Main Cast: Pat Mastroianni, Neil Hope, Stefan Brogren, Stacie Mistysyn, Rebecca Haines
Release Year: 1987
Country: CA
Run Time: 30 minutes
Plot
Adapted from the 1979 Canadian TV series The Kids From DeGrassi Street, this popular half-hour program for teens and preteens debuted on Canada's CBC on January 18, 1987, and was picked up stateside by PBS later the same year. Taped in Toronto, the series focused on the lives of the multiethnic students as DeGrassi Junior High, deftly shifting from comedy to tense drama and back again. Though the series focused on such potent real-life issues as drug addiction, teen pregnancy, smoking, parental abuse, drunk driving, abortion, and suicide, it never came off as preachy or pedantic, principally because the young actors -- most of them recruited from the Playing With Time repertory company -- essayed their roles with utter conviction and sincerity. Even more laudatory was the fact that the actors were not chosen for their looks or charisma but instead were as average and normal-looking as the series' legions of fans. During the series' five seasons on CBC, over 50 principal characters floated in and out of the proceedings. Among the most popular recurring characters were Joey (Pat Mastroianni), Snake (Stefan Brogen), Spike (Amanda Stepto), Wheels (Neil Hope), Caitlin (Stacie Mistysyn), twin sisters Erica and Heather (played by real-life twins Maureen Deiseach and Erica Deiseach), BLT (Dayo Ade), Yick (Siluck Saysanasy), Arthur (Duncan Waugh), Lucy (Anais Granofksy), L.D. (Amanda Cook), Simon (Michael Carry), Michelle (Maureen McKay), Alexa (Irene Courakos), and Melanie (Sara Ballingall). Three years into the series, the regulars graduated from junior high and moved on to high school, whereupon the series was retitled DeGrassi High, remaining as such until its cancellation two years later. Introduced during these final seasons were several new characters, notably Scott (David Armin-Parcells) and Claude (Byrd Dickens). After the series ran its course, many of the principals appeared in the movie-length special School's Out. And in 2001, Canada's CTV unveiled a spin-off series, DeGrassi: The Next Generation, with a fresh cast of students but with several favorites from the earlier series, now adults, cast as various parents and teachers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Degrassi Junior High: A Helping Hand Degrassi Junior High: The Best Laid Plans Degrassi Junior High: A Big Girl Now Degrassi Junior High: Censored Degrassi Junior High: Dinner and a Show Degrassi Junior High: The Experiment Degrassi Junior High: Fight Degrassi Junior High: Food for Thought Degrassi Junior High: He's Back Degrassi Junior High: It's Late Degrassi Junior High: Making Whoopee Degrassi Junior High: Pa-arty Degrassi Junior High: Revolution Degrassi Junior High: Sealed with a Kiss Degrassi Junior High: The Whole Truth Degrassi Junior High: What a Night Degrassi Junior High: Black and White Degrassi Junior High: Bottled Up Degrassi Junior High: Eggbert Degrassi Junior High: Nothing to Fear Degrassi Junior High: Parents' Night Degrassi Junior High: Pass Tense Degrassi Junior High: Smokescreen Degrassi Junior High: Stagefright Degrassi Junior High: Star-Crossed Degrassi Junior High: The Cover Up Degrassi Junior High: Trust Me Degrassi Junior High: Twenty Bucks Degrassi Junior High: Season's Greetings Degrassi Junior High: Season 01 Degrassi Junior High: Season 02 Degrassi Junior High: Season 03
Degrassi Junior High is a CanadianCBC Televisionteen drama series that was produced from 1987-1989 as part of the Degrassi series. The show followed the lives of a group of students attending the titular fictional school. Many episodes tackled difficult issues such as drug use, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, racism, and divorce, and the series was acclaimed for its sensitive and realistic portrayal of the challenges of teenage life. The cast comprised mainly non-professional actors, which added to the show's sense of realism.
The series featured many of the same actors who had starred on Kids of Degrassi Street a few years earlier, including Stacie Mistysyn, Neil Hope, Anais Granofsky, Sarah Charlesworth and others. However, their character names and family situations had been changed, so Degrassi Junior High cannot therefore, be considered a direct spinoff.
In 1987 Degrassi Junior High won an International Emmy in the Children and Young People category for the episode "It's Late",[1] where Christine "Spike" Nelson gets pregnant. Spike's baby was named Emma, to commemorate the award, and Emma wound up being the inspiration for the spin-off series, Degrassi: The Next Generation..
Degrassi Junior High had a large ensemble cast where only the ones with dialogue would be placed in the credits. However, essentially all the main cast would act as extras from time to time appearing in the background, and were credited when they would be featured in an episode. Their billing sequence in the closing credits varied, based upon their relative prominence in each respective episode. No cast billing was presented in the opening sequence.
UK schedules
The BBC refused to transmit the episode "Rumour Has It" when screening the first series of Degrassi Junior High because of the central theme of homosexuality. The BBC only screened the first season of the show.
From its first day of broadcasting in 1992, UK Gold screened Degrassi Junior High daily. The channel then screened Degrassi High in its entirety.
Popular culture
In the episode It's Late, Wheels can be clearly seen wearing a Footscray Bulldogs sweater. What is unusual is that the sport, Australian rules football and its competition, the VFL, at the time would have been unknown in Canada. Although the VFL staged several exhibition matches that year, the Bulldogs were not involved and were perhaps the least successful and supported teams in the league.
The Doctor Sally radio show is based on a call-in radio show entitled the Sunday Night Sex Show. Registered nurse and sex educator Sue Johanson was the host of the program which aired on local Toronto, Ontario radio station Q-107 between 1984 and 1998. Sue Johanson portrays "Doctor Sally" in two Degrassi Junior High episodes.
Propagandhi wrote a song entitled, "Degrassi Junior High Dropouts."
Skankin' Pickle wrote a song entitled, "I'm In Love With a Girl Named Spike."
Liz from Season 2, who comes from a different school, can clearly be seen in minute 2 something of episode 1 season 1 as Steph enters the bathroom to transform her image.
