Hey everyone!!

With Thanksgiving only a couple of days away, I’ve been swamped with all sorts of work stuff and will be for the rest of the week.  And with Degrassi on hiatus in the U.S. until 2010 and possibly(?) on CTV too (I’m getting conflicting reports now), I figure now is a good time to take a quick break from the site.

I’ll be back on December 1st.  By then I’ll have FINALLY gotten to watch “Holiday Road” and “Start Me Up.” 

ALSO, don’t forget TeenNick will be airing its “Ghost of Degrassi Past” minis this Friday, 11/27.  Once it airs I’m sure any related video content will be found at the ACESOnline youtube. :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

As of tonight (11/20/09) Season 9 of Degrassi is over in the U.S., and won’t return until sometime in 2010.  But that doesn’t mean we won’t get any new stuff over holidays.

Starting next Friday (11/27/09) TeenNick will air at least Part One of a special holiday mini called “Ghost of Degrassi Past.”  And who better to make a guest appearance than JT YORKE!!!  He’ll be the ghost that helps Holly J stop acting like a bitch during Christmas.

I don’t know about you, but I’m so happy to see his freakin’ face.  I really hope his penis pump makes a cameo too.  You can check out the two 15-second promos for the holiday special below:

Season 9 has been really good so far, but this is the week I’ve kinda been dreading.  That’s because Holiday Road and Start Me Up don’t look or sound even remotely interesting.  Three things I’m hoping for:

1) Emma stops acting like an emotionless robot.
2) Peter either relapses or is tempted to relapse with his meth addiction.
3) I’m hoping these episodes prove me wrong, and end up being good.

Holiday Road
Emma and Kelly make a pit stop at Degrassi while on their Cross Country Bike Adventure. Emma is going to have the best summer as long as she can keep her huge secret from her parents, Snake and Spike.

Start Me Up
Peter needs cash for university next year. Opening a club above the Dot is a great solution as long as he’s able to stay clear of temptation.

[WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

I had to watch Heart Like Mine twice, because I was torn on how I felt about this episode the first time around.  I’m sure many people will disagree, but I thought this episode was pretty average, mainly because I felt it wasn’t ________ enough:

*KC and Jenna finally getting together wasn’t interesting enough.
*Coach Carson was creepy, but not creepy enough.
*The gun scene was intense, but not intense enough.

Is this the last we'll see of Clare and KC as a couple? I HIGHLY doubt it.

Everyone knew that KC and Clare would break up in this episode, leaving the door open for KC and Jenna to get together.  Now Clare has always been labeled as a *stiff* girl who needs to lighten up, but her attitude in this episode was completely justified given the fact Jenna’s been trying to get with KC since day one.

Then once KC and Jenna got together at the sports banquet, it felt anticlimactic.  Even when the two were making out in Coach’s hotel room I wasn’t feeling it.  Maybe it’s because I’m not totally convinced we’ve seen the last of the KC/Clare relationship.

No, Coach didn't rape KC...he made him watch porn instead.

And speaking of Coach, his level of creepiness was steady throughout the episode, but at the same time it wasn’t as high as I expected it to be.  His actions (getting KC drunk and watching porn with him, showing KC his gun, and hiring a hooker for KC) made him look more like a perverted loser than anything.  I get that the point of the plot was that Coach Carson is an adult KC could FINALLY say he had a bond with, and then Coach would break that trust with his irresponsibility…but maybe I was looking for an awkwardness within the relationship that would make KC afraid of Coach instead of being disgusted and angry with him.

I'm betting $1 million that TeenNick will overhype their "Heart Like Mine" promo by throwing in this shot of KC with the gun.

The most intense scene in Heart Like Mine also ended up being the most disappointing as well.  I wasn’t sure where things were going at the end when KC took the gun out of Coach’s car, but when KC ran into Clare in the hallway with the gun in his bag, my heart stopped.  I instantly had flashbacks to Season 4′s Time Stand Still,as well as the old Degrassi High episode Showtime, in which one of the characters killed himself with a gun in the Degrassi washroom.

Of course all the intensity was drained when KC didn’t hurt himself, didn’t confront Coach with the gun and only ended up showing it to Ms. Hatzilakos to get Coach arrested.  In the end it felt like there were so many routes this episode could’ve taken and there were so many emotions to play with, but they decided to play it safe.

#ThingsILearnedFromDegrassi If you need to unwind before the big game, just hang out at your Coach's shady hotel room with beers and a $10 hooker. (for @DTNG_UNCENSORED)

My initial grade for Heart Like Mine was a C.  It wasn’t a bad episode by any means, it just didn’t grab me like most of the other episodes in Season 9 have.  However, the fact there was a hooker in this episode (which makes me LOL thinking about it) and Sam Earle’s acting was AMAZING in the final five minutes, it gets a little bit of a boost.

“HEART LIKE MINE” MAIN PLOT GRADE: C+

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SUBPLOT A

What did Marco write on the chalkboard behind him? "Dylan is a jackass" a thousand times.

Marco returns to Degrassi, but this time he’s a student teacher.  It’s been a while since we’ve seen Marco, and while it’s good to see him get a storyline that DOESN’T involve his sexuality or him whining in general, it was still mediocre at best.

Basically he learns that he needs to be the students’ teacher and not their friend when Holly J tries to get him to give her and Declan extensions for their paper.  As much as I’m loving Holly J these days, isn’t she kind of OOC in this plot?  She’s the studious, organized, intelligent girl in charge of everything and she’s suddenly trying to slack off on work?

Yawn.  Apparently Adamo Ruggiero is trying to land himself a future gig if what he’s doing right now (wearing fancy hats and eating cheetos with Lauren Collins) doesn’t work out and there’s a Degrassi The Next NEXT Generation.

“HEART LIKE MINE” SUBPLOT A GRADE: D+

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SUBPLOT B

Fiona is a pretty girl who pretty much sucks at singing.

There’s something not quite right about Declan and Fiona…they were thrown into a lame subplot.  Declan’s found himself involved in activities at Degrassi, while Fiona is still a loner.  She decides to audition for the school musical, and Declan (who’s in charge of casting) gives her the part despite her not being able to sing…at all.

What?  Someone at Degrassi who doesn’t have some sort of musical talent?  This plot seemed like more of a way to give the new kids some screen time, especially Annie Clark, who needs to work a bit more on not delivering Fiona’s lines so awkwardly.

When Sav, of all people, delivers the subplot’s funniest line (Jane’s Aunt) and the highlight of it is Anya casually referencing LARPing (which made me stoked to see that Degrassi IS committed to continuity this season), you know you’re in trouble.

“HEART LIKE MINE” SUBPLOT B GRADE: D+

[WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

NO relationship on Degrassi goes untested.  Somebody is the followup to Waiting For A Girl Like You, and puts and interesting roadblock between Declan and Holly J’s future together.

If you haven’t noticed by now, Holly J is a very smart, organized overachiever.  In this episode she’s in the running to earn a high-profile business mentorship.  How is she going to balance all of the work as well as a boyfriend?

Holly J skipping school? Girl must have it bad.

I give kudos to Degrassi for taking this plot in a slightly different direction than I would’ve guessed.  Declan convinced her to skip class so they could spend the day hanging out, so I thought the story would be about her losing focus and letting all of her responsibilities slip because she was too busy being stuck on Declan.

Instead, it involves a mini scandal of sorts.

Holly J is a lock to win the mentorship until she finds out Declan’s mom is one of the judges…and Holly J tells his mom they’re dating.  Fear of having an “unfair” advantage forces Holly J to withdraw, but she still manages to win the mentorship anyway.

Ummm......LOL

…and when they call her name, where do they find her? Backstage, getting hot and heavy with Declan.

Despite the public embarrassment, Declan’s mom lets Holly J keep the mentorship…but she can no longer see Declan.

This was obviously a filler episode so there was no doubt that Holly J and Declan would both end up together, and Holly J would also get to keep her mentorship.  One of the greatest things about this plot was that Holly J was unwilling to have a secret relationship where they’d have to sneak around to be together; it was either be out in the open about it, or nothing at all.

Things end happily ever after...for now.

The dynamics of their relationship still baffles me, because their wasn’t very much development between the two before they became a couple to begin with.  But what else is new? Though Degrassi has focused too much on relationships over the past few seasons, this plot was still pretty good.  Their coupling doesn’t seem contrived.  As a matter of fact, most of the relationship stuff in Season 9 has better than what we’ve been used to.  I think back to say Season 8 when Peter and Mia got together quickly; the difference in the quality of writing is so much better now it’s not even funny.

“SOMEBODY” MAIN PLOT GRADE: B

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SUBPLOT

Connor and Dave may be corny, but watching their friendship is cool.

Dave gives me another reason to love him.

It’s a relatively simple subplot, but interesting nonetheless.  Connor and Dave are friends and things get rough between them as Connor’s weirdness conflicts with Dave’s desire to be accepted by the cool guys on the basketball team.

It was disappointing to see Dave basically tell Connor to his face that having a “rep” with the team was more important than their friendship.  However, he redeemed himself x1000 after Ethan made fun of Connor in front of their teammates, and little Dave got up in his face about it.  Even more importantly, Dave gave Connor a confidence boost and convinced him to not quit the team.

Dave confronts Ethan, who was mocking Connor.

The only issue I have about this plot is that KC didn’t defend Connor like Dave did, considering KC and Connor are much closer.  Either way, Dave is awesome. The end. 

“SOMEBODY” SUBPLOT GRADE: B+

[WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Game...set...match? Hardly.

It seems like it’s been a while, but Declan returns to the forefront in Waiting For A Girl Like You.  His objective this time around: win the heart of Holly J.

I have to admit, I enjoyed the chess match Declan and Holly J played with each other.  Holly J refused to immediately fall for Declan’s charm, so he was forced to work twice as hard.

Now there were several things that sort of kept throwing off my perception of this episode.  First, it’s very weird Holly J was entertaining the thought of dating Declan despite being full aware of his player status.  Heck, during the episode she found out Declan was still dating Trish…this was after Declan had layed it on extra thick for Holly J.

It's kinda hard for Declan to mack on Holly J when his GIRLFRIEND (Trish) is standing right there.

The second (and most confusing) issue was how they were trying to portray Declan.  We, the viewers, only know him as a guy who goes through women like it’s nothing.  He takes pride in chasing and conquering them.  Now suddenly we’re supposed to do a 180 on our opinions and suddenly feel sympathy for him because he had his heart broken in the past?

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE bad-boy Declan.  The idea that his motives aren’t always what they seem is intriguing.  However, the transition from straight up player to guy with genuine feelings was a little too quick for me.

Declan puts his heart on the line.

But that didn’t stop me from enjoying the scene where Declan locks Holly J in the soundbooth and tells her how he really feels.  I’ve developed a soft spot for Holly J…she’s matured so much from her annoyingly bitchy days in Season 7, making any storyline about her worth watching.

As for Declan and Holly J as a couple? I was indifferent before, and this episode didn’t really make a case for me to be for or against them.  It was still a solid episode though.  Really my only concern is that they’ll essentially “neuter” Declan’s character, like they did Peter in Seasons 5 and 6 because they couldn’t figure out what to do with him.

“WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU” MAIN PLOT GRADE: B-

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SUBPLOT

"Dear Leia, Please break up with Danny...and DIE. Mmmkay? Thanks." -Chantay

Danny and Leia drama? Ugh.

I don’t know why I was optimistic about this storyline.  Maybe it’s because I thought they might ACTUALLY expand on Leia and/or Danny’s character a bit.  Not so much.

Instead, they infused Chantay into the situation, by having her work to break up the troubled couple.  With Danny seeming uninterested in Leia, Chantay tells Leia to break up with him, so he’ll miss her and come running back to her…therefore putting the spark back in their relationship.

Well that doesn’t work…and Danny asks Chantay out instead (which is what she secretly wanted all along).  Let’s face it:  Danny and Chantay will be as useless of a couple as Danny and Leia were.

Does anyone ACTUALLY care that Danny and Leia broke up? Latin is more interesting than they could ever be.

Seeing promos pics they obviously shot footage of Danny and Leia breaking up for good outside The Dot…problem is they never actually used any of it in the final cut.  The only good that came out of this subplot was the fact that Chantay, who has been on Degrassi since Season 4, FINALLY gets a plot that heavily involves her.

“WAITING FOR A GIRL LIKE YOU” SUBPLOT GRADE: D

[WARNING: THIS EPISODE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Beat It was the most anticipated episode of the season for me.  First off, its main plot is about Riley’s sexuality, a storyline with amazing potential that was randomly dropped in Season 8.  Secondly, this episode was directed by Stefan Brogren…though he’s produced Degrassi minis and Degrassi Goes Hollywood (all of which were amazing), Beat It is the first REGULAR episode he has ever directed.

It didn’t disappoint in the least.  I’m actually having a hard time right now thinking of any episode that is as all-around amazing (aka all of its plots were great) as Beat It.

Taking lifeguard training, Riley is immediately attracted to the instructor, Sam.  That’s kinda obvious when he gets a boner while watching Sam give a doll CPR.  LOLZ before the opening credits?  This episode can’t fail.

Yo Riley I'mma let you finish, but Spinner Mason had the best Degrassi boner of all time!!!

Riley tried to "de-gay" himself by attempting to sleep with Fiona. Thankfully, Fiona is too smart for that.

Riley continues to struggle with his sexuality, and the difficulties of balancing faking being straight in front of everyone and suppressing his desires.  Degrassi takes a far different approach with Riley than they did Marco, who simply wanted to keep his sexuality a secret at first.  Riley doesn’t want to be gay AT ALL, and takes actions to “get rid of the gayness.” He fails at doing so after trying to sleep with Fiona, then after they break up he can’t seal the deal with Chantay either.

Degrassi does a fantastic job of pacing the episode and the stages of the emotions Riley goes through.  It’s amazing to watch him gradually become more nervous and aggressive, ending Part 1 after Riley punches Sam because he casually asks Riley if he’s gay (it’s revealed earlier in the episode that Sam is gay too).  Another great element to this storyline is Peter’s presence as Riley’s supportive friend.  It’s only appropriate that Peter be the first person Riley vocally admits he’s gay to.

Marco's sexuality plot in "Pride" is one of Degrassi's best plots ever, and Riley's plot in "Beat It" was even better. Wow.

I noticed that Argiris Karras’ acting is at its best whenever Riley is anxious or angry.  Whenever he’s calm it feels like Argiris is forcing his lines, but he’s on the mark in Part 2 since Riley spends most of the episode frustrated.  From contemplating “gay therapy” to the climactic confrontation with Sam, Riley’s emotional, self-hating attitude brings back that genuine feel to Degrassi…something that hasn’t been around much since Season 4.

BEAT IT MAIN PLOT GRADE: A+

**********************

SUBPLOT A

Has anyone noticed how more mature Anya looks this season?

If you think this subplot is dumb because it involves LARPing, then you completely missed the point.  The theme was simple, and one everybody can relate to.  Tired of being a Studz groupie, Anya has been doing her own thing lately.  She’s involved in Live Action Role Playing after school, but lies and tells Sav she’s taking self defense instead because she knows he’ll just make fun of her.

Samantha Munro has always kinda just been “there,” but I really like her acting in this episode.  When shes LARPing, you can actually tell a difference in Anya’s confidence level compared to all of her previous appearances on the show.

The "happy" ending kinda seeme like a cop out, but not so much since there will be more Sav/Anya drama in the future.

I didn’t particularly like how the plot ended so happily with Sav at Anya’s “wedding,” given the fact they butted heads the entire time leading up to that point.  Either way, I’m just really hung up on how great this plot’s message is: just because you think something’s dumb it doesn’t make it any meaningless to someone else.  Heck, we all have that “thing” we love that everyone else around us thinks is dumb: what a coincidence, mine happens to be Degrassi.

“BEAT IT” SUBPLOT A GRADE: A

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SUBPLOT B

Dave has become the new FUN guy to watch on Degrassi.

This must be stated: Dave is awesome.  He bursts onto the scene out of nowhere and ever since he’s delivered simple comedic entertainment…how sad is it he’s funnier than Danny and Derek ever were combined?

Dave becomes the man after hitting the game winning shot during a Degrassi basketball game.  He uses this opportunity to ask out Jenna, who agrees.  This subplot is so cleverly written…Dave’s crush on Jenna is really just a smokescreen for the plot’s true purpose. 

Why did Jenna go out with him? Because they were going to the fair, and KC and Clare would be there. 

She openly tells Clare she wants to be friends with a guy before dating them…like KC. (oops)

Get where I’m going with this?

Do NOT let Jenna's tears fool you. Behind them is a girl patiently waiting to sink her claws into KC.

Hints are thrown left and right throughout this subplot that Jenna wants KC, and plans to steal him from Clare. 

I love how Degrassi has been setting up this future love triangle without anything big actually happening yet.  Its combination of subtle and not so subtle hints (ranging from Jenna’s comments about KC to the look of confusion/concern on Clare’s face) are making me excited for Heart Like Mine.  Degrassi’s come such a long way to make KC/Clare’s relationship more entertaining, considering it seemed so juvenile in Season 8.  Well done.

“BEAT IT” SUBPLOT B GRADE: A+