2x01/02 When Doves Cry

Welcome to a new season and new school year of Degrassi. Emma and co are now in grade eight while Ashley and co are in grade nine…..what does this mean? Are we going to have a split narrative between Junior High and High School? Is one teen group going to fade into obscurity? Well this question will be answered quite early in my almost two pages had written episode notes however first let up meet a new character who this episode and many an arch for the next three seasons will be about.

The episode opens with Emma and Joey’s daughter Angie playing in the fountains in the park as a teen boy is hiding in the distance taking photos of them. Before you wonder this guy is not a stalker but the new character mentioned above. His name is Craig and the following scene he arrives home and his father is going off on the fact that he was supposed to be home by six. Craig apologizes however soon his dad flips out smashing dishes in the process.

WHATEVER IT TAKES….. (Same open but a few new scenes added to the sequence)

SEASON 2 CHARACTERS:

1x15 Jagged Little Pill Recap

This is one of three episodes to my knowledge to air out of order in the US do to subject matter as this aired between 2x03 (Girls Just Wanna Have Fun) and 2x04 (Karma Chameleon) during season 2. The other episodes are 2x07 &08 (Shout) which aired as a 90 minute special  along with 2x20 (How Soon Is Now) and 3x14/15 (Accidents Will Happen) which aired in the US well after it came out in the DVD boxed set.

The episode begins on the last day of school Jeff and Kate are planning to go away for the night and have told Ashley and Toby that they can each have one friend over and no parties.

WHATEVER IT TAKES

1x14 Under Pressure Recap

This episode opens as Sean is working on his bike while his brother Tracker is quizzing him. Tracker brings up that his mother called and is sober and wants to talk with Sean. Sean thinks that by talking the mom means that she wants him to come home and he’s not. Tracker tells him to stay out of trouble and get good grades and he doesn’t have to worry about going back.

WHATEVER IT TAKES

1x13 Cabaret Recap

One of the fun things about Degrassi is the bands. From Zit Remedy in the original series to the first TNG band that arrives in this episode to WhisperHug in season 12 music has always been a constant. Speaking of constants remember in Rumors and Reputation the talk about the Talent Show….well my best guess is that it evolved into Lunchtime Cabaret

The episode opens with Ashley working on a song on her piano while Terri is looking at a Tarot card site. Ashley asks what Terri thinks of the song that they’ll be singing at cabaret and she asks why it is so slow it’s supposed to be a duet but with the arrangement it sounds more solo. Ashley assures her that it’ll be a duet.

1x12 Wannabe Recap

Before I get into this episode I just want to say I’m still on the fence about going from scene to scene in my recapping or going through all of each plotline and giving my thoughts on them. If I have readers and they are reading this know my comments are open and I’d love your opinions on this.

So the episodes open as Liberty is interviewing Paige, Hazel and some random character named Oscar about the Spirit Squad she plans to start. I don’t think I marked this episode as a foreshadow moment but in episode 3 she mentioned wanting to start one why it took so long remains to be seen especially since the last two episodes at least are at the end of the school year while that one was at the start. Anyway Manny approaches the group when Liberty leaves wanting to try out and shows off by doing cartwheels and Paige is impressed

1x11 Friday Night Recap

Before I go on last season’s episode Waterfalls gave me massive nostalgic feels about the Semma sub plot in this episode and this re-watch has done the inverse giving me Camaya ones…..awwwww young love so innocent

The episode opens as Manny approaches Emma showing off new nail polish however their girl time is cut short as Sean shows up. Manny walks away briefly while Sean points out it’s Friday and asks if Emma wants to hang out. As he leaves and Manny returns Emma is all excited…..She thinks Sean has asked her on a date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1x10 Rumors and Reputation:

This episode begins with Emma going to turn in a paper to Coach Armstrong however as she gets to the classroom she sees him in there with Liberty. The coach is leaning in closely to the student and Emma thinks something is up between the two of them.

WHATEVER IT TAKES…..

1x09 Coming of Age: Recap

If this were Friends the episode would be called ‘The one with Emma’s Period’ oh yea and more Jimmy and Ashley angst.

The episode opens with Jimmy, Ashley and Terri talking about Jimmy is turning fourteen and that they are going to have dinner with his parents. When he walks away Ashley confides in her friend how Jimmy is always over her house and she already has Toby as a pseudo brother. Ashley also mentions at some point about her gay dad which is continuity and in a way it lets us know she didn’t abandon him but decided to accept him.

1x08 Secrets and Lies: Recap

This episode opens with Ashley in the car with her bio dad Robert who has come back from England. She’s glad that he’s visiting and giving a lecture in their MI class. She gets dropped off back home and watches as her mom and Jeff are having a minor argument (I think it was about dishes but I didn’t note it) however Kate soon stops to ask about her time with her dad. Ashley smiles saying she had a good time.

1x07 Basketball Diaries: RECAP

This is the first episode I ever saw. Season one had almost finished airing live or maybe it was already into airing season two at the time but I’d seen ads for the show in a few magazines and upon finding out we had noggin/the-n which was where it was airing at that time I tuned in and never looked back….

The episode opens with Basketball tryouts. Coach Armstrong tells them that they have an exhibition game coming up against Earl Gray and that once the game is over they will be cutting down the team from fifteen members to twelve. Jimmy is freaking out after practice telling Spinner in homeroom how he needs to be perfect so he doesn’t get cut.

Whatever It Takes…..(sing with me now) I know I can make it through…..

1x06 The Mating Game--Recap

Before we go into this episode I just want to remind anyone reading this that at this point in the series the central characters are in seventh and eighth grade meaning they are in the 12-14 year old age range…..I say this because this episode is all about sex. Okay so not all about it. There is a B plot in which the seventh graders are assigned a project on animals but for the most part….sex sex sex….

1x05 Parents Day--Recap

This episode opens with Toby walking to the school with JT counting down the hours to Parents Day freaking out because his mother and father are both going to parents day and well….they split for a reason and whenever they get together World War Three breaks out.

1x04 Eye of the Beholder--recap

Topic of the week: Drinking….and also the first of many of what will eventually become infamous school dances.
This episode opens as Terri’s dad talking about how grown up she is going to her first dance and Terri saying how she isn’t going. She has low self-esteem and says how she knows no boys would want to dance with the fat girl. Her dad reassures her she’s beautiful and then it cuts into the opening.

Whatever It Takes….

1x03 Family Politics -recap

This is the first of many class election episodes throught Degrassi’s history and while it’s not my favorite (that’s a toss up between DelRossi/Nunez season 4 and Matlin/Lewis/Mashkour season 11) it’s still a good episode.

This episode opens on Ashley on the phone with her best friend Terri saying how great this school year is ever now if only they could find Terri a boyfriend. It then goes into them talking about how Ashley is a shoe in for being class president as she’s running unopposed however she’s soon interrupted because someone is hogging the bathroom. Who is this someone you ask? Well remember when Toby said he and his dad were moving in with his dad’s girlfriend? Well said girlfriend is Ashley’s mom making Toby Ashley’s not quite step brother. Now it’s assumed that sometime during the series Jeff and Kate do get married however it’s done off screen and it goes from them saying we’re not siblings to referring to themselves as such.

1x01/02 Mother And Child Reunion --Recap

The series premiere and the sole two part episode of season one. Before I begin I want to make note about the quality of the season. It’s not as Hi def as later seasons go yet it’s still much better than the season 13 promos that look like they were filmed on IPhones but I digress.


Another thing of note this episode as being the bridge between the original series the brunt of the plot is about the adults. It’s their ten year High School reunion which is the center plot of this episode. The main three adults of note you meet or re-meet if you’re a better fan then me and have seen the original series are:

Christine ‘Spike’ Nelson- Emma’s mother who had her at sixteen

Archie ‘Snake’ Simpson- The constant of the series who was there for the original and is still with us today now as school Principal and one of the Directors of the show.

Joey Jeremiah- A used car salesman and recent widower who has a daughter Angie who is about to start Kindergarten. Angie is played by Alex Steele sister of Cassie who plays Manny. Alex recurs as Angie for the first three or four seasons before coming back as Tori in seasons 11 and 12. Hey I mean Roger Howarth can go from playing his One Life Alter Todd on General Hospital to playing Franco (who was an expy of James Franco the A lister who originated the role) while still playing Todd on pre-taped episodes of One Life 2.0 then it’s not that crazy with Alex right?

SEASON 1 CHARACTERS:

Before I get into each season I'll be posting a Character sheet:

Intro: TAKE 2

So I went back and forth pretty much since The Time of My Life ended pondering where to start and while I was fairly close to starting when the current seasons were little bitty minor niners back in season 8 I ultimately decided to go way back to season 1. This means 317 episodes however by the time the re-watch is done I assume 13A will be done or fairly close to it meaning there will be 325.


2 Part episodes and movies will be contained to one post to keep things streamline.


As far as my recaps go while my notes are being written scene by scene I may go back and fourth between scene by scene deconstructing and going from sub plot to sub plot. I’ll also try to go beyond a recap adding my two cents and pulling out parallels and nods to character development….or derailment though there are some cases that while popular consensus says it’s a derail I think it’s justifiable and not a case of W-T-Fuckery.


While some of the earlier episodes (like the pilot) do focus on some adult plotlines I may just gloss over them and focus more on the teens….we shall see


As far as tags each post will be tagged with the season and episode title as well as either recap or postmortem depending on what it is followed by major plot points. Since there can only be 20 tags/labels not all characters will be tagged but I’ll try to use tag at least the most involved ones.


Thanks for taking this ride and comments are open so feel free to engage and ask my opinions…..


Now let’s go back to the start…..

12x39/40 The Time of My Life—postmortem

An Intro: Whatever It Takes I Know I Can Make It Through

So….I recently remembered I’ve had this blog however with my discovery of Tumblr and other social mediums it’s been neglected since sometime in 2010 and well I realized that needed to change and so I’ve deleted all prior posts and hey….I may even give myself a title makeover and when all is said and done well….I think I just may embark on a project…..what kind of project you ask well…..I think I’m going to do a Degrassi re-watch. Okay I know what you’re thinking…..seriously you are going to watch all 400+ episodes and growing of the franchise…..no….and it may make me a bad fan but I’ve never even seen the classic years of Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High so this blog will focus solely on Degrassi:the Next Generation or as later seasons simply Degrassi. BUT you may say to yourself….that still is 300+ episodes and growing….where to start. Well….I don't know yet if I'll be taking my journey chronologically however if I do I'll most likely begin with season 8 (The season Clare became a series regular and Alli and Connor was introduced) or season 10 which was the first season that the show began running for super sized seasons of 40+ episodes. Whatever way I do re-watch I plan on recapping/commenting on season 13 as it airs so be warned of spoilers since I don't know how to code cuts here just yet.