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Degrassi: The Next Generation (season 4)
Encyclopedia
The fourth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada
on 7 September 2004, concluded on 14 February 2005 and contains twenty-two episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation
is a Canadian serial
teen drama
television series
. It continues to depict the lives of a group of sophomores and juniors as they deal with the some of the challenges and issues teenagers face such as coming out, rape, relationships, mental illness, sex, bullying, alcoholism, school shooting, sexual identity, and sexually transmitted disease
s. Every episode is titled after a song from the 1980s, except for the two-part season finale
"Going Down the Road", which took its name from the 1970 Canadian film Goin' Down the Road
. Filming took place between April and October 2004.
The first six episodes of season four aired Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on CTV
, a Canadian terrestrial
television network
, before settling into its regular 8:30 p.m. timeslot. When the season returned to the schedules in January 2005 following a break over the Christmas period, it aired on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. In the United States
, it was broadcast on The N, a digital
cable network
aimed at teenagers and young adults. The season was released on DVD as a four disc boxed set on 28 November 2006 by Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment
in Canada, and by FUNimation Entertainment
in the US on 24 October 2006. The last three episodes were also sold in the US, packaged together in two different releases; one version was dubbed "unrated, uncensored and uncut" and featured an audio commentary and other bonus material, the other version was dubbed "rated", and did not feature the audio commentary. Registered users of the Canadian and US iTunes Store
s are also able purchase and download the season for playback on home computers and certain iPod
s. This was the first season to release a soundtrack
, Songs from Degrassi: The Next Generation
was available as a digital download
on 1 November 2005.
Season four was one of Degrassi: The Next Generation' s most successful seasons for viewing figures. Two episodes were watched by nearly a million Canadian viewers and helped the season garner an average audience of 600,000, making it the most-viewed domestic drama in Canada. In the US, one episode from the season was watched by over half-a-million viewers, the highest audience figure The N had ever had. Only three awards were won for the season, from a total of nine nominations.
, following the departure of Christina Schmidt as Terri McGreggor at the end of season three
. Continuing in their roles from the previous season, the grade ten students are portrayed by Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt, Daniel Clark
as Sean Cameron
, Ryan Cooley
as James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke, Jake Goldsbie
as Toby Isaacs, Miriam McDonald
as Emma Nelson
, and Cassie Steele
as Manuela "Manny" Santos
. The grade eleven students are portrayed by Lauren Collins
as Paige Michalchuk
, Jake Epstein
as Craig Manning, Stacey Farber
as Ellie Nash, Aubrey Graham
as Jimmy Brooks, Shane Kippel
as Gavin "Spinner" Mason
, Andrea Lewis
as Hazel Aden, Melissa McIntyre as Ashley Kerwin
, and Adamo Ruggiero
as Marco Del Rossi. As the adults in the series, Stefan Brogren
plays the part of Archie "Snake Simpson
, Pat Mastroianni
acts as Joey Jeremiah
, Dan Woods appears as Mr. Raditch, Amanda Stepto
plays Spike Nelson, and Stacie Mistysyn
appears as Caitlin Ryan
. The five adult actors had played the same characters in Degrassi Junior High
and Degrassi High
, two of the preceding series in the Degrassi franchise.
Shenae Grimes
, Dalmar Abuzeid
, and Christopher Jacot
are introduced in recurring roles as Darcy Edwards
, Danny Van Zandt, and Matt Oleander, respectively. Returning in their recurring roles are Ephraim Ellis
as Rick Murray, John Bregar
as Dylan Michalchuk, Deanna Casaluce as Alex Nuñez
, Mike Lobel
as Jay Hogart
, Daniel Morrison as Chris Sharpe, Alex Steele as Angela Jeremiah, Melissa DiMarco
as Daphne Hatzilakos, Linlyn Lue
as Ms. Kwan, and Jennifer Podemski as Ms. Sauve.
Film director Kevin Smith
and actor Jason Mewes
guest star as exaggerated versions of themselves (for example Kevin is portrayed as being unmarried and childless), who are at Degrassi Community School in the final three episodes of the season to work on Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!, a fictional feature film in the View Askewniverse
series that is using Degrassi Community School as a filming location. Singer Alanis Morissette
, who had previously played God in two other Jay and Silent Bob movies, guest star in "Going Down the Road Part One" as herself, playing the school principal in Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!
in association CTV. Funding was provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, the Canadian Television Fund
and BCE-CTV Benefits, The Shaw Television Broadcast Fund, the Independent Production Fund, Mountain Cable Program, and RBC Royal Bank
.
The season's executive producer
s are Epitome Pictures' president Stephen Stohn
, and CEO Linda Schuyler
, the co-creator of the Degrassi franchise. Aaron Martin was promoted from executive story editor
during the third season to executive producer. Degrassi: The Next Generation co-creator Yan Moore
served as the creative consultant
and David Lowe was the line producer
. Sean Reycraft and Shelley Scarrow served as co-executive story editors. Brendon Yorke was the story editor, and Miklos Perlus the junior story editor. The editor
was Stephen Withrow, Stephen Stanley was the production designer, and the cinematographer
was Gavin Smith.
The writers for the season are Sean Carley, Richard Clark, R. Scott Cooper, James Hurst, Aaron Martin, Miklos Perlus, Sean Reycraft, Shelley Scarrow, Brandon Yorke. Kevin Smith was allowed to rewrite his dialogue for the episodes which he appeared in. Graeme Campbell
, Philip Earnshaw, Eleanore Lindo, Ron Murphy, Sudz Sutherland, and Stefan Scaini directed the episodes.
also earned just under 1,000,000 viewers. Overall, the season averaged an audience of 600,000 and was the top domestic drama for Canadian teenagers aged 12 to 17, and adults in three age brackets; ages 18 to 34, ages 18 to 49, and ages 25 to 54. In the US, the season received an 80% larger audience compared to season three, and one episode received 540,000 viewers and drew a Nielsen rating
of 2.7 for teenagers and 4.7 for female teenagers, meaning that on average 2.7% of the nation's teenagers, and 4.7% of the nation's female teenagers were tuned in at any given moment.
The season was well received amongst critics, especially in regards to the episodes with Kevin Smith and the storylines on oral sex and the school shooting. The Palm Beach Post
said the series "is told from a teenager's point of view since the writers have no interest in appealing to a broad-based demographic like the writers on, say, Fox
's The O.C. ... it connects with teens on their level", though it was still "surprised Jay used the graphic oral sex term you'd hear in just about every high school hallway in America", that word being "blow-job". The Boston Herald
said "it is important for teens to learn about sexually transmitted diseases and the cost of unprotected sex ... and should help parents begin conversations with their own children". PopMatters
's Jodie Janella Horn described Degrassi: The Next Generation as "the most unnervingly accurate series ever of the high school genre". Another comparison was made between Degrassi: The Next Generation and The O.C., saying "The O.C. will never remind me of anything in my life", while the events in the two-part episode "Voices Carry" with "hotel room trashing, projectile launching, fist fighting at weddings bi-polar loon Craig [and girlfriend Ashley], was like an actual scene from my actual teenage life and just like me, Ashley thinks they're going to pull through it together". AfterElton.com, a website that focuses on the portrayal of gay and bisexual men in the media
praised the series for "not only focusing on gay teens, but it showcases gay sex, and relationships. By not stereotyping [the gay characters] they are helping thousands of confused and shameful teenagers feel accepted, in Canada and America alike." Ben Neihart called Degrassi: The Next Generation "tha Best Teen TV N da WRLD!" (the best teen TV in the world) in a six-page article in The New York Times
. Commenting that "the explosive-issue-per-capita ratio is seriously out of whack", he admitted that "the teen-diary attention to microissues (zits, periods, parents' night) gives the episodes a peculiar authenticity no matter how outrageous their story lines".
Two episodes were nominated for "Best Youth Script" at the Canadian Screenwriting Awards
, which are administered by the Writers Guild of Canada
. Shelley Scarrow's "Secrets Part One" lost out to "Mercy Street", written by James Hurst and Miklos Perlus. At the Directors Guild of Canada
Awards, Stefan Sciani won the award for "Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series - Family" for the episode "Time Stands Still Part Two", and Stephen Stanley was nominated for the "Outstanding Achievement in Production Design - Television Series" category for the episode "Goin' Down the Road". The series won its first Teen Choice Award in the US for "Choice Summer Series" At the Young Artist Award
s, Degrassi: The Next Generation failed to win any of the awards its actors were nominated for. Adamo Ruggiero was nominated in the "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Leading Young Actor" category, Aubrey Graham was nominated in the "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Supporting Young Actor" category, and Alex Steele was nominated in the "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Recurring Young Actress" category. The entire cast was nominated in the "Outstanding Young Performers in a TV Series" category".
was an hour-long television special
. CTV broadcast episodes two and three, four and five, and twenty and twenty-one on the same nights, though not as hour-long specials. In the US, The N aired the season in two blocks, the first block began 1 October 2004 and ran until 11 March 2005. The second block, advertised as the "Summer '05" season, was screened between 1 July 2005 and 26 August 2005. The season premiere and episodes thirteen and fourteen aired as hour-long specials.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on 7 September 2004, concluded on 14 February 2005 and contains twenty-two episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and follows The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and...
is a Canadian serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
teen drama
Teen drama
A teen drama is a dramatic television series with a major focus on teenage characters. The genre was relatively non-existent for the first 45 years of television; it came into prominence in the early 1990s...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
. It continues to depict the lives of a group of sophomores and juniors as they deal with the some of the challenges and issues teenagers face such as coming out, rape, relationships, mental illness, sex, bullying, alcoholism, school shooting, sexual identity, and sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s. Every episode is titled after a song from the 1980s, except for the two-part season finale
Season finale
A season finale is the final episode of a season of a television program...
"Going Down the Road", which took its name from the 1970 Canadian film Goin' Down the Road
Goin' Down the Road
Goin' Down the Road is a 1970 Canadian film directed by Donald Shebib and released in 1970. It chronicles the lives of two men from the Maritimes who move to Toronto in order to find a better life. It starred Doug McGrath, Paul Bradley, Jayne Eastwood and Cayle Chernin...
. Filming took place between April and October 2004.
The first six episodes of season four aired Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, a Canadian terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, before settling into its regular 8:30 p.m. timeslot. When the season returned to the schedules in January 2005 following a break over the Christmas period, it aired on Mondays at 8:30 p.m. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it was broadcast on The N, a digital
Digital television
Digital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
cable network
Cable network
A cable channel is a television channel available via cable television. Such channels are usually also available via satellite television, including direct broadcast satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and BSkyB...
aimed at teenagers and young adults. The season was released on DVD as a four disc boxed set on 28 November 2006 by Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment
Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Toronto-based media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon and Sydney.Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest...
in Canada, and by FUNimation Entertainment
FUNimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
in the US on 24 October 2006. The last three episodes were also sold in the US, packaged together in two different releases; one version was dubbed "unrated, uncensored and uncut" and featured an audio commentary and other bonus material, the other version was dubbed "rated", and did not feature the audio commentary. Registered users of the Canadian and US iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
s are also able purchase and download the season for playback on home computers and certain iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
s. This was the first season to release a soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
, Songs from Degrassi: The Next Generation
Songs from Degrassi: The Next Generation
This is a list of Degrassi soundtracks.-The N Soundtrack:Released following the fifth season, in 2006, The N Soundtrack contains songs from Degrassi: The Next Generation, including the first recording by Degrassi actor turned rapper Drake, and other shows airing on The N and CTV.-Music from...
was available as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on 1 November 2005.
Season four was one of Degrassi: The Next Generation
Cast
The fourth season has nineteen actors receive star billingBilling (film)
Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works...
, following the departure of Christina Schmidt as Terri McGreggor at the end of season three
Degrassi: The Next Generation (season 3)
The third season of Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada on 17 September 2003, concluded on 5 April 2004 and contains twenty-two episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian serial teen drama television series...
. Continuing in their roles from the previous season, the grade ten students are portrayed by Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt, Daniel Clark
Daniel Clark (actor)
Daniel Allen Clark is a American-Canadian actor and singer. Clark is best known for his role as Sean Cameron on Degrassi: The Next Generation and as Steve Rendazo on the movie Juno.-Personal life:...
as Sean Cameron
Sean Cameron
Sean Cameron is a fictional high schooler on the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation. He is portrayed by Daniel Clark. He left the show in season four, but returned for season six..-Personality:Sean is the token bad boy at the school...
, Ryan Cooley
Ryan Cooley
Ryan Cooley is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Career:...
as James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke, Jake Goldsbie
Jake Goldsbie
Jacob "Jake" Benjamin Goldsbie is a Canadian actor.Goldsbie plays Toby Isaacs in Degrassi: The Next Generation, although he originally auditioned for the role of J.T...
as Toby Isaacs, Miriam McDonald
Miriam McDonald
Miriam Katherine McDonald is a Canadian actress and occasional dancer. She is best known for playing Emma Nelson on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Career:...
as Emma Nelson
Emma Nelson
Emma Nelson is a fictional student on the Degrassi: The Next Generation television series, having originated in the series' precursor, Degrassi Junior High. She is portrayed as an adolescent and adult by Miriam McDonald....
, and Cassie Steele
Cassie Steele
Cassandra Rae "Cassie" Steele is a Canadian actress and singer-songwriter best known for portraying Manny Santos on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Life and career:...
as Manuela "Manny" Santos
Manny Santos
Manuella "Manny" Santos is a fictional character portrayed by Cassie Steele on the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Season 1:...
. The grade eleven students are portrayed by Lauren Collins
Lauren Collins
Lauren Felice Collins is a Canadian actress that is perhaps best known for portraying Paige Michalchuk on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Life and career:...
as Paige Michalchuk
Paige Michalchuk
Paige Michalchuk is a fictional character in the TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation, portrayed by Lauren Collins.Paige was initially presented as the stereotypical "Queen bee": rich, snobby, and popular...
, Jake Epstein
Jake Epstein
Jacob Lee "Jake" Epstein is a Canadian actor and singer, perhaps best known for playing Craig Manning, a bipolar musician, on Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Personal life:...
as Craig Manning, Stacey Farber
Stacey Farber
Stacey Anne Farber is a Canadian actress who is best known for playing Eleanor "Ellie" Nash in seasons 2 through 7 of the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
as Ellie Nash, Aubrey Graham
Drake (entertainer)
Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....
as Jimmy Brooks, Shane Kippel
Shane Kippel
Shane Warren Kippel is a Canadian television actor. From 2001-2010, he appeared as a regular cast member in the part of Gavin "Spinner" Mason on Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is broadcast on CTV in Canada...
as Gavin "Spinner" Mason
Spinner Mason
Gavin Reginald "Spinner" Mason, is a fictional high-school graduate in Degrassi: The Next Generation, portrayed by Shane Kippel.-Characterization:...
, Andrea Lewis
Andrea Lewis
Andrea Desiree Lewis is a Canadian-born actress and singer best known for her portrayal of Hazel Aden on the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Television and Film:...
as Hazel Aden, Melissa McIntyre as Ashley Kerwin
Ashley Kerwin
Ashley Kerwin is a fictional character at high school in the TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation and is portrayed by Melissa McIntyre.-Season 1:...
, and Adamo Ruggiero
Adamo Ruggiero
Adamo Angelo Ruggiero is an Italian-Canadian actor best known for his role of Marco Del Rossi in Degrassi: The Next Generation.-Career:...
as Marco Del Rossi. As the adults in the series, Stefan Brogren
Stefan Brogren
Stefan Brogren is a Canadian actor and director. He is best known as Archibald "Archie"/"Snake” Simpson in the Degrassi franchise of television shows.-Career:...
plays the part of Archie "Snake Simpson
Archie Simpson
Archibald Rupert "Snake” Simpson is a fictional character on the Degrassi series portrayed by Stefan Brogren. His first appearance in the series was as an eighth grade student on Degrassi Junior High ...
, Pat Mastroianni
Pat Mastroianni
Pasquale "Pat" Mastroianni is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah on the Degrassi series of television shows.- Biography :...
acts as Joey Jeremiah
Joey Jeremiah
Joseph "Joey" Jeremiah is a fictional character from the Degrassi series portrayed by Pat Mastroianni. His first appearance in the series was as a grade 8 student on Degrassi Junior High. Since his first appearance up to Degrassi High, he has been the main focus character and arguably the most...
, Dan Woods appears as Mr. Raditch, Amanda Stepto
Amanda Stepto
Amanda Stepto is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Christine "Spike" Nelson in the Degrassi series.-Personal life:...
plays Spike Nelson, and Stacie Mistysyn
Stacie Mistysyn
Stacie Mo'ana Mistysyn is an American-born Canadian actress best known for her work as Caitlin Ryan on Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High, which ran from 1987 to 1991, and for reprising her role as Caitlin on Degrassi: The Next Generation, which has been on the air since 2001 and which she joined...
appears as Caitlin Ryan
Caitlin Ryan
Caitlin Ryan is a fictional character from the Degrassi series portrayed by Stacie Mistysyn. Caitlin is a main character on both Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which chronicle her maturation from a seventh grader to a high school graduate...
. The five adult actors had played the same characters in Degrassi Junior High
Degrassi Junior High
Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian CBC Television teen drama series that was produced from 1987-1989 as part of the Degrassi series. The show followed the lives of a group of students attending the titular fictional school...
and Degrassi High
Degrassi High
Degrassi High is the third television show in the Degrassi series of teen dramas about the lives of a group of kids living on or near De Grassi Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It first aired from 1989 to 1991 and followed the kids from Kids of Degrassi Street and Degrassi Junior High through...
, two of the preceding series in the Degrassi franchise.
Shenae Grimes
Shenae Grimes
Shenae Grimes is a Canadian actress. She currently portrays the role of Annie Wilson on 90210, a spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210. Prior to that she played Darcy Edwards on Degrassi: The Next Generation...
, Dalmar Abuzeid
Dalmar Abuzeid
Dalmar Abuzeid is a Canadian actor. He plays the character Danny Van Zandt on the Canadian series Degrassi: The Next Generation. He also plays a main role on the Teletoon series Majority Rules!...
, and Christopher Jacot
Christopher Jacot
Christopher Jacot is a Canadian actor.Jacot was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He attended Earl Haig Secondary School in the Claude Watson programme for drama with fellow actors Sarah Polley and Lani Billard...
are introduced in recurring roles as Darcy Edwards
Darcy Edwards
Darcy Edwards is a fictional character on Degrassi: The Next Generation. She is portrayed by Shenae Grimes. As of 2010, she is one of two Degrassi characters whose actor independently exists within the Degrassi fictional universe, Grimes having been spoken of in Degrassi Goes Hollywood, and Drake...
, Danny Van Zandt, and Matt Oleander, respectively. Returning in their recurring roles are Ephraim Ellis
Ephraim Ellis
Ephraim Todd Ellis is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Rick Murray in the television show Degrassi: The Next Generation...
as Rick Murray, John Bregar
John Bregar
John Francis Bregar is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Dylan Michalchuk on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He also plays Cody Flowers in Family Biz....
as Dylan Michalchuk, Deanna Casaluce as Alex Nuñez
Alex Nuñez
Alexandra "Alex" Nuñez is a fictional character on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. She is portrayed by Deanna Casaluce....
, Mike Lobel
Mike Lobel
Michael Ryan "Mike" Lobel is a Canadian actor.-Life and career:Lobel is the oldest of three siblings. At a young age he began showing interest in music and visual arts which drew him to Etobicoke School of the Arts. He attended ESA from 1998 to 2003, first majoring in music then later switching...
as Jay Hogart
Jay Hogart
Jason "Jay" Hogart, played by Mike Lobel, is a fictional character on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He is usually portrayed as the school bully and bad boy, but later throughout the series he displays instances of conscience that make him more of an anti-hero...
, Daniel Morrison as Chris Sharpe, Alex Steele as Angela Jeremiah, Melissa DiMarco
Melissa DiMarco
Melissa DiMarco is an actor, producer, and television personality. She is currently the star, creator, and a writer on Out There with Melissa DiMarco , an award-winning television comedy which airs on Citytv's national network, OMNI.1, and in syndication on OUTtv...
as Daphne Hatzilakos, Linlyn Lue
Linlyn Lue
Linlyn Lue is a Canadian actress.She was born in Jamaica and came to Canada with her family as a child. She played the strict English teacher Ms. Kwan on the Canadian television show Degrassi: The Next Generation. She also appeared in the film Black Robe, and the television series Strong Medicine...
as Ms. Kwan, and Jennifer Podemski as Ms. Sauve.
Film director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
and actor Jason Mewes
Jason Mewes
Jason Edward Mewes is an American television, film actor, and internet radio show host best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.-Early life:...
guest star as exaggerated versions of themselves (for example Kevin is portrayed as being unmarried and childless), who are at Degrassi Community School in the final three episodes of the season to work on Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!, a fictional feature film in the View Askewniverse
View Askewniverse
The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media,...
series that is using Degrassi Community School as a filming location. Singer Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
, who had previously played God in two other Jay and Silent Bob movies, guest star in "Going Down the Road Part One" as herself, playing the school principal in Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!
Crew
The season was produced by Epitome PicturesEpitome Pictures
Epitome Pictures Inc. is a television production company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Epitome currently produces two television drama series aimed primarily at the youth and young-adult market...
in association CTV. Funding was provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, the Canadian Television Fund
Canadian Television Fund
The Canadian Television Fund supported the production and broadcast of Canadian television programs. On 1 April 2010, the Canadian Television Fund became the Canada Media Fund...
and BCE-CTV Benefits, The Shaw Television Broadcast Fund, the Independent Production Fund, Mountain Cable Program, and RBC Royal Bank
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
.
The season's executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s are Epitome Pictures' president Stephen Stohn
Stephen Stohn
John Stephen Stohn is a Canadian-based, American-born entertainment lawyer and television producer. He is the president of Epitome Pictures Inc., and is executive producer of the teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation and Instant Star , and most recently the television movie Degrassi Goes...
, and CEO Linda Schuyler
Linda Schuyler
Linda Schuyler, CM is a Canadian television producer involved in the creation of the Degrassi series and Instant Star series of teen programs...
, the co-creator of the Degrassi franchise. Aaron Martin was promoted from executive story editor
Story editor
Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called "supervising producer". A story editor is a member of the screenwriting staff who edits stories for screenplays....
during the third season to executive producer. Degrassi: The Next Generation co-creator Yan Moore
Yan Moore
Yan Moore is best known as a writer for Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High and Degrassi:The Next Generation. He was also the creator and producer of Riverdale. He was nominated for a Gemini award in 1995 for Best Writer in a Dramatic Series in recognition of Road to Avonlea.-External links:...
served as the creative consultant
Creative consultant
Creative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have “doctored” a movie screenplay. It is often given by producers in lieu of official credit. Those given this credit in the television field work closely with an Executive Producer, Head...
and David Lowe was the line producer
Line producer
A line producer is the key manager during the daily operations of a motion picture production.The line producer supports the vision given by the director but does not have direct influence on the creative expression or narrative of the film....
. Sean Reycraft and Shelley Scarrow served as co-executive story editors. Brendon Yorke was the story editor, and Miklos Perlus the junior story editor. The editor
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
was Stephen Withrow, Stephen Stanley was the production designer, and the cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
was Gavin Smith.
The writers for the season are Sean Carley, Richard Clark, R. Scott Cooper, James Hurst, Aaron Martin, Miklos Perlus, Sean Reycraft, Shelley Scarrow, Brandon Yorke. Kevin Smith was allowed to rewrite his dialogue for the episodes which he appeared in. Graeme Campbell
Graeme Campbell (director)
Graeme Neil Campbell is an award-winning film director, writer and editor.- Life and career :Campbell was born in Montreal, Quebec to William and Thelma Campbell. His body of work lies mostly in films made for television as well as mini-series', although he has transitioned into episodic...
, Philip Earnshaw, Eleanore Lindo, Ron Murphy, Sudz Sutherland, and Stefan Scaini directed the episodes.
Reception
An episode featuring a storyline about a school shooting garnered the series an all-time high audience of 930,000 Canadian viewers. A second episode with a storyline about oral sexOral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
also earned just under 1,000,000 viewers. Overall, the season averaged an audience of 600,000 and was the top domestic drama for Canadian teenagers aged 12 to 17, and adults in three age brackets; ages 18 to 34, ages 18 to 49, and ages 25 to 54. In the US, the season received an 80% larger audience compared to season three, and one episode received 540,000 viewers and drew a Nielsen rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 2.7 for teenagers and 4.7 for female teenagers, meaning that on average 2.7% of the nation's teenagers, and 4.7% of the nation's female teenagers were tuned in at any given moment.
The season was well received amongst critics, especially in regards to the episodes with Kevin Smith and the storylines on oral sex and the school shooting. The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
said the series "is told from a teenager's point of view since the writers have no interest in appealing to a broad-based demographic like the writers on, say, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's The O.C. ... it connects with teens on their level", though it was still "surprised Jay used the graphic oral sex term you'd hear in just about every high school hallway in America", that word being "blow-job". The Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
said "it is important for teens to learn about sexually transmitted diseases and the cost of unprotected sex ... and should help parents begin conversations with their own children". PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
's Jodie Janella Horn described Degrassi: The Next Generation as "the most unnervingly accurate series ever of the high school genre". Another comparison was made between Degrassi: The Next Generation and The O.C., saying "The O.C. will never remind me of anything in my life", while the events in the two-part episode "Voices Carry" with "hotel room trashing, projectile launching, fist fighting at weddings bi-polar loon Craig [and girlfriend Ashley], was like an actual scene from my actual teenage life and just like me, Ashley thinks they're going to pull through it together". AfterElton.com, a website that focuses on the portrayal of gay and bisexual men in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
praised the series for "not only focusing on gay teens, but it showcases gay sex, and relationships. By not stereotyping [the gay characters] they are helping thousands of confused and shameful teenagers feel accepted, in Canada and America alike." Ben Neihart called Degrassi: The Next Generation "tha Best Teen TV N da WRLD!" (the best teen TV in the world) in a six-page article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Commenting that "the explosive-issue-per-capita ratio is seriously out of whack", he admitted that "the teen-diary attention to microissues (zits, periods, parents' night) gives the episodes a peculiar authenticity no matter how outrageous their story lines".
Two episodes were nominated for "Best Youth Script" at the Canadian Screenwriting Awards
Canadian Screenwriting Awards
The Canadian Screenwriting Awards are administered by the Writers Guild of Canada, and are awarded to the best script for a feature film, television or radio project produced within the Guild's jurisdiction, written by a guild member in good standing, and broadcast or released in North America or...
, which are administered by the Writers Guild of Canada
Writers Guild of Canada
The Writers Guild of Canada represents more than 1,800 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and multimedia production in Canada...
. Shelley Scarrow's "Secrets Part One" lost out to "Mercy Street", written by James Hurst and Miklos Perlus. At the Directors Guild of Canada
Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada is a Canadian labour union, founded in 1962, which represents more than 3,700 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. The DGC represents directors, assistant directors, location managers, production assistants and...
Awards, Stefan Sciani won the award for "Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series - Family" for the episode "Time Stands Still Part Two", and Stephen Stanley was nominated for the "Outstanding Achievement in Production Design - Television Series" category for the episode "Goin' Down the Road". The series won its first Teen Choice Award in the US for "Choice Summer Series" At the Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
s, Degrassi: The Next Generation failed to win any of the awards its actors were nominated for. Adamo Ruggiero was nominated in the "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Leading Young Actor" category, Aubrey Graham was nominated in the "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Supporting Young Actor" category, and Alex Steele was nominated in the "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Recurring Young Actress" category. The entire cast was nominated in the "Outstanding Young Performers in a TV Series" category".
Episodes
The season premiereSeason premiere
In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:...
was an hour-long television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
. CTV broadcast episodes two and three, four and five, and twenty and twenty-one on the same nights, though not as hour-long specials. In the US, The N aired the season in two blocks, the first block began 1 October 2004 and ran until 11 March 2005. The second block, advertised as the "Summer '05" season, was screened between 1 July 2005 and 26 August 2005. The season premiere and episodes thirteen and fourteen aired as hour-long specials.
| |Title | Shock Records Shock Records Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records... on 13 April 2011. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scene Deleted scene In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film... s, blooper Blooper A blooper, also known as an outtake or boner is a short sequence of a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms of misspoken words... s and behind-the-scenes featurettes. The final three episodes of the season were also released separately from the complete season release on 8 November 2005. They were packaged together in two different versions; one was dubbed "unrated, uncensored Censorship thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile... and uncut" and featured an audio commentary Audio commentary On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video... and other bonus material, the other was dubbed "rated", and did not feature the audio commentary.
External links
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
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