If there is one teen show that is above and beyond the rest, it’s ‘Degrassi.’ Not only did it start in the ‘80s, find a way to come back in the early ‘00s and then flow into the world of streaming for a minute, but it covered just about every aspect of adolescence from your typical hallway crushes to school shootings (JIMMY!).
So right now instead of sleeping regularly, I’ve been staying up late rewatching ‘Degrassi’ from the start. Some of the episodes I haven’t seen since I was a freshman trying to catch the attention of my own Craig Manning every morning in my array of ‘Invader Zim’ tees, but omg if I am not enthralled all over again. So after every season, I want to recap what ‘Degrassi’ has always done best – go there.
Yes, these are the most go there moments that happened during ‘Degrassi’s’ first season. They go from sort of went there to omfg, they really went there.
Jimmy Vs. Ritalin
Spinner has trouble concentrating so he takes Ritalin. That’s no big deal. It was and is a common drug kids with ADD and ADHD tend to have in their medicine cabinet. However, when you don’t need it – your mind basically treats it like speed. Which is why Jimmy needed it when he was trying hard to excel on the court and in the classroom. This wasn’t the most “go there” moment in the world basically because he legit took ONE of Spinner’s pills and that was that. He didn’t get addicted and it wasn’t like it was hard drugs or anything. Plus, the worst thing that happened to Jimmy was that he was cut.
JT & Toby’s Online Woes
It’s hard to imagine a world where internet porn was some sort of new idea but alas – even in the early 00’s the idea of boobies and pee pees on the web was insane for young minds to comprehend and oftentimes our parents put up blockers to avoid us viewing the human body in ways that were well, would make them feel weird. What takes this moment from a typical plotline of the time to a whoa moment is when we learn that their punishment was to sit and look at porn…with Toby’s dad and Ashley’s mama.
Liberty’s Hot For Teacher
One of the biggest stories to come out of the ‘90s was Mary Kay Letourneau…the teacher who not only slept with her very underage student but had his children. It happened not too long before this chapter of ‘Degrassi’ began, so this plot wasn’t random. Only, there was absolutely nothing going on with Liberty and Armstrong, and it was all hearsay thanks to Emma and her big mouth.
Ashley’s Dad
Today, this wouldn’t have even been a big deal. I mean, Netflix just dropped the newest generation of ‘The Baby-Sitter’s Club’ and I’m pretty sure Dawn’s dad has a new man in his life – and it didn’t even need a drawn-out explanation. We just saw her dad was with a guy and that was that. Back in the day though, the LGBTQ representation was still pretty tight so introducing a gay character, nonetheless one of the student’s dads…it did go there for the times, but can we all agree that no matter what year it was, Ashley’s initial response to her dad’s boyfriend was the absolute worst?
Paige and Terri’s Drinking
It wasn’t shocking to see two middle school girls drinking before a dance. I mean, girls I grew up with were doing WAY more at that age. What had you doing a double-take here is that Paige set Terri up all because she was jealous Terri had gotten attention from…Spinner. Throughout this series, we’re going to be reminded of why our crushes when we’re younger are based on proximity – and this is exhibit A.
Sean Pushing Emma
Sean and Jimmy are going to go prove their manliness or some bullshit when Emma tries to intervene. Sean pushes her down and well, I sat here at 33-years-old and was shocked. Had I seen this before? Yes, but I was still taken aback by it.
Ashley & Jimmy Doin’ It
Ugh, sexual education. While a necessity for all, it’s still awkward as fuck to learn about at that age. Even more awkward when you’re like 14 and think you’re ready. Listen, if you giggle at the word clitoris, you should not be trying to have sex. Still though, ‘Degrassi’ was proving that they were about to go there with sex – and this was just them dipping their toes in the water.
Ashl-E
With rave culture sprouting into the mainstream in the early ‘00s so did the fashion (who rocked JNCO’s?) and extracurriculars like ecstasy. No raves here though, just a house party while the parents were away and Ashley taking ecstasy to prove she could be fun, but instead she revealed how she wanted to break up with Jimmy on his birthday, called Paige a hag, AND made out with Sean. That age is already hard enough, so publicly humiliating herself on that level? It’s no wonder she goes through some changes over the summer.
Emma’s Online Pal
For real, I didn’t have the internet until I was in college, so the early days of chat rooms were lost on me but Emma sure had access to the world wide web and fell for what our parents swore was the scariest shit of that time; online predators. Didn’t mean to make that seem like a joke, but it’s funny now that most of our parents are as addicted to talking to people online and are more likely to fall for scams. Anyways, Emma is chatting and falling for Jordan – someone she thinks is around her age. Of course, he’s not and after he gets her in the hotel room, equipped with the creepiest video camera, shit gets real. Did I mention that this is the PILOT? Right out of the gate with the most GO THERE moment, and from what I can tell heading into season two, the tradition continues.
Bonus: OG Degrassi Kid Ages
The pilot for ‘The Next Generation’ takes us to the OG ‘Degrassi’ students’ high school reunion. Now, are we to believe these people are not 45 but in fact under 30? HA! Okay, no.
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