MD9999

This also reminds me that I am genuinely baffled as to why Degrassi has chosen to keep introducing older characters. In season ten, they brought in Drew, Eli, Bianca, Owen, and Zane. In season eleven, they introduced Mo, Katie, Jake, and Imogen (I'm actually not 100% sure, but I think Imogen is currently a senior). In season 12, they have added Dallas, Luke, and Becky. They have also brought in younger characters (niners), but there have been a lot of juniors and seniors introduced. I'm not saying this is all bad (some of these characters have added to the show), but overall it seems very shortsighted. If they had added younger characters, we would have been able to see them develop over a long time (like the original cast). In fairness, between the extended seasons and drawn out timeline these characters have done a lot more than they would have following the original format (24 episodes, season=year) This isn't actually the same thing as developing over time, though. Even those who have been used a lot (like Drew) don't really seem to mature in any meaningful way, and there are others (Zane, Bianca, Owen, Jake) that have been completely underutilized.

JustMe2000

Imogen is in 12th grade.

And yeah, the adding of students when they're older is one of my pet peeves, especially when they added that group at the beginning of Season 11 (Katie, Jake, Mo, Imogen) all of whom were in 11th grade.

Oh and since every episode now is a two part one, in a way there's really just as many episodes as before- except everything is now extended, and it's leading to some unnecessarily padded plots that could have been wrapped in one episode.

Going back to the idea of Drew, Bianca and Audra having their own little warped version of a triangle. I don't know if I would have ever thought about that, but it's completely true when you think about it. That's brilliant. The diagnosis, not the actual triangle.

Soeshie20

For its just a weird thing a couple in high school getting married

MD9999

That's a good point, and I think it explains why 2 extended seasons don't seem to develop characters much more than 2 original seasons did. Of course, this raises the question of whether the 40 (ish) episode format is good for the series. I'd be inclined to say that it is better to have 40 pretty good or mediocre episodes than 24 pretty good or mediocre ones, but I also think that those forty episodes will never reach the highest level of quality that Degrassi reached at some times under the old system. I also may or may not agree with my own statement here, as I have really enjoyed some plots, but I think that is because these days the quality is unevenly distributed. Certain elements of the show (Drianca---see, I can post things relevant to the thread ) are pretty terrible, while other parts (current niners) are pretty great.

mellifluouscloud

Found on tumblr. This actually happened:





About that Vegas special, I still haven't gotten over how atrocious it was. Honestly, my expectations for that episode could not have been lower. I expected the worst. And somehow the episode was about a billion times more awful than I ever imagined. I mean it was actually painful to sit through. It was, by far, the worst episode of the entire series. And the singing/dancing was probably the worst scene of any episode of the entire series. I have never had that much second-hand embarrassment while watching Degrassi, and this is a show which inspires a great deal of second-hand embarrassment. It was more of a deep shame, really. Maybe even self-loathing. I probably should be boycotting the show right now except the preview for 12C was so fabulous! Hopefully by February this episode will be a distant memory.

JustMe2000

I actually watched the first 15 minutes of this on Friday night- but the combination of being scatter brained with work, Christmas shopping and some other issues left me at the point that I just couldn't do the show then. It didn't help that it wasn't very good up to that point.

One thing I was actually glad about was that Drew couldn't sing to save his life.

One thing that really drove me nuts was that Drew actually used the "support me" plea to turn Audra around- and it worked.

Which is ludicrous, because Audra has supported that kid since he's been on the show in more ways than I can count.

Just absurd.

kaleidocat

HASN'T WATCHED THE EPISODE YET. Doesn't care if spoiled...

Wait...is that Drew's mom??? I think this is the 3rd time I've checked up on this thread and it didn't hit me until now that it is Mommy. I thought it was a stripper. The gif seemed hot in a threesome/Vegas shenanigans sort of way. Now I feel really weird. Who wrote/directed the episode? I think they have some issues they need to work out.

Stooooop! You are supposed to be the one that gets me excited for future episodes! I feel awful that I don't have the Degrassi love. I swear that the show feels different. I'm okay with it being cheesy. I started watching DTNG when I was in college so this isn't a now I'm a grown up thing. It seems more CW or Nickelodeon now (not a good thing; I like Degrassi because it is different). There's this punch that hits me when I tune in and hear the dialogue or see the plot and it is like I have to fight to get to a point to enjoy it. There are some good plots, ones that have the heart like old episodes but then there are others where I think we can just imagine the ratings and tweets like "DRIANCA FOREVA" gleaming in productions eyes. I hate feeling so discouraged about this show so I'm hiding this post here. I do have hope for any future "minor niner" plots though.

Drew and Bianca: So basically what we thought would happen - Audra caves and gives them her blessing - did happen? I wish that the so-called golden couples of Degrassi weren't so safe. They didn't treat the original DTNG pairings this way. I'm not sure if I'm bitter or grateful because at least it was a shock or surprise.

Where's my toaster oven?!

mellifluouscloud

Yup. I was wondering what took you so long! I honestly don't remember the context of that scene but the way Drew is looking at them is so gross. The Drew/Bianca/Audra love triangle theory is no longer a theory. It is reality. Ugh!

....I had no idea that was my role. I feel so honored/confused.

To me, the Vegas special felt more like a Disney Channel movie on crack. It would never be on Disney because the issues were too ~sophisticated, yet the production quality, lack of any realism, and nausea-inducing cheesiness were reminiscent. I don't know, man. It was just flat-out bad television.

However! I don't think it signifies the end of the show or anything. Overall, I have genuinely enjoyed season 12. Unfortunately Degrassi seems to be having an ongoing identity crisis (since season 4 or 5, I would say) even though everyone knows the show is so much better when it stops trying to appeal to shippers or do these OTT storylines that no one can relate to. Vegas failed on both counts. Degrassi is at its best when it's just about regular kids and regular issues in high school. (This is why Got Your Money is easily the stand-out episode of the season so far, for me.)

That too. They are the saving grace of the show right now. I think they are giving me high hopes for season 13 since (hopefully) most of the current cast will be purged and we can focus more on Maya & co. also i'm pretty sure i ship zaya even harder than i shipped savvy j omg what is happening to me

Uh. I think so? Wow, I can barely remember now. My efforts to repress all memories of this episode are working!!! Basically, as I interpreted it, she is okay with them getting married ~in the future~ so she is not going to stand in their way anymore. Or something stupid like that. I think this was all conveyed during the aforementioned singing/dancing scene which I have mostly blocked out. Thank god.

I don't think they're as safe as we're often led to believe. If Alicia is leaving the show, but Luke is sticking around for another 40+ episodes, how safe can they be? Drew doesn't exactly have a track record for fidelity. Eclare might fit your description, but who knows. I find it equally hard to believe that Clare won't have any romantic storylines all season. Hmm... maybe this is all part of the master plan... an epic build-up to the ultimate pairing of Drew/Clare! Everyone remember, when it happens, that I totally called it~

JustMe2000

I'm pretty sure that clip is from the engagement party at the end of the episode when Audra welcomes Bianca to the Torres family. Run, Bianca, run.

I don't think anyone would doubt that the "golden couples" on the show right now are Eli/Clare & Drew/Bianca. If you look at Bianca, it's amazing how thin her character arc is compared to the other three characters mentioned. I don't necessary like what's gone on with all those characters, but they've all had significant story lines that didn't just revolve around who they were or wanted to date. Bianca, on the other hand, her whole arc seems to have been driven around her trying to make herself worthy (in her mind and to others) of dating Drew, and being good enough to be accepted by his family. Even when she was hooking up with unfortunately named Vince, it was all about protecting Drew. Her character has just turned into a big nothing.

Oh and can we all agree that if this was another show, Drew would be looked out like a Spicoli loser type who dropped out of high school? But, on Degrassi he's one of the heartthrobs.

Oh and yes.....I have gone down that Drew/Clare road in my mind at least once.

I agree there's no way they keep those two single for a whole season even if still hopelessly devoted to the missing Eli and Bianca.

mellifluouscloud

Quoting myself for posterity.

Wait, that was less than 2 months ago. I'm not as prophetic as I thought.

JustMe2000

Well, they can't be any worse than Drew/Bianca, can they?

Can they?

And perhaps the other couple, but that's for another thread.

Soeshie20

I thought this couple was over after the whole vegas thing still haven' t seen the episode yet

JustMe2000

We should be so lucky. They didn't get married, but they're still together and still engaged. The wedding just won't happen until later. As long as later doesn't involve this show I don't give a crap when it is.

mellifluouscloud

Hmm I don't know if this is the best thread for this rant but I feel safest here.

One of the questions posed in the Degrassi Google Hangout yesterday was, "Which couples do you ship?" As soon as that was asked, I thought, UGH. I don't want to hear their (especially Stefan's) answers. I really don't. Why would you even ask that question? WHY.

Stefan declares that his favorite ships are Eclare, Drianca, and Dolly J.

So, coincidentally, Stefan's favorite ships JUST SO HAPPEN to be the "golden" couples of the show which are constantly shoved down our throats. Of course. WHAT A SURPRISE.

It just annoys me that the bias of TPTB is so blatant. You know? They don't even try to hide their obvious preference.

And it's annoying because Degrassi is supposed to be better than the typical teen drama; it's supposed to be about the issues and the individual characters, not the stupid romantic storylines. And it's annoying because you can see where the show suffers because the writers/producers are biased and feel compelled to prop up their favorite ships, even when it means failing to acknowledge the very REAL issues of codependency and unhealthy/controlling relationships. (Which all 3 of those couples ARE.)

I wasn't surprised by it, but it sucks to hear.

JustMe2000

Yeah, I saw that mentioned in Stefan's thread and was disappointed with the trio he mentioned, but yeah, not much of a surprise. Stefan and the other key people involved with the show should know by now that the best way to answer that question is "all" or come up with something ridiculous like Eli/Alli, Armstrong/Oh, Snake/Darcy, Jenna/Clare....