“Whatever It Takes, I Know I Can Make It Through”

These are the words and lyrics to one of the famous shows loved by many, the show people can’t seem to get enough of and the show people want back, that show ladies and gentlemen is Degrassi!!

Starting the journey with The Kids of Degrassi Street we watched and witness the growth of teens transitioning into Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, introduced and welcomed the newer and Next Generation of the Next Class, following them through the highs and lows of their lives while also getting to know each and every character individually.

Some relatable and some not as much, but each one held a story that made an impact most of us would remember. Stories like Joey and Caitlin’s relationship, Spike’s (Christine) pregnancy, Jimmy’s changing life experience, the life of J.T. Yorke and so many other moments and memories from all the generations.

It’s crazy to see just how much this series has grown and expanded over the years with it originally premiering back in the late 70’s with the Kids of Degrassi Street, continuing on up until 2017 with Degrassi Next Class.

Being able to watch all these different generations from the show and seeing how different or similar some of the characters are from the previous timelines of Degrassi is incredible!!

Not only that, but the storylines from the series and the way they were able to restyle some of the topics that were expressed back in the late 70’s, 80’s and even early 90’s, to then bring them front and center for real life generations of this decade, is something worth admiring.

In the times where these topics were building, not many people felt comfortable speaking upon these topics because of how real and sensitive they were, so for the creators and writers of Degrassi to create an environment within a show that tackles, things like:

Teen pregnancy, drugs, mental disorders, self harm, different kinds of abuse and even tough situations like suicide as well as situations dealing with certain disabilities is quite fascinating because it wasn’t something that was seen often.

Now if you couldn’t already tell, just by everything i’ve stated, i’ve been pretty interested in all thing Degrassi lately and when I say interested I mean obsessed, i’m not ashamed to admit it, what can I say it’s a good show, that you can’t help, but get invested in.

Whenever I watch an episodes of Degrassi, I have this thing where I like to read the comment section and one of the comments had someone saying how even though Degrassi was very popular in Canada (Canada being it’s home place) over here in the states it was pretty much like a rare gem, because we didn’t really get or have shows like Degrassi, the formula it had to it and everything about it was just……

Let’s just say it’s hard to put into words……it was just different, different in a good way, it was that kind of show that coming across it, you’d be really curious to what it was about and you couldn’t help, but be drawn to it in some way, it’s just a really well put together kind of show.

You could tell just how dedicated the writers and everyone was with this show or series shall I say and how much it meant to them. You can always pick up on that kind of thing, even if shows like Degrassi aren’t really your thing, it’s nice knowing you can still appreciate everything about it!!

Watching every episode of it so far has been pretty intense firstly, but also very interesting and entertaining as well……the intense are of course the episodes and how they’re laid out and the interesting is everything else, with the different styles all the characters had to them, Spike with her famous hair, Joey and his fedora and Hawaiian shirts, all the different personalities from all the generations, just everything!!!

The 70’s and 80’s of Degrassi High and Junior High have more of a darker tone to it compared to The New Generation and New Class, however with New Generation and New Class, you also get those serious topics that you would from Degrassi High and Junior High, just in different ways of course.

When it come to The Kids of Degrassi Street however, well they start you off with the basics of when you’re a kid, some examples: A new family moves to town, a friend moves away, having crushes stuff like that…..Kids of Degrassi Street also tackle serious topics, but it’s not as full forced as it would be with the other versions of the show, which in a way is a good thing, because it would be really odd if it was like the other versions.

I always found decades like the 70s, 80’s and 90’s so fascinating……when you look back to those time whether you were apart of it or you just learned about it, you’ll notice a lot of different things from those decades compared to now, that you don’t really see much of anymore.

For example: The choice of clothing everyone wore, you’ll notice how comfortable, yet unique they were, which I love by the way!! Then you have the different sayings, such as Broomhead (which is another way to call someone an idiot) however I think it was in the show where that saying was used a lot…..not really sure if that was a popular saying back then……

Side Note: I noticed in the show that the word alright was used a lot, but I know that has nothing to do with the 80’s, just felt like pointing that out.

Compared to the different styles of today though and the different sayings and slangs they used, you’ll realize just how much everything’s evolved from within the time span of those times…….it’s just mad how much it’s changed since then!! I always wondered what it’d be like to experience the 80’s and 70’s and that in certain ways, with having to wear the kind of clothes they wore, speaking the way they did, even the school dances……

I know that’s random, but seriously what was that like!? The hairstyles they’d have too…..it’s just interesting to think about you know!?

I was born mid 90’s, but I didn’t really get to embrace the 90’s like how most people did, I know the fashion choices were pretty out of this world though, but other than that, didn’t really get to embrace it properly. I did get to experience part of the 80’s once…….that was something……sorry i’m getting a little lost in the nostalgia of decades that I haven’t really experienced.

The closes i’d say to me experiencing decades like the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s is the music really, I love old music……speaking of music, how about we talk more on Degrassi a bit, specifically it’s theme songs, both Degrassi High and Junior High’s theme were quite something, in the best way of course!!

At times at least……it’s actually pretty funny when you think about, because ahhh man was it both great and not at the same time……when you watch those old episodes of Degrassi High and Junior High, you’ll notice just how upbeat and peppy the theme was, I mean you have this very serious show that is Degrassi right and you would think because of the way the show is, the theme would fit with it……NOPE not at all, it’s really odd……

Knowing the kind of show Degrassi is and going back and hearing the theme that it had at one point and how joyful it was, you would think you were watching a whole different show until it starts.

There’s so many different moments in certain episodes where it’s extremely sad and very serious and you get to the ending of them, thinking the theme would stay put and not be heard for that specific episode……yet it plays anyway and you find yourself listening to a very cheerful Degrassi theme, while saying to yourself, “I don’t think that was the best way to end the episode or the episode could’ve done without the cheerful music at the end”

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It was great though, I loved it, but it just came in so awkward at times……at least it was very catchy and let’s not forget they did bring us a new and improved Degrassi theme, now we can sit back in nostalgia and relive all the amazing Degrassi themes, how lucky are we!?

We even get to relive that famous bonus track by The Zit Remedy (a.k.a The Zits for a short while, until they went back to their original band name)

Final Thoughts: Now at season 3 of Degrassi: The Next Generation, I gotta say I don’t really know what made me want to watch the older versions from back then, but i’m glad I did look into them, because not only was it nice watching all those versions, but it gives you this whole yearbook on how the show came together, having everything make so much more sense compared to if you just watched it from Next Generation or New Class…..

Going back and looking to where it all first began, you then get bits and pieces added to the rest of the Degrassi series where you get to know all about the previous characters and what they were like and how they did things and just so much more and I think that’s great!! Watching the episodes now and seeing characters like Spike, Snake, Joey, Caitlin, Mr Raditch and others from the Degrassi High and Junior High series……

Seeing how they are now in Next Generation, is both crazy and pretty cool at the same time!! You’ve watched them as one personality for so long and then you see what they’re like older and it’s like, you can’t believe it……some you can see have stayed the same in some ways and there’s others who have changed a bit, but still have a bit of that personality that they did back in Junior High and Degrassi High and it’s just mad!!

I love how looking back at those series you can think to yourself “ahhh so that’s how that happen, I get it now” it makes you feel like you’re apart of it and shows like that stay memorable.

All The Love ❤ ❤

~Lexa~