The Women of Degrassi: Jr. High and High (none that TNG shit)

My lady and I have been netflix'n the Canadian television series Degrassi Jr. High and now we're on Degrassi High. A simple online search will give you more information, but I'll give a quick rundown. Degrassi began in the late 1980's and continued in the early 1990's, ending around 1992 I believe with a movie entitled School's Out. A decent handful of characters are given time in the spotlight, but that usually entails some sort of drama which can be an embarrassing social situation to falling off a bridge from a drug trip. There's a little of everything in this tasty stew. My involvement with the series is due to the Degrassi Digest, a Portland produced zine that helped me understand I could give Degrassi a chance. Previously I held misconceptions about this show as a whole, but later I found that this is tied to the current series Degrassi: The Next Generation (TNG) which began pre-empting the fabulous Adventures of Pete & Pete being re-aired on The N (some young person cable channel along the lines of Nickleodeon). Once I settled comfortably in a schedule of watching daily Pete & Pete's, at least twice a day, this Degrassi:TNG began showing up even though said P&P show was listed on the channel guide.

"Fucking Degrassi," was found to leave my mouth on a number of occasions. Now whenever my language turns blue in regards to Degrassi they focus on specific parts or characters, such as "Claude's a douche," I stated to my behind the wheel sweetie as I sat passenger side waiting at a left turn signal. Degrassi: TNG is still balls in my book, but I may one day pass to the dark side and watch some to try it out and then take a cold shower. That'll have to wait until the weather warms and anyway I still have plenty of Degrassi High properly ingest.

I started writing the following after finishing disc 2 of Degrassi High and the screen freeze was on Caitlin which I didn't fine to be well deserved, but hey, at least she was spinning before the freeze. Eventually I'll get through the women and then move on to the dudes. There's just so much to talk about! Make a pot of tea, this'll take awhile. Also, check out the Degrassi Digest for more insight and entertaining information from a nice dude who also likes cats.

Lucy Fernandez: Maaaan she gets tall. For awhile it was her poofy hair and big clothes that escalated her small frame, understandably for starting out Jr. High, but then she grows and inversely her clothes shrink. At first she seems kind of annoying but there are moments when you realize she may have something going for her, like before the first dance in Jr. High she is awaiting her friends arrival to her place and is lounging on a IKEA looking couch reading some big book about something important in history and looks quite contented despite the parents being nary seen. At that moment it hits: wow, she's kinda cool. She makes some bad decisions, but we all do, so she gets forgivable hugs.

Caitlin Ryan: She's always been interested in issues such as pollution, no nukes, and unfairness to her fellow students, but at the risk of having no idea what she's getting into other than "it's wrong dammit!!!!" Then she is enlightened to how there are two sides to the story. Dammit Caitlin pay attention! Her hair gets larger with age, probably from teasing from increased confidence/ego, and her mouth is quite small but seems to be making sound quite often even though I swear it's closed most of the time. Apparently the producers think she's hot cause dudes of Degrassi got it for her and she gets the pre-credit screen freeze quite a number of times but maaaaan she got bad taste in men. Probably related to her jumping on issues before all the facts are calculated. She gets unsure hugs because she'll be questioning each and every hug you share for many years.

L.D.: Holy shit L.D. is that awesome tomboy you want to hang out with. She reminds me of the member of Mika Miko who looks like her which is bonus because that band is awesome live, on LP/7-inch, and on youtube video. Bad shit happens with LD but I think it'll make her stronger in the long run and she has some good friends (see: Lucy Hernandez above). In the first season of Jr. High she rides a road bike, but then in the second season it's a mountain bike. What happened? Maybe it's just something I don't understand about the Canadian terrain. She gets hugs for life because you know that each one is totally meant genuinely.

Alexa (?): She thinks before she speaks but that doesn't work like you'd think it should after being told "think before you speak." She gets the new hunk at Jr. High by profiting briefly as the slutty dressed one and holds onto him because he's too nice to not know better. Girls fawn over her man but damn is he dedicated to her. Too bad she'd dump him for a heavier set of muscles and a slightly more chiseled chin. Complete bait for the big shoulder pads in the 80's. She gets hugs because you cannot think of how to get out of it without hurting her feelings and anyway she'll analyze each hug and become emotional about them. Don't worry, the next hug is not far away, she's easily forgiving cause she thrives on the inter-arms experience.