I’m not going to watch Smash Into You Pt. 1 tonight (I’m doing the manly thing and watching baseball tonight #GoTwins), so I figured I’d respond to some recent DegrassiBlog comments instead:
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“Kary,
What season do you prefer more, 8 or 11.5? Never did I ever think that I’d find something as cringeworthy as season 8, but I was WRONG!!!!!” (via Aquitar94)
11.5. The most basic answer I can give is that there was only 1 episode worth watching in Season 8 (Heart of Glass). We’ve already had two quality episodes in 11.5: Not Ready To Make Nice and Need You Now.
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“Next, I didn’t think that I would feel the loss of the class of 2011, but I have. I find it completely unbelievable that Katie & Marisol are magically the HBIC’s of Degrassi. A popular guy like Drew thought Marisol was annoying and Katie was barely existent, so how did that happen? It just felt random.” (via Aquitar94)
I agree with this. This crop of seniors feel “off” and just rub me the wrong way…even Fiona (not of her own doing, but the LACK of the writers doing anything with her character). This comment from Nina Shewchuk sums it up well:
“One of the problems is the fact that with Holly J’s class gone, we’re being forced to care about characters we haven’t gotten to know because they haven’t been around long enough to have been developed properly. The same thing happened in season 8–Holly J, Sav, Anya, Jane–these were characters who had just been introduced during the previous season, and with Emma, Spinner, Manny and co. gone, these new kids needed to fill their shoes. The problem was that at that point, we didn’t care about most of them, which is why s8 was so weak. We just weren’t emotionally invested enough in these new characters to care about what happened to them.”
Her comment also made me realize something else. It’s funny how people are saying how much better the Class of 2011 was compared to the characters that are still left on the show; everyone was saying the exact same thing about Holly J and company when they first joined the show, because they were considered inferior to the original TNG cast. And when the current crop of juniors finally graduate people will be saying how much better they were than the characters that are left behind…it’s a never ending cylce of rose-colored commentary, lol.
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“It looks like what they’re doing with the niners is good, but by the time it has any noticeable consequences, it’ll be too late for most of the viewers. The niners have pretty much taken the back-seat and gotten a few little plots so far, so by the time they move up in grades and it’s their time to shine, we’ll at least know a bit about the characters since we’d seen them (although in small roles) back in 11.5” (via Simon)
I don’t buy that it’ll be “too late” for viewers (old fans may leave, but they’ll be replaced with newer ones), but what they’re doing with the niners by slowly introducing them before throwing them into heavy storylines is what they SHOULD be doing with every new character that joins the show.
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“I didn’t really like Now or Never, but it was miles better that what we’ve seen so far of 11.5.
Also, I feel like they’re butchering Fiona’s character in a way…she seems so much older and out of place, and it’s annoying. I wish she had just graduated.” (via iDegrassia)
Fiona is currently my favorite character on the show and it’s a shame that they’re completely wasting her character in 11.5. I guess Holly J truly was her crutch, because so far there’s really no reason for her to be around. I had hopes that with HJ gone we’d get to see Fiona struggle with fitting in and watch her learn to become self reliant, but that lasted for all of about half an episode.
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“I miss class of 2011, too. Degrassi will never stop adding tons of new characters to a cast that is already half-developed—it’s freaking ridiculous! And adding a senior? Okay?” (via iDegrassia)
Degrassi Junior High had a gazillion characters and they did just fine, so generically Degrassi having 20+ characters on the show now or in the future shouldn’t be an issue. There’s two problems though: 1) Degrassi now adds multiple characters with the intentions of them immediately being used as “regulars,” and 2) a lot of fans still hold onto the ridiculous notion that characters basically deserve equal screentime. Not all characters are created equal, and they never will be. But we can all agree that Degrassi needs to do a better job of incorporating new characters into the fold as well as not overdosing fans with a specific character for too long. For example, I’m pretty sure a lot of us got tired and/or annoyed with Clare there for a while because every time we turned around we were being inundated with her plot. But as of me writing this Jake has made an appearance in something like 12 or 13 consecutive episodes. No one is groaning “Oh God there’s Jake playing a support role with a handful of lines again…I’m so tired of seeing him,” because he hasn’t been shoved in our face, down our throats and out through our butts during his streak like the show tends to eventually do with whichever characters are the featured characters of a given season.
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“I agree with you completely. And too add, Degrassi is becoming too soap opera’ish. Way too many love triangles that are so unecessary.” (via Tink)
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“I understand what you’re saying and I could see Drew/Clare too lol if Degrassi used season 12 to focus on teen issues rather than A breaking up with B because they aren’t over C, who is in a love triangle with D & F, who has a gay crush on G, then I’d be VERY pleased.” (via Aquitar94)
Ahhh yes and now we’ve come back full circle to tonight’s episode, which features romantic drama in all three storylines. I should be outraged like everyone else, but I’m not. I think I’m burned out from complaining about how relationship heavy the show is. In theory it really shouldn’t matter because relationship storylines CAN be good, but the show burns through so many of them that we have no reason to have faith in any of them. Sometimes I wonder why fans bother shipping any couple. Whatev, I’ve got more pressing things to think about…like WHERE IN THE WORLD IS WESLEY?
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
I agree with everything everyone is saying, but I wish they would stop comparing seasons.
I get looking at how they have grown up and what not, but you can’t really say which plots are better because the characters are so different.
Take the unpopular Season 8. Personally, “Jane Says” was my favourite episode, but there’s no need to compare it to “Shout” or Darcy’s rape story line because all three were very different situations.
There’s no point in comparing Eli and Craig’s bipolar plots because they are totally different characters in different environments.
Like Kary said, those of us who grew up watching Degrassi tend to prefer Emma, Marco, Ellie, Sean, etc. to this batch of characters just because we were used to the originals. People who have recently gotten into the show will probably prefer these characters to future generations for the same reason.
My point is, shows change. Similar plot lines will be used with different characters, but that doesn’t necessarily mean one time it was used is better than the other.
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Thanks for the shoutout, Kary. I too am forgoing Degrassi in favour of MLB, tonight. Go Jaaaaays!
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Woah. That Part 2 TeenNick promo.
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Jacinta looked like she was hiding something in her coat.
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Wesley mad that KC took his spot in the Science Club. ~
Although I’m perturbed that no one chose Peru for model UN, I’ll let that slide. Drew with some quoteables, real rap. Mo as well, Marisol indeed needs to get off her high horse. She doesn’t like bigger people?
Adam… someone on here said the secret admirer was Tristan? Could be very well true. I remember back in the day, I was scared as hell to be caught “placing” notes, so I had my mans do that for me. If it’s Tristan, I can see why he would opt for Tori to be that for him.
Told yall about Jacinta.
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Oh please, we all know the real lesson behind tonight’s story, in the first three seconds of it:
DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE.
When will Degrassi writers turn from the ‘relationship-heavy’ stuff and focus on issues that happen everyday and are secular to love? (aka serious consequences of texting/driving)
I want a storyline that actually has to do with a character stressing about SCHOOOL. Someone who has work overload, extracurricular activities, and suffers several nervous breakdowns because of it (I can’t be the only one in my school with this trouble). Yes, we have Katie, but she’s off having threesomes with Drew and Marisol every single episode.
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“Yes, we have Katie, but [[she’s off having threesomes with Drew and Marisol]] every single episode.”
Why you mad? Dave’s texting and driving set up the episode. Focusing an episode solely on that would render said episode boring. Relationship-heavy is the aim for the writers and producers because that is what brings in big ratings.
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Texting and driving plot line. KARY THEY READ YOUR MIND (or your blog at least).
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That girl was really…. creepy.
And I wonder who ♥s Adam? Or is it another prank?
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Thanks for the shoutout!!! I liked tonight’s episode lol
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Season 8 was great. More people need to realize the show got ten times better when the old cast was dumped finally.
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Meh, I don’t know about you but Degrassi has brought new people on and made us care about them almost immediately without it being forced (Ellie, Darcy for example) so saying that it takes time to do those things is just inaccurate. Degrassi is doing a bad job of bringing in new characters, using them as plot devices then expecting us to care when they get screwed over Versus the old method of bringing in new people and then developing them and making us care about them before making them plot devices. The last character introduced using the old method was Adam back in Season 10 and now we’re almost at Season 12. So, I personally feel they need to fix that if they want any of the new characters to matter (and by new characters, i mean characters who are joining a grade that’s already on the show, so not niners who have time for those things to happen and will get the development they need as time goes on)
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Season 7 was the worst season in Degrassi history. 8 wasn’t that good, but It was certainly an improvement, and in my opinion, underrated. people complain that “nothing happened”, but I’m kinda glad that they didnt throw a green cast into super-srs territory, out of the gate.
the show is super relationship heavy lately, but that’s what brings in ratings unfortunately. look at all the people saying “im gonna stop watching if Eclare doesn’t get back together”.
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I kinda treat 7 and 8 together when it comes to how they play, and blame a lot of wasted time and plot in S6-S7 on why S7-S8 were just not up to par. But each season had some good, just not enough to hold the whole season together on its own. Holly J’s overall arc between the two is probably the best handled push from ‘green’ to ‘important’ in the group of intro’d characters that block. Having her start as obvious antagonist, then reveal she has some weaknesses to her, then fail to make Mia a perfect Mary Sue princess causing most of her hate to turn into appreciation for Holly J. Jane got well integrated into the cast as a green character too, but her plots could have been given more time/handled better.
Compared to say Bruce and Jonny whose story kinda had no point to it, at all. And then there was Damien and Lucas who almost looked important but weren’t. Season 8’s green cast was overall better handled (except Leia, Blue, and Riley). But at the same time they weren’t integrated well like Jane and Holly J (who were put into working dynamics with just about the whole cast in 7, save the collegebounds).
Riley suffered from not working him into more plots before dropping the closetbomb, as well as not being played into more plots with other cast. He had some football plots, but that was it. The Miner Niners suffered from being mostly a separate unit, the loss of Darcy for playing a good sibling dynamic, and the boys having next to no interaction with the rest of the cast. (Clare and Alli had plots and scenes with a good coverage of the S8 cast). The upgraded S8 cast (Sav, Anya, Chantay) did really well for two of them… and then there’s Chantay.
It makes me wary of how they are handling S11’s niner cast. Luckily we’ve seen some interplay between every niner and someone in the rest of the cast, but it’s all specifics. We’ve got Tori-Marisol and Adam, Maya-Katie, Tristan-Owen and Adam, and Zig… nobody cares aboug Zig. But they need more interactions with the rest of the cast to really make it stick.
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While 11.5 leaves a lot of room for improvement, I think that it’s really on it’s way. The plots, while still soap opera lke and still a little relationship heavy, are getting much better than they ever were in perhaps Season 8 or Season 9. And there is always going to be good and bad seasons, and that’s different for everyone. My favorites were 4-7, but I’m beginning to really like 11 and 11.5.
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Thank you Kary I have been looking for Westley too!!!
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Okay people. I get what you’re saying with how the show has become full of relationships, but not to the point that most people are trying to say. The only relationship episodes this season have been “LoveGame”, “Should’ve Said No”, “Bleeding Love” and “Need You Now”. Just because an episode features a couple DOESNT mean it is a relationship episode. For instance, “Smash Into You” – most people will complain that the episode is about Dave trying to win Alli back. It’s not… At all. Yes, that does happen; Dave does win Alli back and it is a part ofnthe story, but only a part. The episode instead is about a fatal attraction. Jacinta is obsessed with Dave, and she is going to do anything to be around him and get Alli out of the way. THAT is what the episode is about. Just like “Not Ready To Make Nice”; yes Clare was trying to get over Jake, but the episode was primarily about Clare dealing with her issues at home and with her family, and they used a weed dealing cult as the plot device to get us there. This show hasn’t changed at all. Degrassi has ALWAYS had tons of relationships, but the core of the show remains the same: kids dealing with real issues. If murder (Boom Boom Pow), rejection (What’s My Age Again), PTSD (Idioteque), Transphobia (Cry Me A River), Going off meds (Dirt Off Your Shoulder), cocaine addiction (Paper Planes), finding out your adopted (U Don’t Know), issues with child protective services (Lose Yourself), cage fighting (Mr. Brightside), bipolar disorder (Extraordinary Machine), gambling (Drop It Like It’s Hot), bulimia (Don’t Panic), loneliness (Take A Bow), gang violence (Dead and Gone), befriending an outcast (Underneath It All), painkiller addiction (Can’t Tell Me Nothing), joining a cult (Not Ready To Make Nice), and fatal attraction (Smash Into You) aren’t real issues, then I don’t know what is. Season 11 is one of the best seasons Degrassi has ever had. Hands down.
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^^
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Need You Now was a perfect example of how even some of those who constantly complain about Degrassi’s relationship-heavy tendencies are so focused on the realtionships that they couldn’t see that Imogeli was NOT the focus of the episode.
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Just to be an individual, I have to say I really don’t miss the class of 2011. I never really liked Holly J and disliked her even more when she became all soft. Sav started annoying me later in the season when he started liking that teacher and Anya kind of bored me, even though I thought her character was really good with the way that she went from being all innocent and dependent on Holly J to being all ‘I have no idea what to do with my life so I’m gonna go have crushes on stupid people like my mums doctor and Owen and then join the army’. It just showed then people can leave degrassi worse of then they came in, which you don’t often see (unless they die, of course). I really want to see something with Clare that has to do with her and how she feels with all the shit in her life that has little or no relationship shit. I want Adam to be on the show way more, because I love him and he is the most interesting character I think has ever been on degrassi and they’re wasting him, and I want something to happen with Fiona that effects her in a good way. Since she came onto the show she’s be getting the short end of the stick in almost everything and I’m so sick of it. She’s a good character and they’re wasting her, especially seen as they held her back and are now barely using her. Also, I would like to see more of Maya, because we’ve really seen nothing of her, and I would like to see her musical side, because so far we haven’t seen that and it was a major part of her character summary. Anyway, I’m done :)
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With this episode series I think it’s fair to say Tristan will be adam’s secret admirer, thinking he is gay but not ftm
At 0.06 you see tristan with what looks like adam
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But also, when Adam asked Tori if his secret admirer knew he was trans, she said yes. So we are just going to have to wait and see.
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Does anyone else agree with me when I say that Zig is completely cardboard right now? Seriously, you could replace him with a cardboard cutout and no one would notice. I’m not saying that he needs a major plot or tons of lines, but when he does have a line or two, he kind of just blends into the background, you know? He’s beyond bland.
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He really does lack any sort of personality in his scenes and it makes it impossible to see what Maya or Tori see in him besides a cute guy.
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I agree not all characters are created equal, but I think all that are billed as main characters should be. They should get at least one or two plots of their own per season, other characters should just be supporting characters and not billed in the opening credits. The older seasons did this, characters like Chris, Dylan, Rick, Griffin, and Jesse never got top billing despite their screentime. And when characters like Marco, Jay, Alex, Hazel and Darcy got plots devoted to them and their prespective, they became main characters, and reversley when Toby stopped getting plots, dropped from credits.
Its not a big issue and it doesnt affect the quality of the episodes, but I can only imagine it sucks for the actors to get top billing and little to no screentime.
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WE WANT WESLEY!!!
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i dont
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