Product Description

Go to school with the show in a class by itself--and get real! Hailed as "groundbreaking," "powerful," and "totally authentic," Degrassi Junior High confronts it all- friendship, puberty, rumors, sports, studies, and more- with a refreshing ensemble cast and a unique teen’s-eye-view of life. Sometimes moving, sometimes shocking, but always believable, Degrassi Junior High is a classic for teens of all ages. All your favorite characters and storylines are waiting- find your seat- school’s open!

Includes all sixteen episodes of Degrassi Junior High from Season 3: Can’t Live with ‘Em, Parts 1 and 2; A Big Girl Now; Season’s Greetings; Loves Me, Loves Me Not; He Ain’t Heavy; The Whole Truth; Star-Crossed; Food for Thought; Twenty Bucks; Taking Off, Parts 1 and 2; Making Whoopee; Black and White; Pa-arty!; and Bye-Bye Junior High.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76520 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 416 minutes

Amazon.com
Degrassi Junior High: Season 3 represents the final year in the life of the 1980s series, popular in Canada and on American cable and public television channels. Not that the Toronto-based ensemble drama or its characters disappeared from the airwaves. After the show's student characters graduated from junior high, the program became Degrassi High for two years, followed by a made-for-TV movie and, beginning 2001, the follow-up Degrassi: The Next Generation, featuring some of the original characters grown into teachers and parents.

Before all that, however, season 3 maintains the tradition of traumas and epiphanies that have defined the collective experience of the Degrassi community. The two-part season opener includes a whopper: Derek "Wheels" Wheeler loses his parents in a car accident and finds his world turned upside down and most of his friends uncertain how to reach out to him. One can sense that Wheels is becoming a pariah at school, simply because his loss is unfathomable to old pals such as Archie "Snake" Simpson (Stefan Brogren), his bandmate in the Zit Remedy rock trio. (The Zit Remedy, by the way, are still playing their one and only composition from season 2.) Meanwhile, Christine "Spike" Nelson (Amanda Stepto) has had her baby and is back at school (after being cast out by Degrassi's administration last season for being pregnant). The newborn's father, Shane McKay (Bill Parrott), pleads with Spike to see their child, though later underscores his immaturity by spending the support money he owes Spike on a concert ticket. (He also takes LSD and is badly hurt in an accident.) Other complications arise for Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) when she begins dating a high-schooler and finds herself pressured to have sex while simultaneously losing ties with classmates. Snake's older brother announces he's gay, leaving Snake confused but also upset when his parents kick the young man out of their home. As usual, the mini-dramas go on and on, yet the sense of reality that permeates Degrassi--the feeling that one is watching real kids instead of gorgeous, pimple-free actors in their mid-20s--keeps this show feeling fresh and relevant. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Degrassi Is Like Crack
I discovered Degrassi in the dark years when my parents canceled cable and I was relegated to public television in the afternoons. What I've rediscovered is that when you watch one episode, you can't stop...you have to keep going through 4 or 5. This season was excellent, though Stephanie Kaye is sorely missed.
The old school Degrassi far exceeds the "next generation" for one simple reason: it's painfully honest. You look at them and remember when you had an outfit that bad, or braces that shiny, or a crush on a guy who actually wore tight jeans... The Next Generation is too slick and too good looking - part of the allure of the old Degrassi is that it shows that adolescence is brutal and awkward, but it does get better.
Some behind the scenes features and interviews would be awesome - it'd be interesting to see what the old bunch is up to now and what they think of the show.

They're back and slightly older...
During its third season, you can see Degrassi slightly alter its format a bit to fit in with the significant changes to the characters through puberty. There's more focus on the relationships, with romance brewing between Caitlin and Joey, and episodes about interracial dating, dating a senior, and the tension between teen parents. Stephanie is gone, Spike's given birth, Kathleen is still a prude, and there's the addition of the funniest character I've forgotten about over the years; Arnold's cousin. The most significant story arc in this season concerns the death of Wheel's parents, which was inspired by the death of the actor's real life father, and it's dealt with a much more grittier tone than the previous seasons. (Compare it to the bout of depression Stephanie suffered in season two.) I reckon the performance is still as powerful as anything you'd see today. This set has a great behind-the-scenes feature that really highlights the impact of the show and will really open your eyes about how convincing the realism was seen during its day. All in all, a great season and a nice lead in to what will be the much darker and serious, Degrassi High series. I can't wait!

Marvel at the Simultaneous Beauty & Embarassment
The first season of "Degrassi Junior High" often came very close to feeling like public access, with a miniscule (at best) budget and often very wooden/weird acting. A true guilty pleasure. From a technical standpoint, Season Two was a big improvement. New topics tackled included depression, divorce/remarriage, and sex. The teen actors clearly developed their talents and come off more believable as they did in Season 1. The camerawork and direction also improved.

Season Three is something of an anomaly. With two seasons under their belt, you would've thought the people behind the scenes (directors, writers, editors, etc.) would have improved by Season Three -- yet be on the lookout for some major editing gaffes, continuity errors, and just plain weirdness (the huge sweat stains on the math teacher's shirt in a few episodes come to mind...the directors must've come to their senses when they put him in blazers in later episodes).

Yet, there are many powerful moments in Season Three. Wheels' losing his parents in a drunk driving accident and the aftermath of the event are well done. An episode about eating disorders is also good. The acting from the young cast also is an improvement over seasons 1 & 2. Pat M. as Joey Jeremiah is especially good. The DVD set comes with teaching supplements that would be helpful for any jr.high/hs teachers that are thinking of showing episodes in class. There's also a short "behind the scenes" special which is interesting.

Like the first two season collections, you can't go wrong with this DVD. You'll appreciate its honest portrayal of 12-15 year olds, but find much to laugh at in terms of the production values and overall 80s nostalgia. A+.