Degrassi High

Degrassi High was the third television show in the Degrassi series of teen dramas about the lives of a group of kids living on or near Degrassi Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It first aired in 1989-1990, and followed the kids from Degrassi Junior High through high school.

Degrassi High was rebranded to Degrassi, Old School when it began to broadcast on The-N in the United States. It dealt with issues ranging from AIDS, abuse, alcoholism, cheating, sex, death and suicide, dating, depression, bullying, abortion, gay rights, racism, the environment, drugs, sexism, eating disorders, and much more. Many hail the series as a classic for being a realistic and often raw portrayal of teen life.

Storylines
Main article: Episode Guide

Season 1
A continuation of the Degrassi: Junior High series following the graduated junior high students as they embark on high school life.

Season 2
The last season of the original Degrassi. It follows the students last year at Degrassi before it closes and the factors that end the friendships of many and the beginning of new relationships.

Opening Sequence
The opening begins with an animated alarm clock. It zooms out onto a desk, creating outlines in its path. The outlines then disappear. Next to the clock are some books. Next to the desk is an animated person we see putting their pants on. They grab the books and walk off camera. Then we see a shot of Degrassi High School with kids walking into it. Then we see Arthur looking at his bike in disgust, seeing that someone rubbed peanut butter all over it. Then we see Tessa not paying attention to where she's walking in the hallway and accidentally walks into Dwayne from "A New Start". Then we see Tabi spraying her hair spray in Melanie's face making her cough, from "Dream On". Then we see a close up of Heather and Erica facing the right and they both turn their heads at the same time from DJH episode "Star-Crossed". Then we see Clutch backing his car up and hitting a row of bikes. Then we see an arm grabbing Joey by the front of his shirt and pulling him into a class room. We then see Joey's face pressed up against the door from "A New Start". Then we see a still of Alex posing for the camera by the lockers. An animated locker door comes across the screen and when it shuts we see a still of Claude posing. Then we see BLT high fiving someone while Allison and Amy walks up behind them smiling. Then we see Caitlin walking next to Maya, both laughing, in the hallway from "A New Start". Then we see Yick playing basketball, making a slam dunk from "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". Then we see Alexa and Simon kissing from "A New Start". Then we Spike smiling at Patrick and shaking her head from "Nobody's Perfect". Then we see Lucy pinching Joey's cheeks and laughing from "Everybody Wants Something". Then we see Claude trying to kiss Caitlin from "Everybody Wants Something". Then we see Kathleen looking up at the clock from "Nobody's Perfect". Then we see a see a still of Diana posing for the camera by the lockers. An animated locker door comes across the screen and when it shuts we see a still of Nancy posing. Then we see Michelle and BLT kissing from "Sixteen". Then we see Spike with her arm around Liz laughing. Next we see Snake, Joey, and Wheels cheering from "Everybody Wants Something". Then we see LD kicking a soccerball into a goal. Her teammates BLT and Luke cheer. Then we see a close up of a trophy held by BLT in a series of moving stills. We also see some students by the lockers including Michelle, Patrick, Dorothy with pom poms, and Bartholomew and Scooter fist bumping. BLT tips the trophy over and the words "Degrassi" pop out in white letters. Everybody walks off screen leaving a single girl at her locker with her back to the camera. The camera zooms in on her butt and the word Degrassi zooms in on top of it, turning puple. The words High zooms below it in blue letters. A gold shimmer goes across "Degrassi High" in a diagonal line.

Theme Song Lyrics
Wake up in the morning

Gotta shake the feeling.

I gotta face a day of school

What's to be afraid of?

I can ask a question

Or maybe even bend the rules.

I'm searching for a place where I'll fit in

There's a way if I look that I can win.

Yeah, I can see I'm not alone,

I can face the unknown.

Mmmm-hmmm.

Everybody can succeed

In yourself you must believe

Give it a try, at Degrassi High.

Trivia

 * Many of the actors had no previous experience acting and were cast because of their realistic appearance.
 * The school colors were blue and purple.
 * Everybody's favorite bands during the 5 year run of Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High were the fictional rock bands The Savages and Gourmet Scum, and real-life Irish rockers The Pogues.
 * Neil Hope who played Derek "Wheels" Wheeler had to play a teenager who loses his parents in a car accident. In real life, Hope lost his father a couple of months prior to shooting the funeral scene and struggled to keep from crying throughout.
 * In the TV-movie following the Degrassi High series, Degrassi: School's Out, Snake (Brogen) and Caitlin (Mistysyn) were the first to swear on a Canadian network. They both said the word "fucking".
 * Mastroianni had said he would never return to the world of Degrassi, but promptly did so when Degrassi: The Next Generation premiered. He was a regular feature seasons 2-5.
 * Amanda Stepto was asked in a 1999 reunion show if that was her real life hair style which 'Spike' had throughout the series, she answered yes but had said she wanted to change it by the end.