Degrassi High
Encyclopedia
Degrassi High is the third television
show in the Degrassi series
of teen drama
s 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 high school
. The show was filmed in downtown Toronto and at Centennial College
.
Much like its predecessor, Degrassi High dealt with controversial issues ranging from AIDS
, abortion
, abuse
, alcoholism
, cheating
, sex
, death
and suicide
, dating
, depression
, bullying, gay rights
, homophobia
, racism
, the environment
, drug
s, and eating disorder
s.
The show's impact on Canadian identity
is discussed in the September 2007 issue of (Cult)u're Magazine.
As of October 2005, the American broadcaster, The N, made the decision not to air episodes 101 and 102 "A New Start Parts 1 & 2" due to the subject of abortion. The N made the decision not to air episode 103 "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" due to the references of the abortion
made in the previous episode.
In Australia
, all episodes originally aired unedited in their original run throughout the 1990s, but, however, were censored when repeated on Nickelodeon Australia
. The episode "A New Start" was edited in such a way that it appeared Erica was never pregnant by the end of the episode, abruptly ending after a joke between Wheels, Joey and Snake, although the scene of Erica reading her pregnancy test was kept as a still over the credits. The entire second episode was removed altogether, a similar situation that occurred with "Showtime Parts One and Two". These episodes deal with teen suicide. However when the episodes were repeated in 2009 on ABC2
the original, unedited episodes were shown, with the episodes (#25 Showtime part 1 and #26 Showtime part 2) featuring Claude Tanner's suicide.
In Region 4, Beyond Home Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Australia. They released each season as a separate set in 2006 followed by a complete series collection in 2008. The complete collection also contains the follow-up TV-movie Degrassi High- School's Out! as a bonus feature.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show in the Degrassi 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...
of 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...
s about the lives of a group of kids living on or near De Grassi Street
De Grassi Street
De Grassi Street is a sidestreet located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named after Captain Filippo "Philip" De Grassi, an Italian-born soldier who emigrated to Canada with his family in 1831 and settled in York, Upper Canada. He later became a member of the Family Compact.De Grassi Street is...
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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...
. It first aired from 1989 to 1991 and followed the kids from Kids of Degrassi Street and 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...
through high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. The show was filmed in downtown Toronto and at Centennial College
Centennial College (Ontario)
Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology is the oldest publicly funded community college in Ontario, opened on October 17, 1966 in Scarborough, Ontario....
.
Much like its predecessor, Degrassi High dealt with controversial issues ranging from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, abuse
Abuse
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment for a bad purpose, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, sexual assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; wrongful practice or custom; offense; crime, or otherwise...
, alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, cheating
Cheating
Cheating refers to the breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process. Cheating can refer...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
and suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, dating
Dating (activity)
Dating is a form of courtship consisting of social activities done by two persons with the aim of each assessing the other's suitability as a partner in an intimate relationship or as a spouse...
, depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, bullying, gay rights
LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
, homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, drug
Drug
A drug, broadly speaking, is any substance that, when absorbed into the body of a living organism, alters normal bodily function. There is no single, precise definition, as there are different meanings in drug control law, government regulations, medicine, and colloquial usage.In pharmacology, a...
s, and eating disorder
Eating disorder
Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
s.
The show's impact on Canadian identity
Canadian identity
Canadian identity refers to the set of characteristics and symbols that many Canadians regard as expressing their unique place and role in the world....
is discussed in the September 2007 issue of (Cult)u're Magazine.
Censorship
The first two episodes sparked controversy in the United States over the issue of abortion. The character Erica had scheduled to get an abortion and Canadian viewers saw the full non-edited episode where Erica battles her way through pro-life protesters, one of which is holding up a plastic fetus, saying "Please don't do it, it's your last chance". The American version, which originally aired on PBS, was edited not to show the protesters and no final decision on whether to get the abortion was ever made.As of October 2005, the American broadcaster, The N, made the decision not to air episodes 101 and 102 "A New Start Parts 1 & 2" due to the subject of abortion. The N made the decision not to air episode 103 "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" due to the references of the abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
made in the previous episode.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, all episodes originally aired unedited in their original run throughout the 1990s, but, however, were censored when repeated on Nickelodeon Australia
Nickelodeon Australia
Nickelodeon is the Australian counterpart of the Nickelodeon network in the United States. It is operated by a joint venture of XYZnetworks and MTV Networks Australia.-History:...
. The episode "A New Start" was edited in such a way that it appeared Erica was never pregnant by the end of the episode, abruptly ending after a joke between Wheels, Joey and Snake, although the scene of Erica reading her pregnancy test was kept as a still over the credits. The entire second episode was removed altogether, a similar situation that occurred with "Showtime Parts One and Two". These episodes deal with teen suicide. However when the episodes were repeated in 2009 on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
the original, unedited episodes were shown, with the episodes (#25 Showtime part 1 and #26 Showtime part 2) featuring Claude Tanner's suicide.
DVD releases
WGBH Boston Home Video released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 on October 8, 2007. The 4-disc set entitled Degrassi High: The Complete Collection, features all 28 episodes of the series as well as the follow-up TV-movie Degrassi High- School's Out!.In Region 4, Beyond Home Entertainment has released the entire series on DVD in Australia. They released each season as a separate set in 2006 followed by a complete series collection in 2008. The complete collection also contains the follow-up TV-movie Degrassi High- School's Out! as a bonus feature.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 4 | ||
| Degrassi High: The Complete Collection | 29 | October 9, 2007 | March 12, 2008 |