"Degrassi Junior High" (1987) TV series 1987-1991

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Creators:

Kit Hood
Linda Schuyler

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

18 January 1987 (Canada)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Plot:

The lives and trials of students of a city high school.

Plot Keywords:

Identical Twins | School Life | Soap | Junior High School | Teenage Boy

Awards:

10 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Pat Mastroianni	...	Joey Jeremiah (59 episodes, 1987-1991)
Stefan Brogren	...	Archibald 'Archie' 'Snake' Simpson (54 episodes, 1987-1991)
Neil Hope	...	Derek 'Wheels' Wheeler (50 episodes, 1987-1991)
Dan Woods	...	Mr. Raditch (43 episodes, 1987-1991)
Stacie Mistysyn	...	Caitlin Ryan (38 episodes, 1987-1991)
Duncan Waugh	...	Arthur Kobalewscuy (38 episodes, 1987-1991)
Angela Deiseach	...	Erica Farrell (37 episodes, 1987-1991)
Anais Granofsky	...	Lucy Fernandez (36 episodes, 1987-1991)
Maureen Deiseach	...	Heather Farrell (36 episodes, 1987-1991)
Siluck Saysanasy	...	Yick Yu (36 episodes, 1987-1991)
Sara Ballingall	...	Melanie Brodie (36 episodes, 1987-1990)
Irene Courakos	...	Alexa Pappadopoulos (36 episodes, 1987-1991)
Amanda Stepto	...	Christine 'Spike' Nelson (35 episodes, 1987-1991)
Rebecca Haines	...	Kathleen Mead (33 episodes, 1987-1991)
Michelle Goodeve	...	Karen Avery (32 episodes, 1987-1990)
Michael Carry	...	Simon Dexter (29 episodes, 1988-1991)
Cathy Keenan	...	Liz O' Rourke (27 episodes, 1988-1991)
Maureen McKay	...	Michelle Accette (25 episodes, 1988-1991)

Also Known As:

"Degrassi High" (USA) (new title)
"Degrassi" (Canada: French title) (dubbed version)
"Degrassi, 25e anniversaire" (Canada: French title) (rerun title)
"Degrassi, Old School" (USA) (rerun title)

Runtime:

30 min (70 episodes)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Centennial College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Playing With Time

Trivia:

The school used in the first three seasons was Daisy Avenue Public School, now called Vincent Massey Public School. At the time a private school was operating on the first floor, Degrassi was mostly shot on the second floor and the ground gym floor was used for the school dances and the science fair in one episode. The front entrance was also used when the private school was not in session. The school is located in Toronto on Daisy Avenue. The same hallway on the second floor was used in all the scenes that featured characters by their lockers, different camera angles and locker configurations were used to give the allusion of various different hallways. The Dundas street public school was used for the background shots and was also used in The Kids of Degrassi Street. The school used for Degrassi High was a teachers college and is now part of Centennial College.

Quotes:

Joey Jeremiah: It's the Classic Case of the four J's, Joey Jeremiah and his Jean Jacket.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "On the Waterfront: (#2.4)" (1989)

Wake up in the morning, Want to watch Degrassi, But I have to go to school...

It is truly a shame I wasn't a teenager in the 80's. I was too young when this show was first being aired, and I have to depend on those reruns.

Anyway, this is by far the best television teenage drama series I have ever seen.

The actors portraying the characters were around the same age as the characters, making it realistic, unlike many series for teens.

It dealt with real life situations teenagers face in realistic ways. There are not very many television shows for teenagers I can actually say that about. In fact, I don't think that there was any problems which weren't covered. Drug abuse, sex, sexual orientation, teenage pregnancy, abortion, dating, alcohol abuse, AIDS, stress, depression and suicide, death in the family, racism, sexism. We all felt the tension when Spike found signs of pregnancy, ending in her famous line "Mum, I'm pregnant". We all had sympathy for Wheels, when his (adoptive) parents died and how he dramaticly changed since then, ending in the tragedy in School's Out, in which he kills a small child from drunk driving (his parents having been killed from drunk driving) and is last seen in prison. We all had different reactions and attitude's towards Claude's suicide. We also all had different reactions and attitudes towards Heather's abortion. We all yelled "I knew that would happen eventually!" when Simon and Alexa got married at the end of School's Out. I could go on.

I hope Degrassi continues airing from generation to generation.