Degrassi: The Next Generation Season 6. Out tomorrow. Surprisingly engaging! (******6/10)
My memory is spotty when it comes to the first incarnation of Degrassi. Oh, I remember that Joey Jeremiah character with his funny hat, and Snake and Wheels and the hot chicks - Spike and Caitlin. And I remember I hated watching that show. Not so much because I didn’t like it, but because every single show dealt with a controversial subject and high school-age children. And after the show was over, my mom would try to get me to talk about it. “What do you think about abortion?” she would say. And I would squirm and fidget and try to escape to my room. I don’t know! I’m ten years old. I have no opinion on abortion yet. I liked the character in the show who had one, so I’m…pro-abortion? Can I go now?
Degrassi: The Next Generation, Season 6, is out on DVD May 27th from Alliance Films. And I just watched it. My recollection of the original being suspect as it is, I have no idea how this new one measures up. And perhaps my hindsight is from the perspective of a ten-year-old, and that is colouring my opinions some, but this new version of Degrassi seems watered down. And it seems more…Hollywood, I guess. For one thing, this new Degrassi stars way more hot chicks. WAY more. I think I liked the realism of the old show, in that not every girl was a knockout. It was more…real. And the one I remember, Caitlin, was just the really-hot chick in comparison. Like, a real high school.
And sure, this new Degrassi deals with the same stuff as the old one, only a little updated for today’s world. Season Six has episodes that deal with wars over girls, crippled guys trying to have sex, homosexuality, lesbianism, virginity, teen mothers, and - the modern twist - internet nudity. There is even a stabbing and a murder! But somehow this modernized version of Degrassi feels dumbed-down. Most of the actors are good, with a few exceptions, and the writing seems to be as good as ever. And so I can’t quite put my finger on what makes this new Next Generation show miss the mark. I think, and I really mean this, that it is the attractive women. Not only do most of them look too old for high school, but they also look like they come from Central Model Casting. And that gives an air of fakery to the school itself. The old Degrassi students looked like they came from, well, high school. As far as I remember.
That being said, once I put in disc one of Degrassi: The Next Generation Season Six, I had to see the second disc. And the third. I actually got into the show and wanted to see what happened next. I hardly cared about any of the characters, or their motivations or their drama, but the story lines are good and they’ll suck you in! Degrassi! Who would have thought? And I also liked the appearance of Snake from the original series, whose name in this series is … Snake. He’s now a teacher at Degrassi. Named Snake. Well, props to the old school, I suppose. A tip of the hat to that show that once rocked the world, in this one that merely rocked one Thursday afternoon for me.