Degrassi - General Discussion

[Scarlett45]

10 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I enjoyed Next Class, even though it definitely wasn't up to the same quality as prior seasons, so I was bummed when it was canceled. I'm skeptical about this revival, since I haven't been impressed with HBO Max's original programming, and it doesn't seem like many Degrassi people are yet involved. Linda Schuyler and Stephen Sohn haven't seemed to be mentioned, and Stefan Brogren who is ride or die with the franchise hasn't acknowledged it.

Maybe people haven’t come to terms on a salary for participating? (Wishful thinking)

[Scarlett45]

Stacey Farber (Ellie) is going to be in a Hallmark movie next week Butlers in Love. Since I went streaming only, I only see Hallmark at my Mom’s- but I’ll make time to check this one out. 

[luckyroll3]

I was in an AirBnb the past few days and they had Samsung TV + which is some free streaming service. One of the channels was a Degrassi 24/7 channel. Guess what I did for 3 days straight? 😂

[Scarlett45]

I finally got a chance to check out Butlers in Love, it was precious! Staci Farber is using her sunscreen, she looks great. I liked the premise, the leads actually took time to fall for each other, the writing was good. I recommend checking it out. 

[luckyroll3]

14 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I finally got a chance to check out Butlers in Love, it was precious! Staci Farber is using her sunscreen, she looks great. I liked the premise, the leads actually took time to fall for each other, the writing was good. I recommend checking it out. 

Haven't seen this, but Stacey's been getting a lot of work lately. She also had a pretty hefty role in the last season of Superman and Lois (or whatever the name is of this new version). 

I've been doing (another) rewatch and I'm on S6, the year the the OG kids go to college and Spinner, Jimmy, and Ashley get left behind to repeat their senior year. It totally makes sense why Spinner and Jimmy had to repeat, but why did Ashley. What was she doing in London junior year? She went for the summer, decided to stay, found a new BF who she dumped Craig for, but she didn't enroll in school the entire time? Not sure if I missed some random explanation they gave, but I've been thinking about it waaaaaay too much the past couple days and trying to make sense of it. 

[Scarlett45]

5 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I've been doing (another) rewatch and I'm on S6, the year the the OG kids go to college and Spinner, Jimmy, and Ashley get left behind to repeat their senior year. It totally makes sense why Spinner and Jimmy had to repeat, but why did Ashley. What was she doing in London junior year? She went for the summer, decided to stay, found a new BF who she dumped Craig for, but she didn't enroll in school the entire time? Not sure if I missed some random explanation they gave, but I've been thinking about it waaaaaay too much the past couple days and trying to make sense of it. 

It made no sense. When we did our Summer 2020 rewatch here, I asked that- she wasn’t in school in London??? Her credits didn’t transfer? I think they did that JUST to give Jimmy someone else to play off of when he’s held back. 

[BetterButter]

 

[Scarlett45]

On 3/9/2022 at 4:17 PM, BetterButter said:

 

I’m excited. I know HBO didn’t get the rights to Next Class but I assume it’s a part of the cannon?

[Keywestclubkid]

Watching this on HBOMAX … I’m 6 episodes in and have a question… why the hell were any of those girls  friends with Paige? Like legit she’s an asshole in EVERY Episode so far 

[luckyroll3]

23 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

Watching this on HBOMAX … I’m 6 episodes in and have a question… why the hell were any of those girls  friends with Paige? Like legit she’s an asshole in EVERY Episode so far 

Because 8th grade girls are

[Keywestclubkid]

27 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

Because 8th grade girls are

Lol she was that .. it just seemed like after each episode of her being HORRIBLE there was a reset like she never did it and the girls went on like she didn’t just get one wasted to sabotage a relationship or she didn’t just try to block her friend from getting a manager in the most bitch way possible or she did just etc etc lol like why would they just be like ya know what she’s still our friend lol 

Edited March 27, 2022 by Keywestclubkid

[luckyroll3]

That's how the middle school girl hierarchy works. The one deemed the Queen Bee can do whatever she wants and everyone will follow until she's dethroned. 

[Keywestclubkid]

I’ve been paying for it jimmy! I spent the summer in counseling!  

the way the write Ashly kills me .. this show is so super addicting lol  

[luckyroll3]

18 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

this show is so super addicting lol  

Isn't it? I'm about to finish my 3rd rewatch in the past 4 years.....all 18 seasons! But it's also good background noise for when I'm working. 

[Keywestclubkid]

Poor Toby getting crapped on .. who would have known  that those geeky nerd kids into computers would make BANK, and all that stuff they were making fun of them for a short time later would be the reason they were making all that money .. it is just second hand cringe watching them make fun of computer stuff knowing how IRL all that stuff got people super rich  lol… 

Edited April 1, 2022 by Keywestclubkid

[luckyroll3]

Currently rewatching My So-Called Life and just realized that Tino is the original Heather Sinclaire!

[sara416]

I binged a bunch of episodes on HBO Max and now I have falled down a rabbit hole watching the original series Degrassi Jr High and Degrassi High. I know this was a kids show but WOW, this acting was really bad!

[balmz]

made a post about that the other day

[sara416]

I mean, some of it really is almost that bad. Yikes. 

[balmz]

which actors or characters make you say that?

[Scarlett45]

13 years since Shark in the Water!!

[Scarlett45]

The reboot is coming. 

[sara416]

I'm far to old to be as excited as I am about this reboot. 

[Scarlett45]

On 8/23/2022 at 8:54 PM, sara416 said:

I'm far to old to be as excited as I am about this reboot. 

Me too! Once we have an air date I will request a forum. 

[luckyroll3]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:54 PM, sara416 said:

I'm far to old to be as excited as I am about this reboot. 

8 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Me too! Once we have an air date I will request a forum. 

Y'all know I can't wait!

[Brn2bwild]

Been watching episodes on the Degrassi Samsung channel.  Two things that stand out:

• Paige reminds me exactly of someone I knew in real life.  I thought that person was horrible and tried to avoid her as much as possible, but here I find her endlessly entertaining.
• Emma is really overbearing.  I don't know if it stood out to me as much when I watched in the early 2000s, but she's borderline obnoxious in most episodes.

[Keywestclubkid]

On 7/7/2022 at 6:52 AM, Scarlett45 said:

13 years since Shark in the Water!!

Ok creepy this song randomly came on as I was cleaning today …. Lol 

[Brn2bwild]

Watching Season 5 episodes now (which was about the time I stopped watching back when it first aired).  I recall it being a pretty progressive show for its time, which makes it all the more noteworthy how much homophobia and misogyny were on display.

It's shocking to see characters we're supposed to like going "ewww, gay!"  I realize too many people in real life still act this way, but it shows we've come a long way as a society that this reaction is no longer considered the accepted norm. 

I don't know if we've come as far with misogyny. 

• Manny wants to grow out from under Emma's shadow and the only avenue she can think of is to make herself sexier for the boys. 
• Craig cheats on Ashley, cheats on Manny, ruins Ashley's dad's wedding after she turns down his marriage proposal because they're *teenagers*, and when Ashley leaves the country to get some much-needed space from Craig, everyone's like "Poor Craig." 
• Manny is slut-shamed and guilt-tripped by her *best friend* for choosing to have an abortion.
• Joey (mid-30s) is dating a 23-year old and the inherent power imbalance is treated as no big deal. 
• The principal's gross son, Peter, films Manny topless, sends the video around school, and the only punishment he gets is a month of detention.  Meanwhile Emma, who should have had Manny's back and seen it as a huge red flag, somehow isn't bothered by Peter's grossness and dates him.
• Emma starts to grow and develop and suddenly being pretty and attracting guys becomes her primary focus over her previous environmental, etc. causes.

I'd like to believe that the above happens much less frequently, but I doubt it.  That said, it says something for the MeToo movement that we recognize and calls out these patterns more.       

ETA: And now I'm watching an episode where someone calls Manny a slut for the thousandth time and they get into a hair-pulling fight.  'Cause that's what girls do, don't you know.

Edited September 5, 2022 by Brn2bwild

[memememe76]

I am rewatching the Next Class, midway through season 3. Every episode has at least one memorable or iconic moment. The cast is really gelling too. The kids look soooo young. It is hard for me to really hate anyone. Their actions seem consistent with what people that age behave. 

[Aryanna]

I'm late to the party on this. I know many of you probably watched different versions of Degrassi when they were originally on but I've been going through them on streaming. 

I started all the way back with some episodes of Kids of Degrassi Street. It's weird to see the progression. Degrassi started out as little life lesson shows for young kids. With Degrassi Junior High and to some extent with Degrassi High, they still kind of had the facade of teaching lessons. But those lessons got thinner and fewer and further between as it went on. And with The Next Generation they just said "Forget it. This is a full on teen drama now." It stopped pretending to be about lessons and became 90210 or something. 

I'm currently in the 4th season of Next Generation. I'm not sure how much longer I can last as my interest is waning.

Part of the appeal of Junior High was its unpolished nature. And even though High was more polished and professional it was still good because I was invested in the characters. I even enjoyed School's Out.

In the 4th season of Next Gen they seem to be changing characters because...reasons. Spinner who was always a sweet and caring bf despite his being a doof sometimes. In season 4 he makes a hard left turn and decides to be a jerk to Paige. Makes no sense. Emma is now becoming self centered and surface when she had more or less been the voice of reason in the past. Even when she hadn't been the voice of reason she had passion and cared about things deeper than herself. 

Mani was always a terrible character. She only ever cared about herself with no regard to how it affected others around her or how it made anyone else feel.

Liberty is straight up annoying. Writing hearts and boys names on her books. In high school. Are you 11? Because that's what an 11 year old would do. And I can't hear another character say her name without getting that stupid Liberty Mutual jingle stuck in my head. Maybe she's the reason I get so many Limu Emu ads while watching this.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Aryanna

[AntFTW]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:54 PM, sara416 said:

I'm far to old to be as excited as I am about this reboot. 

On 8/25/2022 at 10:47 AM, Scarlett45 said:

Me too! Once we have an air date I will request a forum. 

On 8/25/2022 at 7:45 PM, luckyroll3 said:

Y'all know I can't wait!

I'm finding out about a reboot right now!

This post is a LIVE reaction!

[Aryanna]

I'm into season 4 now. They seem to be repeating Degrassi Junior High/High plots. Pregnancies, abortions, parents dying in car wrecks, abusive boyfriends, gun deaths at school...

[Scarlett45]

On 10/17/2022 at 10:11 PM, Aryanna said:

I'm into season 4 now. They seem to be repeating Degrassi Junior High/High plots. Pregnancies, abortions, parents dying in car wrecks, abusive boyfriends, gun deaths at school...

Those topics continue to be relevant for adolescents so I am not bothered by the recycled plot points, especially since they always felt very contemporary in how they wrote it.

[Aryanna]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Those topics continue to be relevant for adolescents so I am not bothered by the recycled plot points, especially since they always felt very contemporary in how they wrote it.

I guess. It just feels like they dusted off an old script and changed the names. If they would find different or clever ways to recycle then ok. But this feels lazy. 

[memememe76]

Craig’s dad’s death is quite different from how Wheels’ parents died. Claude’s suicide is very different from Cam’s. 

I think it’s cool that a new generation of people have their own Degrassi. 

[Aryanna]

I find it interesting how Craig is all of a sudden bipolar. Because that's how being bipolar works. It comes out of nowhere like a sneeze.

[NotChristine]

https://www.primetimer.com/news/degrassi-reboot-axed-by-hbo-max

[luckyroll3]

2 hours ago, NotChristine said:

https://www.primetimer.com/news/degrassi-reboot-axed-by-hbo-max

[Scarlett45]

15 hours ago, luckyroll3 said:

I am so SAD.

[absnow54]

I'm bummed, but I was also pretty skeptical this show would ever make it. Like did Stefan Brogren even acknowledge it? It seemed like it was going to be Degrassi in name only. 

[balmz]

i had a take on why degrassi in later seasons largely failed and was hoping for feedback

the show is supposed to show people from all walks of life, not just pretty white boy #9000 or white musician #5000. along with the changed intro in season 6-7, 13 and beyond along with following the characters to post high school plots or college when if anything the main character and setting is degrassi itself(the building), the show needs to show more then just white musicians or bands or white romance plot #3000 in a row, it needs alternative characters like toby, liberty to a degree, terri, campbell, wesley, connor, ellie to a degree

think about it, seasons 1-4 and to a degree season 5 are considered the best of tng, the show had the most alternative characters in that time period. Alternative characters generally played a major role in some of the most iconic episodes (terri with rick, toby with helping save emma in the pilot, tss, rock this town)

 when season 6 came, along with the college plots and the different intro which was widely disliked, most of the alternative characters were gone or removed, terri was long gone, toby was taken out of the intro and not a main and when jt died, it also really lost the dynamic he brought with liberty and toby, with toby also being removed and having a reduced role there was less chance to showcase alternative characters like him and the plots and interactions that were fairly unique to him and his type

note in season 8-9 when they did return to the regular intro, it is still generally not considered to be a high point of the show, toby was gone, they were still doing college plots, liberty basically had no one to play off on(emma and manny didn't work), the new characters they did bring on as a main didn't workout for the most part until much later(sav, connor, kc, blue, ,riley, zane, fiona, declan, jenna, alli), the rich characters of declan and fiona were considered to be too out of place in the show and more fitting in gossip girl

season 10 is generally considered to be a vast improvement over seasons 6-9 and did introduce new alternative ones(eli, wesley as a main, bianca, adam, additionally characters from earlier seasons finally got alot of love and attention since the college plots were gone and were best developed there, wesley had good interactions with connor and dave and drew to a degree, bianca offered a different outlook, eli was fairly different, adam showed a very new and different archetype, the characters added from season 7 on also got real development and interaction( sav, anya, holly j)

season 11 introduced imogen who was different also and also hannah and mo to a degree

season 12 did drop the nerdy characters like wesley, hannah, kc to a degree but more then made up for it with campbell who was super unique and also added tori, both were poc and campbell was fairly unique as a poc on the show(dylan everett was partly indigenous and his character archetype was very different and his plots were mostly really different and some of the darkest in the series, easily able to stand among tss) 

season 13 and 14 changed the intro which was very unpopular , they also started doing college plots again with eli and bianca which were disliked, also had plots like paris that were not at degrassi which is the main point of the show and didn't really have enough alternative characters which were different enough or developed enough, it also removed the nerdy characters from the show completely, winston didn't count really as he didn’t really do nerdy things or offer a different walk of life(and with andre’s vile rl behaviour in season 14, he lost alot of fans) 

and hunter was too different from most nerds or didn't fit any usual alt archetype, they then also went  pretty much right away with a cliche and boring path of making him evil

next class still lacked the proper intro and also still lacked alternative characters who were different enough and developed enough, it did stop with the college plots but it still is considered a low point to the point kevin smith said no one watched it

Yael, vijay and  baaz technically did count but with all the evil stuff they did(sending rape and death threats  and swatting maya and zig which could have gotten them killed), any likability was lost forever and it took away from being an alternative character( there are certain lines you don’t cross or do if you want to be a likeable character and sending rape threats is one of them) also yael's nonbinary plot loses appeal or value with the vile behavior earlier, it was a waste of a potentially good plot to give it to yael when it could have gone to someone more likable and hadn’t done such vile things

The show trying to ignore what they did and not even really addressing it is similar to 13 reasons why trying to redeem a rapist. That got alot of critics and anger from people and the fanbase of the show. Really vile characters like the gamer club, rick, derek in later seasons, luke and dean are simply not appropriate choices to have as a main character since the show would not want viewers who identify with those archetypes, vile characters like them are best suited as guest or plot characters, note how dean and rick were not mains or recurring but are considered iconic

Saad, rasha and goldi also count in theory as alternative characters but they weren’t given enough development in practice

so you see the show needs the following to work at its best

*different characters like toby, terri, wesley, connor, campbell and the different plots they bring to either balance out darker plots, add their own unique dark plots  or introduce ones that don't work with other characters and to showcase all different walks of life and to showcase the interactions that are unique to the alternative characters,  not just generic white girl or boy 500# as mains

*no college plots or long plotlines away from the school which is arguably the true main character of the show, not emma or joey or spinner, degrassi the building itself

* a proper intro that shows the characters at the school doing things that showcase who they are.

And if this is not proof enough, notice how season 6, generally considered to be the start of the decline of the show if the season 4 kevin smith episodes and season 5 are not considered to be the start of the decline,  season 6 no longer has characters like terri, hazel and toby as mains or in the opening credits which were changed from the classic one?
 

[Aryanna]

On 11/22/2022 at 10:23 AM, balmz said:

i had a take on why degrassi in later seasons largely failed and was hoping for feedback

the show is supposed to show people from all walks of life, not just pretty white boy #9000 or white musician #5000. along with the changed intro in season 6-7, 13 and beyond along with following the characters to post high school plots or college when if anything the main character and setting is degrassi itself(the building), the show needs to show more then just white musicians or bands or white romance plot #3000 in a row, it needs alternative characters like toby, liberty to a degree, terri, campbell, wesley, connor, ellie to a degree

think about it, seasons 1-4 and to a degree season 5 are considered the best of tng, the show had the most alternative characters in that time period. Alternative characters generally played a major role in some of the most iconic episodes (terri with rick, toby with helping save emma in the pilot, tss, rock this town)

 when season 6 came, along with the college plots and the different intro which was widely disliked, most of the alternative characters were gone or removed, terri was long gone, toby was taken out of the intro and not a main and when jt died, it also really lost the dynamic he brought with liberty and toby, with toby also being removed and having a reduced role there was less chance to showcase alternative characters like him and the plots and interactions that were fairly unique to him and his type

note in season 8-9 when they did return to the regular intro, it is still generally not considered to be a high point of the show, toby was gone, they were still doing college plots, liberty basically had no one to play off on(emma and manny didn't work), the new characters they did bring on as a main didn't workout for the most part until much later(sav, connor, kc, blue, ,riley, zane, fiona, declan, jenna, alli), the rich characters of declan and fiona were considered to be too out of place in the show and more fitting in gossip girl

season 10 is generally considered to be a vast improvement over seasons 6-9 and did introduce new alternative ones(eli, wesley as a main, bianca, adam, additionally characters from earlier seasons finally got alot of love and attention since the college plots were gone and were best developed there, wesley had good interactions with connor and dave and drew to a degree, bianca offered a different outlook, eli was fairly different, adam showed a very new and different archetype, the characters added from season 7 on also got real development and interaction( sav, anya, holly j)

season 11 introduced imogen who was different also and also hannah and mo to a degree

season 12 did drop the nerdy characters like wesley, hannah, kc to a degree but more then made up for it with campbell who was super unique and also added tori, both were poc and campbell was fairly unique as a poc on the show(dylan everett was partly indigenous and his character archetype was very different and his plots were mostly really different and some of the darkest in the series, easily able to stand among tss) 

season 13 and 14 changed the intro which was very unpopular , they also started doing college plots again with eli and bianca which were disliked, also had plots like paris that were not at degrassi which is the main point of the show and didn't really have enough alternative characters which were different enough or developed enough, it also removed the nerdy characters from the show completely, winston didn't count really as he didn’t really do nerdy things or offer a different walk of life(and with andre’s vile rl behaviour in season 14, he lost alot of fans) 

and hunter was too different from most nerds or didn't fit any usual alt archetype, they then also went  pretty much right away with a cliche and boring path of making him evil

next class still lacked the proper intro and also still lacked alternative characters who were different enough and developed enough, it did stop with the college plots but it still is considered a low point to the point kevin smith said no one watched it

Yael, vijay and  baaz technically did count but with all the evil stuff they did(sending rape and death threats  and swatting maya and zig which could have gotten them killed), any likability was lost forever and it took away from being an alternative character( there are certain lines you don’t cross or do if you want to be a likeable character and sending rape threats is one of them) also yael's nonbinary plot loses appeal or value with the vile behavior earlier, it was a waste of a potentially good plot to give it to yael when it could have gone to someone more likable and hadn’t done such vile things

The show trying to ignore what they did and not even really addressing it is similar to 13 reasons why trying to redeem a rapist. That got alot of critics and anger from people and the fanbase of the show. Really vile characters like the gamer club, rick, derek in later seasons, luke and dean are simply not appropriate choices to have as a main character since the show would not want viewers who identify with those archetypes, vile characters like them are best suited as guest or plot characters, note how dean and rick were not mains or recurring but are considered iconic

Saad, rasha and goldi also count in theory as alternative characters but they weren’t given enough development in practice

so you see the show needs the following to work at its best

*different characters like toby, terri, wesley, connor, campbell and the different plots they bring to either balance out darker plots, add their own unique dark plots  or introduce ones that don't work with other characters and to showcase all different walks of life and to showcase the interactions that are unique to the alternative characters,  not just generic white girl or boy 500# as mains

*no college plots or long plotlines away from the school which is arguably the true main character of the show, not emma or joey or spinner, degrassi the building itself

* a proper intro that shows the characters at the school doing things that showcase who they are.

And if this is not proof enough, notice how season 6, generally considered to be the start of the decline of the show if the season 4 kevin smith episodes and season 5 are not considered to be the start of the decline,  season 6 no longer has characters like terri, hazel and toby as mains or in the opening credits which were changed from the classic one?
 

Interesting post.

Part of the problem, I believe, is that degrassi lost its way. Go back to the original Kids of Degrassi Street specials that aired infrequently in their original run. They were just regular kids. The show tried to teach lessons. Junior High still had the DIY aesthetic that was part of the appeal of the original specials and it still had normal kids and tried to teach lessons. High had a bit better production values, was less interested in lessons but was still about normal kids and their lives.

TNG was slick and well produced but the normal kid approach was quickly abandoned it became just another teen soap and didn't even pretend to try to teach lessons. Plots existed purely to stir up drama which meant they often didn't make sense or were out of character. Spinner and Paige seemed to be great together but then broke up. Why? The writers felt they needed drama even though it didn't make sense for those characters to suddenly break up and not get along. Craig suddenly is bipolar. Why? Because drama was needed. He had never shown any indication of being bipolar in previous seasons. That's not how bipolarism works. It doesn't just happen out of nowhere like a sneeze.

And tng just continued to go further and further down the teen drama path. There was nothing setting it apart from any other teen drama. It was once unique but became white noise along with all the other teen drama.

I know Paige was supposed to be the spoiled pretty girl that we all hate but I think she was one of the best characters. Liberty and Mani were always super annoying to me. Emma could be annoying sometimes too but less so. I thought Paige's rape storyline was interesting. I wish they had gone deeper with it bc I believe it had more to say. I kinda feel that they just left it unresolved. 

TV shows are missing regular teens. Look at Disney Channel. One of their best remembered shows is Lizzie McGuire. A show about a regular girl that we could relate to. She went through regular ordeals like most teens. Buying a bra. First heartbreak. Crushing on someone. Then came Hannah Montana and suddenly shows about regular kids were gone. They had to be about secret pop stars or secret wizards or secret super heroes or rich kids and on and on.

[Miss Bones]

On 7/7/2022 at 6:52 AM, Scarlett45 said:

13 years since Shark in the Water!!

I'm late, but been rewatching on HBOMax and this song unlocked a memory for me!  I knew it sounded familiar, played it and it totally took me back to watching Degrassi TNG on "The N" as a teen!

[Brn2bwild]

Am watching Degrassi Season 8 episodes on the Samsung Degrassi channel, and I forgot how unlikeable Derek was.  Framing Danny as a shoplifter, beating up Jane after she made the football team... he really had no redeeming qualities.  

Edited May 7, 2023 by Brn2bwild

[Scarlett45]

56 minutes ago, Brn2bwild said:

Am watching Degrassi Season 8 episodes on the Samsung Degrassi channel, and I forgot how unlikeable Derek was.  Framing Danny as a shoplifter, beating up Jane after she made the football team... he really had no redeeming qualities.  

Couldn’t stand Derek.
 

He was an awful human. I’m assuming he was expelled for threatening Holly J on the “I hate Holly J” Face Range page. GOOD!

I think of him as the archetype of a guy who is always mediocre (at best) or a shitty person (on a regular basis) and has a giant chip on his shoulder because he didn’t get what he felt he was owed because he was born white, male, heterosexual and abled bodied. Ignoring that he is awful to everyone and never learns from his mistakes. He did apologize to Danny for setting him up for shop lifting but then he assaults Jane & threatens Holly J!

[Brn2bwild]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Couldn’t stand Derek.
 

He was an awful human. I’m assuming he was expelled for threatening Holly J on the “I hate Holly J” Face Range page. GOOD!

I think of him as the archetype of a guy who is always mediocre (at best) or a shitty person (on a regular basis) and has a giant chip on his shoulder because he didn’t get what he felt he was owed because he was born white, male, heterosexual and abled bodied. Ignoring that he is awful to everyone and never learns from his mistakes. He did apologize to Danny for setting him up for shop lifting but then he assaults Jane & threatens Holly J!

Ugh, forgot about what he did to Holly J.  

I don't care for Danny, either -- his character lost his purpose after JT died and Liberty graduated, and I will never forgive him for going to a real prestige university (Cornell) while Liberty was stuck going to fictional "Smithdale" -- but he wasn't repellant like Derek was.

On an unrelated note: Is it me, or did the show really sex up the teenage girl characters beginning Season 5 or so?  I realize Degrassi was competing with The CW and teen shows on Fox, but one big difference was that those characters were played by actors in their twenties.  Degrassi basically glammed up actual teenage girls (specifically Emma, Manny, Darcy, Mia, et al) and had them in these sex-related plotlines that were really mature in content, beyond mere "teenagers thinking of having sex," and then were like: "OMG, look at what could happen to your daughters!"  And worst of all, would often have male characters slut shame them.  

I get wanting to show the dangers that teenagers face, but at some point it started to feel like exploitation.  They wanted sexy glam teens and to say that this was a safe, educational show for teens and their parents to watch.  Maybe I'm just a prude in my 40s, but since #MeToo, this type of stuff has really stood out to me.

ETA: They did dial it back at some point.  Holly J, Clare, Alli, and Fiona didn't seem exploited, and Fiona's abuse plotline was reasonably well done.  But there was that window of time between Seasons 5 and 8 where the show's producers seemed to think Degrassi was "The O.C." or a latter-day 90210.

ETA x 2: Like how many episodes did they have about girls' nude body parts being put on public display?  Manny's topless photos and Alli's naked photos are two episodes off the top of my head.  In both the guy viciously sent the photos to other people, humiliated the girl, and got off lightly.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Brn2bwild

[balmz]

https://old.reddit.com/r/Degrassi/comments/12ignpp/the_directors_and_camerapeople_sure_seemed_to/

 

a reddit thread did address the sexualition 

[luckyroll3]

On 5/7/2023 at 3:58 PM, Brn2bwild said:

Am watching Degrassi Season 8 episodes on the Samsung Degrassi channel, and I forgot how unlikeable Derek was.  Framing Danny as a shoplifter, beating up Jane after she made the football team... he really had no redeeming qualities.  

 

On 5/7/2023 at 4:46 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Couldn’t stand Derek.
 

He was an awful human. I’m assuming he was expelled for threatening Holly J on the “I hate Holly J” Face Range page. GOOD!

I think of him as the archetype of a guy who is always mediocre (at best) or a shitty person (on a regular basis) and has a giant chip on his shoulder because he didn’t get what he felt he was owed because he was born white, male, heterosexual and abled bodied. Ignoring that he is awful to everyone and never learns from his mistakes. He did apologize to Danny for setting him up for shop lifting but then he assaults Jane & threatens Holly J!

The only time Derek wasn't a complete shit was when Liberty was struggling with giving up her baby for adoption and Derek shared that he was adopted, how he really appreciated that his birth mom left him a letter, and encouraged Liberty to do something similar so that the baby would know her.

[Brn2bwild]

2 hours ago, balmz said:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Degrassi/comments/12ignpp/the_directors_and_camerapeople_sure_seemed_to/

 

a reddit thread did address the sexualition 

Interesting.  Thanks.

[Scarlett45]

50 minutes ago, luckyroll3 said:

 

The only time Derek wasn't a complete shit was when Liberty was struggling with giving up her baby for adoption and Derek shared that he was adopted, how he really appreciated that his birth mom left him a letter, and encouraged Liberty to do something similar so that the baby would know her.

Yes. That was the one time he was a nice human.