History Trivia / Degrassi

** ''Degrassi Junior High'' not only impacted a generation of Canadians, but also found its way into the late 80s/early 90s Australian nostalgia canon; it aired on the [=ABC=]'s ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey in "It's Late", which was later revealed to be a deliberate ShoutOut to the Australian fanbase, was a factor. Australia was also the only country to see any form of consumer home video release of the series for many years (a 1992 VHS release of ''School's Out'' by ABC Video, of which there remains very little evidence of online), and Neil Hope's untimely death made Australian news.

* TallPoppySyndrome: In the classic era, it was apparently not too cool to be on ''Degrassi'': some actors were even harassed in public for it.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: ''Degrassi'', no matter which generation, has recurring characters who just suddenly disappear. It became so egregious that fans of ''Next Generation'' coined the term ''Degrassi Black Hole''; if a character became a victim of this trope, they were blackholed. This is definitely not a ''Next Generation''-specific trope, however, as there are multiple examples of this in ''Junior High'' and ''High''.

* PopCultureIsolation: While very popular in Canada and a bunch of other countries including Australia (as noted above), the original ''Degrassi'' series were and still are largely unknown in the US. As stated above, it did have a cult following, but an extremely niche one.

** ''Degrassi Junior High'' not only impacted a generation of Canadians, but also found its way into the late 80s/early 90s Australian nostalgia canon; it aired on the [=ABC=]'s ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey in "It's Late" was a factor. Australia was also the only country to see any form of consumer home video release of the series for many years (a 1992 VHS release of ''School's Out'' by ABC Video, of which there remains very little evidence of online), and Neil Hope's untimely death made Australian news.

** While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, America didn't truly take notice of it until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home. Even as it continued to rake in viewers on Creator/TheN for years, its Canadian ratings peaked midway through and then steadily declined to a fraction of that peak. It was so bad that local TV critics like Bill Brioux were [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173833/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/degrassi-lost-generation.html outright questioning why the show was still going]]. The story goes that, due to its Canadian downhill slope, CTV ended up cancelling ''Next Generation'', until Stephen Stohn pulled strings with [=TeenNick=], leading to its season 10 rejuvenation, meaning that this trope actually wound up saving the show.

!! Tropes relating to the franchise:

* ShoutOut: Creator/KevinSmith references ''Degrassi'' in several of his 90s films, such as ''Film/Mallrats'' (where Shannen Doherty's character wears a ''Degrassi'' jacket).

** While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, America didn't truly take notice of it until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home, so much that even as it continued to rake in viewers on Creator/TheN for years, in Canada, it peaked midway through, followed by a steady decline that eventually became so severe by 2008 that local TV critics like Bill Brioux were [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173833/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/degrassi-lost-generation.html outright questioning why the show was still going]]. The story goes that CTV ended up cancelling ''Next Generation'', until Stephen Stohn pulled strings with [=TeenNick=], leading to its season 10 rejuvenation, meaning that this trope actually wound up ensuring the show a longer future.
* TallPoppySyndrome: According to several cast members of the original generation, it was not considered cool to be on ''Degrassi'' during its initial 80s heyday. If it wasn't the indifference from their peers and teachers threatening to dock grades, it was actual public harassment. Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin) has often talked about hearing people behind her mockingly say "Degrassi" while on public transit. According to Linda Schuyler's memoir, Amanda Stepto (Spike) was called a "slut" in real life over her character's pregnancy, and Duncan Waugh (Arthur) was bullied to tears over the episode where his character has wet dreams. Actors have noted that they only really started getting appreciation decades later.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Two glaring examples:
** ''Degrassi Junior High'' not only impacted a generation of Canadians, but also hit home particular with Australians; it aired on the [=ABC=]'s ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey in "It's Late" was probably a factor. Australia was also the only country to see any form of consumer home video release of the series for many years (a 1992 VHS release of ''School's Out'' by ABC Video, of which there remains very little evidence of online), and Neil Hope's untimely death made Australian news.

** While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, America didn't truly take notice of it until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home, so much so that as it continued to rake in viewers on Creator/TheN, back home on CTV ratings had fallen from its season five peak of a million down to just a quarter of that number. Its Canadian ratings decline was so severe that local TV critics like Bill Brioux were [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173833/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/degrassi-lost-generation.html outright questioning why the show was still going]]. The story goes that CTV ended up cancelling ''Next Generation'', until Stephen Stohn pulled strings with [=TeenNick=], leading to its season 10 rejuvenation, meaning that this trope actually wound up ensuring the show a longer future.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, it largely remained a Canadian cultural phenomenon until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home, so much so that as it continued to rake in viewers on Creator/TheN, back home on CTV ratings had fallen from its season five peak of a million down to just a quarter of that number. Its Canadian ratings decline was so severe that local TV critics like Bill Brioux were [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173833/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/degrassi-lost-generation.html outright questioning why the show was still going]]. The story goes that CTV ended up cancelling ''Next Generation'', until Stephen Stohn pulled strings with [=TeenNick=], leading to its season 10 rejuvenation, meaning that this trope actually wound up ensuring the show a longer future.
** The only other country that went crazy for ''Degrassi Junior High'' as much as its homeland, was Australia, where it aired on ABC's ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. It's hard to write about classic Degrassi's impact without mentioning Australia. What could have helped was Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey. Australia also appears to have gotten the only consumer home video release of the franchise (a 1993 VHS release of ''School's Out'', of which there ''no'' images on the Internet) for several years, which is noteworthy because North America did not see a true commercial home media release of ''Degrassi'' until 2000.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, it largely remained a Canadian cultural phenomenon until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home. While American kids were still going crazy for ''TNG'' by the late 2000s, it was declining in ratings domestically (roughly between 100,000-200,000 viewers compared to its peak of a million, a feat that the original ''Degrassi'' had no problem achieving every week), so much so that Canadian TV critics like Bill Brioux were [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110723173833/http://tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot.com/2008/10/degrassi-lost-generation.html outright questioning why the show was still going]]. This led to CTV cancelling it in 2009, but its American popularity wound up giving it a new life.

* TallPoppySyndrome: According to several cast members of the original generation, it was not considered cool to be on ''Degrassi'' during its initial 80s heyday. If it wasn't the indifference from their peers and teachers, it was actual harassment. Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin) has often talked about hearing people behind her mockingly say "Degrassi" while on public transit. According to Linda Schuyler's memoir, Amanda Stepto (Spike) was called a "slut" in real life over her character's pregnancy, and Duncan Waugh (Arthur) was bullied to tears over the episode where his character has wet dreams.

** The only other country that went crazy for ''Degrassi Junior High'' as much as its homeland, was Australia, where it aired on ABC's ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. It's hard to write about classic Degrassi's impact without mentioning Australia. What could have helped was Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey. Australia also appears to have gotten the only consumer home video release of the franchise (a 1993 VHS release of ''School's Out'', of which there ''no'' images on the Internet) for several years, which is noteworthy because North America did not see a true commercial home media release of ''Degrassi'' until 2000.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, it largely remained a Canadian cultural phenomenon until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home. While American kids were still going crazy for ''TNG'' by the late 2000s, it was declining in ratings domestically (roughly between 100,000-200,000 viewers compared to its peak of a million, a feat that the original ''Degrassi'' had no problem achieving every week), so much so that Canadian TV critics like Bill Brioux were questioning why the show was still going. This led to CTV cancelling it in 2009, but its American popularity wound up giving it a new life.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While ''Degrassi'' always had a cult following south of the border, it largely remained a Canadian cultural phenomenon until ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' took off in the US, where it was arguably more popular there than it was back home. While American kids were still going crazy for ''TNG'' by the late 2000s, it was declining in ratings domestically, so much so that Canadian TV critics like Bill Brioux were questioning why the show was still going. This led to CTV cancelling it in 2009, but its American popularity wound up giving it a new life.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: American audiences really took to ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' in the 2000s, and US ''TNG'' fans make up a large part of the current overall fanbase, to the point where you could argue that the general public perception of the franchise and the narrative around its history were significantly affected.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: American audiences really took to ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' in the 2000s, and US ''TNG'' fans make up a large part of the current overall fanbase, to the point where you could argue that the general public perception of the franchise and the narrative around its history has been affected by this.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: American audiences really took to ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' in the 2000s, and US ''TNG'' fans make up a large part of the current overall fanbase.

** The only other country that went crazy for ''Degrassi Junior High'' as much as its homeland, was Australia, where it aired on ABC's ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. What could have helped was Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey. Australia also appears to have gotten the only consumer home video release of the franchise (a 1993 VHS release of ''School's Out'', of which there ''no'' images on the Internet) for several years, which is noteworthy because North America did not see a true commercial home media release of ''Degrassi'' until 2000.

** The only other country that went crazy for ''Degrassi Junior High'' as much as its homeland, was Australia, where it aired on ABC's ''The Afternoon Show'' hosted by James Valentine and later Michael Tunn. What could have helped was Wheels wearing a Footscray Bulldogs geurnsey. Australia also appears to have gotten the only consumer home video release of the franchise (a 1993 VHS release of ''School's Out'', of which there ''no'' images on the Internet) for several years.