so I just finished the run of Degrassi Junior High, and, besides the fact that I'm going to recap a few episodes later this week, here's some notes on DNG from having watched the old show ...
- I think the Caitlin/Spike friendship in Next Gen was meant to be Spike/Liz, but they couldn't get the actress or something ... because the only contact they seem to have as kids is Spike getting pissed off cause Caitlin made her her cause of the week, and they don't have too much in common at all. also, they couldn't have it be Liz, because they already did the "my tragically gay parent!" plot with Ashley
- speaking of Caitlin, she is so much lamer as an adult than a kid. she's a bit self-righteous on DJH, but she's a eye-bugging prat-falling simpleton on the new show, and I'm not quite sure why they change her character the way they do. Spike, Snake and Joey are all pretty IC - especially Snake, he really is exactly the same. except with less naked Joey and Wheels sleepovers
- knowing DNG completely changes the Pregnant!Spike arc. I've never wanted to punch a knocked-up kid so bad. HAVE THE DAMN ABORTION BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!
- Raditch has way more personality back in the day, and not just the part we made up where he's been molesting Joey all through middle school without Joey knowing it
- this theme makes the Next Gen's sound like the Beatles or possibly Mozart. if you pulled someone off the street and gave them 10 seconds to write a song about junior high, it couldn't possibly be worse than this, even if that person just yelled "dun nananana JUNIOR HIGH yeah middle school woo! dun nuh nuh naaaa" into a paper bag
- at least Downtown Sasquach and Whatever the Girls' Band is This Week only played each stupid song once or twice. I hear "Everybody Wants Something" in my dreams now AND I DON'T LIKE IT
Who DJH kids turned into on DNGStephanie - a lot of first-season Ashley, plus Manny's sluttiness
Joey - JT (and yet I love him), plus the bullying part of Spinner (and might I say - if you can be bullied by Joey, you probably just shouldn't bother existing. he's 2 feet tall and wears grandpa hats) and Marco's tiny flamosity. within the Zit Remedy, he's probably Craig (which we get to see in that Next Gen episode where he tries to be in Downtown Sasquatch. at the time that seemed weird, but now I realise how completely and utterly in-character it is for Joey to lose all higher mental function in the face of a terrible terrible garage band).
Arthur and Yick - both are fairly Tobyish, and inform the terrible, terrible kind of b-plots JT and Toby torture us with
Rick - Sean, and Craig's daddy-abuse ... also some of Craig's crazy, cause Sean would never spend his lottery winnings on fucking licorice. his brief relationship with Caitlin is the blueprint for all 28 kamillion hours of Sean/Emma
Voula - Liberty's nerdiness, Emma and Ashley's self-righteousness, Marco's wacky-ethnic-parentness.
(Voula is then broken down into Alexa and Michelle - Michelle's dweebiness, Alexa's Foreign Parents Who Just Don't Understand How We Roll in 1987 Canada)
Kathleen - is conservative Emma, basically, or a prudey Paige. either way - KILL IT. her and Melanie's "wait, why are these two friends?" best-friendship repeats all through Next Gen Degrassi - think Emma and Manny especially. in fact, Kathleen-Melanie turned into Emma-Manny when someone decided to make the nosy blonde a hippie and let the brunette sidekick realise her dreams of skankitude
Lucy - Lucy is Jimmy in a fright wig and scarves, with her Rich, Yet Absent Parents, rockin' house for other people's shenanigans, and Tragic Cripplage. they both even dress like Micheal Jackson - except Jimmy did it for a costume
Caitlin - Emma, but Emma gets causes that are ten million times more insane. rainforest toilet seats?
Liz - Ellie, once they add some cutting and whining. and Paige/Alex goes where Spike/Liz really really wanted to.
Raditch becomes Ms Kwan, and Ms Avery becomes Snake
more added as they occur to me. in the meanwhile, I need old school icons
Tags: degrassi junior high
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