Wake up in the morning...

When you hear the words in my subject line, what is the first thing you think of? If it is this song, then you know you’re a “Degrassi” fan, just like me!

When I was in junior high, very few things saved my sanity. “Degrassi Junior High” (later becoming “Degrassi High”) was one of those things. I originally got a book based on the TV series and thought it was interesting. Then I saw that the show was on PBS (right after “3,2,1 Contact,” where I got to see “The Bloodhound Gang”) and I tuned in. I fell in love with it immediately and raced home from the bus every day to watch it. I even got my sister addicted to the show.

“Degrassi” is a show based in Canada that has teens and adolescents dealing with some pretty heavy stuff in a way that is interesting and educational, but entertaining at the same time. It has covered such topics as suicide, teen pregnancy, molestation, abortion, AIDS, eating disorders, drug addiction, etc. It would really get into the heads of the characters dealing with such issues.

On the other side, there were a lot of amusing and fun things to take away from the show. I had a friend in college who would joke with me about Zit Remedy, the band that Joey Jeremiah and his friends were in. They sang a song called “Everybody Wants Something”. We’d randomly sing that during the middle of dinner with our other friends. I also loved the dialect and how everyone said “aboot” (about) and “surry” (sorry). In “Chasing Amy,” Banky even said he had a thing for girls who say “aboot” when he was talking about “Degrassi.” (And just so we’re even here, when I went to Canada, everyone was trying to get me to say “hockey” because they thought it sounded funny coming from an American.) There was also a time in high school where my friend and I were joking about a guy who looked like Wheels and we’d draw a picture of a wheel when we were talking about him. I also knew a girl who looked like Heather/Erica.

Aside from the personal jokes and pop culture references, there was one episode where Lucy was making a horror movie and it ended up being funny instead of scary. I think it was called “It Creeps” and it took place in one of the locker rooms. The show also had a lot of warm fuzzy moments and showed a lot of different friendship dynamics.

At the end of the series, there was a movie called “School’s Out.” I finally got to see it, thanks to a friend from Canada who mailed it to me. It was pretty interesting and showed a side of the characters that I hadn’t seen before. Around this time, I was also able to find old episodes of the show on a cable channel at my parents’ house and I taped a bunch for when I need my “Degrassi” fix. Nowadays, there is a new series called “Degrassi: The Next Generation.” I’ll also watch that when I visit my parents on our annual Chicago trip. (I was able to watch it when they showed it on a local station in NJ on Sundays, as well.) I even stayed up for a marathon of episodes one night. It’s almost as good as the original series. They cover some more modern issues, such as school shootings and cyber-bullying. Some of the original series characters are even featured on it, such as Caitlin, Joey, Spike and Snake. Spike’s daughter is one of the teens on the new series. I know Kevin Smith had some connection with the series a while back (which makes me love him even more, beyond his reference in “Chasing Amy.”)

No matter how old I am, I will always be a “Degrassi” fan. I just hope it will be around for when my kids are old enough to appreciate it. If not, I just hope my tape of the original series will still work by then. Otherwise, I may need to invest in some DVDs (if it is even on DVD by then).

“Everybody can succeed, all you need is to believe.
Be honest with yourself, forget your fears and doubts.
Come on give us a try...”