Post by abraxas on Mar 28, 2010 10:32:30 GMT -5
Hailed as "groundbreaking," "powerful" and "totally authentic," Degrassi confronts it all- friendship, puberty, drugs, teenage pregnancy and more-with a refreshing ensemble cast. Sometimes moving, sometimes shocking, but always believable.
This is the description of the early 80s TV show Degrassi Jr High and Degrassi High, a show which lead the way for others like it. The difference being that the characters are actually portrayed by young teenagers. Since this show was from Canada and usually broadcasted on Public television stations like PBS, they could get away with a lot of things that American shows dealing with young adults could not.
"One of the gutsiest shows on television" -Los Angeles Times
So Ive decide to dedicate the next few Sundays to re-watching both series, I have the first season of Degrassi Jr High on DVD, all the rest are in the VHS box sets that I bought many years ago. One of the things that I like about the show is that it gives me a look into how it was like to be in a regular school environment, something which I personally only have a minor familiarity with.
Ill be writing reviews of various episodes as the play out, giving some info on the main characters.........
KISS ME, STEPH:
Stefanie Kaye is the school tart, a popular girl with the guys mainly because she dresses....well like her own mother once stated...... "Like a tramp"
Obviously this was 80s television so they couldn't go to far with it, but basically shes a little slut, although she wear some really nice tight tops where you could plainly see that she was more developed the other girls (nice boobs). In the second episodes she is suppose to give a speech at the school benefit dance, but before getting there she gets drunk and winds up puking in the girls bathroom, you actually get to hear her puke in the bathroom stall, which was a nice little addition to realism of the show.
Steffanie thinks that since is now in grade 8 that she should dress accordingly, thus winning the race for student body president. It didn't hurt that she let all the boys kiss her if they voted her way, and the tight skirt that you could almost see up....her presidential slogan.........."All the way with the Stefanie Kaye"
Stefanie disowns her brother who is attending grade 7 telling him that while at school she doesn't want him talking to her, before coming to school she apparently changes her last name from Kobolowski to Kaye and denies that Aurthur is her brother.
Everyday before classes begin she gets into her "working cloths", teases out her hair and instantly becomes a snobby bitch, needless to say none of this works out for her. By the end of the first episode she looses her best, but redeems herself a bit by the end when she lets her brother walk with her after school. ....of course no one from school was around so............
Since this was part of the first few episodes the character relationships weren't worked out, thus one of the main characters named Joey has a totally different best friend then he does in later episodes. One character named Liz can be seen walking in the background, even though she didn't come into the series until the second season.
Also some of the characters who are supposed to be in 8th grade can be seen in 7th grade classes, the last names of the twins Erica and Heather and different, when the teacher does the roll call, "Tracy Ferrel" Heather raises her hand for some reason.
This is the description of the early 80s TV show Degrassi Jr High and Degrassi High, a show which lead the way for others like it. The difference being that the characters are actually portrayed by young teenagers. Since this show was from Canada and usually broadcasted on Public television stations like PBS, they could get away with a lot of things that American shows dealing with young adults could not.
"One of the gutsiest shows on television" -Los Angeles Times
So Ive decide to dedicate the next few Sundays to re-watching both series, I have the first season of Degrassi Jr High on DVD, all the rest are in the VHS box sets that I bought many years ago. One of the things that I like about the show is that it gives me a look into how it was like to be in a regular school environment, something which I personally only have a minor familiarity with.
Ill be writing reviews of various episodes as the play out, giving some info on the main characters.........
KISS ME, STEPH:
Stefanie Kaye is the school tart, a popular girl with the guys mainly because she dresses....well like her own mother once stated...... "Like a tramp"
Obviously this was 80s television so they couldn't go to far with it, but basically shes a little slut, although she wear some really nice tight tops where you could plainly see that she was more developed the other girls (nice boobs). In the second episodes she is suppose to give a speech at the school benefit dance, but before getting there she gets drunk and winds up puking in the girls bathroom, you actually get to hear her puke in the bathroom stall, which was a nice little addition to realism of the show.
Steffanie thinks that since is now in grade 8 that she should dress accordingly, thus winning the race for student body president. It didn't hurt that she let all the boys kiss her if they voted her way, and the tight skirt that you could almost see up....her presidential slogan.........."All the way with the Stefanie Kaye"
Stefanie disowns her brother who is attending grade 7 telling him that while at school she doesn't want him talking to her, before coming to school she apparently changes her last name from Kobolowski to Kaye and denies that Aurthur is her brother.
Everyday before classes begin she gets into her "working cloths", teases out her hair and instantly becomes a snobby bitch, needless to say none of this works out for her. By the end of the first episode she looses her best, but redeems herself a bit by the end when she lets her brother walk with her after school. ....of course no one from school was around so............
Since this was part of the first few episodes the character relationships weren't worked out, thus one of the main characters named Joey has a totally different best friend then he does in later episodes. One character named Liz can be seen walking in the background, even though she didn't come into the series until the second season.
Also some of the characters who are supposed to be in 8th grade can be seen in 7th grade classes, the last names of the twins Erica and Heather and different, when the teacher does the roll call, "Tracy Ferrel" Heather raises her hand for some reason.
But don't worry he gets what he deserves, later on in Degrassi High, he takes acid, falls off a bridge and gets brain damage......talk about Karma 