I tried, I really did. And I wanted so badly to like this. Darcy and Michael? Love them. Lucille Bluth? Hilarious. But good Lord. It was just so bland and inexplicably impressed with itself. "Check it out! Cory Kennedy and the Cobra Snake!" "And then it turns out that Annie's dinner date is in San Francisco! And they're taking a jet! And she's not telling mom!" Speaking of Mom, check out the bad parenting on Lori Loughlin. She's going to be late at work (as a fashion photographer like three minutes after arriving in town with a resume that included shooting weddings) so she tells Annie (Darcy) to pick up Grandma's computer. Annie forgets so it's ALL HER FAULT that Grandma then drives drunk and gets into a minor accident. Got that? It's all on Annie, not the adult who got being the wheel snockered.
And speaking of bad parents, secretly smart popular girl... uh... I don't feel like looking her name up. So we'll go with Blondie. Well her parents think she's stupid and don't want her to have to do work at school when she has a super important birthday party coming up. Also, her mom and Annie's dad have a secret son that was given up for adoption, but the drama from that revelation was totally drained when Loughlin found out (off screen) and was pretty much fine with it.
Then there's Silver, Kelly Taylor's little half sis, whose mom fell off the wagon and divorced Silver's dad after finding out from Blondie (apparently) that he was a big ol' cheater. That's why Silver hates her former BFF, with whom she shares a lameass back tat that is some sort of Asian symbol for friendship. And since theirs was over in eighth grade, I guess that means that Beverly Hills kids are so damn cool that they're getting inked in junior high.
In addition to Kelly, Brenda and the Peach Pit (where Nat totally ignored Blondie and Evil Lacrosse Dude getting drunk and mugging down), this new version has clung to the original show's generous use of platitudes and life lessons. Lying is bad and trust is really important. Also, you shouldn't jump to crazy conclusions about people and diss them on your vlog because maybe they’ll turn out to be your new BFF. And if you’re cheating on your girlfriend, it’s because there’s something emotionally lacking in your relationship, not because you’re a 16-year-old who can’t say no to a parking lot beej.
Oh 90210, our fling was brief, but to paraphrase sensitive jock Ethan, I'm not breaking up with you, I'm breaking up with us.
So after months of not writing about things like Marco almost becoming a hooker (almost), Bones being my new favorite show ever (thanks, Hulu), Cally shuffling off Battlestar's mortal coil (yay!) and David Cook maybe being my new rocker boyfriend (shut up), I can no longer be silent. Sound dramatic? Yeah, that's what the Chef thought when I breathlessly told her about Degrassi's Darcy landing on the new 90210 (originally written by Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas!). She was like "You realize you're not actually friends with Darcy, right?" Like I would be friends with Darcy after she accused Snake of bad touching. Oh who am I kidding? If Paige can forgive new roomie for not disclosing his HIV status before knocking boots, I can forgive ol' Darce.
But Darcy's new zipcode isn't the end of the good news. If you haven't been living under a rock, then you know Lucille Bluth is playing the faded star alcoholic grandma, but you may not realize that Tristan Wilds AKA Michael from The Wire is playing Darcy's brother. Did you ever think Degrassi and The Wire would collide anywhere except my brain? Me neither!
Speaking of unexpected things, remember The Best Years? No? Consider yourself lucky. My memory is not as spotlessly forgiving. So, it looks like Devon (Brandon Jay McLaren) will be skipping anger management in order to appear on CBS's mysterious Harper's Island. I don't know if he's a series regular, but it looks like a show with a body count and I wouldn't mind watching Devon get snuffed.
Also from The Best Years is Ashley Newbrough (ooky Sloane) on How to Survive the Filthy Rich. That's her in the yellow. I found her fairly underwhelming on her old show so I'll be interested to see if she can hold her own opposite Bionic Woman's spunky little sis Lucy Hale (also pictured). And since it's a new CW show, she'll also get to share the screen with Cliff/Zach/Grant from Hidden Palms/The OC/Smallville. Warner Brothers really is just dying to make Michael Cassidy a star (in someone's eyes other than the Former Subletter).
It takes a lot for me to completely give up on a TV show. And even once I declare it dead and buried, it doesn't take much more than a little stunt casting or the promise of a particularly loathed character's death (see: Hill, One Tree) to resurrect my interest. I can justify certain shows because I've been watching them for years. Degrassi's a perfect example. It was never a conventional masterpiece (though it has more than earned its place in the pantheon of pop culture) so when I start having to slog through episodes of Emma and Sean blah blah blahing when I'd rather focus on something that doesn't make me wish Spike had just gone for the abortion, I can hang tough. I know that before long Manny or Craig will show up and do something explosively stupid/entertaining and all will be right with the world.
What's mysterious (even to me) is my stubborn ability to hang on to subpar shows from the get-go. What goes on with October Road? What goes on is that people have stupid syntax that makes me want to shake the writers by the lapels and beg them to give just one of the characters a voice that's not so reminiscent of the know-it-all douche I dated freshman year. Jeez! So why do I keep watching? I don't know! To be fair, I usually watch it on the computer while doing other things, but I still freaking tune in, eager to see what new complication will befall Nick and his gang of quasi-intellectual townies.
So if October Road and Kaya (which has crashed and burned in an inferno of missed dramatic opportunities and mediocrity) are still on my viewing schedule, what is it that makes me abandon shows like Gilmore Girls and The OC? Maybe it's the fact that watching a once great show's paler imitation of itself is infinitely more frustrating than laughing at the missteps and savoring the occasional victories of shows that have never shown as perfectly. It's all about expectations. And with the return of One Tree Hill nigh, I'm giddy with the prospect of our characters four years in the future (looks like Nathan's a drunk with long hair!). My expectations have never been lower.
It's that time of year again at Degrassi: talent show time. Interestingly, it's also time for Craig to be an ass (this time off-camera – impressive!), Ashley to be a bitch (must be a day ending in “y”) and Darcy to deal with something awful that has already befallen another character (she's followed Emma with internet predators, Manny with photo-happy Peter and now Paige with rape). My favorite Bible-thumper (sorry, Lyla) needs a break.
So Craig's post-rehab album has dropped and although he gave Jimmy a shout-out in the liner notes, Ashley's name was MIA. Makes sense (bitch cheated on him and dumped him via Ellie from across an ocean) except that she wrote one of the songs he recorded. Apparently copyright laws are different in Canada, cause Ashley martyrs that she can always make more music. At the Degrassi Talent Show. Sad. Jimmy tries to spice up her droning emo blahness with some freestyle rap (cause Jimmy raps now... please don't ask, cause I don't know) and Ashley gets a bug up her ass about being his sidekick.
Marco/Ellie/Paige’s new roomie conveniently wants Jimmy to perform at some open mic night thing he’s doing at a club. Ashley decides to throw her talentless self on the pyre of her dreams and let her better half perform alone. But when a record producer wants to hear more of Jimmy’s tracks with her as a producer, she decides to just send in her own stuff. Crippled, selfless boyfriend be damned. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: I hate Ashley.
On to poor Darcy… She wasn’t in the episode, but I’m pretty sure her rapist was. That’s right, I’m throwing around rape accusations like this was Veronica Mars. Previously on Degrassi: Manny thought a Lakehurst kid named Sav was cute so she and Darcy went on a snowboarding trip to be near him and assorted other kids. Darcy and Peter (who she’s dating despite the whole convincing her to do softcore and then leaking the pics to everyone and their dog thing) get into a fight and she ends up downing a spiked drink and losing her virginity. Shanae Grimes, who recently took home the Gemini Award for Best Actress on a Youth Program, did a great job of slowly peeling back the layers of Darcy’s confusion and despair as she realized that she hadn’t made a drunken mistake with her boyfriend, but had been raped by a stranger.
This week on Degrassi: Sav was back as a possible love interest for TeenMom. It was a boring storyline, but it kept ol’ Sav on the radar. There’s no way we’re done with Darcy’s rape storyline and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that charming Sav has the same dark complexion as the hand that slipped Darcy the roofies. Unless they’re going to introduce a random new ethnic character, my guess is that the rapist is either Sav or Manny’s cute Damian and I’m way less attached to Sav.
Next week: Degrassi goes Night of the Living Dead!
I'm as happy as the next Canadian 13 year-old that Cassie Steele (Degrassi's Manny Santos) has joined Season Four of Instant Star, but does she have to have such bad hair? I get that her character is named Blu, but not even Pink takes her name that literally anymore. And it really does nothing for her olive complexion. Don't even get me started on her new Degrassi hair. Blonde with mini bangs? The only explanation that I can come up with involves her and Emma merging into one hormonal, sorta slutty pregnancy scare waiting-to-happen. Her hair on the Best Years was fairly normal (save the scenes with the Wonder Woman tiara), but her character has disappeared and so has my interest in the show. Not even Paige ODing on coke and twitching on the floor was enough to stifle my yawn.
So Season 7's going to freaking rule, y'all. And I have to say, the choice to integrate Lakehurst and Degrassi is potentially brilliant. The influx of new (and presumably younger) characters will keep the franchise going and the residual anger of JT's death will bring high school histrionics to new and beautiful heights.
Also? Can we talk about Manny's bangs (and eventual blonde dye job) and Spinner with a mutha scratchin' Mohawk? Hardcore!
Miss Instant Star herself Alexz Johnson, Magda Apanowicz (Kyle XY's cancer-stricken Andy) and Degrassi's Emma and Alex (Miriam McDonald and Deanna Casaluce) will star in the Lifetime original movie Devil's Diary. Mark your calendars: September 22.
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.
For someone who began as barely a character, just some girl to hang on Jay’s arm and throw dirty looks at Emma, Alex Nunez has come a long way. She left the baggy pants and wife beaters with the self-hating homophobia and as a proud lesbian, has embraced her unique hotness. Seriously, since when is Alex so smokin’?
In the two-part Season Six finale we focus on Alex (and to the Subletter’s dismay, on-again girlfriend Paige). Her mother’s occasionally abusive and always monosyllabic live-in Chad gets sent to the clink for identity theft. Among those he defrauded? BadMom. Now she and Alex are drowning in credit card debt and on the verge of being evicted. After getting a job as a server at a strip club (much to Paige’s disgust), Alex’s need for big money wins out and she takes to the stage. The most searing moment comes when Alex, having had enough of being treated like a whore by the patrons, quits and is accosted by BadMom, who will never understand what her daughter did to help the family. As BadMom calls Alex selfish for giving up a lucrative job, Chad walks in and we see that all Alex’s hard-earned money was used to bail the asshole out of jail. In that instant, Alex breaks free of her albatross of a mother and walks out of the needy bitch’s life. Of course, she walks straight into the needy arms of Paige, but what can you do?
In the land of people we no longer care about, Emma’s pissed that Sean wants to join the Canadian Army so suddenly she’s pregnant. She doesn’t trust the 99% accuracy of pregnancy tests and insists that it’s probably a false negative. Moron/bitch. She tries to use the non-baby as leverage to make Sean stay under her thumb, but he seems to think that having a child is an even more powerful reason to learn a trade and make money for a young family. Emma hates logic and informs her mom and Manny that she’s pregnant. As two people who have dealt with such a mistake, they make Emma take a pregnancy test, but before she can pee on the strip, she gets her period. Yay? She acts happy and like she wasn’t making the whole thing up, which is weird cause Miriam McDonald was totally playing it like “crazy girl lies about pregnancy scare” until that moment. Afterward, I think she and Sean broke up on good terms, it was kind of boring and I was busy enjoying the fact that Toby won Ice King and that the winter dance was filled with people (Ashley, Jimmy, the AfroTwins) who we hadn’t seen in a long, long time.
Next season: We’ll pick up in the middle of the school year and it looks like TeenMom will be back (boo!) along with other assorted Lakehurst toughs who will now attend Degrassi (yay!).
So I was watching Greek the other day, enjoying a fun episode about date parties and sex, and I noticed nods to both Grey’s Anatomy and Ugly Betty. Not surprising since they’re both on ABC, Greek’s parent channel. What struck me as strange was that Grey’s Anatomy was referenced as a show that the characters watch, while Mode, Ugly Betty’s employer, was referenced as a magazine that everyone reads. Following that logic, Ugly Betty and Greek exist in the same universe. Spencer could be Betty’s summer intern. Zaniness could ensue.
Over on The N, things get even stickier. Aubrey Graham and Stacey Farber of Degrassi appeared as themselves on an episode of Instant Star. So in the universe of Instant Star, Degrassi is a popular Canadian show. But on a recent episode of Degrassi, the characters were singing a Jude Harrison song at Karaoke. So in the universe of Degrassi, Jude’s a rockstar. Logically those scenarios should negate one another and the Epitome Pictures back lot should implode, leaving a blackhole in the middle of Toronto. Though logically, I shouldn’t think this deeply about a show that isn't Lost.
Emma and Sean are going to have sex (yeah, as Manny pointed out, we've heard that one before) so she takes into account the mistakes of her mother and best friends by getting a prescription for birth control and stocking up on prophylactics of the presumably correct size. Yay, Emma! But then Snake finds out and is understandably freaked out. He tells Spike that as one of Emma's parents, he'd like to contribute to the sex discussion and Emma glibly says that he contributes by cooking nightly dinners. Like a servant. Instead of acknowledging his feelings and explaining that she's protecting herself and capable of making her own decision, Emma plays the "You're just my STEP dad" card. Excuse me, bitch, would you rather have the sex talk with your REAL dad? The one who tried to KILL your mother while she was in labor? The one who's literally kind of retarded? I didn't think so.
So after being a complete cooze, Emma approaches Snake at school and accuses him of being unable to handle that she's "a sexual being." Ick. Meanwhile, he's like, "Can we talk about this later, I'm trying to fix a computer and I'm at work." To further awkward up the situation, Emma turns her power point assignment into a lecture on how men stifle women's sexuality. There's some blathering about double standards and she has somehow talked stupid, stupid Sean into posing shirtless for this project. I'm guessing he's also the one who bound her with duct tape, a symbolic move that will be forever be seared into the brain of her hapless father figure. And after all this horrible behavior, Snake tells her that she's right and apologizes for taking her growing up so hard. Argh! Does it mean I'm too old to watch Degrassi if I'm like "I'd ground that bitch for a month"?
Speaking of bitches, Paige has three: Spinner, Ellie's recent ex Jesse and Miss Alex, who against all odds, still loves herself some Michalchuk.
Paige's life is imploding just as ex girlfriend Alex is coming into her own (top grades, cute new girlfriend, adorable new makeover). At prestigious Banting, Paige is suddenly no longer a big fish in a little pond. She's under tremendous pressure and has started having panic attacks and acting a little wacky (intentionally setting a trashcan fire, plagiarizing and essay, lying to her friends about a scholarship back in Toronto). Like I said, wacky.
Lauren Collins pulls off Paige's sometimes hard-to-follow actions and the bizarro world she finds herself in is something a lot of high school overachievers stumble into. I remember the sudden stress of studying subjects that didn't come as easily and worrying about impressing (or just not disappointing) intimidating professors and proud parents. Her downward spiral is reminiscent of the meltdowns in her rape storyline, but it feels like the writers haven't taken into account how much stronger she's become since moving past that Season 2 heartbreak.
My favorite moment of the episode: Marco singing the Instant Star ditty "Anyone But You" at Karaoke.
Remember back in the day when summer meant non-stop reruns? Sure, that gave you a chance to get caught up on shows you didn't watch the first time around, but now we have TV on DVD and the summer's chalk-full of brand new content. Here's a sample of what I'll be watching:
Army Wives - June 3 - Lifetime's new drama looks like a prime guilty pleasure waiting to happen.
Kyle XY (pictured) - June 11 - I'm watching the first season on ABC Family's website right now and I can't wait to further unravel the mystery of the bellybutton-less boy.
The 4400 - June 17 - Will Season Four of USA's convoluted drama be as addictive as the first three? I'm counting on it.
The Closer - June 18 - Kyra Sedgwick's back for what will no doubt be another incredibly satisfying season of TNT's high-rated procedural.
Degrassi: The Next Generation and The Best Years - June 29 - Wild boars couldn't keep me away from the new season of Degrassi. The N's new college drama The Best Years looks okay-ish, but will get at least one courtesy viewing for following something involving Spinner.
Greek - July 9 - Now ABC Family's new college drama from the producers of Wildfire looks like something I could get behind...
Monk - July 13 - USA. Nuff said.
My Boys - July 30 - Remember this? It was on TBS. It was pleasant. There was a cliffhanger kiss with the cute former roommate... What? I wanna see how it turns out.
This weekend I had the opportunity to watch a VHS copy of School's Out, the TV movie that concluded the original Degrassi High series. In stark contrast to shows like The OC and Dawson's Creek, which both went out on impossibly happily ever after notes ("Summer and Seth got married!" "Jen's dead!"), School's Out really stayed true to its roots and went out on a huge downer.
Are you a fan of The Next Generation's Manny/Craig/Ashley storyline? Relive it with Tessa/Joey/Caitlin. Betrayal! Abortion! Joey's bare ass! I, for one, no longer care that Caitlin cheated on Joey with Kevin Smith and dumped his bald ass. His high school self owes her a huge karmic debt and that turn events doesn't even begin to cover it.
And only Degrassi would take their blue collar bad boy and in the finale, put him at fault in a case of vehicular manslaughter. The OC ended with Ryan as a benevolent architect. Degrassi ended with Wheels behind bars after driving drunk and killing a toddler. Not even The Next Generation had the stones to kill the dude Sean hit while completely sober.
I bow to the original Degrassi. I'm not worthy of your go-thereness.
Stop it. You know what I'm talking about. I don't know if John Krasinski was rude to you at the craft service table or if you're inexplicably rooting for Roy, but there's no excuse for this kind of behavior. For shame, Office Hairstylist, for shame.
No. It's Tracker Cameron. You know, Sean's defacto guardian on Degrassi. After he (half) deafened that kid in Wasaga and his parents kicked him out? His older brother? That dude who worked on bikes a lot in their carport? Didn't take shit from Emma? Anyone?
My Degrassi expectations have plummeted to a new low. Apparently for Emma, one of the stages of grief is Rancid Bitch. Still reeling over the death of JT and rocked by the revelation that Manny’s parents want her to come back home, Emma focuses her anger on Manny and the Spirit Squad. Apparently they’re not supposed to move on and perform in their first city-wide competition because the mascot’s dead.
Since he goes to the same school, Emma blames Damian (AKA the first guy since JT to treat Manny like anything but a collection of orifices) for JT’s death. TeenMom insists that Damian is actually friends with the stabber, but we’ll see if anything comes from that claim.
Looking back, the idea of watching Emma handle her misplaced anger had a lot of potential, but he execution was clunky and painful to watch. It was the worst episode since Sean found out Emma went down on Jay and lost all capacity for reason.
On to Instant Star... I’m not sure how long it’s been since Tommy left, telling Jude he didn’t think he’d be coming back, but since then, Liam has also fled G Major to find himself in South America and Jamie’s gotten seriously cuter.
We begin with Jude judging the new Instant Star finalists. She’s eager to shed the “instant” part of her label and grow up as an artist, distancing herself from the show that made her a household name. Darius is surprisingly supportive, but then the drunken pictures of her from last season’s finale surface with a blackmail note. Jude tries to handle the situation on her own, but she tells one of the IS finalists, Karma, about the blackmail in a spontaneous act of bonding. The newbie rats her out to Darius in the name of “Instant Star sisterhood.” And Jude soon finds herself performing on the IS finale and Darius handling her problems for her.
The night of the finale, Tommy shows up with the little girl we saw in the last episode. Jude jumps to the same conclusion as the rest of us, assuming he has a daughter with Portia. She ignores his plea to listen to him, throws a tantrum in her dressing room and refuses to perform. Jamie comes in and demonstrates his own maturity, gently telling her that she's the only one to blame for always ending up the victim. She cries and he holds her, but doesn’t back down, telling her that it’s time to grow up.
Jude performs a killer new song, rocks the finale and then tells Darius that she didn’t pull it together for anyone but her fans. She’s a pro and he’s going to have to start treating her like one. She walks home through the rain as we see Karma named the new Instant Star. Back at home, Jude uploads to blackmail photos to her own webpage and says goodbye to her good girl image.
In the second part of the premiere, Jude deals with the aftermath of everyone seeing the blackmail pics. Darius tells her that she has to address her possibly alienated fans at Karma’s first press conference. Jude apologizes for offending anyone and tries to deflect attention back to Karma, who sweetly says that when she looks at the pics, she sees a talented artists who’s not afraid to be real. Bitch. Then she underlines the differences between the two performers: Jude’s into punk guitar riffs and in addition to having a soft spot for ballads, Karma’s a virgin. The members of the press collectively look to our 17 year-old protagonist and ask if that means she’s not. The look on D’s face is priceless.
Jude declines to comment and then finds out that she’s been pulled from performing at a Bar Mitzvah, which was part of her Darius-prescribed penance. Seems the kid’s record exec father want someone a little more pure, like trashy Karma with her tats and faux-chastity. Jude decides to crash the party with Punk Rock Patsy to tell the man that it’s not cool to judge women based on their sexuality. She ends up playing dueling diva onstage after Karma claims Jude couldn’t make it due to her “struggles with promiscuity and the bottle” and then launches into one of our girl’s songs. As usual, Patsy is hilarious, spitting out the virgin drinks and flashing her boobs in an attempt to gain entry to the party.
When Karma insults Jude onstage, Patsy shoves her into the giant cake and Karma reaches out, pulling one side of Jude’s top down with her. Then Patsy gets the classic line: “Jude. Your boob’s out.” So if you’re not keeping track, Jude has now shown the public drunken pictures of her rolling around on a hotel bed, made her fans question her virginity and accidentally flashed a bunch of tweens. Luckily, the party made headlines and Darius seems okay with his young star’s “wardrobe malfunction.”
In star-crossed lovers land: Kwest and Sadie have a tentative relationship and Kwest and Tommy have tension based on the young sound engineer moving up as a producer. At the Bar Mitzvah, T sees the new couple kissing and after Sadie leaves to check on Jude, he rips into Kwest about guy code. Kwest points out that Sadie’s not even the Harrison sister that Tommy wants and says that if Tommy ever did get Jude, it would be the worst thing that ever happened to her. Tommy punches him and Sadie comes back just in time to think the fight is about her.
When Jude finally finds out that the little girl she saw is Darius’ kid and not Tommy’s, she apologizes and he insists that she’s not off base in thinking that he’s a mess. Is it me or does he owe her an apology for being cryptic and leaving her hanging for no real reason? She doesn’t seem to think so and when he calls her a kid, she points out that she’ll soon be legal. Awesome.
In the land of tarty hypocrites: After flirting with Spiederman all episode, we see Karma gather her clothes and leave Jude’s rehearsal space while Spied’s still naked and asleep on the floor. Meanwhile, when pushed by Sadie to reveal who she slept with, Jude admits that she’s actually a virgin.
Next week: Karma moves in on Tommy and bitch better step off if she doesn’t want to see how scrappy Miss Harrison can really be.
Seriously. Bravo, Degrassi. If you're not careful, I'm gonna raise my expectations.
This week the Degrassi kids deal with the aftermath of JT's death. TeenMom's beside herself, sobbing in public and begging Toby to tell her exactly what JT said before he died. The fact that JT had no idea he was about to bite it does nothing to assuage her disappointment that her name was not the last thing on his lips. Bitch.
Everyone's grief manifests itself differently: Liberty tries to assert her control over her emotions, Toby develops feelings for Liberty, Manny reverts to playing Devil's Advocate and dispensing awful advice, Jimmy paints a mural and talks about the cyclical nature of violence (in case you forgot, that's why he's in a WHEELCHAIR) and Spinner makes a slideshow.
Liberty and TeenMom fight over the contents of JT's locker and when TeenMom says that JT hated Liberty, Toby tells her what JT actually said just before he died: that he still loved Lib. Damn. TeenMom's response is "You suck, Isaacs." But it's that knowledge that enables Liberty to rise above and allow TeenMom's tape of JT and her daughter to be shown during the memorial. And that tape, of JT playing with a child, and the knowledge that he'll never play with theirs, is what finally makes Liberty break down and cry.
I'm gonna call bullshit on Paige not coming back for the memorial. She and JT became friends after he went after her rapist and I don't think there's any way she'd miss saying goodbye.
Next week: Manny's starting to date the RivalPrez and everyone turns against her because his school killed JT. I was under the impression that it was one psycho kid and not an entire group, but it looks like that won't stop Emma from being a huge bitch.
Usually Degrassi's ending freeze frame falls short of evoking whatever emotion it's going for. This week I was crying, so good job, Degrassi.
Seriously, JT died and it actually made me sad. In what was perhaps the best JT/Liberty episode of all time, I felt myself starting to root for the pair. And that's when I knew he was toast. Here's how it went:
Manny, upset about her break-up with Craig, begs Emma to have a party while Spike and Snake are out of town. After JT reminds the girls that it's Liberty's birthday, Emma agrees to a small celebration. Warning Sign #1: JT's being thoughtful and his shirt's not unbuttoned to his waist.
Meanwhile Liberty's hard at work on an Increase the Peace summit with Lake Hearst to figure out how to stop the violence between their schools. Manny tries to set her up with the rival school's Stu-Co Prez, but he's got eyes for someone else (hint: her boobs are on the internet). She invites him to the party and after the AfroTwins catch wind of it, everyone in the Greater Toronto area knows that Casa Emma Manny is the place to be.
Party time. Liberty's as hotted up as she's ever gonna get, Emma's nervous about the fact that she and Sean are scheduled to do it (so she's slamming tequila) and some Lake Heart toughs have shown up at the soiree (along with assorted Degrassi grads, drop-outs and fifth year seniors). Warning Sign #2: Manny becomes the voice of reason, never a good thing. She handles the LH sitch by suggesting that happy rivals inside are better than angry rivals outside (foreshadowing!). She also hides breakables and takes the booze away from the recovering anorexic.
Manny's good deeds are rewarded with a smooch from RivalPrez, which brings up unfinished feelings about Craig. Liberty finds JT in the backyard and tells him that she still loves him. They have an argument about the fact that he has a girlfriend who he "really, really...likes" (and who's out of town, which I forgot to mention). Lib tells him he's a coward for being unable to admit his feelings and storms out of her own party.
JT has a metaphor packed convo with "Tobes," who was inexplicably totally getting action from RivalVeep, and after coming to the realization that he still loves his baby's mama, JT goes out to find her.
Meanwhile in the land of "This is the best they could do?" the Toughs, who don't include TeenMom's ex at the moment, play a dumb prank on one of the AfroTwins. Jay gets sprayed with beer and he and Spin kick the jackasses out of the party... Where JT runs into them pissing on his car. He brushes off their insults, "Ha ha, you guys slay me," and one of them runs at him—with absolutely NO provocation—and STABS HIM IN THE BACK! Psycho's friend is horrified and they both run off. JT slides down his urine-drenched car door, unable to so anything, but look shocked. Liberty finds him and then screams for help as she cradles him in her arms.
The doctor explains that a major artery was hit and they were unable to repair the damage. From down the hall, Liberty hears the girls cry out. Sean clenches his jaw and vows to kill Psycho. Liberty comes running and asks hopefully if JT’s going to be okay. Unable to tell her that the guy she love is dead, Toby just hugs her and the rest of the Class of '07 (at least the ones we care about) follow suit. Freeze frame and somebody get me a damn tissue.
I'm serious, bitch. He doesn't want any part of whatever unholy alliance you're offering. Gavin's way too classy to be taken in my some faux-innocent harpy with bad extensions and poor impulse control. Wait. Nevermind. You're actually kind of his type.
I tried, I really did. And I wanted so badly to like this. Darcy and Michael? Love them. Lucille Bluth? Hilarious. But good Lord. It was just so bland and inexplicably impressed with itself. "Check it out! Cory Kennedy and the Cobra Snake!" "And then it turns out that Annie's dinner date is in San Francisco! And they're taking a jet! And she's not telling mom!" Speaking of Mom, check out the bad parenting on Lori Loughlin. She's going to be late at work (as a fashion photographer like three minutes after arriving in town with a resume that included shooting weddings) so she tells Annie (Darcy) to pick up Grandma's computer. Annie forgets so it's ALL HER FAULT that Grandma then drives drunk and gets into a minor accident. Got that? It's all on Annie, not the adult who got being the wheel snockered.
