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Degrassi: Deep Space Nine
by thedonoman
The fourth season of CTV's acclaimed teenage drama Degrassi: The Next Generation has come to an end. And while the most recent plot twists of the past 22 episodes have kept viewers glued to their sofa's, along with popularity comes the scrutiny of a magnified degree. After the Valentines Day airing of the Season Finale, many fans are finding their love a little unrequited. Take for example a few reasons the shows following might accuse the writer's of spacing out during production meetings.
Topic #1 - Sean Cameron 2001 - 2004???
So what's the deal, was "Back in Black" really the final appearance of our beloved bad boy? One would think so seeing as how every reference made to his character for the remainder of the season offereed no insight into a possible return. Also, let's not forget about Christina Schmidt and her interestingly deceptive write-out last season. If not for degrassi.tv we may all believe she's in a gutter somewhere dead rather than at private school.
Low and behold, Sean and Emma fans may never get their true wish, of course that's if she's not with Chester next season. Which leads me to the next topic.
Topic #2 - "Hi, (insert new character) Welcome To Degrassi"
Danny, Darcy, Chester, Nate and Chante
Who are all these new faces in the halls of Degrassi? And why are we meeting them now?
To answer this question let's all for a minute put ourselves into the shoes of the creators of a show who recently saw an explosion in its fan base. The current characters can pull you through a fifth season, but a sixth would be shakey. What do you do? Hold open call auditions to fill the screen with even more characters, particularly younger ones.
Can't blame them there, as they will need to have interesting characters actually developed before what I hope is the sixth and final season. However, the transition of these characters from minor to major next season will have to be well balanced, hopefully they can find some onscreen time if Craig isn't hogging it all again.
Topic #3 - Get some 3-D goggles, Craig is invading both dimensions on my tv again
Now I'm not trying to be overcritical, but giving 1 character a lead in 8 plots out of 22 episodes is a bit excessive, not to mention the large role he played in other episodes. Craig's a unique character, we get it. Jake's a great actor, we get that too. But we could do without as Kevin Smith put it, so much of his "angst". I'm glad I'm not in high school any more too, if it meant both my parents were dead, my girlfriend thinks I'm crazy and my "stepmom" ever said anything about money shots. Craig's got a rough life, but let's look at someone else's life.
How about Toby? Have we forgotten about the geeky kid with the glasses. And what about his cool friend JT. It seems that even popularity around the Degrassi Halls isn't even something that can buy some onscreen time now a days. I'm all for giving the older cast more plots since they'll be leaving soon, but how about some balance? In episode 420 we see Toby just walking around talking with Emma and Manny, even more of that would be better rather than believing he's been exiled away to pervert camp. This of course referencing his only two appearances after Back In Black where he's chasing around women with a develish stalker glare.
Topic #4 - It's like when the little Engine finally made it up that damn hill
What I said about JT being cool earlier, was I right? He's dating Liberty now. Was that kinda forced or what? I think this is where we get into there just being to many characters to deal with. So what do we do? Pair them off, give them one or two plots and put 'em away.
Will this couple last? I hope so, only because I'm getting a little weary of seeing people get together just for free tissues from friends after the necessary breakup. Which is my next point.
Topic #5 Breaking up is fun to do
Manny perhaps best described the love life of herself and on/off again sidekick Emma in episode 418 by suggesting killing Spinner, Jay, Craig, JT, Nate and Sean along with Chris.
I'm getting a little sick of pairing off characters in one episode and then breaking them up a few shows down the road.
413 "Bark At The Moon" Manny makes Spinner promise never to break her heart. Well I guess that deal didn't go both ways because just three episodes later Manny won't listen to Spinner for a second after hearing what he did to Jimmy. Sure it was horrible, but isn't it times like those when your girlfriend should be there for you? What a waste of an episode putting them together in the first place. I blame Chester.
So next episode 414 "Secret" we see Jay and Emma hook up. Clearly there's nothing monogamous going here since Jay has a girlfriend, but why aren't they considering dating? Does Emma really all of a sudden believe her self worth is in the negatives and she has to crawl into a social hole. Or is she just mad at Jay? Oh well, I just can't wait to hear the word "blowjob" on the-n, assuming it doesn't get "accidents will happeneded out", that's a verb now. Use it the next time someone takes something away from you and blames the government.
And what about Ellie, Sean's "ex-girlfriend". Maybe I'm just growing a little tired of these implied occurences that we don't see on screen. My suggestion, make the show an hour long. I know, it could never happen (funding ect.), but it really would make it a better show.
Topic #6 Implied Plot Happenings
I'm all for subtlety, but there's a few things that are just plain left unexplained.
1. Does Emma have gonorrhea? Because we sure as hell don't find out on-screen. She might, she might not....wow, thanks Degrassi.
2. So Ellie is moving back in with her mom, right? Yeah, she is, I'm pretty sure. They could at least make it a little more clear that the once lively Cameron/Nash dwelling will be empty for good. It was too good to be true right? Being 16 and living with your girlfriend, no parents, the stark raving possibilities.
3. Marco and Dylan had sex, what? Now I'm not into homosexual relations, but I find it funny that while they said Marco and Dylan had sex, that we didn't get any...visua-, no. Umm.. conversations...or uhh..Okay, what I'm getting at is that having sex is a pretty big deal to a teenager, it would have been to nice to get some insight into the "occasion".
Topic #7 Kevin Smith goes Canadian, aboot time, eh?
This one actually isn't a complaint, it's a compliment. Tell this guy to get dual citizenship and hire him! Seriously, let him write for the show. The final three episodes were some of the best all season. The guy waited three years to be a part of the show after missing out on being Caitlin's Hollywood director in the series premiere. It couldn't have worked out better in my opinion.
Kevin really adds an energy to the show that seeps into the other characters. Everyone in the episodes had laugh lines. I was a bit weary of the Jay and Silent Bob/Degrassi combination at first, but the writers really made it work as well as it could. And Kevin fit right into the show while living out his dreams.
To Another 19
So here's looking ahead to season 5. What to expect? I'm foreseeing alot more of Alex, Jay and the younger cast mentioned above. And as always in the Degrassi fashion expect alot more issues tackled head-on with no down talking or judging. Drinking, drugs, eating disorders and sex. Will episode 519 be the series finale? It might be convenient to end on episode 100, but nothing is set in stone at this point. It all comes down to money and ratings folks.
For some character predictions, expect Paige to no longer be with Mr. O (my crystal ball is diagnosing more of the mysterious summer break up disease that caught Liberty, Emma and Toby last year). And since characters keep saying Jimmy "might" be in the wheelchair for life I wouldn't rule him out for walking down the aisle to recieve a certain diploma. More on again off again Craig and Ashley. And maybe Hazel will finally get another full plot to herself, it's been a while.
We love you Degrassi, and that's the only reason we're so hard on you.
The above article was published by dTNGHO, please credit if cited or used
author contact info: donovan@korn.zzn.com
