- I only have two thoughts about this promo: 1) We should start a Degrassi Promo Drinking Game…take a drink every time they show a clip from the Tori/Maya fight ...
DegrassiBlog Spotlight
DEGRASSI HQ Promo Pics: Underneath It All
There were smaller versions of these pics in another blog post, but ...
BREAKING NEWS: DEGRASSI RETURNS MONDAY FEBRUARY 20TH ON TEENNICK | FEBRUARY 24TH ON MUCH
- Well this is…………..strange. But this shall be a blog post with ...
More Degrassi News
Degrassi News 1-23-12
I don’t know what in the world is happening, but last week was the first week in ages where I didn’t have time to check every social media outlet every single day….oh crap, does this mean I’m becoming a real grownup?
Anyway, here’s the most recent Degrassi news to float around Degrassi land:
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Degrassi Nominated for GLAAD Media Award
http://www.glaad.org/mediaawards – Degrassi’s been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for the second straight year. I’m not sure how much of a chance they have to win, but I’m GLAAD (pun intended) that the LGBT community is giving Degrassi recognition.
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Linda Schuyler to be appointed to the Order of Ontario
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120120/012012_Order_ontario/20120120/?hub=CP24Home – It’s the most prestigious honor anyone can receive in Ontario, and Linda’s got it now!! I’m just going to dub her Queen of Ontario. Stephen Stohn is the face/voice of the franchise today, but never forget Linda is the brains behind Degrassi.
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Sam Earle and Spencer Van Wyck Quit Twitter
If anyone cares, Sam and Spencer deleted their twitters….temporarily:
there is one upside to sam earle temporarily leaving twitter no more flirting with @kalieshorrmusic and @lawrasaur—
Jenna Middleton (@SonggBirdJM) January 22, 2012
No one knows when they’ll be back. Part of me wishes the rest of the cast would follow suit…fans would lose their minds and hopefully stop taking the cast for granted.
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Interview Ricardo Hoyos This Wednesday
http://www.muchmusic.com/tv/degrassi/blog/interview-new-degrassi-cast-member-ricardo-hoyos/ – You can submit questions to MuchMusic which they will be asking newcomer Ricardo on Wednesday via twitter. I’m not really sure why we need to submit questions…if I wanna know something about Ricardo, I just ask him myself:
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Degrassi: New Beginnings Promo
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Below are some of the more interesting screenshots, excluding the stuff we’ve already seen (Cake sex, Katie popping pills):
ElFimogen looks to be a giant circle of drama, which I'm kinda excited to see because all three characters can pull off drama pretty darn well.
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Gotta love how there's immediate tension between the new niners, who are split off into two groups: Tori/Tristan and Maya/Zig.
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EClare fans just don't know what to do with themselves seeing as how Imogeli looks imminent.
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Welcome back Connor! He goes from panty stealing to athlete. I wonder if he'll be like he was on the basketball team (being an assistant), or be someone with hidden talent that gets to play.
Degrassi News 1/11/12 [Degrassi Game & Beyond Degrassi]
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Above is the most recent Degrassi pic floating around the internet….Maya Matlin character pic.
There isn’t much Degrassi news…Stephen Stohn is supposed to be announcing the “official” official premiere date for the new episodes before the end of this week….I’d be surprised if it’s anything other than February 24th since no new info has popped up since we discovered that info.
The Degrassi Game has been delayed again, and **might** be released at the end of this week as well….I’m not holding my breath though. Until then I’ll just continue playing through the first four episodes and make edits to my character’s commentary:
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BEYOND DEGRASSI
DJGENERAL from DegrassiPodcasts did another interview with Stephen Stohn the other day, where he talked about Degrassi and The L.A. Complex. I love Stephen Stohn interviews…he just talks and talks and gives us a better look at the behind the scenes stuff than cast members ever could.
PART 1:
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PART 2:
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If you follow the cast on twitter, you’ll see a majority of them talking about how they’re going to auditions, etc. A lot of them do other things, and including Cristine Prosperi who’s in a new series called Totally Amp’d. It’s about a group of teens who are brought together to try and be a superstar pop group. In my head I say this is what Imogen was doing before she came to Degrassi. IMOGEN, I DON’T RECOGNIZE YOU WITHOUT YOUR GLASSES (the first ep is below):
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Well…..after lots of talk, the premiere of The L.A. Complex was last night. Did it live up to the hype?
Honesty, I thought it was pretty good. It’s always a good sign when an hour-long episode of a show flies by because it’s got you engaged. I immediately like Abby (Cassie Steele), Raquel (Jewel Staite) and Tariq (Benjamin Watson). The rest (aka the hot blonde, and the two white guys in the pic above) I could care less about at the moment. Only time will tell if this is a good series…I’ll write a review for it sometime before next week’s episode and I’m also following the show over at my other blog, http://lacomplex.net/.
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The L.A. Complex’s Impact On Degrassi
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It was announced last week that the CW has picked up 6 episodes of Epitome’s new series “The L.A. Complex,” and they will air over the summer. Though it’s a completely different series than Degrassi, its mere existence will have an impact on Degrassi, especially if it manages to be a successful series.
So far reviews from critics have been positive, but that doesn’t really mean much once the show is put out there for the masses to watch. Just as easily as it could be a big hit, it could bomb and get the axe quickly, especially on a network as big as the CW (to be honest, I’m not worried about it on its Canadian broadcaster MuchMusic). But for the sake of argument, let’s just say this show is a mega hit. Here are a couple of ways its success will affect Degrassi:
1) Degrassi’s broadcast schedule will change.
Actually it already has. Both The L.A. Complex and Degrassi are filmed on the same set, so they can’t furiously film everything needed for a Degrassi season in one fell swoop. So chances are we could see the end of fall blocks of Degrassi episodes…or they’ll at least be shorter than 7 or 8 weeks.
So what happens with that gigantic hole we could have without new episodes?
Having a special episode in the fall is good, but if it’s me I’m pretty sure I want more than an hour-long ep to keep fans engaged during a 6-month break (yes I’m looking at you TeenNick, who really has nothing to offer other than what Degrassi gives them…again, MuchMusic has plenty of other new shows running).
When tech issues aren’t causing delays, the Degrassi Game is simply fantastic (big props to Abby Ho and company for producing such entertaining interactive content). A series of Degrassi minis posted to the networks’ websites would be so great (they can be, but don’t *need* to be aired on TV). These days I get sad when I browse around TeenNick’s website because I’m convinced they have no interest in producing extra content the way they did years ago.
Also, content creators within the Degrassi fandom should also being doing more during breaks…myself included. It’s not necessary to do stuff every single day, but at least once a week, seeing as how we’re not bound by broadcast restrictions or anything (which is why I’ve been writing random opinion things lately like this post). The hiatus from September to February isn’t THAT brutal, but it becomes that way because as soon as the show goes on a break, it’s like everyone stops doing everything: no more discussions, site updates, vlogs or crazy creative stuff that makes the fandom fun…it just turns into a barren place where everyone now complains about how unbearable the hiatus is and how they’re losing interest in the show. Just because there isn’t anything new to talk about, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about when it comes to our favorite show.
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2) Degrassi can be a farm system for a major American network.
We all joke about how all of Peter Stone’s girlfriends (formerly played by Shenae Grimes and Nina Dobrev) run off to the CW, and with the arrival of Cassie Steele to the CW this summer we can now change it to “Girls Peter has dated, taken pictures of or videotaped.”
The L.A. Complex’s future success could provide potential possiblities for current/future actors on Degrassi. Unfortunately, not every actor on the show will be able to become a big acting star, and not every actor on the show wants to be a career actor. With the connections they have now I could easily see someone like Melinda Shankar joining the CW for a new series that either them or Epitome has created. I was gonna throw Charlotte Arnold in there too, but she’s better than the CW…I imagine her in a drama on one of the big three networks.
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3) Degrassi to the CW?
The most beneficial aspect to this whole thing is the relationship Epitome has established with the CW. If The L.A. Complex does well, it could open doors for Epitome producing more shows and larger projects…or throwing Degrassi into the national spotlight. Now does Degrassi have a chance to ever jump ship over to the CW? I honestly have no clue….anything’s possible I guess. I’m not sure if Epitome would lobby to get the show on the CW, but if the CW were to make some sort of offer for the rights to the show I’d like to think it might be possible. I don’t know how the whole deal works with MTVN or Viacom or whichever currently holds the show’s American broadcast rights…they could have a deal in place where TeenNick airs Degrassi for all eternity.
But I do know that a change like that would worry me because of the massive gap in expectations between a pointless cable network like TeenNick and one of America’s largest nationwide broadcast networks. Think of it this way: the most viewers Degrassi’s ever pulled on TeenNick is 1.2 million (when they aired Degrassi Takes Manhattan). The second highest was Boom Boom Pow, with just over 1 million viewers. After that Season 11 premiere, Now Or Never’s viewership slowly declined over the 7 weeks, generally pulling in anywhere from 500,000 – 700,000 viewers per episode. And Nowhere To Run had under 500,000. Those are still fantastic numbers for a network like TeenNick, historic actually…but those art the kind of numbers that will get you canned in a heartbeat on the CW when your competition is guaranteed to have 10 times as many viewers. Gah I hate TeenNick (aka I don’t know why they refuse to put effort into the network when Nick, Nick Jr and Nick @ Nite do well), but I also like having a place where Degrassi can be king…such a predicament.
The L.A. Complex premieres tomorrow night (Tuesday, January 10th) at 9pm EST. We should also be hearing about Degrassi’s official return date near the end of the week.
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Degrassi News 1/5/12 [Vote @KaryDegrassi For A Shorty Award and Degrassi Set Pics]
I nominate @KaryDegrassi for a Shorty Award in #blogger because his dedication to the Degrassi fandom can't be matched. bit.ly/shorty—
Erin (@onemarathon) January 05, 2012
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Yay one person nominated me for a Shorty Award!! So I think more people (and by people I mean you) should vote for me. The Shorty Awards recognize those in social media, and the winners get a cool trophy.
There’s quite a few Degrassi related peeps (Munro, Degrassi Experience, Degrassi Nation) receiving votes in other categories, but I want yall to vote for me in the blogger category…seeing as how this is a blog and all. And because Degrassi or someone related Degrassi needs to win an award this year.
CLICK HERE for my voting page: http://shortyawards.com/KaryDegrassi
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And below is my creepy campaign video:
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Stephen Stohn is kinda lonely these days…..so lonely that yesterday he wandered the set of Degrassi and posted pics of its emptiness:
Little Miss Steaks closed for business....how does one eat now?
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Is the janitor off too? The floors look kinda dirty
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The cast's green room...no more pool games or handjobs until March.
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OPINION: The “Death” Of Degrassi Episode Titles
For me there's an emotional connection between the episode titles of older seasons (like Shout) and the plots within them. Nowadays, that connection is virtually nonexistent. The title Cry Me A River has no emotional value to me when I think about the episode's storylines.
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Raise your hand if you’re one of those people who could name off every single Degrassi episode title in order (from Season 1 through now), and also know the exact plots in every one of those episodes.
Not me. Not anymore.
There used to be a time where I knew every episode title in order. Learning of new episode titles was a big deal…the question always being “How do these titles, from 80′s songs, tie into what these episodes’ plots will be?”
It was about Season 6 when I started reaching my limit of remembering every episode title; it became a taxing ordeal to force myself to remember them all. Now that we’re in Season 11? You can forget it, hahah…I mean I do remember most sporadically, but there’s no way I could name off every episode in order like the old days.
Nowadays, I don’t really care about the episode titles anymore. When Stephen Stohn releases titles I no longer jump for joy, then google song lyrics to see potential hidden meanings. This is kind of difficult to explain, but I used to look at the show in three steps:
First you had SEASONS broken down into EPISODES that contain PLOTS.
Degrassi used to be written where plots would primarily be covered in about 1-4 episodes. Ever since Season 10 plots last longer, and now they also span the course of 3 to 5 TIMES as many episodes, because longer seasons allow for the plot timelines to be spread out (ex: the gang storyline was not featured in every episode of Now Or Never, but existed over the course of all 29 episodes before finally being wrapped up ). I can’t remember the name of every episode in which the gang storyline was one of the plots and what happened in every one, but I do remember the storyline details on its own, if that makes sense. Trying to remember every episode title is too much when a plot is focused on for two episodes, takes a break for 4, then resumes for another two. For me, instead of looking at it as episodes, I just focus simply on the storylines.
So now I think of Degrassi in two steps: SEASONS that contain STORYLINES.
People ask me why my list of Top 10 favorite Degrassi episodes is composed of episodes from the older seasons…this is one of the reasons why. There are obvious exceptions, when there are standout episodes like My Body Is A Cage, Chasing Pavements and Extraordinary Machine…but I think of the show now as a collection of storylines, not episodes. When I think about Now Or Never, I think about the best storylines, not necessarily the best episodes. When I review episodes, I always review the plots separately instead of reviewing the episode as a whole because I view the plots as separate entities. I no longer form an emotional connection between the episode title and the episode’s contents.
Now do I think Degrassi episode titles are dead? No. Do I think they should stop giving the episodes titles? Absolutely not…most television shows give every episode a title, even if it’s never displayed after the opening credits like they are on Degrassi. For me, their “death” is that (by no one’s fault) the episode titles are no more valuable than the production codes they give every episode: it’s just part of the job.
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Degrassi’s Spring Block IS NOT Called “All Too Much”
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Last week the teen gossip site Just Jared Jr. reported that Degrassi’s spring block of episodes will be called “All Too Much,” and they posted new sneak peeks from the new episodes.
The only problem is that info is incorrect: All Too Much will not be the name, and the “sneak peeks” they posted aren’t new.
And now another site has posted the same info yesterday, citing Just Jared Jr. as their source.
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This is one of those times where Degrassi fans have an upper hand on gossip sites, because chances are those people aren’t as thoroughly obsessed with the show as we are. This is just a case of them stumbling across info that looks new and voila. Stephen Stohn came out a couple of days later and said the info wasn’t true, but even before that there were immediate hints that gave it away:
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1) These sneak peek clips that they posted are old. They aired a month and a half ago, before Nowhere To Run aired on TeenNick. If “All Too Much” were really the name of the new episodes, it wouldn’t have sat under our noses like this for so long…we would’ve already known.
2) The youtube account that posted the video is shady. They look like a copycat site, because they look like they just rip and re-post promos that ACESONLINE posts on their youtube page. ACES has been manually recording/posting promos for years, so sites like the other one piss me off.
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I forgot to wish everyone a Happy New Year!! Since there’s no real new Degrassi news, here’s what we know headed into this new year:
*New episodes return Friday, February 24th. It still hasn’t been officially confirmed by either network, but this is the date MuchMusic has been using to secure advertisers for the show. We’ll know for absolute sure when the networks release their February highlights in a few weeks.
*Epitome’s set is dead at the moment, so if you’ve mailed letters to the cast expecting autographs/etc., it’s going to take longer than usual. Things will be back in full swing in March: the cast will return for readthroughs in early March, and filming of Season 12 will begin in late March.
*Season 11 will end in May, and Season 12 will begin as usual in mid July. We’re still waiting on the official broadcast schedule of Season 11.5, but it’s looking like we could have a similar situation with In The Cold Cold Night that we did with Spring Fever. I have no earthly idea how Fall 2012 will work out with them filming The LA Complex on set as well, so for now let’s assume it’ll be the same as 2011.
*For fans of the Degrassi mobile game, there is no specific date for its return yet. Episode 5 (which was supposed to be released in November) and Episode 6 (December) have now been delayed until sometime this year. But when it returns there will still be plenty of game to be played: the first “season” of the game contains 8 episodes, so we’ll see episodes 7 and 8 in the coming months after the dual release of episodes 5 and 6. And they’ve already planned to do a second season, so there should be plenty of new episodes throughout this year once they get back on track.
*No clue when the Season 11 boxsets will come out, but assuming it’s the same as last year Part 1 should be out this summer before Season 12 starts, and Part 2 might be out this fall.
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Kary’s Degrassi Nation Awards Wrap-Up
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Tonight was the debut of the 2011 Degrassi Nation Awards (you can watch them here). Last year’s results were insanely predictable, and just plain insane at times (I’m still annoyed that Eli’s hoarding won Best Storyline and “Umbrella” won Best Episode). But how would things fare this year? Below are the results as well as who I voted for:
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Rookie Of The Year
Who won: Cristine Prosperi (Imogen)
Who I voted for: Cristine Prosperi (Imogen)
This one was a no brainer. Imogen is the only one of the 3 new characters to make a decent splash on the show, and Cristine plays her so well. Both Chloe Rose and Justin Kelly’s characters were in such restricted roles, so they didn’t get a chance to show us very much.
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Best Supporting Guest Actor/Actress
Who won: Ramona Milano (Mrs. Torres)
Who I voted for: Jacob Neayam (Mo)
I would’ve never guessed that Ramona would win this category. She is one of the more memorable adult characters, but I thought Jacob did an absolutely phenomenal job in every single appearance he made in 2011. People tend to want every single person on the show to be a major character and have a major plot and be developed in detail, but that’s just not possible. The personality Jacob brought to Mo shows secondary characters are indeed just as capable of bringing A-level entertainment to the show as the power players are.
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Best Crying Moment
Who won: KC & Jenna give up Tyson
Who I voted for: KC & Jenna give up Tyson
There’s not much to say because this one is no contest, and we all know why this is the best crying moment…unless of course you have no soul.
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Song Of The Year
Who won: “Steal Your Heart,” by Augustana
Who I voted for: “Steal Your Heart,” by Augustana
Another no brainer. Acutally this category is almost unnecessary, because the songs used for the extended summer promos will always win this category.
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Storyline Of The Year
Who won: Tyson is put up for adoption
Who I voted for: Tyson is put up for adoption
Every season has a storyline that defines it…this storyline is it for Season 11. I know there’s still a lot of episodes left in S11, but it’s going to be a difficult task to pull off another storyline this season with such superior quality as this one.
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Couple Of The Year
Who won: EClare
Who I voted for: Bhandurner
In 2010, there was a plethora of reasons for EClare to be Couple Of The Year. In 2011? Not so much. By the time In Too Deep began, I was already burned out on EClare (despite that, I thought their storyline was great in Jesus Etc). Though the essence of EClare was the motivation for both Eli and Clare’s separate actions in Season 11, they still weren’t a couple. And most of the Season 10 episodes this year involved them at their wit’s end with each other. And though they had a *moment* in Lose Yourself in Season 11, that’s really the only major standout moment of them together in this current season…because they weren’t a couple. They barely interacted with each other in Season 11.
I almost thought about voting for Drianca, but at the time I submitted my vote no couple in my head made as much sense as Bhandurner. I don’t ship couples very often. But it was refreshing to see a couple like Bhandurner: they were cute together, they had a history, they had chemistry, and most importantly they balanced each other out. With my two favorite couples ever (Sellie and Parcy), the female characters balanced out the male characters and their wild personalities. With Bhandurner it was slightly different: both Alli and Dave have the tendency to be annoying/unlikable as individuals, but worked very well together as a couple…even though their ship sank all of 2 minutes after it set sail.
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Actress Of The Year
Who won: Charlotte Arnold
Who I voted for: Annie Clark
Charlotte Arnold is the best actress on this show and has been for years, but I disagree with her winning Actress Of The Year in 2011. We’re keeping in mind that this award is for an actress’ entire body of work in 2011, which includes the Season 10 episodes in In Too Deep. Charlotte and Annie were always the frontrunners for this award, but for me it basically comes down to two storylines: Fiona’s storyline in Chasing Pavements and Charlotte’s kidney storyline in Season 11. Though Charlotte always does well, I believe Annie delivered a far superior performance in an episode that I consider the best of the year.
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Episode Of The Year
Who won: Extraordinary Machine
Who I voted for: Chasing Pavements
It’s not that I hate Extraordinary Machine. There’s no denying the power of Eli’s monologue or the tears brought by Tyson’s adoption. But to be very blunt, to me Chasing Pavements is the best episode of Degrassi out of all the Season 8, 9, 10 and 11 episodes combined.
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Actor Of The Year
Who won: Munro Chambers
Who I voted for: Munro Chambers
Fangirls may or may not have a gazillion reasons for voting for Munro as the show’s best actor, but for me there’s only one reason: it’s because he IS the best actor on this show. It’s to the point where it’s not even close, and like the show did with Jake Epstein back in the day they give Munro some pretty meaty material to work with. Even though Luke Bilyk and Sam Earle were pretty dang good with their storylines in Now or Never, it still doesn’t come close to Munro…he’s on a completely different level than the rest of the male actors on the show right now.
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*NEW* Degrassi Promo 12/26/11
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Random thoughts about the promo
*IT’S ABOUT TIME they show Katie involved with soccer
*Fiona “could be anybody” in this school year…that could be a very good or very bad thing.
*Jake must be fighting someone because they tried to eat his chicken.
Other than that I have nothing because the promo is extremely vague, and I’m not the kind of person who tries to speculate a gazillion things from nothing. I’ll just wait for more revealing promos after we cross into the new year.
And though no TeenNick or Much promo will say so now, the date for Season 11.5 to start is still Friday, February 24th.
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Merry Christmas From DegrassiBlog.com!
Merry Christmas!! Munro and I share our holiday memory about Santa in the Chambers’ household.
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And for more awesomeness you might as well listen to my Christmas diddy, Little Drummer Drew:
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Download link: http://degrassitv.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/kary-ft-three-tenners-little-drummer-drew.mp3
Written By: Kary Bowser
Vocals: Kary Bowser, Dave Turner
Instruments: Connor DeLaurier, Wesley Betenkamp, Drew Torres
Producer: Kary Bowser, Adam Torres
Engineer: Connor DeLaurier
Recorded at Degrassi CS. Degrassi Media Corp., BOOYAH RECORDS, 2011.
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Eli’s freakin pa rum pa pum pum
Meanwhile Imogen’s creepin pa rum pa pum pum
Watch out Vince has a gun pa rum pa pum pum
Horny Clare go get you some pa rum pa pum pum
pum pa pum pum, pum pa pum pum
Ra pa pum pum I’m the number one son
Kary and the Three Tenners always reppin Canada
Adoption is the only option
Throw your panties at Connor like they’re named Tyson
It’s always “Munro this” and “Munro that”
Hey you remember that? It’s our number 1 track now
I’ve got moves make fangirls swoon
You feel that kick it’s little drummer Drew’s tune
Luke was Young Boss, weak sauce, now he’s reppin our team see yall see yall
Stressin, frettin we’re high steppin Little Drummer Drew so BOOYAH
No me Krewsta pa rum pa pum pum
Senior graduation blues pa rum pa pum pum
Bad stuff happen at every dance pa rum pa pum pum
Long live Mr. Tuxedo Pants pa rum pa pum pum
pum pa pum pum, pum pa pum pum
What’s you’re favorite show Kary? Degrassi
Rest in peace Bhandurner, Cake is effin nasty
Bianca’s life is hard just wanna get a break
And this track was inspired by littlemisssteaks
Zig, Maya, Tristan, don’t forget Tori
New year, new niners, same old story
Teen angst, give thanks, Experience Degrassi
FiFi chic will forever be classy
Fitz will they ever bring him back at all?
Well Marisol said…SHUT UP MARISOL
Degrassi 31 never gets old
So thanks Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn
