Don't You (Forget About Me)

One of my favorite types of TV episodes (coming in just after wacky Halloween specials) is the homage. They can be as blatant as Felicity’s Twilight Zone ep or as subtle as Battlestar’s nod to The Hunt for Red October. My personal favorite is also one of the most obvious: The Breakfast Club. Below are three translations of John Hughes’ classic tale of bonding during Saturday School.

Degrassi: The Next Generation “Take On Me” (2004): This is the most literal of the homages. Ellie is the Basketcase, Hazel is the Princess, Jimmy is the Jock, Sean is the Criminal and Toby is the Brain. Radditch dresses like Principal Vernon and works out quite disturbingly on a Swedish exercise ball while the kids take over the school. Rather than bridging cliques, Jimmy and Hazel hook up while Ellie and Sean bond over mutually freaking other people out, cementing their differences as couples. And all Toby gets is a pity kiss on a dare from Hazel. But that’s more than he usually gets. Especially since it's the episode directly following Manny and the Abortion (AKA "Accidents Will Happen"), this is not at the top of Degrassi's "go there" game.

Dawson’s Creek “Detention” (1998): The gang all get detention (for reasons ranging from assault to masturbation on school grounds) along with bad grrrl Abby (who claims to have participated in a gangbang prior to landing in Saturday School). Abby takes on the Judd Nelson role, instigating a game of Truth or Dare and happily prodding the tender participants of the Jen/Dawson/Joey triangle as she forces Dawson and Joey to share their first kiss under the guise of a dare.

Written by the wonderful Mike White, my favorite moment of this episode is when they chattily discuss TBC (as those Creekers were wont to do) and get to the “But where are the actors now?” topic. Pacey chimes in that Emilio Estevez “made those Duck movies. Those were classic!” Totally.

ER “Secrets and Lies” (2002): Not the first series one would think of when paying homage to TBC, this one is actually my favorite. After a dominatrix brings a client into the ER, Abby, Carter, Luka, Susan and Gallant get busted by Weaver for checking out the contents of her bag. When Weaver finds a dildo in her locker, the gang gets sentenced to a sexual harassment sensitivity seminar.

The instructor for the seminar runs several hours late and as a result, the characters get to know one another better. Abby and Susan bond, straight-laced Gallant reveals himself to be from an almost entirely military family and we learn that while Carter was deflowered by the help at an early age, Luka waited until his wedding night with his late wife. Instead of romantic relationships being built, we see them crumbling. Carter, taking on the antagonistic Judd Nelson role, goads Luke into a “friendly” duel and eventually reveals that he once had Weaver’s locker. By the end of the episode, Susan breaks it off with Carter and tells him that he should tell Abby he’s madly in love with her.

And now I leave you with the trailer for the original. Man, Saturday School was never this lifechanging at my school.