Degrassi: The Next Generation on The N Network

The logo for the TV show Degrassi: The Next Generation was retrieved from Degrassi.tv online on April 13, 2008.

Photo Credit: Degrassi.tv

by Jim Diffly
04/13/2008

The N Network’s slogan is: Real. Life. Now. But how realistic is it?

There is cause for concern for parents whose children watch the racy original program on The N, The Network for Teens, called Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Degrassi: The Next Generation is The N’s top rated original program now in its seventh season.

The show touches on difficult subjects such as racism, abortion, adoption, homophobia, drugs, drinking, drug dealing, sex, oral sex, teen pregnancy, death, arrest, infidelity, condoms, college, violence, school shootings, stress, peer pressure, military, religion and homosexuality.

Degrassi is a teen soap opera drama about the fictional Degrassi High School. The show has won two Teen Choice Awards, which were decided by voters aged 12-19.

University of Georgia student Sophie Ellis had not seen an episode of Degrassi before and decided to check one out.

“I watched about five minutes of an episode and it was ridiculous,” Ellis said. “A female character was arguing with her parents, and when they left a couple of her male friends walked in tossing a pornography video back and forth. The female character decided she would ‘show her parents’ by going in their liquor cabinet and stealing their liquor.”

“The episode switched to another scene where a group of guys were,” Ellis said. “One of the guys had just gotten a new tattoo. Some other guys were playing cards and gambling, and all of the sudden two of the male characters started making out.”

“Again the scene switched back to the female character with her two male friends,” Ellis said. “The girl had gotten drunk and one of the friends was trying to take away the alcohol when the bottle smashed into a mirror. The girl started crying and said it was because she had ‘lost her baby’.”

All of this drama happened in the first five minutes Ellis had turned on the TV.

“It was like the writers for the show wanted to see how much trashy drama they could fit into one show,” Ellis said. “I do not know many kids who actually faced issues like these in high school. These things do happen but not often.” With such serious issues being presented to a young crowd Ellis said, “I am not sure if they are helping kids with these life situations as much as they are reinforcing these poor behaviors.”

Ellis, who does not have children, said, “If I did have kids I would not want them watching a show like Degrassi, that’s for sure.”

In 2004, 10 elementary students at a Québécois school mutilated themselves by using compasses to cut their arms after watching an episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation in which a character mutilated her own body, Laura Czekaj said in her article for Canoe online.

Also in 2004, The N decided that it would not show an episode about a 14-year-old character having an abortion in the U.S. until it had been edited. The unedited show had already been aired to Canadian viewers, Dina Kok said in one of her online articles for The Interim.

Kok quoted the girl in the episode discussing her decision on whether or not she would keep the baby saying, “I’m just trying to do the right thing here. For me. For everyone, I guess.”

In October 2004 Degrassi: The Next Generation had a record breaking episode with 930,000 viewers. The episode was about a school shooting that left one student critically injured and the shooter dead, according to a press release by Canadian Television.

A month later the show broke its viewing record with 1 million viewers for an episode about oral sex, a CTV press release said.

The N, a Viacom Network, started out in 2002 as a late night programming network sharing a channel with Noggin.
As of 2008, after the many issues the show has caused, it has become a 24-hour network replacing the Nick Gas channel on digital services and most cable services.

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Comments [post a comment]

So Mr. Diffly, you write a review warning parents about a TV series you have not watched? A series which has won 2 highly coveted awards, been nominated for Emmy Awards, has been the number one show for a network for for seven straight years, but, was watched for less than 5 minutes by someone outside of the target demo who has no teenage children?

That has to be the worst kind of reporting I have ever seen.

Perhaps you could find someone who has watched an entire episode, interview someone who has watched the series, has teenage children, or teachers who understand and deal with these issues, before warning people of its dangers. Otherwise, you could also say "all Indians walk in a straight line... at least the one I saw did."

While Ms. Ellis may not have experienced some of sitations presented in her 5 minutes of viewing the show, in no way can she claim they do not exist. If they didn't, why would highschools need daycare centers, gay support groups, armed patrolmen, and full time councilers who handle more than college entry requirements?

Perhaps you should have someone who rides public transit watch 5 minutes of NASCAR and give us comments about how it could negatively influence bus drivers!

Posted By:

D.Woods

04/14/2008

09:20 AM

"Degrassi: The Next Generation is The N’s top rated original program now in its seventh season."

I'm sorry, this show has been on for seven years, you're faulting it for topics covered on episodes from as many years ago, and you're just now questioning it? If the general public had felt the same way about the show, it would not have been succesful for seven seasons! If actual parents of actual kids who watch the show have a problem with it, then I suppose that's their responsibility to know their own children and know what they are watching.

And it's interesting you bring up the fact that it has won awards voted on by 12-19 year olds, because the show has been on long enough now that someone who was 12 when the show started is now 19. The characters have grown up, too, and the youngest among the current lead characters are 16, with some characters in their 20s - with a great deal of its audience the same ages, Degrassi has a huge over 18 fan base at this point, making it the least of parents' problems...

Degrassi is no worse than any of the other teen dramas on CW, MTV or any other network - many of which are more accessible to teens than The N is, so where's the beef? Is it that Degrassi is a sometimes unrealistic teen drama? - that it's not hiding the fact that its for teens by claiming to be aimed at "young adults"? - or is the issue simply the fact that teens would rather watch somewhat unrealistic drama than watch campy COMPLETELY unrealistic and idealized kiddie sitcoms on Nick or Disney?

In any case, this article is decidedly NOT news. It made no reference to anything specific that has happened on the show in the last three and a half years. If you wanted to complain about topics covered on Degrassi in 2004, perhaps 2004 was the proper time to do it.

Posted By:

Samantha D

04/30/2008

9:55 PM

I grew up watching the original Degrassi series. I applaud the series for presenting much needed topics of discussion, but the theatrics are over the top and the situations seem a bit too unrealistic. All the kids look perfect, have these extraordinary and outlandish lives (like the person who shoots a movie and gets a record deal). What about the kids who have acne, greasy skin, body issues and just trying to fit in?

I noticed the drama seems to jump off the screen. Growing up, teen pressure was a little more insidious than that.

Posted By:

Siobhan27

06/22/2008

08:14 AM

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