History Series / DegrassiJuniorHigh

* CanadaEh:
** Downplayed. While the [[UsefulNotes/CanadianAccents accents and some of the language]] used were a dead giveaway, there was nothing really stereotypical Canadian about the show. It really demonstrated just how Rust Belt UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} in the '80s was. Despite this, most people think ''Next Generation'' became overly Americanized over time, and think of ''Junior High'' as being more Canadian.
** Wheels' thick accent.

''Degrassi Junior High'': the second series in the ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise and the one that put the Degrassi name on the map for good. It aired on Creator/{{CBC}} from January 18, 1987 to February 27, 1989, in a DramaticHalfHour format; with a total of forty-two episodes in three seasons, before being continued with ''Series/DegrassiHigh'' later in 1989. Although acknowledgement of its existence within the greater scope of the TV landscape is very rare and sporadic, it has been referred to as the TropeMaker of the TeenDrama and a direct influence on later and bigger series such as ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''.

The series was conceived by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in early 1986 as the next step from their successful children's series ''Series/TheKidsOfDegrassiStreet''. Having tackled pre-adolescent issues for the past seven years with that series, Hood and Schuyler wanted to take on more complex subject matter. As a direct reaction to all the American sitcoms with {{Anvilicious}} messages and moralism, they sought to create a show that would be authentic, informative and entertaining without treating its target audience like idiots. The casting process was very unconventional, as they sought out age-appropriate actors, most of who had never acted before. Although the cast hierarchy was modeled after a "repertory company" setup, some characters wound up being more prominent than others and eventually became central to the show. Notable characters include Joey Jeremiah (Creator/PatMastroianni), punk rock teen mom Spike Nelson (Creator/AmandaStepto), passionate activist Caitlin Ryan (Creator/StacieMistysyn), as well as Joey's friends Snake (Stefan Brogren) and Wheels (Neil Hope).

Upon release it immediately stood out to critics for the way it accurately reflected teenagers and approached controversial topics, but originally received modest commercial success. It also benefitted from being AdoredByTheNetwork; Ivan Fecan, CBC's programming chief, happened to be a big fan of the show himself and disliked its FridayNightDeathSlot, and moved it to a crucial prime-time spot, sandwiched between the popular American sitcoms ''Series/KateAndAllie'' and ''Series/{{Newhart}}''. From there, it became one of the biggest shows in the country, frequently exceeding a million viewers on average, which was considered a massive success by Canadian television standards. In the United States, it aired on Creator/{{PBS}} to a fairly smaller but still loyal cult following. In Australia, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff it was just as big as it was at home]]. The [=BBC=] attempted to air the first season, but after relegating a few controversial episodes to a later timeslot, [[NoExportForYou dropped the show altogether]]. It won 37 awards during the two years it aired on television, including '''four''' Gemini Awards (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy) in a single year.

* HomoeroticDream: Caitlin got a VerySpecialEpisode about her sexuality because she has a strange dream about her teacher Ms. Avery.

''Degrassi Junior High'': the second series in the ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise and the one that put the Degrassi name on the map for good. It aired on Creator/{{CBC}} from January 18, 1987 to February 27, 1989, with a total of forty-two episodes in three seasons, before being continued with ''Series/DegrassiHigh'' later in 1989. Although acknowledgement of its existence within the greater scope of the TV landscape is very rare and sporadic, it has been referred to as the TropeMaker of the TeenDrama and a direct influence on later and bigger series such as ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''.

By today's standards, of course, it might look tame and quaint to a modern audience, and a mix of SequelDisplacement and PopCultureIsolation has rendered this version of the show largely overshadowed by its 2001-2015 revival, ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration''. Nonetheless, interest in this version certainly remains, and there has been a slight uptick since the early 2020s.

''Degrassi Junior High'': the second series in the ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise and the one that put the Degrassi name on the map for good. It aired on Creator/{{CBC}} from January 18, 1987 to February 27, 1989, with a total of forty-two episodes in three seasons, before being continued with ''Series/DegrassiHigh'' later in 1989. Although acknowledgement of its existence within the greater scope of TV discourse is extremely rare, it has been referred to as the TropeMaker of the TeenDrama and a direct influence on later and bigger series such as ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''.

By today's standards, of course, it might look [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny tame and laughably quaint]] to a modern audience, and a mixture of SequelDisplacement and PopCultureIsolation has rendered this version of the show largely overshadowed by its 2001-2015 revival, perhaps perpetually denying it a proper re-evaluation. Nonetheless, interest in this version certainly remains, and there has been a slight uptick since the early 2020s.

Upon release it immediately stood out to critics for the way it accurately reflected teenagers and approached controversial topics, but originally received modest commercial success. It also benefitted from being AdoredByTheNetwork; Ivan Fecan, CBC's programming chief, happened to be a big fan of the show himself and disliked its FridayNightDeathSlot, and moved it to a crucial prime-time spot, sandwiched between the popular American sitcoms ''Series/KateAndAllie'' and ''Series/Newhart''. From there, it became one of the biggest shows in the country, frequently exceeding a million viewers on average, which was considered a massive success by Canadian television standards. In the United States, it aired on Creator/{{PBS}} to a fairly smaller but still loyal cult following. In Australia, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff it was just as big as it was at home]]. The [=BBC=] attempted to air the first season, but after relegating a few controversial episodes to a later timeslot, [[NoExportForYou dropped the show altogether]]. It won 37 awards during the two years it aired on television, including '''four''' Gemini Awards (the Canadian equivalent of an Emmy) in a single year.

''Degrassi Junior High'': the second series in the ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise and the one that put the Degrassi name on the map for good. It aired on Creator/{{CBC}} from January 18, 1987 to February 27, 1989, with a total of forty-two episodes in three seasons, before being continued with ''Series/DegrassiHigh''. It is commonly regarded as the TropeMaker of the TeenDrama genre and a direct influence on more mainstream series such as ''Series/BeverlyHills90210''.

The series was conceived by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in early 1986 as the next step from their successful children's series ''Series/TheKidsOfDegrassiStreet''. Dissatisfied with the teen media and American family sitcoms of the time, they brainstormed a series that would target teenage audiences and accurately reflect their lives without talking down to them. The casting practices were highly unconventional, with flyers distributed to schools and local kids with no acting experience being encouraged to audition. Although the cast hierarchy was modeled after a "repertory company" setup, some characters wound up sticking out more than others and became main characters in the eyes of fans. These include class clown Joey Jeremiah (Creator/PatMastroianni), punk rock teen mom Spike Nelson (Creator/AmandaStepto), passionate activist Caitlin Ryan (Creator/StacieMistysyn), as well as Joey's friends Snake (Stefan Brogren) and Wheels (Neil Hope).

Upon release it immediately stood out to critics for the way it accurately reflected teenagers and approached controversial topics. It also benefitted from being AdoredByTheNetwork, with CBC bigwig Ivan Fecan being so enthralled with its potential that he removed it from its humble Sunday afternoon slot and placed it right in the middle of prime-time in between two popular American sitcoms, a gamble which paid off, as ''Degrassi Junior High'' soon became the #1 drama in Canada and a local phenomenon. It also aired in the United States on Creator/{{PBS}} to a relatively smaller (but still loyal) cult following, but achieved its greatest overseas success in Australia. The [=BBC=] attempted to air the first season, but after relegating a few controversial episodes to a later timeslot, [[NoExportForYou dropped the show altogether]]. It won nearly thirty awards during the two years it aired on television, including '''four''' Gemini Awards in a single year. By the time the series became ''Degrassi High'', it was averaging over a million viewers weekly.

By [[SocietyMarchesOn today's standards]], of course, it might look [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny tame and laughably quaint]] to a modern audience, and a mixture of SequelDisplacement and PopCultureIsolation has rendered this version of the show largely overshadowed by its 2001-2015 revival, perhaps perpetually denying it a proper re-evaluation. Nonetheless, interest in this version certainly remains, and there has been a slight uptick since the early 2020s.

The series was conceived by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in 1986, as the next step from their successful children's series ''Series/TheKidsOfDegrassiStreet''. The pair noticed a lack of educational teen programming on television, and sought to create a series that would educate teenagers about hot-button topics without talking down on them, in contrast to the family-oriented sitcoms of the day. Most episodes followed a fairly standard formula: one of the kids has ADayInTheLimelight where they deal with a nightmarish problem. At the same time, another kid has a comic adventure that may or may not mirror the main A plot (TwoLinesNoWaiting). At the same time, several arc plots floated around the show, and each episode would move the arc forward a bit (often serving as {{Foreshadowing}} for the A and B plots of later episodes). Described like that, it sounds like a crappy VerySpecialEpisode. But [[SubvertedTrope what made it more than that]] was the willingness to not solve every problem with a neat little bow, and for the consequences to last more than an episode -- like when a character fails a grade, the whole next season shows then struggling with the stigma. The show did not feature a fixed cast, but instead relied on a large troupe of largely inexperienced actors that was referred to as a "repertory company" and whose roles would consistently shift throughout the course of the show. Nonetheless, some characters stuck out more than others and eventually became the main characters in the eyes of the fans. These include class clown Joey Jeremiah (Creator/PatMastroianni), punk rock teen mom Spike Nelson (Creator/AmandaStepto), passionate activist Caitlin Ryan (Creator/StacieMistysyn), as well as Joey's friends Snake (Stefan Brogren) and Wheels (Neil Hope).

Upon release it immediately stood out to critics and viewers for the way it dealt with controversial topics, and it was hailed as a superior and more grounded alternative to family sitcoms such as ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', ''Series/FamilyTies'', and ''Our House''. Schuyler claims it was the first prime-time show to tackle TeenPregnancy. It also portrayed an interracial couple where not even American television 5-10 years later would and even featured the utterance of the N-word to depict racism. Also adding to its reputation was that it defied the DawsonCasting trend prevalent in a lot of high school-centered shows and movies, with pretty much everyone, background characters included, being played by legitimate teens. Initially in a 5.30pm Sunday time slot, CBC [[AdoredByTheNetwork showed a lot of enthusiasm for the show]] and had it moved to Monday night primetime (between the American sitcoms ''Series/KateAndAllie'' and ''Series/{{Newhart}}''). From there, it became a ratings smash for the network. It was the #1 drama in Canada, and was extremely popular there, with the show also gaining a small cult following in the United States (where it aired on Creator/{{PBS}}) and a bigger international following in Australia. The [=BBC=] attempted to air the first season, but after relegating a few controversial episodes to a later timeslot, [[NoExportForYou dropped the show altogether]]. It won nearly thirty awards during the two years it aired on television, including '''four''' Gemini Awards in a single year. By the time the series became ''Degrassi High'', it was averaging over a million viewers weekly.

By today's standards of course it might look [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny tame and laughably quaint]] to a modern audience. Later teen dramas (including [[Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration its own successors]]) have pushed the envelope so much in the ensuing decades that modern viewers might fail to see what the big deal was. In addition, a mixture of SequelDisplacement and PopCultureIsolation has rendered this version of the show largely overshadowed by its 2001-2015 revival, perhaps perpetually denying it a proper re-evaluation. Nonetheless, interest in this version continues, with TheNewTwenties spawning some video essays about it.