Degrassi: The Next Generation Recap: the season so far
by guest contributor Jasmine
Note: The N, the American home of Degrassi, doesn’t always show the same episodes in the same order as CTV. So while it is the seventh season on both sides of the St. Lawrence River, it may not always be that way.
The WGA may be striking, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be new shows to watch anywhere. It just means that viewers in the US may have to strike out in new directions — a web-only series like Mr. Robinson’s Driving School on MSNBC may satisfy your itch for quirky, sketch-driven comedy while those of you looking for a teen drama to take the place of “Gossip Girl” when it eventually stops airing new episodes may satisfy that craving with “Degrassi: The Next Generation”.
As much as I’d like to scold you for watching “Gossip Girl” (I confess, I watch it sometimes, though not for long, as those poor HaraGossip girls just make me sad), I’d rather take this opportunity to catch you up on what’s been going on in season 7 of Degrassi.
Season 6 saw the murder of Degrassi student J.T. Yorke at the hands of a Lakehurst boy, a tragic consequence of the tension that had been simmering between Degrassi and its crosstown rival. Students at both schools barely had any time to mourn before a fire destroyed Lakehurst’s schoolbulding, forcing the student bodies to merge and share Degrassi’s facilities. Degrassi isn’t in a mood to play the welcoming host, and Lakehurst isn’t being polite — fights break out whenever students get too close, and teachers are too busy trying to run the school to keep their students from killing each other.
While Degrassi cheerleader Manny works on a bi-partisan committee to increase the peace, Toby doesn’t hesitate to call out the Lakehurst crowd for their contribution to J.T.’s demise. Spinner takes the same tack, using the fear and frustration from a recent testicular cancer diagnosis to battle with anyone and anything that gets in his way. Thank goodness Lakehurst student Jane is there to talk him down from the ledge and help him focus on fighting his illness, and not his fellow students.
Elsewhere, good girl Darcy is reeling. She’s finally coming to terms with the fact that she was raped after being drugged at a party she was forbidden to attend. Boyfriend Peter and school counselor Ms. Sauve are doing what they can, but the only person who knows Darcy was raped is Peter. And now media teacher Mr. Simpson, an unlikely confidant and ally, who promises not to tell anybody else about Darcy’s stark revelation. I’m guessing that his choice to keep mum is going to make for poor consequences for him and for Darcy, but I’m not going to give that away just yet.
And over at University — we’re now in the second year for some recent Degrassi alumni — Marco is finally ready to move on after boyfriend Dylan took off to play professional hockey in Switzerland. Paige’s new fashionista job was the last straw in her relationship with Miss Alex. Ellie is still dating her “plays 23 but looks 33″ editor Jesse. I’m hoping the college portion of the show gets juicier, though I don’t know if dorm life can quite compete with the pressure cooker of high school.
I sense the violence may give way to a fairly palpable resentment, as Lakehurt’s mega-biatch Holly J. (sister to phantom Degrassi student Heather Sinclair) continues to assert her presence. Her misinterpretation of a shared racial (though not exactly racist) joke between Manny and Damian nearly derailed the unification process, and I don’t think she’s quite done yet. It will be interesting to see what other new relationships may form — I’m excited about Jane and Spinner, though the eventual breakup of second year seniors Ashley and Jimmy over a difference of opinion in their musical future is less happily
anticipated.
And yes, I know this is all confusing. Why should you care about a bunch of Canadian teenagers and their drama? It’s entertaining, it feels as authentic as a scripted show can feel, and it’s an import I am happy to promote in the spirit of Canadian-US relations.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
DJ Black Adam wrote:
Well I love Degrassi. Though I hope they add a darker Black girl to the cast. No offence to the light sistas, but that’s all we see.
Posted 23 Nov 2007 at 12:05 pm ¶
Degrassi wrote:
Fantastic recap! To be honest, I’m quite impressed with this season. I hope the quality only goes up from here.
Posted 23 Nov 2007 at 2:57 pm ¶
Maria wrote:
can i ask why this was posted here? while i am glad you are enjoying the show, i’m not seeing any analysis of race, class, or gender in your post.
Posted 24 Nov 2007 at 11:57 pm ¶
Briana wrote:
DJ Black Adam, why does it matter? It’s sad when somebody watches a TV show and only notices race. The color of someone’s skin does not determine their abilities, so why should they just add a new character on there of even darker skin color? There are a lot of different types of people on the show and I don’t think it should matter how dark their skin is. If some one is looking for that, I only have to think they’re a little insecure. For the record, there are a couple darker skinned girls on Degrassi, such as Hazel and when of the cheer leaders. Not sure sure about no, but I think they’ve got a little bit of everybody.
Posted 25 Nov 2007 at 4:56 am ¶
Jayla wrote:
I don’t know if anyone watched the original Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High shows in the 1980s, but what I loved about those, and even the first couple seasons of the Next Generation was that the kids were all normal looking kids. There were kids of all races, girls of all sizes and shapes, kids with glasses, etc. Now it seems all the new actors they hire to replace the kids that aged out are all model/actors and are impeccibly dressed/styled. It makes it harder for me to watch the show.
Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 5:36 pm ¶
The Joy Princess wrote:
FYI: Hazel can’t rep for the darker-skinned sisters as she is no longer on the show.
Posted 26 Nov 2007 at 11:32 pm ¶
DJ Black Adam wrote:
@Briana:
“DJ Black Adam, why does it matter?”
It matters because it appears that often on television and film, especially when it comes to females of African decent, that lighter more Eurocentric black women (i.e. Halle Berry, Alicia Keys, etc.) are cast while often darker women are not.
“It’s sad when somebody watches a TV show and only notices race.”
If that was all I noticed, I wouldn’t be watching the show.
“The color of someone’s skin does not determine their abilities, so why should they just add a new character on there of even darker skin color?”
Why not, I am sure they can find a whole lotta dark sisters who can act very well, seems like they strive to have a diverse cast, they can add that.
“For the record, there are a couple darker skinned girls on Degrassi, such as Hazel and when of the cheer leaders. Not sure sure about no, but I think they’ve got a little bit of everybody.”
In my opinion, Hazel wasn’t exactly dark.
Posted 12 Dec 2007 at 3:17 pm ¶
LeAnne@hairsmystory wrote:
I watch Degrassi but I’ve noticed a lot of racist stereotypes in this show and I think its because the show won’t go deep with race. All of these relationships in the show and not one between a black woman and man until 2007?Not to mention, the relationship between Hazel and Jimmy goes kabunk. I was insulted by that because, lets be honest… most relationships in the black community are NOT interracial. Given the publications in newspapers and magazines about the discord between black women and black men, it would be nice to see a happy, young black couple. What? Is the idea of black people having a functional, loving relationship so unbelievable to the writies of Degrassi? Are we all doomed to IR love?
With Liberty, it goes back to the stereotype that caribbean/immigrant black women are so consumed in our work and cannot value and support our men…. we only boss them around and emasculate them. Same story for Hazel. Why can’t a black woman have everything without being the finger-snappin’ sista girl who cannot keep a man because she’s so self-consumed? I also hate the fact that she has only had one relationship and is the closet thing to a the regular image of black women. We don’t all look like Liberty, with blonde hair and green eyes. Yet, there are several black men who shown on the show as sex symbols and romantic interest. What gives?
Now, Manny. I felt that portraying her as the asian whore was so ignorant on their part. Its always the same shit in these shows: Asian men are assexual nerds and asian women are the hypersexed sluts of the community. Why could she not have been the christian or the perfectionist like Paige? I would have understood Manny’s depth if they hadn’t taken so long to develop her charecter.
There’s alot of Manny that i think many asians/minorities could probably relate to;feeling unattractive because you are different. I think its unfair to portray Manny as desperate and skanky without explaining why she feels the need to behave the way she does. Its clear that her actions stem from her insecurities about her culture and race. I think it would be beneficial for many young teens of various backgrounds, to see their own feelings of racial inferiority portrayed through Manny and have this charecter address them.
I mean, really writers. You can write a show about everything else that provokes teen angst, but you cannot write about race? And, please… don’t give me that bullshit about racism in Canada being obsolete. We both know better.
hairsmystory.com
Posted 01 Jan 2008 at 7:01 pm ¶
degrassiii wrote:
Manny is supposed to be Filipino not Asian.
Posted 03 Dec 2008 at 3:11 am ¶
ctron wrote:
I would disagree with LeAnne about Asian characters on Degrassi as mere stereotypes, esp. that of the “asexual nerd”. For example, Yick Yu, in the first season of Degrassi (which aired in 1987) is featured in an episode where his academic performance is suffering (much to the chagrin of mustachiod Mr. Raditch) due to his slacker-nature and preoccupation with his position as star athlete on the basketball team. Doesn’t sound asexual and nerdy to me.
Posted 05 Dec 2008 at 4:16 pm ¶