Line #214 Series/Debra


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/debra.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I'm not like everyone else, When the world says left I go right by myself."'']]
3
4	''Debra!'' (originally titled and marketed as ''Decidedly Debra!'') is a Canadian tween comedy created by Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers, and produced by Creator/CookieJarEntertainment and aired on the Creator/FamilyChannel.
5
6	Debra Delong (Creator/NiamhWilson) is a spirited and kooky 14-year-old girl who sees the best in people and wants to one day start a company specializing in bringing joy into the lives of others. Upon transferring to Camfield High School she starts looking for people who can help achieve for goal in life. The friend she chooses: Preston Lunford (Will Jester), a down-to-earth, if a little cynical boy with a penchant for guitar and magic tricks. Bemused at first, Preston decides that Debra is a good friend and promises to assist her in her zany schemes if she let him improve her often non-existent social skills. With them are his bandmates, the smooth talking, but mostly unsuccessful ladies’ man Auzzie and the tall, good-natured, if a little slow Brud. Together they will make every day at Camfield High a new adventure.
7
8	Notably, it was Niamh Wilson's big break before she was cast as Jacqueline "Jack" Jones on ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration''.
9
10	The series is available to stream on Creator/{{Tubi}}.\
11
12	!!''Debra!'' provides examples of:
13
14	* ActuallyPrettyFunny: After a while Dancy starts to find Preston's jokes funny on their "date" after initially being cold to him.
15	* AllGirlsLikePonies: Debra decided on the name of her future company at age 6, calling it The Magical Flying Pony Company.
16	* AllGuysWantCheerleaders: Mank leaves Dancy for a cheerleader in “Operation Dancy”.
17	* AlliterativeName: '''D'''ebra '''D'''elong.
18	** Her full name is even '''D'''ebra '''C'''arnegie '''C'''ameron '''D'''elong.
19	* AlphaBitch: Dancy, the self-proclaimed "Queenager" of Camfield High school is of the Passive-Aggressive type. She even has her own GirlPosse and keeps a blog with a list of all the reasons she's better than Debra.
20	* ApatheticTeacher: Principal Ridge and Mrs Treadgold are variant takes on this trope:
21	** Principle Ridge is mostly interested in the school's appearance and the perks that come with the job, such as getting funds for a cushy new desk in his office rather than using the money to improve the cafeteria food options and a free meal at to a fancy restaurant when chaperoning the school raffle winners.
22	** Mr. Treadgold, on the other hand, is interested in doing his job, but is shown to have been worn down by the job due to his non-confrontational personality to the extent that Debra's unending questions and imaginative digressions in class stress him out and Principal Ridge sees him as a spineless lackey.
23	* BadBadActing: Rolf employs some of this in "Operation Dancy" as part of the ScoobyDooHoax.
24	* BadDate: It looks as if Preston and Dancy are going to have one in "My Date With Dancy", especially when Dancy plots to have Mank come to the restaurant and make a scene, but then Preston's jokes make her warm to him and they start to enjoy themselves, but to Debra's horror and fear she could lose Preston to Dancy.
25	* BigGuyLittleGuy: Auzzie (little) and Brud (big) whenever they're together.
26	* BigRedButton: The band have a box that shoots streamers out when the big red button at the side is pressed. Then Debra sees it and the room is covered in them.
27	* BirthdayEpisode: Preston's in "Let's Party".
28	* BitchAlert: When Dancy first appears she gets a slow motion strut towards Debra and Preston to signify her Queen Bee persona and status.
29	* {{Blackmail}}: Gracie to her dad, Officer Lunford when he accidentally causes a blackout trying to change a light bulb:
30	-->''(Officer Lunford turns around, tired.)''
31	-->''(All lights immediately go off in the house.)''
32	-->'''Gracie''': Dad!!!
33	-->'''Officer Lunford''': It's okay. Just blew a fuse. Gracie don't tell your mom.
34	-->'''Gracie''': What's it worth to you?
35	-->''(Officer Lunford sighs in defeat.)''
36	* BookDumb: Brud appears to be a slow learner, sadly it leads him to quit his drumming lessons because he can't keep up and opt for karate instead.
37	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Debra frequently does confessionals to talk directly to the audience. Dancy tries her hand at it in "My Dinner with Dancy".
38	* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Preston is a reserved, realist who often responds to Debra's plans with snarky comebacks and worldly cynicism, while she is a free-spirited and open-minded optimist who greets everybody with kindness.
39	* CanadaDoesNotExist: While the series was produced in Canada it is never mentioned.
40	** It is subtly implied when Preston makes a reference to UsefulNotes/ElizabethII in "Designing Auzzie" as "The Queen" whereas an American might colloquially say "The Queen of England".
41	-->'''Preston''': Auzzie needs confidence like The Queen needs waving lessons.
42	** In TheTeaser of "Cannon Have Your Cake" Mr Treadgold can be seen briefly holding up a history book with ''Canadian History'' as the title.
43	** In "Spelling Bee Rematch" both a Canadian flag and an American flag can be seen on a teacher's desk.
44	** Delong and Cologne are French names.
45	* CanadianEqualsHockeyFan: In "Let's Party" when Debra is trying to get ideas for the ideal gift for Preston's birthday and sends her cousin Marla in for information he tells her he likes to make scale models of ice hockey players out of uncooked pasta, to which Gracie presents him with one of Wayne Gretzky.
46	* CannotTalkToWomen: Poor Auzzie, the below mentioned Casanova Wannabe. He has the moves, but not the tongue. It leads to Debra trying to teach him how to appeal to girls, with special emphasis on what not and '''never''' to say to a girl, such as:
47	-->"Another fifteen pounds to go and you'll be perfect."
48	-->Or this:
49	-->"Your sister is so cute... are you adopted?"
50	* CarpetOfVirility: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]: Preston has to use a chest wig as part of his costume for the radio contest where the prize is tickets to see Lung Trumpet, a [[Music/{{Kiss}} KISS]] expy.
51	* CasanovaWannabe: Auzzie. It's tragic sometimes.
52	* CassandraTruth: After Debra accidentally shoots him out of a cannon for real instead of the dummy Preston tries to tell his parents that it was him, only for them to think it's a joke.
53	* {{CatchPhrase}}: Debra ends each episode with a variation on "May the Giant Soaring Pony be with you".
54	* CharacterTics: Debra is prone to do voices, react vividly with facial expressions and try to invent new words.
55	* CheatersNeverProsper: Tries to cheat in her rematch against Debra when she finds a list of words from the spelling bee, but it backfires and she is taken away to be punished by Mr Treadgold.
56	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Debra comes off this way to many people.
57	** This exchange between Debra and Mr Treadgold in "Drum and Drummer":
58	-->'''Debra''': Oh! That just made me have a totally unrelated idea.
59	-->'''Mr Treadgold''': You have a related idea?
60	** The theme song even emphasizes these traits in Debra as central to her personality:
61	->[[center: ''I'm not like everyone else,'']]
62	->[[center: ''When the world says left I go right by myself.'']]
63	->[[center: ''...because I'm just me, and you'll see.'']]
64	->[[center: ''They say I'm weird and wacky, but I've got my own philosophy.'']]
65	* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: Preston.
66	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Happens frequently to [[PluckyComicRelief Brud]], [[NoSocialSkills Debra]] and [[TheDitz Dancy]].
67	** When Mank dumps Dancy for a cheerleader she tells Debra:
68	-->'''Dancy''': If you must know, Mank and I decided in a mutually, respecting and adult way (starts to break down) ''that he'ld leave me for some snotty cheerleading airhead''.\
69	'''Debra''': That's what everyone said when he left Sue Radcliffe for you.\
70	'''Dancy''': I was never a cheerleader...
71	* ConfessionCam: Debra frequently talks to the audience directly with one. Dancy gets one in "My Dinner with Dancy”.
72	* CordonBleughChef: Debra becomes this in "Chez Camfield", attempting to diversify the school cafeteria menu and covertly tries out her new recipes at Principal Ridge's meeting with the mayor, much to Preston's horror that she will be a LethalChef.
73	* CuteClumsyGirl: Debra is adorable, but often causes problems due to her accident-prone nature.
74	* DisappearingBox: The main act of Preston's magic show is The Mystical Box of Kashmir in which Dancy is the volunteer from the audience for [[spoiler: and is disappeared with a still concussed Principal Ridge appearing inside when it is reopened with Dancy manifesting back inside the box after the talent show is over and the auditorium empty.]]
75	* TheDitz: Dancy, granted she would rather do her nails in class than pay attention.
76	* TheDividual: Dancy's Dancyettes are of the Twindividual type which each of them near identical and with little personality traits to distinguish between.
77	* DontTryThisAtHome: Debra tells the audience this in her confessional at the end of "Cannon Have Your Cake" after she successfully SHOT PRESTON OUT OF A CANNON:
78	-->'''Debra''': May the big soaring pony be with you. Oh, and by the way, don't ever try this at home. Or in a dentist's office. Actually, don't try it anywhere.
79	* TheDreaded: Camfield High School's resident jock girl Jo 'The Slammer' Briggs is feared by most of the student body for her reputation for roughhousing during basketball, which as Preston tells Debra, put six other players in hospital. Subverted in that Jo later explains that the numbers were overblown and that minor injuries are common in sports.
80	** Debra appears to be this to the teachers at Camfield High School to the extent that Principal Ridge has a picture of her face with the general prohibition sign over it on his office door.
81	* DumbJock: Dancy's boyfriend Mank often misses the point, though he is very considerate to her and is able to correct her when she thinks butterflies buzz.
82	* EgocentricTeamNaming: Dancy calls the members of her GirlPosse her Dancyettes.
83	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Mr Treadgold's first name is '''Nedward''' which he claims was a typo on his birth certificate and that his parents are still appealing it. He's a middle-aged man.
84	** His nephew Cornelius might also count, considering its fall into obscurity in much of the modern Anglophone world.
85	* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: Many photographs from events previous to the episode are shown onscreen for humorous effect, one of them is of a little Auzzie dressed as a frog kissing Dancy on the cheek at a school play, much to Dancy's chagrin past and present.
86	** Dancy even uses an awkward one of Debra for the poster advertising the spelling bee rematch.
87	* EvilFormerFriend: Dancy is this to Debra.
88	* FaceOnTheCover: Debra imagines her face on the trucks for her future company in her first class with Mr. Treadgold.
89	* TheFashionista: Debra sees herself as this, is always colourfully and stylishly dressed and attempts to design clothes for jock girl Josie to wear to the fashion show in "Project Josie".
90	* FoundingDay: "Cannon Have Your Cake" revolves around the town Camfield marking its centennial.
91	* FourManBand:
92	** Debra is TheSmartGuy, coming up with the schemes and avoids humiliation through relative success and avoiding arrogance.
93	** Preston is The OnlySaneMan whose reactions to zany schemes makes for drama and comedy. He is also more successful with the opposite sex than Auzzie due to his self-awareness as his date with Dancy shows.
94	** Auzzie is the CasanovaWannabe whose antics and failed attempts are often comedic.
95	** Brud is the ButtMonkey who provides humor, though never maliciously.
96	* FourPhilosophyEnsemble:
97	** Preston is The Cynic.
98	** Debra is The Optimist.
99	** Brud is The Realist.
100	** Auzzie is The Apathetic.
101	* FourTemperamentEnsemble:
102	** Debra as the Sanguine (cheerful, extroverted, people-orientated, adventurous, clownish in humour, GenkiGirl).
103	** Preston as the Choleric (unemotional and reserved, task-orientated, responds passionate with snarky remarks).
104	** Brud as the Melancholic (calm, humble, submissive, dependable).
105	** Auzzie as the Phlegmatic (people-orientated, easy-going, a sweetheart, flexible).
106	* FrenchCuisineIsHaughty: Chef Des Chalet is a well-regarded professional French chef Principal Ridge hires.
107	* FriendToAllChildren: Debra is in many ways more childlike than her teenage peers and is able to bond with Preston's little sister well.
108	* GarageBand: Preston's Floor De Voort tribute band Floor De Voted is more-or-less one.
109	* TheGhost: Pretty much all of Debra's immediate family with her unseen, but often mentioned grandmother said to be taking care of her while her parents are on a scientific expedition.
110	* GhostStory: Barbecue Arnett in "Operation Dancy".
111	* GibberishOfLove: Auzzie, who already suffers from a case of CannotTalkToWomen falls into a helpless stutter when Dancy asks him to coach her for the spelling bee rematch against Debra.
112	* GirlPosse: Dancy is regularly seen with two gal pals, the Dancyettes.
113	* GirlinessUpgrade: The plot of "Project Josie" involves Debra helping jock girl Jo 'The Slammer' Briggs become more girly.
114	* GoneHorriblyRight: Debra had intended to shoot a dummy out of a cannon in place of Preston, but when she checks after everyone has left to go to the crash site its the dummy that's left inside the cannon.
115	* AGoodNameForARockBand: Debra lists a few in "Lung Trumpet".
116	* GoodParents: Gabby and Jack Lunford are shown to be this to Preston, and at times to Debra.
117	* GottaPassTheClass: The plot of 'Graduating Fenufsky' as Craig has not being able to make it in time to PE which accounts for his criteria to graduate due to it clashing with his part-time job.
118	* HeldBackInSchool: Craig Fenufski in "Graduating Fenufsky".
119	* HenpeckedHusband:
120	** In "Designing Auzzie" Debra has an Imagine Spot wherein Auzzie has become one to Helen, and has even aged for both of them into an old man while she remains young.
121	** It can be assumed Dancy was training Mank to be a boyfriend version of this.
122	* HiddenDepths: In "My Dinner with Dancy" resident mean girl Dancy opens up to Preston during the "date" they win in the school raffle when he asks her what it's like to be popular. She tells him popular kids don't have perfect lives and she has an amateur interest in astronomy and a telescope in her room she looks at the planets through, though she thinks Jupiter is the smallest planet.
123	* HumanCannonball: Poor Preston.
124	* ICantBelieveImSayingThis: Preston after his first few minutes with Debra:
125	-->'''Preston''': I have never said this to a girl before, but could you ''please'' leave me alone.
126	* ImagineSpot:
127	** Mr Treadgold has a few in "Spelling Bee Rematch" about being on a topical island in TheBermudaTriangle, while still in school in anticipation of his vacation [[spoiler:before his plans are cancelled by Principal Ridge ordering him to oversee the Spelling Bee rematch.]]
128	** Auzzie as an old man married to Helen mentioned above in "Designing Auzzie".
129	** "Drum and Drumer" has Mr Treadgold as a superhero in a cape when he tells Debra he's his nephew's hero.
130	** Auzzie and Dancy both have one each in "Graduating Fenufsky" about how incredible locker 79 is, with Auzzie's is focused on how its situated in the middle of various pretty girls and Dancy's on how she can combine it with her's to make a locker mini-mall.
131	* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: Brud claims he knows how to sow as his dad taught him in the event his clothes are ever ripped by a bear.
132	* InkblotTest: Gabby helps Jack practice with one for his annual police psychological evaluation as part of the police force fitness test.
133	* InvisibleParents: Debra's parents are away on a scientific expedition and have left her in the care of her grandmother. They text her in the first episode after the school talent show, but are only mentioned in passing in later episodes. While their specific scientific fields are not mentioned it is assumed they are biology-based and tied to animals.
134	** By extension this would also describe Auzzie, Brud and Dancy's parents.
135	* ItRunsInTheFamily: Eccentricity runs in the Delong family from what we hear from Debra, though the only other member to actually appear in the show is her cousin Marla from Glen Cove who is about on the same level as our girl.
136	* JadedProfessional: Mr Treadgold constantly looks tired at best, at worst, one Debra question away from a nervous breakdown.
137	* JockDadNerdSon: Preston and his dad, Officer Lunford are shown to be this, with Preston's non-athletic, more intellectual and esoteric passions like stage magic and Dutch pop bands and his dad's physically-demanding job as a cop, though it is subtle and never negatively impacts their father-son relationship.
138	* KidAnova: Auzzie is an unsuccessful example.
139	* LiteralMinded: Both Debra and Brud can be this at times.
140	** Brud has a memorable example when Josie falls over backstage at the fashion show:
141	-->'''Debra''': Brud pick her up.
142	-->'''Brud''':(''looks down at Josie'') Hey. My name's Brud.
143	-->''Preston and Auzzie facepalm''.
144	-->'''Debra''': Not pick her up. Pick her up off the floor.
145	* LittleMissSnarker: Preston's little sister Gracie has her moments.
146	* LostWeddingRing: A child-parent example happens in "Teen Capsule" when Debra and Preston fear they may have accidentally put Preston's mother's wedding ring into a time capsule that is to be buried in the ground for 200 years.
147	* {{Malaproper}}: Debra is often fascinated by words likes to make up her own, such as "smoosh", a portmanteau of sneak and goosh.
148	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Debra becomes this to Preston from the moment they meet.
149	* MaskedLuchador: When Preston dons a Mexican wrestling mask as not to be exposed when he agrees to take Craig Fenufsky's place in his final wrestling match to get him enough credits to graduate his senior year.
150	* {{Metalhead}}: The gang encounter a large number of them in the form of die-hard Love Trumpet fans at the radio station when entering the contest. They are surprised to find Mr. Treadgold among them.
151	* NamesToRunAwayFrom: Jo "The Slammer" Briggs.
152	* NewTransferStudent: Debra to Camfield High.
153	* NoGuyWantsToBeChased: Auzzie feels this way when Dancy confronts him about him liking her when she is fresh from her break-up, much to Preston's amazement in "Operation Dancy".
154	* NoSocialSkills: Debra, though not to the extent that she cannot socialize, but misses social cues and misinterprets metaphors and conversations.
155	** Auzzie's failure as the school casanova can be seen as the result of his own ego and over-confidence.
156	* NoodleIncident: Preston brings up the time Debra crashed a golf car into a wall when he is trying to motivate her in "Spelling Bee Rematch". There is no flashback, but Debra insists the wall was made up of foam bricks.
157	* OffscreenBreakup: Dancy and Mank are said to have broken up after Mank's one and only episode.
158	* OutOfContextEavesdropping: Brud and Auzzie eavsdrop on Debra telling her cousin Marla about Preston's upcoming birthday and incorrectly assume Debra is trying to set Preston up with her for a long-distance relationship.
159	* PaperThinDisguise:
160	** Debra and Dancy as waitresses in "Chaz Camfield" are mildly convincing as they have aged-up clothes, Dancy with a wigs, Debra with a different hairstyle, shoes, attempt to speak with accents and are close in age to actual waitresses. Preston, however, is significantly shorter than the real Chef Des Chalet and is very clearly a young boy. In Auzzie and Brud's case it's also unlikely that two teenagers would be sent to interview Chef Des Chalet for a receiving an apparently prestigious award.
161	** [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in "My Dinner With Dancy when Preston is eventually able to see through Debra's disguise at Antonio's.
162	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: When trying to determine what Preston's body would look like in "Operation Dancy" Debra figures it would be blue with Preston being a boy. ItMakesSenseInContext.
163	* PlaceboEffect: Preston gives Debra the Fear-Be-Gone watch... as a prize for getting over her stage fright before the spelling bee rematch against Dancy. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that Debra knows it's a placebo the whole time, but goes along with it anyway.]]
164	* ThePollyanna: Debra.
165	* QuakingWithFear: Debra's legs are seen trembling with cartoon sound effects when she practices for the spelling bee rematch in front of Preston's family at which Preston discovers she suffers from stage fright.
166	* QuirkyHousehold:
167	** Though unseen Debra's family and their house is suggested to be this.
168	** The Lunfords in a nutshell.
169	* RadioContest: Debra enters one with Preston when she worries Preston's parents might be breaking-up in "Lung Trumpet" to win tickets to see their favourite band for their anniversary in the hopes it will rekindle their love.
170	* RaisedByGrandparents: A "while the parents are away" example. Debra's grandmother is said to be looking after her while her parents are away on a scientific study.
171	* ARareSentence: Preston's "Leave me alone" line to Debra after they first meet (see above).
172	* SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud: Debra peppers her descriptions with these.
173	* SchoolNewspaperNewsHound: Auzzie and Brud try to be this in "My Dinner With Dancy".
174	* SchoolOfSeduction: In an impromptu non-building example Debra attempts to teach Auzzie the proper way to charm a girl in "Designing Auzzie".
175	* ScoobyDooHoax: The gang stage one in the school at night to snap Dancy out of her heartbreak after her break-up with Mank.
176	* SecondPrize: When Debra and Preston only get 2nd prize in the radio contest in "Lung Trumpet" which turn to be a meal at a restaurant, Knuckle Dusters, wherein Preston's parents went to after leaving the concert disappointed and had their actual first date there.
177	* ShorterMeansSmarter: Compare the short, socially naive, nonetheless always conscientious and full of ideas Debra to the tall, but shallow and not-too-bright Dancy.
178	* ShoutOut:
179	** Debra wonders if a runaway truck killed Wile E Coyote And calls Roadrunner the "[[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner Beep! Beep!]]" guy and mistakes him for a chicken after her disastrous attempt at driver’s ed.
180	** When Debra first meets Preston in "Introducing Debra" she excitedly asks if they are [[Music/TheJonasBrothers "a brothers band"]].
181	** Preston asks Debra if [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Dancy's mirror told her Debra was the fairest in the land"]] as to why Dancy hates her.
182	** In "Graduating Ferufsky" Debra lists [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]] as among the places altruists can be found.
183	** The band Lung Trumpet is very clearly inspired by Music/{{KISS}}.
184	** In "Operation Dancy" Debra uses a feminist interpretation of the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Wicked Witch of the West]] to help Dancy move on after her break-up:
185	--> '''Debra''': Dancy, you are who you are because of you. Not because of some silly boy. The Wicked Witch wasn't defined by Mr Wicked... (bites lip pensively)
186	--> '''Dancy''': That's a really bad example.
187	** Debra says Preston reminds her of Music/JustinBieber.
188	** The Barbeque Arnett costume Preston wears has a mask quite like [[Franchise/{{Halloween}} Michael Myers]] and a glove with blades coming out his fingers like [[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Freddy Krueger]].
189	** In "Designing Auzzie" Preston asks a dressed to impressed Auzzie why he is dressed like [[Film/AustinPowers Austin Powers]]. [[note]]Ironically, though probably not, Auzzie is played by Austin [=Mac=]Donald.[[/note]]
190	** Later, Debra invokes ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}}'' when Auzzie ends up becoming a slave to a bossy senior girl:
191	--> '''Debra''': "[[ReferencedBy/WilliamShakespeare Woe is totally me]], as [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Shakespeare]] would say if he was girl alive today and not some guy who’s been dead four hundred years."
192	** In a flashback in "Spelling Bee Rematch" to when Debra started getting stage fright after attempting to speak in French with Music/CelineDion being one of the few words she was able to say clearly.
193	** In TheStinger for "Spelling Bee Rematch" Preston introduces his mother's stand-up set on stage to which she refers to herself as [[Music/JenniferLopez G. Lo]].
194	** "Project Josie" is one to ''Series/ProjectRunway''.
195	** The episode title "Drum and Drummer" is one to ''Film/DumbAndDumber''.
196	* SickeninglySweethearts: Preston and Gracie's parents, Jack and Gracie Lunford are this from their EstablishingCharacterMoment onward.
197	* SociallyAwkwardHero: Our girl Debra, complete with NoSocialSkills at school and {{Malaproper}} tendencies for inventing new phrases.
198	* SpellingBee: Debra takes pride in her victory over Dancy at one in the 3rd grade and even carries the victory certificate along with her to hit back whenever Dancy tries to run her down. In "Spelling Bee Rematch" they duel once again. [[spoiler: Debra wins.]]
199	* SpitTake: Preston does one after he hears Debra trying to telephone Principal Ridge.
200	* StageMagician: Preston aspires to be one.
201	* TheStakeout: A SpiesInAVan example as police officer Jack Lunford brings his wife, Gabby and daughter, Gracie along on one in "Teen Capsule". Gabby provides snacks and Gracie just tries to get her homework finished while ignoring her parents' loved up couple talk.
202	* StatusQuoIsGod: After Debra transfers to Camfield High and befriends Preston, Auzzie and Brud there is no major shift or change in the series' world.
203	* StealthHiBye: Happens a lot in "Operation Dancy", first Dancy to Debra and Preston, then both of them to her, and then Mr. Treadgold to Principal Ridge. Particular fitting for the episode's horror elements.
204	* StylisticSuck: Gabby's jokes when she tries out stand-up comedy in "Spelling Bee Rematch" are innocently corny.
205	* SucksAtDancing: Preston's mom, Mrs Lunford wants to go on a date night and Officer Lunford remembers [[RuleOfThree their first date, wedding and New Year's Eve in the ballroom]], all of which ended in the back of an ambulance as a result of her "two left feet". [[spoiler:Fourth time is '''not''' the charm.]]
206	* SuckySchool: A very subtle example as Camfield High's main problems tend to stem from apathetic teachers and lack of public funding as seen in "Chez Camfield" when Debra complains about the school cafeteria and Principal Ridge is interested only in securing funding for a new desk for his office. The same episode also has a vacancy for a school bus driver posted outside the school if it's any indication.
207	* SuperGullible: Mrs Lunford when she asks Gracie what Preston wants for his birthday.
208	* SupremeChef: Solomon Des Chalet, the French chef Principal Ridge hires to cook the dinner for his meeting with the Board of Education and the Mayor that Aussie distracts by pretending to be a journalist interviewing him for an award he has won.
209	* SurpriseParty: Debra and Marla plan one for Preston in "Let's Party".
210	* TakeOurWordForIt: Debra in her confessional says they can't show any more of the wrestling match in "Graduating Fenufsky" because it's too violent and that some of the boys on the team requested grief counselling after seeing it.
211	* TalentContest: The first episode, "Introducing Debra" features a school talent show at Camfield High wherein Dancy and her Dancyettes perform a glamorous routine in and Debra motivates Preston to enter his magic act in with her acting as his assistant.
212	* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Brud leaves a note for Auzzie on his locker telling him he had to go home early and accurately anticipates his reaction.
213	* TeachersOutOfSchool: Preston is startled to run into Mr. Treadgold outside of school hours at a radio contest for tickets to see the KISS-inspired metal band Lung Trumpet with the normally timid substitute teacher in full cosplay as a band member.
214	* TheTeaser: Every episode starts with one, usually with Debra asking Mr. Treadgold random questions during class. Each time the class is different ranging from music to mathematics, and even Driver's Ed in the first episode where it appears they actually meet for the first time when he asks her age. "Chez Camfield" and "Teen Capsule" are the only exceptions to this.
215	* TimeCapsule: The town buries one in "Teen Capsule".
216	* TookALevelInJerkass: Dancy and Debra used to be friends before Dancy discovered the perks and allure of popularity and abandoned Debra to become a resident mean girl.
217	* TwoFistedTales: Gracie types up her father's account of a case for a real crime magazine in a dynamic and sensationalized style close to a Creator/RaymondChandler story.
218	* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Most episodes have a main plot featuring Debra’s misadventure with Preston and a subplot with either Gracie and the rest of the Lunfords or Auzzie and Brud which would often come to a conclusion with the climax of the Debra plot.
219	* UsedToBeASweetKid: Dancy according to Debra.
220	* VillainousBSOD: Dancy has a 24-hour-long one in "Designing Auzzie" after Auzzie bypasses her for a senior girl as she was anticipating him trying his luck with her again and was preparing "the ultimate put-down". She just stands there in the cafeteria all night.
221	* WackyParentSeriousChild: The Lunford parents are this to the cynical Preston and level-headed Gracie.
222	* WeUsedToBeFriends: Debra and Dancy before Dancy discovered popularity.
223	* WelcomeEpisode: "Introducing Debra" focuses on Debra just having transferred to Camfield High, meeting Preston, Auzzie and Brud and reigniting her history with Dancy.
224	* WhatDoesThisButtonDo: Debra is frequently prone to this, both when she hits the bottom on the band's confetti machine in "Introducing Debra" and the lever to start pouring the cement in "Teen Capsule".
225	* WideEyedIdealist: Our girl once again.
226	* WigDressAccent: Debra and Dancy pretend to be French waitresses to serve the school board Debra's recipes in "Chaz Camfield". Heels are also included.
227	* TheWildcats: The school football team are called the Camfield Cougars.
228	* XMustNotWin: A consistent reason for prompting Debra to compete against Dancy.
229	* YoungEntrepreneur: Debra, while she hasn't officially started her future company yet thinks as one.
230	* ZanyScheme: Most episodes involve or require one of these.
231	* ZombieGait: Debra does an impression of a zombie in the first episode which is also used in the opening credits.
232	%
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Context Series / Debra