SIluck | Through the Shattered Lens

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 High, which aired on CBC and PBS from 1989 to 1991! The series can be streamed on YouTube!

This week, Wheels breaks another heart.

Episode 1.7 “Just Friends”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on December 12th, 1989)

Heather Farrell has a crush on Wheels so Erica Farrell helps her throw a party so she can invite Wheels to their house and share a dance with him and maybe discover if he feels the same way about her that she does about him. Of course, Wheels doesn’t feel that way about Heather and is surprised when Snake informs him that Heather obviously has a crush on him. Still, that doesn’t stop Wheels from making out with Heather on her front porch while all of the party guests watch through the front window.

Heather has a boyfriend!

Well, no. Actually, Wheels tells Snake that he still doesn’t like Heather like that and that making out with her is just something that happened. He’s only interested in her as a friend. (AGCK! I mean, don’t get me wrong. This is actually a lot more realistic than what happens on most high school shows but poor Heather!) Wheels is supposed to call Heather when he gets home so that they can talk. Of course, Wheels doesn’t call Heather and he ends up with not one but both of the Farrell twins mad at him and giving him their trademark evil eye.

(Of course, as we all know, Wheels is eventually going to be sent for prison after he runs over a kid while driving drunk so, really, the Farrell twins kind of lucked out here.)

The main problem with any episode that centers around the Farrell twins is that it’s difficult to remember which is which and neither one of them is really that interesting of a character. I spent most of this episode trying to remember whether it was Erica or Heather who had the abortion. I’m pretty sure it was Erica, which explains why Erica freaked out when she saw Heather making out with Wheels. Erica doesn’t want the same thing that happened to her to happen to Heather. But, aside from that, the Farrells have always kind of been boring characters and their party looked kind of lame as well.

Lucy was invited to the party but, instead of going, she instead went to the hospital to visit with L.D., who had just been told that she had Leukemia. Good for Lucy! One of the best parts of Degrassi High has been watching Lucy go from being self-centered and kind of mean to being one of the show’s most genuinely nice characters. To the show’s credit, it’s shown her slowly becoming more emotionally mature as opposed to just having her change overnight. It’s another example of how Degrassi High was realistic in the way that most teen shows were not and still aren’t.

Finally, Kathleen, Melanie, and Diana went to a movie but they didn’t invite their friend Maya (Kyra Levy) because Maya is in a wheelchair. They didn’t think Maya would have been able to take the “streetcar” to the movie and the theater was not wheelchair accessible. The next day, an angry Maya tells them that she could have gotten a ride from her mom and that they could have gone to a different theater that was accessible. Maya angrily tells them not to assume that she can’t do things just because she’s in a wheelchair. Good for Maya! Myself, I’m just happy to see that Kathleen has apparently dumped the abusive Scott and is refusing to speak to him. Good for for Kathleen!

This episode was a good example of how Degrassi High dealt realistically with being a teenager. The Farrell twins are kind of boring but the L.D. and Maya subplots were well-handled. This was a good episode, even if both Joey and Caitlin were noticeably absent.

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!

With the school year coming to an end, prejudice raises its ugly head.

Episode 3.14 “Black & White”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on March 5th, 1989)

The school year is nearly over. While Bart and Scooter take pictures for the yearbook, the other students prepare for the big graduation dance. BLT asks Michelle to be his date to the dance and Michelle says yes. I have to admit that I was a bit surprised that BLT and Michelle weren’t already dating at the start of this episode. Nearly every time that we’ve seen Michelle over the course of the third season, BLT has been right there with her.

Alexa says that it’s great the Michelle is going to the dance with BLT because BLT is a great dancer. “That goes without saying,” Alexa says. After an appropriately awkward silence, Alexa adds, “Because he’s black.” Okay, Alexa, thanks for sharing…. Alexa goes on to say that her parents would never allow her to date a black person because they hate anyone who isn’t Greek. That must make their lives in Toronto very interesting….

Unfortunately, it turns out that Alexa isn’t the only student with prejudiced parents. Michelle’s mother takes one look at BLT and suddenly decides that Michelle is too young to start dating. After Michelle tells BLT the news, BLT suggests that Michelle’s mom doesn’t want her to date him because he’s black. When Michelle finally works up the courage to ask her mom if BLT is correct, her mom replies that she’s not racist at all. Instead, she’s so progressive that she understands how racist everyone else is and therefore, she has a unique understanding of how difficult it would be if Michelle ended up marrying someone who wasn’t white….

AGCK! It’s like a Canadian version of the “I would have voted for Obama a third time,” line from Get Out.

Finally, Michelle works up the courage to go with BLT to the dance anyway, regardless of what her parents may think.

Meanwhile, Spike tries to get a part-time job at a deli. The owner takes one look at her hair and then claims that Spike was late to the job interview and is therefore unhirable. “That’s prejudice,” Liz says as they walk away from the deli. And it is but it’s really not the equivalent of what BLT is dealing with. Sorry, Degrassi.

For the most part, this was an effective episode. It starts out with a jarring scene in which another students bumps into BLT and uses the “n-word.” BLT and the racist student get into a fist fight, which is broken up by an assistant principal. BLT is told that he’ll be suspended if there’s another fight but, as he explains to Snake and Wheels, there’s no way he’s going to back down if he sees the student again.

“Can’t you just ignore it?” Snake asks.

“You’re not the one being called a….” BLT says, uttering the slur.

It’s an honest scene and not one that most teen shows would have the guts to include. Hearing the word used so casually in 2024 is jarring. For American audiences, it’s sometimes good to be reminded that racism is not something that is unique to only one region of our country. It’s a worldwide thing and often those who are the quickest to brag about their tolerance are actually the most prejudiced people around.