I am a deprived Degrassi fan!
A late bloomer to the Degrassi scene ... that is I. How did I stumble into fanship? Well, it has to do with the fact that I am a college student. This gives me some extra time to be a couch potato. I'm not sure if all college students can relate, but I haven't had more than a three-day class schedule in centuries, plus I live out in the middle of nowhere (okay, I'm a shameless procrastinator, too.) So I certainly have my fair share of vegging time. Alas, one day in November of 1999, I began to boredly surf the Prevue guide. Batman Beyond ... too silly. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ... not even. The news ... BOW-RING! Degrassi Junior High ... hey, I remembered that show! The early-'80s program (that's what I thought back then) with those spiky-haired kids (I also thought Spike was plural.) I decided to tune in, and switched channels over to the "Canadian channel." Coincidentally enough, they were broadcasting the very first DJH -- "Kiss Me, Steph." I loved it! (It was all of the things I mention on the "Why Degrassi?" subpage.) So I kept tuning in every possible weekday, right at four-o-clock. I learned about the show and its characters. For awhile, CBC tried to pre-empt Degrassi and show the Stanley Cup Playoff instead. I realized just how hooked I had become! Degrassi was my little show, my little soap opera, my newest Guilty Pleasure. Fortunately, they brought it back! Now it's truly GONE, but here I am making a page. However, as a new fan, there is much of Degrassi I have yet to experience. Out of 70 episodes, there are 17 or 18 I've either not seen at all or not seen enough of (you can find those in the Episode Guide; I DID have to go to college sometimes.) I also missed out on all the following intrigue!
Degrassi Talks -- This was a six-part documentary miniseries, released in 1992. Several of the cast members covered topics like drugs, alcoholism, depression, and abuse. There are book excerpts all over the 'net, and they're VERY intriguing! So now I beyond want to see these, particularly Neil Hope's and Pat Mastroianni's shows ("The Adventures of Pat and Neil.")
School's Out -- As everyone knows, this is the final conclusion movie ... where Wheels makes Lucy blind, and Joey'n'Caitlin'n'Tessa have their little triangle, and blah blah. It sounds entertaining, and I have a feeling it's a Degrassi "must see", but no channel ever seems to show it anymore!
Those Degrassi Books -- Not just the Degrassi Talks books. Apparently, they had novels about the characters! I can just imagine. They sound like such fun!
The following episodes -- I'd like to see ALL of the ones I missed, but especially: the one about Melanie and the swim race; the one about Stephanie Kaye meeting a soap star; the first high-school episode; the one where Patrick sings "Christine"; and the one where Liz reveals her childhood sexual abuse (if only to see why Tim takes her to a Pogues concert, instead of Patrick ... who wore a Pogues T-shirt, and asked her out in the previous episode!)
The Kids of Degrassi Street -- I haven't seen any of these shows (which is why they hardly get coverage on my page.) I'm not dying to, but it would be interesting to see people like Wheels and Nancy at a younger age ... and I'm sure the show is charming!
That behind-the-scenes documentary -- I'm not much sure what this is about, but I bet it's fascinating! As I say elsewhere on this site, I love learning about Degrassi beind-the-scenes ... how they did dishes, earned more lines if they were "motivated", etc. I like to imagine that if a character isn't important to a storyline, yet walks past in an episode as an extra, he or she did a dish! I'm sure they don't really talk about dishes in this documentary, but I'd still like to see it.
The Jonovision reunion! -- I COULD have seen this, for I'd started watching the re-runs when it originally aired, but here in the U.S. we don't have any idea when these things will air ... likely because most Americans don't GET Jonovision! Anyhow, that would be super entertaining to see what the cast is up to now. I adore the pictures on that one site.
Well, the point of this subpage is basically nonexistent, but I wanted you to see where I was coming from in making this site. Maybe I have no business making it, having missed all these experiences. However, I believe I have just as much a fondness for the show as its most longtime fans -- and missing out on all of the above just gives me some experiences to look forward to in the future!
All aboat Degrassi
The characters
The actors
The episodes
Degrassi vs. 90210
Links galore
All aboat I
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