Mayberry

Season 8....are you ready?

In the eighth-season premiere, Mia becomes friends with a new girl named Leia and gets an opportunity to model for a shoe line, while Clare interacts with new student K.C., who challenges her. Meanwhile, Emma and Manny are assigned different dorm rooms, so Emma sets about getting them reassigned. (TV Guide)

myolyn27

Since Im in the states I hope people will be around to discuss what happens tonight. Apparently I can not go spoiler free ever... ugh!

Wish I were in Canada tonight

kaleidocat

I must say...this is the first time in a looooong while I've been excited for a premiere. I hope Funfile doesn't let me down! I hope Mia's big mistake is a big one.

bailamicorazon

I kind of liked the beginning. It felt fresh and new... like every season, really. But there's a sense of excitement. I do feel like they're changing the show too much though. The opening credits paid homage to past seasons (esp. seasons 4/5)
I found it really hard to sympathise with Mia. And someone on the forums said that now that Mia is a main, all of a sudden her mother steps in... I think that's exactly it. The dialogue between her and her mother at the beginning just wasn't very believable. "I can help. Just make this your year." Very contrived, not natural at all. Pfft.
Also... Mia initiated contact with the guy/agent/whatever. She knew what she was getting into, and when he asked her if it was okay, she didn't even hesitate. How is it that we're somehow supposed to feel sorry for her next week when it was her own fault? I didn't like her storyline at all.
I'm holding out hope. Some of the episode descriptions for future episodes seem interesting... I just thought it was a very weak opener.

ish78

The whole thing was kinda predictable... but I still liked it. I reaaaallly liked the new intro. Very season 5. Pretty cool. And now...since Adamo's not in the credits, we get to see the credits off of Jane's back. Don't mess with a good thing right?

The whole Mia storyline was...hm. Well, I can't say I wasn't expecting most of it, but I really wasn't expecting the ending. Not at all. I thought they would go the OoALH way and get her to back out...and unless they say otherwise in the next ep, I'm pretty sure she went through with it. Didn't see that coming. I never really liked Mia anyways. And, I agree with the poster above, I'm going to find it very hard to sympathize with Mia. The look on her face at the end of the episode showed no conscience. None at all...so I'm looking forward to seeing how things turn out in part 2.

And the Emma/Manny/Liberty storyline was mostly Emma (we knew that) and how she wanted everyone to be in the same dorm. And I felt kind of bad for her when Liberty and Manny were off doing their own things and being disappointed when Emma got them all in the dorm together. Clearly they were expecting to room together in the first place...it wasn't that cool of them to overreact like that.

I also liked quite a few lines in the episode...like Manny's priceless line for when Kelly walked in: "We were expecting someone more...estrogeny?"

Overall, I liked it. I dunno. The Emma/Kelly stuff was actually really cute in this ep, and Mia was just...well, predictable. Sorta. I liked the introductions at the beginning though. That was good. So, yeah. I dunno if everyone will like the ep (or the Shep, for that matter) but I liked it. Can't wait to see part 2!

And maybe a few other things, quickly:
-Fashion show, really? Well, then.
-So, Chante and Anya are the "Anti-Grapevine"...good to know.
-Bruce and Chante are in the opening credits
-Holly J. She was sufficently mean, but not like last season. She was okay.
-Is Leia already Derek's friend or something? She hugged him as soon as she saw him.
-Poor Danny.

Ooh, sorry for rambling. That was reaaaally long.

bailamicorazon

Agreed that it was predictable.
I thought the Emma storyline was kind of cute also... and I know the feeling of trying to get everyone together when they're just kind of apathetic to the idea.
I agree with you about Holly J... I think they're toning her down this season, which I'm thankful for. One of the reasons why I fell in love with Degrassi to begin with is that there are no good guys or bad guys, it's all subjective. In one episode, you're rooting for Emma, in another, she's a bit of a villain. I like that concept, because no one is all good or all bad all of the time. I hope they give Holly's character some depth.

I like the opening credits as well. Wasn't too crazy about the song beforehand but thinking about it now, I don't mind it. I like that they're paying homage to earlier seasons. We didn't get to see much from the newbies (especially the niners) but I'm looking forward to seeing their storylines explored and just seeing what the new actors are capable of.

And I too loved Manny's estrogeny line. XD

rtms

I have to agree about the Emma stuff. I too got the impression they had somehow made arrangements to room together. Then to have Liberty and Manny blow Emma off like that was a bit weird. I actually like Kelly encouraging Emma to get out and try something new. They are cute together, not vomit inducing and much better than Damien/Emma. I was so glad Emma kinda blew off Liberty and Manny in the end.

Oh-Canada

I really loved the episode. It's not like it was one of the best episodes Degrassi has done, but it was still good and fun to watch.

Just seeing the new opening credits and all the new characters has made me so excited for them to get some real storylines. I can't wait!!

I'm just so happy that Degrassi is back. I haven't stopped smiling since the episode aired. I hope Degrassi lasts forever so I can always have moments like this.

mellifluouscloud

I don't have much to add, but I really enjoyed this episode too. I feel like Degrassi is finally moving forward as a series by not hanging on to the older characters just to appease the fans -- which, honestly, it felt like they were doing. For the past couple seasons, I could never find the original characters very interesting. Their stories have been told. Let them be. This episode felt very fresh and new to me. It really does feel like the third generation, but I don't mind at all.

Mia's story did seem very over-the-top. I agree that it will be difficult to sympathize with her. Everything seemed to happen way too quickly. And unlike some of the other posters here, I think what Emma did was totally uncalled for. Yes, she was unhappy, but she made no effort to get to know her assigned roommate (whoever that was, since we never found out) and instead messed with the good situations Liberty and Manny had. College should be about meeting new people and Emma didn't even try to accept it. She really annoyed me. (As usual.)

kaleidocat

Yes, I agree with you Christine on how it seems to be moving on as a series and I think this is good too. It really felt like we were back at Degrassi. I can't explain it. It just felt fresh and new. I think it's the whole first day school day thing that the freshmen are going through? The new faces? Or just the attention to all the activities that happen at a school.

And the opening? I approve!

Surprisingly, I'm not as bothered by Mia's family situation. Maybe it's because I've had awhile to get used to the idea of Mia's mom basically giving her the year off. Hopefully that doesn't go according to plan though because of Mia taking things so over the top. I'm not sure if I have sympathy towards her but I do find her actions worth analyzing - the way she seems to have a drive to succeed and also seems to be craving affection...and she has a tendency to fulfill these needs in the wrong way. I like that she's struggling with the modeling. Hopefully it continues to be that way. I feel like things always work out for the kids sometimes.

I think the whole fashion show and The Shep's comments seem to foreshadowing for Jane's issues with the team. I can't remember what The Shep said to make Snake give him a look but it seems The Shep has clear ideas in mind of what boys should and what girls should do. The opening shots of the boys playing football and the girls doing the whole cheerleading thing ties in nice with this too.

myolyn27

I think I am going to have to get used to how they are filming this season with the shorter/faster cuts. I wonder if every episode is going to be like Mia's playing in fast-forward???

I somewhat agree with you on the Emma part (and Im a huge Emma fan), but I think the story stayed true to Emma's character. She was never good with change or really making friends, so I can see where going to a new place where she thought she would have the security blanket of her best friend, and then bam! It is pulled away from her. It would have been better if Emma sat down with Manny and discussed going to housing to fix the mistake, however these are all things you learn as you get older and that what I love about the show the characters are not perfect.

I was happy how they ended the college sub-plot with Emma cutting her own umbilical cord, and I think Kelly might just be a great friend for Emma, but I kind of hope that they have Emma develop a little more this year with her going off and having friends that she does not have to share with Manny. I feel the same about Liberty too. Throughout the years we saw Manny juggling her time between Spirit Squad, E/J/T/L, whatever boy she was dating, then she had other friends like Darcy, etc. but Liberty and Emma never had "other" friends...

lookame

Part of that is because, out of the original quad + Liberty, only Manny and JT were the social butterflies. Toby and Liberty were a bit inept socially (And Liberty became pretty bossy and pushy post season 4). At least Toby got a friend in Holly J.....yeah. I won't comment on Emma because she constantly changes and I never know where I stand with her until later in the season.

In short, I thought this episode was mediocre, I don't like Mia, so having so much time dedicated to her and only 5-7 minutes on the college kids kinda sucked. I felt the Emma/Libby/Manny storyline could have been expanded on a bit, but meh. My problem with the college storyline falls on Emma though. Her controlling nature rose again and I would have been happy if she finally put the others first and talked to them. She was only going to board with Manny anyway since Liberty WAS supposed to go to Banting...so I don't know why she was upset that Liberty was going to end up elsewhere and be happy. Liberty and Emma were never really all that close to begin with.

matrx10503

anyone know the song........when Mia walks into the school for first time being a model (starts at about 12:00 minutes in)

It goes

"

"(singing: put your hands up, put your hands up)

from the moment that she walked into the room, a cinderella going boom boom boom

yeah yeah yeah yeahh

the girl was on fire"



then it breaks and comes back and says:

(hands up)

"situation critical, she helped me <something> now i can't get enough

she said, I just want your love so throw your hands up"

vicious_boy

Do anyone know when it will be up on the click?

lookame

It's always up at or just after the episode premieres on tv. In fact, check a few other threads here and you'll see that it's already up.