost a sociopath.  He even got Manny drunk and sent a topless video of her to everyone at the school.  Manny spent two seasons hating on him but, oddly, in Degrassi Goes Hollywood, she has absolutely no trouble traveling from Canada to California with him.  Degrassi is all about forgiveness.

Speaking of forgiveness, what about Jay!?  In Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Jay is pretty much the hero of the film, the guy who convinces Manny to never give up on her dreams.  That’s quite a change from how Jay was portrayed when he was first introduced in season 3.  When Jay was first introduced, he was the local hoodlum who was always breaking into candy machines and who ordered his friends to steal everything from the school’s DVR to Mr. Simpson’s new laptop.  Jay was subsequently kicked out of school after he pulled a prank that led to a school shooting.  (If you’re wondering why Drake was in a wheelchair during his final few seasons on Degrassi, Jay was indirectly responsible.)  Jay was then at the center of an outbreak of gonorrhea and subsequently helped to turn another character into a drug dealer.  And, let’s not forget the time that he and Spinner nearly burned down the school…

Fortunately, Jay was played by Mike Lobel and he always played the role with an appealing sense of humor.  You never got the feeling that Jay was truly evil.  Instead, he was just a little hyperactive.  Somehow, it seems appropriate that he would go from being the most evil character on the series to being one of its most memorable anti-heroes.  He gets a lot of good scenes in Degrassi Goes Hollywood.  He and Cassie Steele made for a fun couple.

Speaking of couples, the best thing about Degrassi Goes Hollywood is that, after four long seasons of heartbreak, it finally gives some closure to the Craig/Ellie storyline.  Craig Manning (Jake Epstein) was the bipolar musical genius who left school to become a big star and who subsequently returned for two episodes, in which we discovered that he had developed a cocaine addiction.  (The scene where he gets a nosebleed while performing is pure Degrassi nightmare fuel.)  Ellie (Stacey Farber) was one of my favorite characters on Degrassi, mostly because we both have red hair and like to dress in black.  Sadly, Ellie spent four seasons crushing on Craig, just to watch as he dated Manny, Ashley, and then Manny again.

In Degrassi Goes Hollywood, Ellie and Marco (Adamo Ruggero) are invited to Hollywood to hang out with Paige.  And while Ellie tries to pretend that everything’s okay at home (despite the fact that her father is in the hospital, suffering from PTSD as a result of serving in Afghanistan), she just happens to go for a walk and randomly runs into Craig!  And though they have their usual issues, the movie ends with Craig and Ellie finally kissing as something more than just friends.

AWWWWWWWWWWW!

Of course, it wouldn’t be Degrassi without drama.  Paige and Marco fight over Paige’s diva attitude.  Ellie gets drunk and walks out into the ocean.  The school bus gets stolen while Jay, Manny, and Studz are visiting a redneck bar.  It’s dangerous for Canadians in California!

But what’s important is that it all works out in the end and, even if it’s never specifically stated, I imagine that Mewesical High won all sorts of Oscars.  Listen, if you’re a Degrassi fan, you’ll enjoy Degrassi Goes Hollywood.  And, if you’re not into Degrassi, you probably stopped reading this review a while ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hBHPuZ2skc

Music Video of the Day: What I Know by Downtown Sasquatch (2004, dir by Stefan Scaini)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s probably debatable whether or not today’s music video of the day is actually a music video.  The fictional Canadian band Downtown Sasquatch performed What I Know at the end of the Rock and Roll High School episode of Degrassi.  The video below is taken from the end of that episode.

But, you know what?  I think this does qualify as a music video.  It’s certainly shot like a music video and, to a large extent, it reminds me of something from the pop culture fueled imagination of Spike Jonze.  In some ways, it’s even better when viewed out of the context of the rest of the episode.  So dammit, it’s a music video!

Add to that, I love this song!

As for Downtown Sasquatch, they were the most popular band on Degrassi and they went through several lineup changes.  Fortunately, What I Know was performed with the first and best lineup.

On bass, we have Marco Del Rossi (played by Adamo Ruggiero), whose epic coming out story played out over five seasons of Degrassi.

On lead guitar, we have Jimmy Brooks (played by Aubrey Graham, though he’s now better known as Drake).  Since this took place during the third season of the show, Jimmy could still walk.  This would change during the fourth season of the show when he was shot in the back by Rick Murray.

On drums — Spinner Mason (Shane Kippel)!  How important a character was Spinner to Degrassi?  He was so important that, despite the fact that he started the show a year ahead of all the other characters, it still took him seven seasons to graduate from high school.  Seriously, some of us were wondering if Spinner was going to end up celebrating his 40th birthday in Mr. Simpson’s media immersion class.  Incidentally, just a season after Downtown Sasquatch’s performance here, Spinner would be involved in the prank that would eventually lead to Rick Murray shooting Jimmy in the back.  However, Jimmy and Spinner would eventually reconcile and start a T-shirt business called Squatchwear.

And finally, we have our lead singer and founder of Downtown Sasquatch, Craig Manning (Jake Epstein)!  A bipolar photographer and a musialc genius, Craig not only started Downtown Sasquatch but he also impregnated Manny Santos and broke the hearts of not only Ashley Kerwin but Ellie Nash as well!

Speaking of Ashley (Melissa McIntyre) and Ellie (Stacey Farber), they’re both sitting in the audience and watching Downtown Sasquatch perform.  If you look closely, you’ll notice that they’re both wearing t-shirts that depict Craig burning in Hell.

Anyway, after all that, here’s the video!

What Horror Lisa Watched Last Night: The Curse of Degrassi

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last night, I watched the classic Degrassi 2008 Halloween special, The Curse of Degrassi.

Why Was I Watching It?

Last night, I was suffering from conflicting emotions.  I was depressed and angry over the fact that I’m probably going to have to go spend a few thousand dollars on a new laptop.  However, I was also all happy and hyper because, after spending a week far away in Houston, Jeff’s back!  So, I was like “Yay!” and “Boo hoo hoo” all at the same time and Jeff finally suggested that maybe it would help me get my mind off the boo hoo part if I watched something silly and stupid.  And, as usual, he was right!  Though, in its defense, Degrassi may often times be kinda silly but it’s rarely stupid.  Except when it is.  Anyway, The Curse of Degrassi is available for free viewing off of Uverse OnDemand, which is how I watched it last night.

What’s It About?

Okay, so like many years ago, there was this very special, two-part episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation in which bullied, picked-on Rick Murray (played by an excellent actor named Ephraim Ellis, and by the way, that’s Jeff’s last name too but they’re not related and believe me, I asked) was competing in some sort of high school quiz-like game show and he ended up getting a bunch of yellow paint and chicken feathers poured on him by school bully Spinner (Shane Kippel).  So, naturally, Rick went home, got a gun, and came back up to school and started shooting people until he himself eventually ended up getting shot and killed.  

Now, four years to the day after Rick’s death, a group of Degrassi students are all up at the school at night, getting things ready for the upcoming Harvest dance.  Group ringleader Holly J. Sinclair ends up getting possessed by Rick’s vengeful spirit and proceeds to kill off the entire cast.  And no, this is not a dream or one of those non-canon fantasy episodes.  Which is cool because, quite frankly, Holly J. annoys me…

What Worked?

To be honest, the entire 22 minute episode worked.  For a Canadian teen show, this was actually pretty scary and had some fairly effective (in their own fun way) special effects.  Plus, as much as I complain about the character she plays., actress Charlotte Arnold does a pretty good job playing psychotic, possessed Holly J.  Plus, even among all the mayhem and death, the episode gets across a well-meant and sincere anti-bullying message and if you don’t get a little bit emotional when Rick says, “I’m dead, aren’t I?,” then you have no soul.  That’s right — you’re a freaking zombie.

(Though, at the same time, Rick Murray was kind of a disturbed guy who, let’s not forget, first appeared on the show as an obsessive, abusive stalker who put Terri in a coma when he pushed her down and she hit her head on a rock.  It was his abusive behavior that led to Rick becoming a pariah though Spinner, ultimately, took things too far. By the way, I always loved how Degrassi students all had names like Spinner.)

Plus, you get to see all the Degrassi kids die.

What Didn’t Work?

Seriously, it all worked.  In fact, I’m just going to say that this is the greatest thing ever to come out of Canada.  Okay, maybe not.  But still, I enjoyed it.

“OMG! Just like me!” moments

I always have a lot of “Oh my God!  Just like me!” moments whenever I watch any TV show or movie that features silly people falling victim to some unseen supernatural force.  Usually, they’re along the lines of, “WHAT!?  There’s a killer stalking the school and you’re going to stop to make out with your boyfriend in some dark, isolated room that only has one exit!?  OH MY GOD!  JUST LIKE ME!”  Anyway, I had quite a few of those while watching The Curse of Degrassi.  Though my biggest “Oh my God!  Just like me!” moment came when Holly J. screamed, “I’M HOLLY J. FREAKIN SINCLAIR!” as that’s the way I usually chose to introduce myself as well.

Lessons Learned:

The world can do without the Harvest Dance.  That, and be nice because otherwise, you might get possessed by Rick Murray.

Until next time, this is Lisa Marie Freakin Bowman saying, “Stay supple!”