Line #141 YMMV/Degrassi


1	* AmericansHateTingle: CBC programming chief Ivan Fecan [[https://web.archive.org/web/20051024204911/http://news.degrassi.ca/article.php?a_id=403 invoked this]] when the premiere episode of ''Degrassi High'', in which Erica gets an abortion, was edited by PBS, leading to accusations of censorship and typical American ExecutiveMeddling.
2	* ArchivePanic: There are '''''521 episodes''''' of Degrassi in total, out of five individual series; ''The Next Generation'' alone makes up the bulk of this, with 14 seasons and 385 episodes. If you were to [[ArchiveBinge binge all five series and three TV movies non-stop]], from "Ida Makes A Movie" to "#[=KThxBye=]", it would take you approximately a week. This doesn't even account for stuff like ''Series/DegrassiTalks'', documentaries like ''Degrassi Between Takes'' and ''The Degrassi Story'', and the ''Next Generation'' "Mini" webisodes, not to mention the non-television canon, like the ''[[Literature/DegrassiJuniorHigh Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High]]'' novels or the TNG ''Extra Credit'' graphic novels.
3	* AudienceAlienatingEra: The 1979–1992 era did not have one, and one of the reasons the franchise originally ended with ''Degrassi High'', among its many, was to avoid one of these. Come ''The Next Generation'' however, and because of its [[LongRunner long run]], there are a few contenders among the fans; season 8 is considered to be that entry's lowest point because of a multitude of factors[[labelnote:including]]the departures/greatly reduced roles of numerous fan favorites such as Paige, Ellie, Marco, Jay, and Jimmy, the PromotiontoOpeningTitles and introduction of new characters on a scale not seen since Season 1 (many of whom weren't compelling/developed/likeable enough to carry storylines on their own), a widely hated OfficialCouple (Peter/Mia), the college storylines feeling too disconnected and inconsequential in regards to the titular high school, plot lines being dropped after only one or two episodes (most notably Jane's sexual abuse storyline), and the show's iconic title sequence getting an unfortunate case of RearrangetheSong that was supposed to sound current and updated, but whom many felt TheyChangedItNowItSucks[[/labelnote]].
4	* AudienceColoringAdaptation: ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is the most recognizable version of the show (arguably mostly because of its [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff its success in the United States]], whereas [[PopCultureIsolation the original trilogy remained an obscure PBS program that only a select few seemed to be aware of]]). This has also led to a widely spread and deeply entrenched misconception that ''The Next Generation'' is [[FanonDiscontinuity the only important and legitimate entry]].
5	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Virtually every single character in the entire franchise is one, but some examples are more apparent than others. For example, Christine "Spike" Nelson, who appeared in ''Junior High'', ''High'', and as an adult in ''Next Generation'' with her daughter Emma, appears to be very polarising, even if there isn't any massive wars fought over her: she has many fans from both the original and ''Next Generation'' who view her as an independent, open-minded and compassionate person. Her detractors view her as an annoyingly frosty {{Jerkass}} who treated the father of her child badly and actively kept him out of Emma's life. ''Next Generation'' viewers who dislike her usually point to her "best friend" treatment and lack of adequate discipline of Emma, which they feel possibly led to the latter's "annoying" personality.
6	* BrokenBase: Between those who appreciate the vibe of the earlier iterations (namely ''Junior High'', ''High'', and to an extent, early ''Next Generation''), and those who prefer when it moved away from that vibe and became a full-blown teen drama (later ''Next Generation'' and ''Next Class''). Many of those who prefer the later vibe look down on the earlier stuff ([[PopCultureIsolation if they're aware of it]]) as afterschool special-esque cheese, while those who prefer the earlier vibe may dismiss the later stuff as encompassing the worst of teen drama stereotypes.
7	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Since ''Degrassi High'', there has been at least one minor or short-lived character that ends up having a huge impact on the events of his respective show.
8	** Claude Tanner in ''Degrassi High'' was at best a minor character for most of that series aside from his nuclear protest plot with Caitlin. In the second season, he would commit suicide, to which Snake finds him in the bathroom, and the school is thrown in shambles.
9	** Rick Murray in ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' appeared for several episodes in its third season as the abusive boyfriend of Terri [=MacGregor=]. After he knocks Terri into a coma, he disappears, until returning in early Season 4 for a series of episodes that would ultimately lead up to a school ''shooting''.
10	** Later in ''Next Generation'', Lakehurst student Drake Lempkey makes his only minutes-long appearance absolutely infamous after he stabs J.T., a character who had been there for the entire series, killing him. A throwaway line in a following episode says he was later arrested. His fellow Lakehurst bully Johnny [=DiMarco=] who was with him [[EvenEvilHasStandards couldn't believe]] what Drake did and episodes later while at a Brat Camp admits the event traumatized him and lead him to act out more.
11	** Campbell Saunders is introduced in the twelfth season. His suicide in the same season hugely affects multiple people but not limited to; Maya who dated him; Zig who told him to "go away" and "get out of Maya's life forever"; Dallas who had been arguing with Cam prior about not making hockey a priority; and Eli, who found him dead and became traumatized.
12	** In the ''Next Class'' era, Maya still shows signs of Campbell's death affecting her while dealing with her own depression. When she attempts suicide via [=ODing=], she's on an empty bus sitting in a similar catatonic-like state Cam was in after coming home from an away hockey game.
13	* FanonDiscontinuity:
14	** ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'' is commonly disregarded because of its lack of relation to the rest of the franchise.
15	** ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' surprisingly get this treatment a lot; even though they are the direct predecessors of the ''Next Generation'' and are directly connected to future iterations in every way ''Degrassi Street'' isn't, they are kind of just scrubbed from existence by popular and "comprehensive" online fan retrospectives about the show, whether because of a lack of familiarity or because of a preconceived notion that those series don't count because "nobody" has heard of them.
16	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Two significant examples.
17	** ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' were particularly popular in Australia; this led to a ShoutOut in which Wheels wears an Australian rules football jersey, which in turn even further solidified its Australian fanbase. It is still regarded as a part of the 1980s Australian nostalgia canon.
18	** ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' was very popular in the United States, arguably eclipsing whatever success it had in Canada; it was one of the flagship shows of ''Creator/TheN'', and continued to thrive even when Canadian ratings declined to a point where [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173833/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/degrassi-lost-generation.html local critics were questioning why it was still going]]. This trope also managed to save the show from a brief behind-the-scenes 2009 cancellation by CTV, when Stephen Stohn negotiated a deal with [=TeenNick=].
19	* OnceOriginalNowOverdone: ''Degrassi Junior High'' was praised as a breath of fresh air with the way it dealt with adolescence, and now it is regarded as the TropeMaker, or at least the UrExample, of TeenDrama. In the wake of all the teen shows of the ensuing decades, including later ''Degrassi'' series, it might be hard to see why its concept was so novel.
20	* PopCultureIsolation: ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' were both Canadian prime-time smash hits; in the United States, they were largely obscure PBS programs with a very niche cult following. This goes a long way in explaining the SequelDisplacement caused by ''The Next Generation'', which was many Americans' introduction to ''Degrassi'' in general.
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Context YMMV / Degrassi