Tag Archives: Stefan Brogren

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 4.6 “Nobody’s Perfect”

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

Oh Romeo, Romeo….

Episode 4.6 “Nobody’s Perfect”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on December 5th, 1989)

This week’s episode is all about relationships, good and bad.

Patrick (Vincent Walsh), a student from Ireland, sees that Spike is wearing a Pogues t-shirt and asks her out.  Spike replies that she wants to but she can’t because she has to take care of baby Emma at night.  Patrick suggests a day date instead.  Spike agrees, even if she’s still struggling to deal with her feelings about Shane.

(Shane, having suffered brain damage after a bad LSD trip, is not enrolled at Degrassi High.  We won’t see him again until the third season premiere of Degrassi: The Next Generation.)

Meanwhile, despite having broken up with him so that she can date “Clode,” Caitlin still volunteers to be Joey’s scene partner for home room.  They’re supposed to perform a scene from Romeo and Juliet and …. yeah, there’s no way that’s going to be awkward, right?  Caitlin tells Joey that, even though they’ve broken up, she hopes they can still be friends.  Joey awkwardly says, “Yeah.”  They talk about why they broke up.  Caitlin even says, “It’s not you, it’s me.”  Those of us who know our Degrassi history know that this is a scene that’s going to be frequently repeated over the next twenty years or so.

Finally, Kathleen has convinced herself that she’s totally in love with Scott.  Afterall, Scott is always telling Kathleen how much he loves her.  He gives her jewelry.  He sends her flowers.  He wants her to spend all of her free time with him.  Of course, when Scott isn’t doing all of that, he’s beating on her and telling her that she’s stupid for wanting to have any interests outside of being his girlfriend.  When Kathleen is disappointed to discover that she hasn’t been cast in the school play, Scott informs her that she’s just not a very good actress and she shouldn’t worry about it.  When Kathleen says that she wants to try out for a play at the community center, Scott tells her that she needs to make time for him.  When Kathleen tries to have lunch with her friends, Scott drags her away so that she can have lunch with him.  When Kathleen stays after school to practice a scene with her scene partner (who happens to be Luke, the guy who gave Shane the acid), Scott goes absolutely crazy and beats her up in the classroom.

“Kathleen,” Scott insists as Kathleen finally walks away from him, “I love you!”

Kathleen turns to look at him.  We get a freeze frame of her bruised face and then the insanely cheerful Degrassi theme music starts playing.  It makes for an interesting juxtaposition.  (Combining cheerful music with depressing freeze frames was a Degrassi tradition.)

This episode deserves a lot of credit for realistically portraying Kathleen and Scott’s relationship and Scott’s abusive personality.  Everything that an abuser does — from the gaslighting to the subtle insults and the sudden accusations to the desperate begging for forgiveness — is present in this episode and Kathleen’s reactions (“I can change him!”) are all too real.  Degrassi High was a show that dealt with real issues and it usually managed to do it without resorting to melodrama or false hope.  The thing that makes this episode so powerful is that we don’t know if Kathleen had the courage to reject Scott after that freeze frame or, if like so many other girls and women in the same situation, she once again forgave her abuser.  Rebecca Haines deserves a lot of credit for her performance here, as does Byrd Dickens, who is terrifying as Scott.  This episode was Degrassi High at its best and most important.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.5 “Everybody Wants Something”

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

This week, the Zits finally film their music video!  Can super stardom be far behind?  Or will Joey just end up a middle-aged man who keeps his keyboard in the attic and who insists on making his stepson Craig listen to his one demo tape over and over again?  I guess it could go either way….

Episode 1.5 “Everybody Wants Something”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 27th, 1989)

This week’s episode of Degrassi High had a few dramatic moments.  Caitlin kissed Claude and then finally got around to breaking up with Joey.  Erica caught Liz taping a “Baby Killer” poster on her locker and the two of them got into a fight in the high school hallway.

However, for the most part, this episode was about one band and one music video.

After weeks of haggling, the Zits finally came up with a music video concept that Lucy was willing to film.  (Personally, I have to wonder why the band didn’t just offer to pay Lucy to let them borrow her camera, as opposed to giving her creative control over their music video.)  Instead of filming the band hanging out with “groupies,” Lucy filmed them lip-synching to their only song while either sitting in Clutch’s car or a dumpster.

As I watched this episode, it occurred to me that this was a story that really wouldn’t make sense today.  Apparently, when this episode aired, someone having their own video camera (as Lucy does) was considered to be exotic.  Today, the Zits would just film their video on Joey’s phone and post in online.  Or, somewhat distressingly, they would just use AI.  That said, there’s something actually kind of charming about the Zits pretending to sing in front of a video camera while their song plays on a tape player.  The video may look cheap and dorky but everyone involved seems to be having a blast filming it.  This episode definitely captured the fun of feeling like anything’s possible.  Joey may have gotten dumped by Caitlin in this episode but who knows?  Maybe this cheap music video will lead to future rock stardom!

(Actually, as those of us who were introduced to this show via Degrassi: The Next Generation can tell you, Joey is destined to end up selling used cars.  As for the other members of the Zits, Snake is going to become principal of Degrassi and Wheels is going to end up in prison after driving drunk and blinding the director of the band’s music video, Lucy.  Even the happier episodes of this show are very depressing when viewed with the benefit of hindsight.)

Due to the approaching holidays, this will be final Degrassi review for 2024!  My reviews of this show will return on January 5th!  Until then, remember …. in yourself, you must believe!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.4 “Dream On”

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

Love is in the air …. for some.

Episode 1.4 “Dream On”

(Dir by John Bertram, originally aired on November 20th, 1989)

I hate bullies.

Sadly, bullies are a part of life and they have been since the start of recorded history.  I imagine that even cavemen had their own versions of bullies and nerds.  Bullies deal with their own insecurities by picking on outsiders.  Most people hate bullies but they keep quiet when they see bullying because the unspoken threat is that, if they speak up, they could be the next one to be targeted.  That’s especially true in high school.

Degrassi High has its own set of bullies.  The episode features Tabi (Michele Johnson-Murray), who has decided to spend all of her time standing in front of the ninth grade lockers and refusing to allow the niners to use them.  When Kathleen and Melanie walk by Tabi, Tabi sprays her hairspray in Melanie’s eyes.  That’s not just rude but it’s also potentially dangerous.  Kathleen is usually not a particularly likable character but, when she finally stood up to Tabi at the end of this episode and yelled at her to get away from the lockers, I wanted to cheer.  Kathleen stands up to Tabi and a stunned Tabi walks away, saying something about niners being crazy but surrendering nonetheless.  Yay, Kathleen!

Where did Kathleen find the confidence to stand up to Tabi?  In this episode, she finally gets a boyfriend!  Scott Smith (Byrd Dickens) is an 11th grader with a really ugly mustache.  Looking at Scott, one can automatically smell the beer and see a future in which he spends all of time getting drunk at hockey games.  That said, he seems to like Kathleen and he encourages her to try out for the school play.  He even escorts her across the quad, which Tabi and her friend Dwayne previously declared to be off-limits for anyone in the ninth grade.  Kathleen has a boyfriend and there’s no way this could go wrong, right?  I mean, it’s not as if the Degrassi franchise has a long history of episodes in which insecure girls end up with older boyfriends who turn out to be abusive, right?

Meanwhile, Arthur has a crush on Caitlin and he’s overjoyed when he overhears Caitlin talking about how she’s getting tired of dating Joey, who is insensitive and only cares about his “dumb band.”  However, it turns out that Caitlin is not interested in Arthur.  Instead, she likes Claude, who has a goat-tee and is massively concerned about the environment.  Claude (pronounced “Klohd” because he’s either really pretentious or he’s from Quebec and maybe both) invites Caitlin to a French movie.

“Do you know Jean-Luc Godard?” Claude asks.

“No, does he go here?” Caitlin replies.

It’s okay.  When I was fourteen, I didn’t know who Jean-Luc Godard was either.  That said, I am old enough now to know that Godard’s post-70s films were not exactly date material.  Maybe Claude is asking her to a showing of Breathless.  Still, I think Claude should have waited for a Truffaut and a Lelouch film to come to town.

My point is that Claude is kind of a douchebag.  It’s obvious to everyone but Caitlin but sometimes, relationships are like that.  That’s especially true when there’s an age and educational difference.  I can understand Caitlin liking Claude, even if Claude seems pretty annoying to everyone else.  But I can’t see this relationship ending well.

Oh well — at least Joey has time to work on the band!  We all know from watching Degrassi: The Next Generation that Joey’s future lies in selling cars, not playing the keyboards.

And don’t worry about Arthur.  He may get his heart-broken in this episode but the actor apparently had a growth spurt between Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High and he now basically towers over everyone in the cast.  No one is ever going to bully Arthur again.

Next week, the drama continues!

 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.3 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”

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

This week, it’s time for another Degrassi divorce!

Episode 1.3 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 13th, 1989)

I’m running a bit late tonight so here is a very quick rundown of this week’s episode of Degrassi High.

  1. Joey is so consumed with his band (which has now been renamed The Zits) that he doesn’t seem to notice that his girlfriend, Caitlin, is more interested in political activism than forgettable pop music.  Caitlin is offended when Joey tries to convince he to wear a bikini for a Zits music video.  Soon, she is having lunch with douchey environmentalist Claude Tanner (David Armin-Parcells).
  2. Joey does convince Allison (Sara Holmes) and Amy (Jacy Hunter) to appear in his music video while wearing bikinis, albeit in return for him paying them forty dollars that he got from Snake and Wheels.  Snake and Wheels are offended at the idea of their money being spent to hire girls to wear bikinis.  Lucy is offended that Joey wants to borrow her video camera to shoot “a sexist video.”  Long story short: Joey does not shoot his music video but Snake and Wheels start to take more interest in his plans for the band.
  3. Lucy admits to LD that she has a crush on Wheels.  This would usually be a minor point but it’s actually really heart-breaking for those of us who know that Wheels is destined to nearly kill Lucy while driving drunk.
  4. Erica doesn’t want everyone to know that she had an abortion but rumors are spreading through the school.  Nancy (Arlene Lott), who has been on the show since Junior High, finally gets some dialogue when she awkwardly asks Heather if the rumors about Erica are true.  This scene not only reveals that people know about Erica’s abortion but it also answers the question of why Nancy usually wasn’t given any dialogue.
  5. Erica is upset when someone paints “Baby Killer” on her locker.  Well, who wouldn’t be?
  6. The episode’s main storyline features Michelle’s parents breaking up.  BLT is hopeful that this means Michelle will decide to move in with her mother and say goodbye to her father, who doesn’t want Michelle dating BLT because BLT is black.  But, when Michelle sees how helpless her father is (he can’t cook and doesn’t separate colors while doing the laundry), she decides that she has to stay with him and BLT will just have to keep seeing her in secret.
  7. Yes, this is another divorce episode.  Degrassi usually did a pretty good job with divorce episodes and that’s a good thing because it’s never easy for someone to watch their parents split up.  I know that from personal experience.  This episode handled things well, though I have to admit that Michelle is one of those characters who I always tend to forget about.  (Either that or I mix her up with LD.)  If this episode was made today, Michelle probably would have dramatically denounced her father and then moved out of the house.  I appreciated that Degrassi High took a more realistic approach to the story.

Next week …. more drama!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi High 1.1 and 1.2 “A New Start”

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

This week, Degrassi Junior High becomes Degrassi High!

Episode 1.1 and 1.2 “A New Start”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on November 6th, 1989)

It’s a new school year and, due to the Junior High burning down, all of the Degrassi kids are enrolling at Degrassi High!  Along with finally getting to go to a new school, they also finally get a new theme song and title sequence.

Just going to a new school isn’t going to stop the drama, of course.  Joey is still trying to make the Zit Remedy into something more than a mediocre garage band.  Snake and Wheels are still politely listening to Joey’s plans.  Caitlin and Joey are now dating but there’s a smarmy junior named Claude Tanner (David Armin-Parcells) who really seems to appreciate the blonde streaks in Caitlin’s hair.  (Caitlin, it should be noted, does have the best hair in the school.)  Arthur and Yick Yu, who both appear to have had major growth spurts over the summer, are growing apart.  Alexa is not happy when Simon’s recent success as a male model makes him popular with all of the other girls at the Degrassi High.  For neither the first nor the last time, Alexa dramatically gives Simon back his ring while Simon responds with genuine confusion.  We even meet the new homeroom teacher, who assigns the students to read Lord of the Flies.  (If you’ve seen the entire series, including the sequels to the original Degrassi High, it’s hard not to smile at the first of many references to Lord of the Flies.)

Dwayne Meyers (Darrin Brown), the bully who beat Joey up during the second season of Degrassi Junior High, is now attending high school and, as soon as he sees the new students, he decides that it’s time to bring back initiations.  Soon, students are getting covered in white paste, tied to flag poles, and being otherwise ritually humiliated.  Dwayne especially has it out for Joey.  Unfortunately, for Joey, Mr. Raditch has found a new job as DHS’s vice principal and he doesn’t have much sympathy for Joey’s predicament.

That said, the main storyline here involves the Farrell Twins.  I have to admit that I groaned a bit when I discovered this was going to be a Farrell Twin episode because the twins were always the weakest characters on Degrassi Junior High.  However, I have to say that Angela and Maureen Deiseach actually did a pretty good job in this episode.  Erica Farrell (Angela Deiseach), having lost her virginity at camp over the summer, discovers that she’s pregnant and considers getting an abortion.  Her twin sister, Heather (Maureen Deiseach), is opposed to abortion and, at first, refuses to go with Erica to the clinic.  After talking to Spike, who also opposes abortion but who, as a single mother, also understands Erica’s fear, Heather finally shows up at the clinic to support her sister as she walks through a throng of protestors.

Eventually, unwanted pregnancies would occur so frequently on Degrassi that they would become something of a cliche, as would the inevitable decision to get an abortion.  A New Start is one of the better pregnancy episodes, handling the storyline with sensitivity but also bringing nuance to its portrayal of the abortion debate.  Especially when compared to how heavy-handed the show would get in its final seasons, it’s really interesting to see how intelligently and respectfully both the pro-life and the pro-choice positions are presented in this episode.  The episode makes clear that there are no easy answers and there’s also no easy villains, which is something that Degrassi itself would forget during it’s four seasons on Netflix.  As Erica and Heather enter the clinic, a protestor holds up a plastic fetus, an image that was considered to be so controversial that PBS actually censored it when this episode aired in America.

(At least this episode actually made it to America, albeit in edited form.  The next Degrassi pregnancy episode would sit unaired for three years.)

It’s not a great way for the Farrell twins to start the school year but it’s proof that, even as Degrassi Junior High becomes Degrassi High, it will continue to “go there.”

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.15 “Pa-Arty”

Posted on 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!

It’s time to party!  Oh, sorry.  Actually, it’s time to pa-arty!

Episode 3.15 “Pa-Arty”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on March 13th, 1989)

The end of the school year is approaching and everyone is stressed out over exams.  Everyone in Grade 9 is also looking forward to Alexa’s end-of-the-year party.  However, when Alexa has to cancel the party because her parents will be home, the party gets moved to Lucy’s place.  Lucy is super-excited, even though almost every party that’s ever been held at her house has ended in disaster.

Joey, the proud owner of new fake ID, offers to buy beer for the party.  However, Snake and Wheels point out that Joey is rather “petite” (as Snake puts it), it is decided that Snake would have a better chance of passing for an adult.  Snake puts on a suit and Joey’s fedora and attempts to buy beer.  As the clerk looks at the fake ID, Snake casually mentions that a lot of people don’t believe that he’s actually 19 because of how young he looks.  The clerk refuses to sell Snake the beer.

As a crestfallen Joey, Snake, and Wheels stand outside the convenience store, they spot Clutch (Steve Bedernjak), who is Lucy’s latest bad boyfriend.  Clutch is in high school and he agrees to buy the beer for them.  (Of course, Clutch is also an alcoholic so he takes 6 of the beers for himself.)  Joey accidentally mentions that the beer is for a party at Lucy’s house.  Lucy specifically lied to Clutch about the party because she hates being around him when he’s drinking.

While walking to Lucy’s house, Snake and Joey stop and decide to drink some of the beer themselves.  Wheels turns down their offer of a beer, reminding them that his parents were killed by a drunk driver.  While Snake and Joey talk about the taste of beer, two Canadian cops approach them from behind.  Uh-oh!

Meanwhile, Lucy’s party is a hit but it comes to an early end when her parents call to say that they’re coming home.  A drunk Clutch shows up and behaves so obnoxiously that Lucy dumps him.  The next day, at school, Clutch apologizes and Lucy replies that it’s too late.  Freeze frame on Clutch as the end credits roll!

This is a pretty standard episode but, as is so often the case with this show, it’s heart-breaking if you know what lies in store for these characters.  In this episode, Wheels says that he’s never going to drink, specifically because his parents were killed by a drunk driver.  Of course, those of us who have seen School’s Out know that Wheels eventually will start drinking and, while driving drunk, he’ll not only accidentally kill a kid but he’ll also so severely injure Lucy that she’ll temporarily lose her ability to see and she’ll have to learn how to walk all over again.  And while Lucy will eventually recover, Wheels is destined to end up spending several years in prison and will become a pariah amongst his former friends.  Knowing that makes this a very sad episode, even if it wasn’t originally meant to be.  That’s the way life is, though.  You never know what the future might hold.

As for the future of this show, next week, we will finish up Degrassi Junior High.  How will the school year end?  Check here next Sunday and find out!

 

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

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

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.

What I like about this episode is that, in the best tradition of Degrassi, it goes there.  Holly J does get possessed.  Just about the entire cast end up dying horribly.  Spinner has to battle the undead spirit of Rick Murray and he has to do it without the help of Drake.  And, as far as we know, this episode is canon.  So, yes, Rick Murray’s ghost actually does haunt Degrassi Community School and yes, only Spinner can save us all.

Go Spinner!

Enjoy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.14 “Black & White”

Posted on 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!

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.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.13 “Making Whopee”

Posted on 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 an Arthur episode! …. really?

Episode 3.13 “Making Whopee”

(Dir by Eleanore Lindo, originally aired on February 27th, 1989)

With all of the season three drama surrounding Wheels, Shane, Spike, Joey, and Caitlin, it can be easy to forget that Degrassi Junior High started out as a show about a nerdy but well-meaning kid named Arthur trying to navigate his way through a brand new world.  Indeed, almost the entire first season revolved around Arthur and his friend, Yick.  By the time the third season rolled around, neither character was particularly prominent in the show’s ensemble.  I think one reason why Arthur and Yick went from being the main characters just being in the background is because their storylines never presented as much potential for excitement as the stuff going on with everyone else.  While Spike dealt with being a mother at 14 and Caitlin dealt with epilepsy and Wheels struggled with depression, Arthur and Yick were just average kids with average kid problems.

That’s why its a little bit jarring — after all of last week’s drama — to suddenly be presented with an Arthur episode.  In this episode, Arthur struggles to accept the fact that his dad has a girlfriend and that he would rather hang out with her than watch Space Cadets with his son.  When Arthur wakes up one morning to discover that his father’s new girlfriend has slept over, Arthur is stunned.  Later, when Arthur’s Dad comes to the Degrassi open house with his girlfriend, Arthur loses it and says that he’s sick of her coming between him and his father.  The end result is that Arthur’s father ends up single and depressed.  Arthur begs his Dad to watch television with him.  Arthur’s Dad sobs on the couch.

Damn, what a sad ending!  Of course, sad endings are a bit of a Degrassi trademark.  I’ve lost track of how many episodes of this show ended with someone in tears.

As for the B-plots, Luke continues to feel guilty over giving Shane that hit of LSD and the fact that everyone in school blames him for Shane’s accident certainly doesn’t help matters.  (Shane, for his part, is still in a coma.)  Meanwhile, Melanie finds herself competing for Snake’s attention with a snooty ninth-grader named Allison (Sara Holmes).  Melanie has nothing to worry about.  Allison may be older but Melanie is still the one who Snake asks to the graduation dance.  In fact, not only does Melanie get a date but she also gets her best friend back.  Kathleen forgives Melanie for reading her diary and also announces that she is now in therapy for her eating disorder!

Yay!  A happy ending for some….

And a totally tragic ending for others!

That’s Degrassi for you.

As for this episode, I’m a child of divorce so I could relate to a certain extent to what Arthur was going through.  I always hated it whenever my Mom dated anyone new and I will admit that I could be a bit of a brat about it.  That said, I never reduced her to crying on the couch.  I mean …. seriously, Arthur, what the Hell?  I preferred Melanie’s story because it had a happy ending and it was another storyline to which I could relate.  Talking to your crush and not realizing you have lipstick on your teeth?  Hey, we’ve all been there!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Degrassi Junior High 3.12 “Taking Off: Part Two”

Posted on 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, Degrassi goes there again!

Episode 3.12 “Taking Off: Part Two”

(Dir by Kit Hood, originally aired on February 20th, 1989)

When last we checked in with the students at Degrassi Junior High, Shane was missing and Wheels, having been sexually assaulted by a man who picked him up while he was hitchhiking, was walking towards Port Hope in search of his biological father.

Shane is discovered underneath a bridge.  As the police tell his friend Luke, it appears that Shane either jumped or he fell.  Shane is alive, but he’s in a coma and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to survive.  When asked whether or not Shane had done any drugs at the Gourmet Scum concert, Luke finally admits that Shane did drop acid right before the show began.

As for Wheels, he manages to make it to Port Hope and he even finds the cheap hotel where his father, Mike (Dave James), is playing with his band.  Wheels imagines knocking on the hotel room door and his father happily greeting him and inviting him to join the band.  Instead, when Wheels knocks on the door, Mike is shocked and not particularly happy to see him.  Though Mike forces Wheels to call his grandmother and let her know that he’s okay, Mike does agree to let Wheels spend the day at the hotel.  Mike then promptly abandons Wheels.

When Mike eventually returns, a few things become obvious.

First off, Mike didn’t even know that Wheels’s adoptive parents had died.

Secondly, Mike doesn’t want anything to do with his biological son.

Third, Mike’s new girlfriend is pregnant and, as she explains it, they can’t afford to have Wheels around.

I mean, goddamn!  Poor Wheels!  First, he gets sexually assaulted while hitchhiking.  Then, his father rejects him.  Wheels, after yelling at his father for abandoning him, is prepared to run away again but suddenly, his grandmother shows up.  She was finally able to convince Joey to tell her where Wheels had run of to and she shows up to take him home.  Wheels is adamant that he’s going to run away again but when his grandmother starts to cry and calls him out for being a “selfish, selfish boy,” Wheels reconsiders.

At the end of the episode, Shane is still in his coma and it’s still up in the air whether he accidentally fell or if he was trying to commit suicide when he plunged from that bridge.  Wheels, however, returns to school and is greeted by Joey and Snake.  Joey apologizes for telling Wheels’s grandmother about Port Hope but Wheels says it’s okay.  He’s ready to give school another try.  Everyone smiles as the end credits roll on a well-acted and classic episode of Degrassi Junior High.

YAY!  It’s a happy ending, as long as you haven’t seen Degrassi: The Next Generation.  If you have seen The Next Generation, you know that Wheels has alcoholism and prison in his future.  And, for that matter, Shane is going to end up spending the rest of his life in an institution.  So, it’s not really that happy of an ending.

But it’s very much a Degrassi ending.