Degrassi High: Helping Canadians through puberty for a quarter century

Wake up in the mornin', gotta get up early, gotta face a day at school…

As a confused adolescent growing up in the cultural vacuum that was the late 80's and early 90's, many kids struggled to find their identities, make friends, fight peer pressure and social limitations and still keep it together enough to graduate from high school.

But no group of kids overcame diversity as well, or as often, as the kids of Degrassi Street. It was at Degrassi High that thousands of Canadian youngsters and teens learned about a full spectrum of issues from suicide and drug abuse, to HIV/AIDS and abortion. It came at a pinnacle point in television history; without Degrassi, kids would have been left with only their parents and the lack-luster lessons learned on Saved by the Bell to get them through the tough times.

The cast of Degrassi HighDegrassi was, and still is, a pretty risqué series in the US; Degrassi: the Next Generation is actually filmed in such a way that the scandalous parts can be edited out. But here in Canada people understand that unlike its Saved by the Bell counterpart, it's okay if a problem isn't solved in half an hour with a cheesy elevator tune and a hug. Canadian kids want heavy social commentary, and we don't always want a happy ending.

In the episode “Showtime Part 1”, Claude commits suicide in the boy's bathroom, and Snake finds the body. In “Bad Blood”, Joey has an AIDS scare when he gets in a fight with the infected bully, Duane. Would Kelly and Zack ever deal with abortion? Taking acid and walking off a bridge? No way — the worst thing that ever happens at Bayside is Johnny the famous guy pressuring Kelly to smoke pot at a party their senior year. Puh-lease. By grade 12, Wheels was an alcoholic, Erica had an abortion, Spike had a baby and got thrown out of school, and Tess had gotten her ass kicked by an abusive boyfriend. I wonder how Mr. Belding would have handled Slater giving Jesse Spano a black eye. Not as well as Mr. Raditch, that's for sure.

September 20 marks the official 25th anniversary of Degrassi High, and while there is a huge spatial gap between the Degrassi movie, School's Out, and the newest generation of students attending the Toronto high school on Degrassi: the Next Generation, the show has never actually been off the air, and has been in fact thriving as a cult classic series with a huge underground following. Kids are still rushing home from school all over the country to see what Clutch, Joey, BLT, Lucy and the rest of the gang are going to have to deal with this week. There are likely even a few over 20's that are still secretly TiVo-ing episodes to watch after class, and an enormous group of kids watching the Next Generation as religiously as their older brother watched the original.

Every Canadian in the 20-35 age demographic probably owes at least some of their balanced upbringing to Degrassi, and in another 10 years, when the Next Generation viewers are doctors and teachers instead of crack addicts and 30-year old squeegee kids, we can thank Degrassi for raising yet another era of fine Canadian citizens.

Thanks to Degrassi, Ruth Swanson is comfortable with her opinion. If you disagree, email her at overcaffinated@hotmail.com

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