The Degrassi Jr. High will save my daughter’s life (she just doesn’t know it yet)

I figured since I was on a Canadian TV roll I might as well keep it going for one more post.

I grew up, like many people my age, watching The Degrassi Jr. High & Degrassi High. This show was my compass down the path of childhood through the teenage years, and I can honestly say into adulthood. I had a number of friends whose parents wouldn’t let them watch this show and I still wonder why. These were the same parents who thought the Simpson's was a show produced by Satan. I however, had parents that pretty much let us watch whatever I and my brother wanted which was not a lot, considering the whole non-cable thing. But Degrassi was always something circled in the Metro Telecaster. They touched on everything from teenage pregnancy, AIDS, crazy psycho boyfriends who either beat you or were obsessed with you, inter-racial dating and of course drug use.

The characters in the show were top notch too. The famous Joey Jeremiah and his sidekicks Wheels and Snake who had a band called The Zit Remedy. Joey was girl crazy and planned on being a star, Snake had super strict parents (you know, the ones who would never have let him watch the Simpson's...ya those ones). Wheels lost both of his parents in a car accident, had to live with his grandparents and almost got felt up by a stranger when he went on a hitchhiking road trip to find his real dad. His life was a huge sack of steamy poo. He went on in the Degrassi movie (yes the movie) to drink and drive, get in an accident and messed up Lucy's face. I took a lesson from the pages of Wheels script...don’t be like him because you’ll end up in the slammer with a roommate who touches your hair while you sleep.

There were so many memorable characters, but the one that really has ruined all fun for my daughter in her teenage years will be Stephanie Kaye. This little hussy was the Queen Bee at Degrassi. She was a piece of work, a cock tease and an all around hot mess. Her day started out going to school in normal clothes, hair and no makeup. As soon as she got to her locker out came the clothes, Twisted Sister makeup and teased hair. My favourite episode of her was when she got all whored up and went to a book signing or something like that, of a popular actor. She then agreed to go to his car after she lied about her age where things got too close for comfort for her and she bailed out. “Ah why me?” well girl what did you think, he was going to take you bowling? He was going to show you his balls and pins alright but...well you get the idea.

So thank you Kit Hood (and of course props to my parents too), for helping me make good choices like not doing acid and jumping off a bridge, not drinking and driving and getting preggers as a teenager. But most of all, thank you for giving me the tools to always be one step ahead of my daughter when she gets older. She won’t be pulling any Stephanie Kaye moves on this mama. I’m pretty sure she’ll hate me for a while but that’s cool I’ll let her blame me. Your awesome show will be our little secret.