Update: Pat finally sent the video! (in
late 2004) But this flash animation took me a few hours to make and is funny..
so it stays. 
SNAKE
(ARCHIBALD "ARCHIE" SIMPSON)
Friend to Joey and Wheels, Snake was the shy giant of Degrassi. In
Degrassi High, Snake
was best known for discovering the suicidal corpse of Claude (pronounced
CL-OO-DE). After skipping out on class to take a relaxing leak, Snake
enters the bathroom..notices blood all over the floor and calls out
to the stall; "hey buddy are you all right?" NOPE the
person inside was not all right.. needless to say Snake suffers emotional trauma,
and skips school for an entire week.
The lead guitarist of "The Zit
Remedy", Snake wailed and played his heart out for the band. In the
early days of Degrassi Junior High, Snake was a metal head! (he even wore
vintage Iron
Maiden t-shirts). Snake was known for liking all kinds of girls, but
the one that really stole his heart was Melanie. . Melanie had a thing for him
back in junior high as well, and the two dated a few times.. but again it didnt
work out.
In DJH, we find out that Snake had a older gay brother,
who was a somewhat of a basketball legend/star at Degrassi!. In the
same episode that info is revealed, he was forced to take part in a
class role-playing game about getting aids and transmitting it. Snake
was the one who "had AIDS". Of course people made fun of him for having
Aids, and the fact that he was gay (for having aids.. ahh the loveable
late 1980's..). With having a newly outed gay brother, this pissed Snake
off, and he picked a fight with BLT.. he lost.. big time.
He once tried to date Michelle (BLT's girlfriend), but she was a nut, and it
didn't work out either.. throwing Snake into an even deeper emotional trauma. Although
smart in school, Snake couldnt pass his driving test; he flunked it
several times. On the driving school course he ran over and killed several of the
cardboard people used to simulate pedestrians (he also almost killed Joey
who was dying of laughter).
In "Schools Out" Snake
began his quest to get lucky with a chick.. Apparently Wheels had scored
with some mystery woman, and Joey was getting some action from Tessa.. but Snake
got nothing (he even worked as a pool life guard thinking it was a
lock for getting some action). At the infamous summer
party at Bronco's cottage, with basically the entire cast of Degrassi..
he informed Caitlin by accident about Joey bone'ing Tessa.. and the
friendship between Snake and Joey died on the spot (at least until the
next generation). On the bright side,
Snake seemed to finally hook up with a chick in University (Pam).. WAY
TO GO SNAKE.
UPDATE: Stefan
(Snakes real name) starred in the now defunct Canadian rock band "Scratching Post" newest video.. He played a really stalkerish fan of the band, who
is obsessed with the singer Nicole. He says he has been caught "doin
stuff" with her picture in his room.. he licks her picture. He's crazy
sick. He's being interviewed by someone unknown.. and the rest of the music
video is spent with him running around Toronto trying to make it to
the Scratching Post live show (that seems to be taking place on a very
busy street in Toronto.. Yonge St.) Anyway, he makes it to the show,
jumps up illegally on the stage and asks the singer for an autograph
while she is playing. Not the smartest move Snake. But hey! this is
big time stuff for the Degrassi cast. Next to Joey, Snakes 2nd in command
for "doing something".
PREVIOUS UPDATE:
Snake (if you live in Canada) could be seen in a beer commercial! that's
right!, It was an ad for "The Beer Store" (a store that sells beer here
in Canada- how genius). Anyways, he was in the line waiting for his
beer with a stupid fishing hat on. He had 1 line, and it came after
the main stars had their lines.. and his was something like "Yea guys".
Also: Snake was recently on cbc show "Jonovision" with Joey. He talked
about being in a new cbc show called "Twitch City" I think it has already
been canceled. Ah well Snake.
WHEELS
(DEREK WHEELER)
What can be said about our pal Wheels? He certainly ended up having
the shittiest life on Degrassi. In the beginning he is dumped (given up for adoption)
by his cool rock and roll dad MIKE, then he is adopted
by nerdy parents (nice coke bottle frames Mr. And Mrs. Wheeler)...then
he almost scores with Stephanie Kaye.. then he is forced to wear
glasses.. and then his parents
are tragically killed by a drunk driver, while the Zit Remedy cut their
first demo tape at Joey's. All this before High School even began!
Jesus Christ!!
Then if things didn't suck enough for him, Wheels was forced to go live with his severely old grandparents;
the nagging grandma, and the basically dead grandpa that likes to watch
wrestling on the sofa. Fed up, Wheels then went on a quest to find his
real dad MIKE.. who had sent him a post card birthday wish telling him how great
the crappy rock band he was in was doing in Port Hope Ontario (or Kingston,
which ever you prefer). Wheels decided he should go visit his real dad. He plays
Bass after all, maybe they could start a band? Ahh fantasies. On the way to see
him (Wheels hitchhiked.... smart) he was picked up by an official
Pedophile.. the perv touches Wheel's thighs "Come on
Derek.. this will feel good". Wheels jumps out of the car,
and held up a rock.. ready to strike if the pervert tried anything more. To make
a long story short, Wheel's real dad didnt give a crap about him, and his crazy
Grandma hauled ass up to Port Hope to bring him home.
In High school, Wheels turned to a life of crime! Lying
to his grandma, and stealing change to play video games.. HE
CANT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! He ditched the old folks and moved
in with Joey for a while.. until Joey's mother started losing money
(yes Wheels stole it). Wheels had
a brief affair with one of the twins: Heather. He made out with her
at Lucy's party, but soon after licking her tongue/stained tooth.. he
decided against taking the relationship further and ignores her
(why? they were so cute!)
Wheels ends his stint on Degrassi with a BANG!
(in "Schools Out"). While driving to get beer for a summer party, Wheels
(already drunk) gets into an accident.. Lucy (who went with him driving
to help calm him down after a fight) is turned into a blind cripple, and Wheels kills a kid.. How
ironic? his parents are killed.. then Wheels kills.. a.. kid..
ironic..
UPDATE: Neil "Wheels"
Hope is one of only a few members of Degrassi who has successfully evaded
detection in the 10 years since the shows ending. "Where in
the World is Neil Hope" is a soon to be released children's
PC videogame. The object is to find what happened to Neil Hope, and
to get as many sightings as you can. If you see Neil Hope at a KFC in
Sudbury, well BOOM... that's 100 points. If you happen to be in the same
bathroom as Neil Hope in an Esso service station, well that is 5000
points. The game is exciting. and rewarding. Currently he is rumored
to be living in Hamilton under the alias Pete Rothchild.
UPDATE Part Deux: Soon after the
Degrassi reunion special aired on Jonovision, Neil decided he wanted to
take his part of the Degrassi pie. He was featured in the Canadian (or
was it the American) airing of the first episode of Degrassi the next
generation. He looked about as good as the rest of the Zit remedy guys
(man they aged horribly) and asked Lucy (who instead of being blind and
crippled, mearly had a limp and a cane) if she would forgive him. Later
he appeared in another episode that I have currently yet to see playing
bowling with Snake and Joey.
CAITLIN
RYAN (THE ICE PRINCESS)
The pretty, yet really smart girl that no guy could keep at Degrassi; this was Caitlin. In
the early days of Degrassi, Caitlin thought she was a lesbian. Why?
because Miss Avery liked her a lot, seemed to always be hanging around
with a certain woman, and Caitlin had Erotic Lesbianic dreams
involving Miss Avery as well. They moved on oh so quickly from that
storyline, as Caitlin quickly found out that Miss Avery was merely
friends with the mysterious woman, and that she hugs/kisses all her
friends (can I be your friend Miss Avery?). That would have been an interesting concept,
but ANYWAYS.
Caitlin also had (has) Epilepsy, and during a sleepover
with the local Degrassi girls she started to have a seizure. She took
some pills, and the topic never really came up again. (Yes people
who email me: I remember the animal cruelty episode..) She wrote
many articles for the "Degrassi Digest", and covered topics such as
"Keep Spike at Degrassi", "Animal rights" and "Mr. Colby: Hot or Not".
The only mistake (some people think) Caitlin ever made
was getting involved with that bad seed Joey Jeremiah. I know
that Joey isn't bad, in fact he is my favorite character of the series,
but lets face it; he caused Caitlin countless days of heartache and
trouble... remember the infamous snub at the grade 8 dance? Joey picked
Liz over Caitlin! What the hell was he drinking that night?.. Caitlin
was hot!. I guess Joey figured since he was wearing his finest tuxedo
(shirt), he could pick whomever he wanted... he chose wrong. She
really liked Joey too, and was heartbroken for the first time by him (ohh there
would be more times coming).
Caitlin
got involved with Joey initially by helping him with his homework.. A romance
developed, and they dated until Caitlin discovered (in Degrassi High)
CLAUDE (but fear not! he kills himself). Claude ended up
being an even worse influence over Caitlin.. he turned her into a
"political activist". She was later arrested for spray painting
a "no nukes" slogan on a nuclear bomb parts factory.. (A BOMB FACTORY IN TORONTO?
ONLY ON CANADIAN TV BABY!). During the spray painting incident, Caitlin
got stuck trying to escape (her breasts got caught in the barbed wire
fence), and Claude could have saved her.. but didn't, left her to
get arrested by the cops. She dumped him soon after that.. he blew his
head off. the end.
Caitlin later discovered that her dad was cheating on her
mother. Her dads excuse was "I'm
going to play squash honey" nice excuse Mr. Ryan. Caitlin (aka Stacie Mistysyn)
has been a part of the Degrassi cast since the very beginning.. she
must also be sick and tired of DEGRASSI. But I say, stick with what
you are good at doing. People love you as Caitlin, dont look back in
anger, i heard you say.
Update: After
months of watching the horrible (yet funny at times) Weird Science TV
show shown on the Space Network in Canada, I have finally
seen and taped Stacie's episode. She played girlfriend to Gary, and
while she did a good job; she wasn't in the show long enough. The episode is called
"Family Affair", and thankfully each Weird Science episode
states the episode name as the show begins (giving you a chance to bail
and go watch some Weather Network).
Real world tips:
If you suspect your father is cheating on your mother, a good way to
talk about it with friends is to refer to your father "playing
squash" Its cryptic. Its funny... Hell, only people who have seen
Degrassi will understand what you are saying. If they haven't seen the
show, they will just think your dad is gay.
LUCY
(BRAINER OF DEGRASSI)
Lucy was and will always be the brains of Degrassi. A girl with so much
promise, a girl that everyone knew would do well in life. Lucy had
many a adventure, and has also been with the Degrassi cast since the
very beginning. Her first best friend was the nerdy VOULA.
Lucy was always left home alone, because her parents worked so much..
and this led her to a life of crime. One day Lucy, and Voula were shopping
for slips or bra's.. and Lucy decided to steal one. She had done it
before. It wasn't even a big deal if they got caught. They were only
kids.. this was her theory anyway. They both ended up being caught
by the store security, and this pretty much killed the friendship (Voula
was grounded forever basically). Lucy was once "molested" by
MR.
COLBY, a supply teacher that gave Lucy extra marks, and
molested
her by "touching her arms" ooh! now that's a crime!. Her next
best friend was L.D. who got cancer. Lucy went to visit L.D. everyday,
and even made home movies of herself talking about her boring stories
(while L.D. recovered in hospital, and later while sailing across the
world with her dad). I think Lucy was attracted to Wheels, but that
went nowhere.
She started out her relationship life by going out with the nerdy black dude
whose name eludes me (lets just call him CARL) and
when he wanted to have sex.. she didn't, and she dumped him. Later Carl
spread a crass rumor around school that Lucy was a 3 input girl (the
shocker). As Carl and his best friend Clutch were already in High school, Lucy
thought she was king shit hanging around with them. She even lied to her best
friends telling them stories of where and what she was doing, when she was
really out on a date. Lucy's
friends (who thought she was doing something else the night she supposedly
had sex with Carl) were very hurt and disappointed they weren't invited
to the sware'. Lucy later came .. clean that is.. and said that she really
didn't do anything
, and that Carl was a dirty liar.
Later that year, Lucy was seduced by Clutch, who
was the nerdy black guy Carl's best friend. They enjoyed a
relationship for a while, until Clutch become an alcoholic drunk (yes..
they were high school kids). Clutch was dumped, but continued to
pursue Lucy well into the High school years. Lucy then dated another nerdy black guy
who was the president of the school. His name was Bronco (I am not
making the name up this time), and they went
out for the rest of the episodes of Degrassi High.
Lucy did not have
a very happy future however, Wheels got into a car accident while driving
Lucy to the corner store to purchase a lottery ticket or something (in
School's Out), and Lucy was left blinded and paralyzed.
...She is currently living in some hospital.
L.D.
(Lorraine Delacorte)
LD was the tom boy at Degrassi that took part in all things athletic.
She also took part in refraining from all things female. Degrassi Junior
High saw LD a great swimmer,
and helped propel the girls swim team to victory over the boys swim
team.. she also told Melanie that she had breasts (boosting Melanie's
small ego).
LD's mother died when she was very young, making her afraid
of hospitals.. so when her dad goes in to the hospital for heart trouble..
LD refuses to visit him. LD's best friend was Lucy who helped her out with
make up and other girly related things (since she was basically a dude).
Lucy gave LD a complete makeover, clothes, hair, make-up.. the works. It
must have taken hours. LD of course looked hideous when the makeover was
complete. To show her gratitude to Lucy, LD walked out of Lucy's house.
Waited for Lucy to go back inside, and then proceeded to take the
make-up off complete with disgusted face. Nice.
In
Degrassi High,
LD was diagnosed with Leukemia, and had to spend almost an entire season
of Degrassi bedridden.. she didn't have to do it alone however. Lucy came
to visit everyday to annoy her, with all the latest goings on at the
school (Lucy would tell her about all the cool shit happening at Degrassi).
Chemotherapy meant LD lost all her hair, and she started wearing a wig,
Lucy kept visiting her to make her feel even worse . The last straw came
when Lucy started making home videos of all the good times at Degrassi,
and bringing them to the hospital for her to see.. LD got so pissed
off with Lucy that she decided to beat the cancer.. get well, then demand
that her father quit his mechanic business, and take her around the
world on a sail boat. Does that sound like I made it up? I didn't. The
Degrassi writers actually wrote that story arc.
What did Lucy do? somehow she found a way to send
constant videotape updates to a sail boat going around the world..this
worked as a "dear diary" aspect for Lucy in the next season. LD was still haunted
by Lucy's Degrassi videos, and I believe she is still getting updates
of Lucy's life to this very day.
STEPHANIE
KAYE (STEPHANIE K)
Stephanie was easily one of the most important characters through the
first two
seasons of Degrassi Junior High. In fact the very first episode of DJH
was based on Stephanie and her presidential election race at Degrassi.
She played the girl who liked to dress like a whore at school. As
Alexa's mother would later say of Stephanie's clothing.. "a lady of the
night". In the
mornings she would come to school dressed all nice and normal, then
enter the bathroom, and instantly became a hooker. Joey really liked Steph in junior high, but alas Steph's heart was dedicated to Wheels..
She dated Wheels a couple of times, but it always ended in failure.. An
episode that is still shown in schools around the world is where Steph,
the twins, and Lucy all get drunk and go to the school dance. At the dance, right
before she is to give a speech about raising money to save starving
Ethiopian's, Steph throws up..
Stephanie Kaye spent her junior high years constantly
vying for the attention of the boys, and she was somewhat successful. When running for Degrassi
Junior High school President she gave kisses to every boy that voted for her.. wow. Another
classic episode dealt with Stephanie meeting her
favorite soap opera star at a signing event, and then
managing to go out on a date with him. She was only 14 or something, and this
guy was 28. Before the date even begins, he puts the moves on her in his car and Steph panics
and says "IM ONLY 13!". Well the guy kicks her out of the car and takes
off like a bat out of hell. Steph has to call her mother to pick her
Lolita ass up. Near
the end of the series, and after her mother conveniently wins the lottery..
she moves away to France to go to a private school.. I wonder what she
is doing now?.. is she doing well? Actually I saw her in a movie on
TVO.. that is good.
ALL THE WAY WITH STEPHANIE KAY!
she ran, and won the school election with this very slogan.. you too
can say it.. go ahead.. try it.
UPDATE: After
dropping out of Degrassi, Nicole Stoffman starred in a failed sitcom
with now dead exfootball player Lyle Alzado. Who died from starring
in too many bad movies. On the "Degrassi" reunion special Jonovision
show, Nicole caused quite the stir by appearing to be either stoned, high, or
perhaps just high on life. She is currently a well known Jazz singer in
Toronto. Check out her site
here
ARTHUR
KOBALOWSKIE (the best dude on Degrassi)
So misunderstood.. This young man had much potential for being cool.
He wore sweatpants. He was into magic tricks and gags, and he liked
wearing berets. Had he chosen not to be such a dweeb, maybe he could have been that
much needed tambourine in the ZIT REMEDY ?. His best friend was YICK
(See BELOW) all throughout junior school, and for the
initial few episodes of Degrassi High. Arthur was pretty smart, and his big sister was Stephanie
K. After their parents divorced, Arthur went to live with his Playboy
dad (who was a crazy joke loving mailman). Young Arthur started having
dreams where he "sorta... leaked? " thus he and Yick decided to call into
the "Sex with
Dr. Sally" radio show(who was really Sue Johanson.. real life Canadian sex-pert).
According to Dr. Sally, Arthur was perfectly normal.
Arthur was one of a group of kids to begin learning about sex.. the hard
way. He and Yick tried to get together with some friends to watch some
pornography. He once
walked in on his Dad, and his Dad's naked girlfriend (maybe on purpose?)
and saw that they had had sex. It would be a good bet that he didnt
reach first base by the end of the Degrassi series.
In the 3rd season of Degrassi Junior High,
Arthur's mother wins the lottery and decides to send Stephanie Kaye away to France
(for school). Perhaps the mom was stealing lottery tickets from her
pharmacy? Stephanie Kaye reaps the rewards of lottery cash and all
Arthur gets is a gay beret from France. He loses all his friends
in high school, and becomes the token nerd (even Alex Yankou ended up
being cooler than Arthur). Who could forget when
Arthur started having demented dreams about Caitlin.. Obsess much? He
dreams about her everywhere; in his bed, at school, while making toast..
everywhere!. While normal guys would dream of having sex with girls,
Arthur dreams about eating dinner at a nice restaurant with her.. how seriously
demented is this? He even tries to win over Caitlin's heart, but she
had already
entered into the Claude phase (you should've tried growing a little
moustache to go along with the beret Artie!). One of Arthur's last great
show moment comes when he toilet papered MR. RADITCH's house,
along with Yick. After that Arthur became a hall walker. He can be seen in the opening
credits of Degrassi
High making a disgusted face, after someone put.. uhm.. peanut butter
on his bike? This was never shown in any episode, I hope it wasn't
Duane's poo. He also shares the same first name as myself. Arthur
Taylor is I.
Disturbing Arthur updates:
I had been hearing things about Arthur for a while after the Degrassi
series ended. The first story I heard was about someone who drove past
him on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto. They described him looking
pretty much the same. This source seemed very uncredible. Later, another
person emailed and described him looking like
an "escaped mental patient". This was the kinda update I could
believe in. Very credible information. Finally, the newest and most horrific update yet: Arthur was
spotted a few weeks ago by a good friend of the tipster. A waitresses
confirmed that he is a bartender (at least part time) at a pub in the Yonge-Eglinton area of Toronto. He is still of grand scale, but now
sports a cleanly shaven head and an extensive beard. He was described
as "hideous" by the tipsters friend.
YICK
YU ( I swore, I thought his name was YICK YUCK)
Yick was DA MAN!. In his early years on Degrassi, Yick went through many
events that shaped his life.. First event of course is crossing the
ocean in an immigrint boat hoping not to get robbed or killed by
pirates. Next was when he accused Mr. Raditch
of being a racist, or something.. He was always getting bad marks on
his assignments.. so he and the coolest guy on the show ARTHUR
decided to conduct a little experiment. He handed in all of Stephanie
K's old assignments (Stephanie K was Arthur's sister.. see the connection?.)
except he replaced her name with his. He compared the marks, and they
differed. wait a sec.. this story is dumb..who cares.
Yick had a thing
for Melanie, but she only liked him as a friend (isnt this how it always
is) After excepting a date with Yick, Melanie finds out that Snake
wants to go see "Revenge of the Reptile".. so she tells Yick that her
mother is going through Menopause (or something), and that she cant
make it. Well Melanie and Snake go off to the Reptile movie, Arthur
and Yick decide they should see the same movie.. UHOH!! Well for some
reason Arthur and Yick decide to sit in the exact same area that Snake
and Melanie are sitting.. Yick see's Melanie and discovers what it feels
like to be stabbed in the back by a chick.
Another adventure has he
and Arthur stealing a tape from Yick's older brother called "SWAMP SEX ROBOTS".
Arthur and Yick salivate over what the tape will show them. Action so hot it
will melt your eyeballs! they eventually fail as their plans backfire when
Wheel's shows for his sex date with Stephanie and her mom catches them.
Arthur and Yick were
best buds all through junior high, they liked to play with their water guns
in the school, they liked to shove innocent nerds into broom closets,
they also liked to call each other 'broom heads'.. man these guys were out of control!.
In High school, Yick dropped Arthur like a hot-potato, and became a druggie/bad
seed with Luke (who had previously also ruined Shane's life ..) He made fun
of Arthur by calling him a nerd (that bastard), and had bid "farewell"
to his own nerdy past. He had a semi love life; He kinda dated Melanie,
and then kinda dated Tessa (after she dumped Alex).
He didn't go anywhere
in life.. big surprise, he should have stuck with Arthur.
MELANIE
(MELANIE BRODIE)
"Kathleen! you are such a prude!": Melanie's
favorite thing to say.
Melanie started out as a pretty awkward character
in the Degrassi universe. Who could forget when she didnt have breasts?
Or what about the time she lied to Yick so she could go out with Snake?.
Joey made fun of Melanie with such classic lines as "Hey Melanie, you're
so flat the walls are jealous!".. but L.D came to Mel's rescue, and
threw Joey into the Degrassi pool. Melanie had nice braces, which she
wore for only about a year (that's about how long I had mine on for also).
Melanie was gaga over Snake, but every time they would go out (or attempt
to go out) it would end in failure. Melanie got her braces off, and as
a gift, got 20 bucks from her mother. What does she do withi it? she
blows 20 dollars on Pizza and "Soda" with her buddies.. soon after that,
Snake asks her to go to the Gourmet Scum concert, but alas Melanie has
not a 20 dollar bill to spare. She steals the money from her mother, and after
her mother spends the entire episode whining and bitching about how
she lost 20 bucks, Melanie comes clean... and gets grounded. Its only
20 bucks! And its not like they were 'MegaPoor' or anything (even Melanie
said this..) In high school Melanie still has no luck with Snake, but
she becomes better looking.. and turns her sights toward trouble.. and
Luke! At Diane’s slumber party Melanie gets stoned, and while laughing
her ass off.. tells everyone about Kathleen’s problems (anorexic, bearded
boyfriend, drunk mother, being a prude.. etc..) Kathleen gets really mad and says that she
hates Melanie. How could anyone hate Melanie?
UPDATE: In the
late 1990's Melanie was stalked by an insane fan from Australia who requested an
autograph and underwear from her. Instead of fulfilling the request,
she sent a message to the authorities and got the guy arrested. When
the stalker found out that he was getting arrested instead of getting
Melanie's underwear
and autograph, he yelled out "Sara, you are such a prude!".
(Sara being her real name..)
SHANE-
THE IMPREGNATOR!
SHANE SHANE SHANE!!! this guy had the second crappiest life on Degrassi. He
had sex in grade 7 with Spike see below for Spike info
and she got pregnant.. How could he be that young? wow.. in grade 7
all I thought about was Nintendo.. anyways back to the bio. Spike had
the baby, and Shane attempted to be a dad for a while.. but his parents
were strict.. and he failed.
His 'rents attempted to send him to Military
school.. but he got out of it somehow? .. A few months past,
and he discovered drugs with Luke (a real bad seed). The night of the
"GOURMET SCUM" concert saw Shane drop some acid.. After the concert,
Luke let him go home by himself, he was high as a kite, and jumped off a bridge. He became
a vegetable, and didn't appear in a Degrassi episode for at least a
year. When he returned to school, he was obviously retarded; He couldn't
speak well, and if irritated he would say "STUPID JERK.. SHOULD BE KICKED
IN THE HEAD". What does this mean? I don't know..maybe you should as
him!.. The last thing he did was have a coffee with Spike. At least that was the
plan, perhaps she never followed through with it. "That would be nice" Shane
said.
UPDATE: Shane was featured in an
EATONS commercial. The commercial was for a free CD offer, (but that
was back in March 99 (its over now & Eatons is out of business).
He played a cashier who gives out free CD's to everyone who buys a pair
of jeans. This big black dude buys an oven or something, and asks what
he gets; expecting the CD. Shane gives him a hug!. Way to find that
work SHANE!
To add insult to injury, Shane was replaced by the very person that spearheaded
the entire Degrassi revival!! Jono from Jonovision! That is right, J-Rock from
the Trailer Park Boys was now Shane in an episode where Emma from TNG comes for
a visit.
SPIKE
(CHRISTINE NELSON)
Well Spike first mistake was porking Shane.. man.. its not like she
was drunk; and Shane really wasn't all that appealing (unless she wanted
to have sex with someone who looked like Bill from "Bill and Ted's
Excellent Adventure") Anyways.. she wore braces in the early years..
you know, the classic 1960s model (the cover the entire tooth style)..
but this doesn't really matter. She was frowned upon in Junior high
for setting a bad example for the other girls. The mothers were afraid
that their daughters would become also become pregnant. All they really
had to do was expel the root of the problem: SHANE (the real bad seed).
Spike left Degrassi to take some time off (like maternity leave.. but
she was really just playing hooky). Over the summer she had her baby
Emma, and they lived happily ever after. Spike was known for her (dramatic
pause) WICKED ASS HAIR!, that and her love for punk
music (I wish she could have worn some Black Flag shirts on the show).
She dated an Irish guy for a while; I think his name was Ivan, but anyways.
Her best friend was (and still is..) LIZ ,and she even made Liz is the
godmother to the baby Emma (dont ever ask me about my business..). After
that, Spike didn't do much. She was the shows token pregnant girl, and
hey! every high school show needs one. Spike spent the remainder of
the series looking for love. Thinking she was a sure thing, even Snake
tried to pick up Spike, but he failed as usual. Spike dumped Ivan the
Irish guy (I know that isn't his name, but it sounds funny), and that
guy picked up Liz to go to a concert with him. Spike gots really mad
at the both of them, and proceeds to fight about it in the Degrassi
library. Everyone was telling them to "SHHH"; it was quite an annoying
scene. Since she had a kid, Spike was the confident to all the girls
asking about Sex. She was the master. In real life Amanda (Spike) has
black hair, but still loves heavy tunes. She is friends with Corrosion
of Conformity (a cool band) and is thanked on a few of their cds. Infact,
whenever the band plays Toronto, she will probably be in the crowd.
LIZ
O'ROURKE (Elizabeth the angry)
Liz was Spike's best friend throughout the years
on Degrassi. She was god mother to EMMA. One of her most memorable moments
(Degrassi junior high) was when Joey thought that she was "easy"; so
he tried to have sex with her. Keep in mind that they were only in Grade
8. This was also from the same classic episode where Joey buys everything
in the drug store just to blend in a box of condoms. It doesn't work,
because the cashier asks for a price check on the condoms, and old people
behind Joey laugh at him. Joey tries to seduce Liz, but it fails.. and
he gets thrown out of her house. We later learn that Liz was abused
as a child. As I have stated above.. every child issue is covered in
the Degrassi episodes. Liz is anti abortion and fought with the pregnant
twin Heather I think.. or maybe Erica? DAMN TWINS! (Yes it was Erica,
I just watched the episode last night). It is revealed in episode:"
everybody
wants something" that Liz was supposed to be aborted, but her mother
said NO!; this explains why Liz hates Erica so much. Also Liz was big
on the "against animal testing" movement that was big in the 80's. She
was quite the spokeswoman.
UPDATE: I have
seen Cathy Keenan in downtown Toronto once (but since I don't go downtown
much, I bet she is always around). Usually on Queen Street around Much
Music. I saw her selling little trinkets or maybe they were T-shirts
on the street.
B.L.T.
(Bryan Louis Tannelbalm)
B.L.T. dated Michelle.. you might remember her? she was the whiner (who
cried like Niagara falls), her dad was also a racist.. which wasn't
very good for good ole' BLT. They two went out for like 4 years.. and
BLT helped Michelle through some rough times: her bout with caffeine
pills, moving her into her apartment, and I think that's pretty much
it. After all that time you would think that BLT would see a little
"Jungle fever" type action.. but no luck, I think he made it to first
base with Michelle. Finally he dumped Michelle for less controversial
black chick (Cindy), and when Michelle found out that BLT had been seeing
Cindy behind her back... she dumped milk all over his head in the cafeteria
while his peers looked on in horror!! OOOOO!! man.. that is some bad
stuff. BLT is also remembered for being the guy who was always on the
basketball team.. way to go BLT. He was also called "the dreaded N word"
by a bad seed at "Borden High" and got into a racial scuffle, and when
the dust had cleared BLT was given a warning never to fight again..
so he didnt.
UPDATE: What has
he (Dayo Ade) done with his life since Degrassi? well I saw him in a
Mcdonalds "pizza" commercial a few years back... AIM FOR THOSE STARS
BLT, and he played a "GAY STUD" on an episode of "THE KIDS IN THE HALL"
with Scott Thompson.
MICHELLE
(who cries like Niagara falls)
Michelle was typically the girl in the background for the first couple
of seasons of Degrassi Junior High. One day Michelle, and her best friend
Alexa went out to eat lunch at a park near Degrassi; BLT and Simon came
along for the fresh air. Somehow Michelle and BLT hit it off, and became
steady boyfriend and girlfriend well into Degrassi High. This filled
the inter-racial aspect of the show, and gave DEGRASSI
one more topic to add to the issues covered list. Michelle is an interesting
person on the show. I'm not really sure about this, but I seem to remember
Michelle being told by her parents that she was only 16 years old and
that she couldn't do everything that she wanted to do. Her parents then
break up, and she goes on to live with her dad. Anyways.. they live
together for some time, then Michelle celebrates her 16th birthday?
YES! its true! (well at least I think its true..) I don't know whats
up with that. Michelle's racist father gives her a ring that belonged
to his grandma or something. Michelle is not allowed to go out with
her friends on the night of her birthday, so instead of calling her
dad a loser.. she decides to move out (ohhyea a good idea). She finds
an apartment and pawns the precious grandma ring in order to pay for
it!. She still needs some cash, so she decides to get a job at a local
donut place. Her grades go down the crapper, and she eventually crawls
back to Daddy. Later that year, BLT breaks up with Michelle in favor
of a fellow black girl ( by the name of Cindy.) These messes everything
up: Michelle drifts away from Alexa because Alexa and Simon like to
hang with BLT and CINDY, and makes poor Michelle shed even more tears
than usual. . Michelle and Alexa make up after a fight.. and then Michelle
begins a little dating fling with good ole' Snake. Their first date
was a gigantic mistake, Michelle was still hung up on BLT being hung,
but Michelle asks Snake to prom and after getting out of his date with
Spike, Snake excepts... we see them together for the final episode of
Degrassi.. so I guess they became better friends.
CLAUDE
(CLEH-OoooD)
Claude: this was one troubled guy. His problems started when he raided
the Degrassi Drama department wardrobe room. Who did he think he was?
Hamlet? This guy dressed in THEE worst crap I have ever seen. He thought
he was pretty tough with his little mustache.. ohman, and also he had
a MASSIVE ponytail.. what was it..? 1 inch?. Well somehow he weaseled
his way into Caitlin's pants.. and Joey didn't like this too much..
Poor Joey.. he didn't discover the Claude/Caitlin connection until very
late.. BUT FEAR NOT!! Claude's parents soon divorced.. he was hassled
by his friend (Joanne that girl who cried when he died), and he dressed
like a fairy.. so he killed himself. How did he get a gun? who knows..
we all know that in Toronto any teenager who dresses like Hamlet can
get a 9mm. So he blasted himself in the Degrassi Lavatories.. and poor
Snake discovered the disfigured corpse.. not only scarring him for life
with the horrible sight, but also backing up his pee.. Snake later needed
a catheter to urinate.. To top off his "who does this homo think he
is?" image.. he sent Caitlin a letter after his suicide that basically
blamed her for his death.. awww poor baby. Well he is dead.. and the
school got over it in like 2 days
TID BIT: The real
life actor who played Claude dressed like this as well. No this wasn’t
a costume idea by the Degrassi creators, this was the way the guy dressed.
He did not kill himself in real life.
DUANE
(THE AIDS GUY)
Pretty sad ending for this young man. He basically started his career
on Degrassi in highschool (Yes I know he was in Junior High, but aside
from fighting Joey, and picking Scooter up, he did bupkiss). He was
part of an elite group of kids in Degrassi who were very tough!. They
were the kind of kids that always enforced initiation, and the one group
of kids they always picked on were Joey's Club (wheels, snake, and Joey).
This continued on for 2 years, and Joey hated every minute of it. After
Joey flunks a bunch of classes he is put into the special needs class.
All this is find and dandy, except.. Duane's Club is in the special
needs class! OHHNO!!. Joey is tormented daily. Duane is basically a
bad seed. He ratted out Joey during the "nude walk for money" scam which
Joey almost pulled off. But during that episode Duane finds out he has
aids. This completes the "school issues" cycle, and every single thinkable
issue is covered by Degrassi episodes. Duane keeps it to himself for
a long time, and puts up with gay jokes from his friends, until one
day during a fight in the bathroom with Joey he cuts himself and gets
all bloody. "DO YOU WANT THIS ONE YOU" he says to Joey.. "WHAT IF I
HAD AIDS.. YOU COULD GET IT" Duane says.. Joey reply's with "HEY IF
YOU HAVE AIDS.. ILL PEE ON YOUR GRAVE" (or something to that effect).
Duane starts crying and Joey leaves. After that Joey and Duane get alone
real well, cause Joey keeps his secret from the world. In the final
episode.. Duane goes to the prom, and no one will dance with him.. Then
some girl does. that is all.
CLUTCH
(a real BAD ASS)
One of the coolest guys at Degrassi, this was Clutch. He started out
as one of the bullies when the grade 9's visited their future high school
(Borden High). Clutch and his nerdy black dude sidekick (Paul) made
fun of Snake and Wheels.. this was uncalled for! During the visit Lucy
caught the eye of young Paul, and soon the 2 had a date together. They
broke up because Lucy didn't want to pork Paul.. anyways..Soon Erica
somehow scored a date with Clutch (by asking what Sign he is? if only
it were that simple..) and during a date at the bowling alley Clutch
falls in love with Lucy instead of Erica. They went out for a while
until Clutch developed his alcoholic problem (he was in high school!
). Lucy dumps his drunk ass.. and Clutch spends a few months just chilling
in the background of Degrassi. He had a really crappy car with sparkles
on it..it was pretty much the worst car even seen on Degrassi. Even
worse than Snakes mothers car; and it was sooo cool that Joey and the
Zits wanted to use it for their music video. Hey, Clutch was such a
bad seed that he used fake I.D to purchase beer for other minors like
himself! Taking lots of beer for commission when asked by Joey and the
dudes to get them some beer. Clutch and Paul get totally hammered and
crash Lucy's party, but Lucy has been taking "Tae Bo" and
is buff enough to nail Clutch in the goolies.. down he goes. Lucy directed
the Zit Remedy video in which they use Clutch's crappy jalopy. Since
Clutch has got his shit together he made another run for Lucy.. but
it didnt work for long. He tried to smooth his way back into Lucys pants.
They broke up I guess, and I cant remember anything more about Clutch.
He just laid on the Degrassi benches with his shades on.. soaking up
the Toronto sun.
THE
EROTIC TWINS (HEATHER AND ERICA)
The twins..I think twins are pretty cool.. They are fun to look at,
and I bet they have lots of fun with all the pranks they pull. But lets
face it.. these twins didn't look exactly alike. One had nice teeth,
and the other had not as nice teeth. The both slept in the same room
in their underwear and bras (ohh). One was a sex machine and the other
was more subdued. The sexier twin Erica got knocked up one summer at
camp (by Jason.. that non pulling out bastard!), and decided to have
an abortion (every teenage issue is covered in the Degrassi
universe) except she runs into problems.. I guess Heather
didn't want her sister to have the abortion, and attempted to talk her
out of it-- she failed. The troubled Erica went ahead anyways and had
the procedure completed, but she ran into a mob at the clinic.. She
thinks the worst of her problems are behind her, yet
her problems only get worse.. nightmares start, and she gets into a
fight with that lovable skinhead LIZ. They fight because Liz writes
on Erica's locker (in lipstick) "MURDERER". Erica had known that someone was out to prove
the anti-abortion point (by sticking dead baby pictures in her locker..
but she didnt know it was Liz..) Their fight lasted a second, and that
was it. Lots of hair pulling, lots of shouting. Erotic.
Heather had some love in her life also.. She got involved in a steamy
& torrid affair with our pal WHEELS. One day at Lucy's party Heather
and Wheels get it on.. they KISS oooooo!, but Wheels is foolish, and
gives her the cold shoulder. That was really the last thing they did..
UPDATE: A few
years back the twins could be seen in a SPRINT CANADA commercial.. doing
some retarded test on who talks to grandma for the least amount of time,
thus the least amount of money!
There was also a Kids in the Hall sketch involving a stolen Gazebo, with
Bruce Mccullugh and Scott Thompson. They were having a party, and low
and behold.. the loose women invited over to party were the Deiseach
twins. They looked.. oh how you say.. erotic.
KATHLENE-
one messed up CHICK
Kathleen was one of the toughest characters on Degrassi. A smile from
her was very rare, and whoever made her smile should feel extremely
lucky to see this pretty side of her. Kathleen was best known for getting
beaten by her bearded boyfriend SCOTT- see below. Her best friend from
early in the Degrassi series was Melanie, whom she had shared many a
good time with. We are first introduced to Kathleen's tough life by
seeing her DRUNK mother. The episode revolved around some of the "Quest
for the Best" Degrassi gang having to watch a videotape, and Kathleen
was the only person that owned a VCR (wow, my house has 5 of them..
nooch). They arrive at Kath's house.. and out stumbles the drunken freak
that was her mother. She told horrible jokes, and looked really dirty!
(Kathleen even got smacked around a little.. CHILD ABUSE). The next
thing that sucked in Kathleen's life was she was anorexic I
TOLD YOU.. EVERY ISSUE IS COVERED IN THE DEGRASSI WORLD..EATING DISORDERS.
She, like most girls thinks that she is fat, when she really is not..so
she starves herself.. throws up a bunch..and she passes out; Miss Avery
the lesbian saves her from death (no mouth to mouth however..)
In Degrassi High, Kathleen falls in love with Scott. Scott is much older,
and is pretty tough (did I mention he had a wicked beard?). Scott
beats Kathleen up all the time, for stupid things such as: talking to
Luke about doing a drama presentation, being late (15 mins late that
is), and not commenting on how good his beard looks. THE ISSUE
OF BOYFRIEND ABUSE IS COVERED. So they keep going out, she
keeps getting her ass kicked, then finally they break up! (sob). At
a girls only slumber party later on in the series, Kathleen whips out
"drugs" and teaches all the girls (Melanie, Miya, Diane, Caitlin) how
to do POT. Kathleen soon faded away.. I assume SCOTT came back and killed
her, then buried her or something. Why was she not in Schools Out?!
UPDATE: Ive seen
Kathleen around Toronto.. at the Eaton center, in her "Im famous"
disguise.. big hat tucked tightly over her head.. bangs covering face...
etc. Relax Kath, no one cares.
SCOTT-
The beating Kathleen bearded HOULIGAN!
This guy was FUNNY. 
.
Why oh WHY did Kathleen fall in love with this hoser? I don't know!..
In the picture to the left you see Scott without his magnificent
BEARD!. and to the right with the cool BEARD!.. trust me ladies, this
was ENOUGH to attract any woman in the world. Scotty was very jealous..
and he beat Kathleen up for anything and everything that pissed him
off. One day she had to work with Luke after school on a drama presentation,
forgetting that she was supposed to meet Scott outside. Scott waits
outside, and finally bursts back into the school and finds Luke and
Kathleen working on the drama thing.. he thinks they are humping, and
tells Luke to get out so he can kick the crap out of Kathleen. Luke
allows it, he must’ve been stoned that day. So after Kathleen gets beaten,
she gets the cops to arrest him.. THEN they break up. HAHAH,
too bad. Scott was only going out with Kathleen for about a week, but
already they had pictures taken together; and he even gave her a necklace?!
who does this guy think he is? Romeo? I think his beard was an alien
that made him aggressive.
Update: Well if
you are wondering what he did after Degrassi, he became a gaffer and
lighting guy for various Canadian television shows. According to something
I read (maybe the Degrassi crime article?) Scott was arrested but later
let go on attempted rape charges. And! I have just learned that he is
a big internet IRC guru, who invites the computer girls he chats with
over to his house to take their pictures (not for his personal collection...
to help them out, and use to show other people what they look like on
line.. riiiiight.). I wonder if they know about his violence towards
women? Better bring the mace ladies.
SIMON
& ALEXA- (The supposedly famous kid, and the girl who held his leash)
Simon
first appeared in Degrassi Junior high. All the chicks grabbed their
collective "booties" because Simon was starring in commercials or appearing
in the "underwear" section of the Sears Catalogue. Stephanie K (since
she was so damn "hot") thought she could win Simon over easily
with her slutty clothes; not the case said the young rollie pollie girl
named Alexa. Alexa had scored some of Stephs street-walker-clothes before
Simon had even arrived at Degrassi (remember Steph was trying to turn
over a new leaf by dressing not so "open for business" like)
Since she is curved in all the right places, Simon falls head over heels
for Alexa. Stephanie K gets really pissed at Alexa,
and they had a fight or something at Lucy's party. Steph demanded her
clothes back.. but it was no use. To illustrate that it wasnt the clothes
that landed her Simon, Alexa later returns all the whore-drobe to Stephanie
K (after Alexa's mother finds the clothes and tell her they make her
look like a Lady of the Night) Steph may have her clothes back, but
Simon still likes his poon-tang Greek. Simon and Alexa basically stay
together for the entire Degrassi show run, and wed in the final "Schools
Out" movie episode. Simon is a big pushover completely pussy whipped,
because he does whatever Alexa wants him to do... And Alexa was a fat
pig in my opinion. With Simon always being asked out by his adoring
fans in the school; He should have played the field a little! get a
little taste of the action before settling down.. know what I'm saying?.
Alexa was Michelle's best friend, and Michelle was the girlfriend of
our buddy BLT. When Michelle and BLT dumped each other (dumped milk
on BLT's head also!) Simon and Alexa were left hanging around with BLT
and his new chick CINDY. Michelle resented Alexa for selling her out
in favor of spending time with Simon... which meant spending time with
BLT and Cindy. Later Michelle and Alexa became friends again. Simon
and Alexa functioned as one basically. I hope they got a divorce. In
the final "School's Out" movie, Simon did something horrible
with his hair, he got it permed. Either that, or he is wearing a really
bad toupee'. Hey why didn't these bastards invite Michelle to the wedding?
TESSA
CAMPINELLI (the sweet homewrecker)
Boy O boy! did this girl grow up fast or what?
Remember her and little Scooter running around like complete asses playing
some warped game of tag only they understood at the pre-Degrassi High
party? They ran all over the place and somehow managed to be in the
basement.. where: OH NO! there was a fire. So they both scream and yell
that "there is a fire", but no one cares.. the other
kids tell them to shut up and enjoy the party.. then the fire alarms
go off, and everyone gets out and is saved. But you can thank Tessa
and Scooter for the fact the cast was alive to return in Degrassi High.
Later in High school Tessa discovered her hormones had warped her vision
for Scooter.. she was attracted to him! Whats with interracial relationships
on Degrassi? Were the creators out to prove a point? She has the hots
for Scooter,
but that didnt last.. He would rather watch "world of bugs"
on pbs, than check out Tessas genital bugs at her house.. for shame
Scooter. After that, she got involved with Alex "the wuss"
Yankou. A real annoying kid, they dated for a few months without even
kissing.. man what a typical television relationship ala "growing
pains". Mike Seaver the big stud? did he even hump in the show?
Back on track. Alex's friend Yick (remember I said he was da man?)
gets the hots for Tessa, and she emulates his hots.. and the 2 match
up perfectly for the rest of the season. Tessa used Alex a few times..
most memorably for getting his brothers Science exam, and passing it
along to ever single person in the school. All the kids pass the exam
with flying colors. In "Schools out" Tessa gets rid of Yick,
possibly tired of eating Chinese, and sets her sights on the involved,
but horny Joey Jeremiah. The two start a forbidden romance,. that is
actually a romance. Sex!, and just like Degrassi.. anyone who has sex
gets pregnant. Joey only had sex with her because he couldn't "get
with" Caitlin. When Joey slips Caitlin some Spanish fly, and gets
some.. he dumps Tessa. That's when Tessa finds out she has a mini Joey
growing inside her. Joey dumps Tessa the day of his birthday. It might
have something to do with the fact that Tessa gave Joey the worst piece
of crap T-shirt to him for his Birthday... what did it say? Naughty
and Nice? something lame like that.. in that classic 80's iron on
style. I think she became a lesbian later due to male frustration.
ALEX
YANKOU (a true nerd)
What was with this guy? If you were trying out
for a television series that didnt pay much, and would pretty much put
a social mark on your head as being "that loser from Degrassi",
why would you try out for the part of the biggest nerd ever on Degrassi?
Here is another lifer on Degrassi street... from the early shows, right
up till the last episode. I dont know if it was a running gag on the
show, but take a listen to most of the announcements from DJR, to DH..
most of them involve Alex in some way or another. Most of them involve
his missing specs. Some of his most memorable shows? How about the time
he couldn't play poker and had to stay at home to right his massive essay..
he couldn't stay up, he drank tons of 80's Pepsi (the narrow cans!),
he couldn't type cause of his bitch mother next door, she kept bugging
him that the tap tapping noise was too much for her, so genius puts
a pillow over the typewriter. He falls sound asleep on it. As mentioned
above he dated Tessa, but wouldn’t make a move on her until she practically
begged him for a kiss.. he whips off his glasses like Clark Kent, but
sadly.. he isnt superman underneath. Hes just Alex Yankou. He still
tried to keep his cool image.. he wore a suit jacket, with a T-shirt
underneath, and shorts. He was on the yearbook committee. He was annoying
as hell. When Caitlin is pissed off at Miss Avery for quitting, Caitlin
meets up with Alex and just wants to hand in her lock and get her yearbook..
but Alex rambles on and on about his family's trip to Greece, or Israel.
Check out his pants, see any? his shorts are pulled way up and he looks
naked!. Yick takes Tessa away from Alex, well not really.. she comes
on her own, but Alex gets all mad and tries to start a really pathetic
fight with Yick.. Yick is about to play Lacrosse, so he's all decked
out in Armor, Alex sucked.. I cant stress this enough
SAD UPDATE: As
predicted, playing the nerd for so many years pretty much dried up his
acting career. Attempting to remain somewhat artsy he attended York
University for fine arts. Upon graduation he started his television
production career at The Shopping Channel, Canada's only purveyor of
televised crap. And that is where he is today. Note: If you see the
final Degrassi movie (School's Out) you'll notice that there is no sign
of Alex. He was invited to be in it, but was not going to have any lines...
he refused to be apart of it. The line for slapping this guy silly begins
to your left.
AMY
& ALISON (ALLISON AND AMY)
These "babes" were never really treated
separately on Degrassi.. always together. They seemed to appear in Degrassi
High, fighting over who they were going to ask to the Dance.. one of
them wanted Snake.. Ill hazard a guess that it was Allison that wanted
him. He was already going out with either Melanie or Michelle. So he
shafted her, later Amy asked if it was alright that she go out with
Snake, she was allowed.. but when she got the date, Allison got all
jealous, and the two ended up having a big fight in the girls washroom..
where they demanded the clothes each other were wearing that belonged
to each other (holy crap, does that make sense?) Anyway, Allison had
Amy’s belt.. Amy had Allison's dress.. (etc, and for you Degrassi maniacs,
dont email with what the real exchange was.. save your time and energy
something else). So anyway, they are both basically in their underwear,
when Tabi and some other unknown girl extras walk in.. a very uncomfortable
moment ensues.. and I guess they both realized that they were being
idiots. Joey while scouting for models to be in the upcoming Zit Remedy
video, decides to ask both the girls to be in the video in bikinis.
They both agree, and Joey blows his entire budget on paying the girls..
Lucy that feminist rebel gets wind of it, and stops Joey from using
her Camera to shoot the footage.. Joey decides not to pay them, and
the girls get pissed and push him into some garbage.. its pretty funny.
Finally, in Schools out the girls are again both together paddling around
the lake in a canoe, but this time they are both drinking beers! ohh
, I could see this coming from a mile away. Anyway, one of them tips
the boat, and Allison ends up drowning in the water.. Snake, who had
trained to become a life guard.. not to save lives, but to give mouth
to female genital resuscitation finally sees his big chance, Joey and
Caitlin have just chewed him out.. he’s depressed and at the end of
his rope, so he jumps in and saves her.. gives her mouth to mouth (yea
just mouth to mouth) and everything is happy. He didnt get a date from
her, I guess she was over him. These girls looked like typical highschool
girls in the late 1980's. I bet they both loved Bon Jovi. Steal an old
yearbook from your school, and check out 1987 or 1988 era girls.. you
will see these 2. Hey, I think these two actually were lesbians in real
life. "We dont work, unless we can be together in every damn shot,
and that's final!"
RICK
(Bad to his bruised bones!)
Again, a very troubled seed on Degrassi Junior High, Young Rick fell
victim to: failing grade 7, getting beaten by his dad, being obsessed
with bikes, smoking, Caitlin loving him, having a crappy bike, not having
a mom, getting beaten for giving Joey a coke.. etc. So anyway, he had
a tough life. We are introduced to Rick when Joey buys a "cool" jacket
off him. It once belonged to Frank. Rick is completely obsessed with
talking about Frank.. his brother that doesn't live with him anymore.
Joey goes over to Rick's house to buy the jacket, Rick gives him a bottle
of pop, and takes one for himself. Rick's crazy assed Duran Duran cover
band looking dad comes home and beats the crap out of him for giving
the coke to Joey! Wow! So anyway Joey starts caring for his new friend,
and asks around school.. "What would you do if you knew someone who
was always getting beaten up by his dad?" Joey asks Tim. Well Tim the
fairy knows that Joey is talking about Rick. Then Joey asks Doris Bell
the same question.. she thinks he is talking about himself, and calls
Social Services. Joey and Rick go to Joey's place, and another member
of a Duran Duran cover band is waiting (a social services guy). He helps
Rick out, and lets him go live with FRANK!. Later in
the series; Arthur and Yick suspect Rick of stealing Yicks 20 bucks..
which he cant find in his locker. Meanwhile, Rick is coming to school
offering everyone licorice, that he bought after winning the lottery
(hello? Rick's a child..he cant win lotteries!) Arthur and Yick begin
trailing him everywhere.. but at the end turns out Yicks 20 bucks was
in his locker the whole time! Now that is what I call a sticky situation!.
At one time Rick and Caitlin worked on an environmental project together,
and Rick came up with the brilliant idea to RAP the
announcement about the environment over the school P.A. It is very horrible,
and reminds me of Puff Daddy.. But later, Caitlin gets mad at Rick because
he smokes.. yet Rick is a part of the environmental club. Tired of feeling
the wrath of the Ice Princess (Caitlin), Rick turns to another troubled
chick.. Kathleen. They both have something in common. There houses are
dirty, plus there parent slaps them around. A bond develops, and when
Kathleen forgets her Degrassi Junior High sweater while on "Quest
for the Best", Rick saves the day by lending her his Sweater. Sure
there is caked on blood, and sweat stains. But its the thought that
counted. To illustrate what happens when you get beat up so much, check
out Rick next to Kathleen while he walks her home after the quiz show
ends. Talk about a shorty. I guess smoking and getting slapped can stunt
your growth. Suddenly Rick just isnt around anymore.
NANCY
(the fat chick)
What can be said about Nancy? A goodie tooshoes?
Hell yah! An annoying person? Hell yah! A vital member of the Degrassi cast?
HELL NO!. Some memorable moments involving Nancy included her getting
her drivers license first over the more deserving Joey and Snake.
Although she looks to be nice in the picture to the left, don't believe
it! After she got her license, she received a new car from her parents,
and drove it to school the very next day bragging about how her parents
bought it for her! It is these little moments that made her so annoying.
When Joey failed grade 8, she took almost great fun in spreading the
news.. "didnt you hear? he flunked". In Degrassi Junior high, Nancy was head
of the student newspaper (The Degrassi Digest). She didn't help Caitlin out at all when she
wrote the paper on "Keeping Spike at Degrassi" She could have at least
talked to Mr. Raditch, but instead of going against Mr. Raditch..
Nancy: "the
teachers pet" decided to take the teachers side. She didn't do much else..
I don't think she was ever seen in the girls gym classes (gee I wonder
why), and just thinking about her right now makes me want to slap her
silly. Another thing about the Degrassi Digest: She couldnt care less
what anyone wrote.. as long as it was 200 words or whatever other amount
she needed for that particular issue. "Nancy, I'm going to write
a letter about burning pentagrams into my breast" , "Ok Miss
Avery, just make sure its 150 words exactly". What a robot. In
Degrassi High, during Miss Avery's surprise party in the Library, take
a look at Nancy in the background.. she goes back for seconds of
the cake.. followed by thirds.. and even fourths.. hey Nancy, save some
for the rest of the kids.
Update: I saw
Nancy walking downtown with some people.. she was wearing a "Yes
I was on Degrassi, I was Nancy" button. Sad since no
one cares. She looked the same.
Joanne
(the chick who takes everything personally)
Joanne kinda came out of nowhere in the Degrassi
universe. One day before Claude killed himself.. there she was! Comforting
him. Asking him to come out to the movies.. to try to forget his problems.
After he shoots himself she acts as the spokeswoman for Claude, even
going as far as making a speech about him at the Talent show. What a
way to ruin the mood for comedy. Crying! Get a hold of yourself Joanne.
Next on her Humanitarian duties was informing the world that you cant
get aids from Duane from sitting on his seat (although you could get
pizza stains from his dirty sweat pants). She took it really personally
that Tabi and Nick were scared of Duane. Oh surrre! Someone has a life
threatening illness that can be spread easily (hey it was the early
1990's.. not much was known at that time), and you are just supposed
to be cool about it? Id freak out too! And about that comment about
"swallowing 6 liters of saliva to catch it" that's just sick. Her mom
works with Aids patients.. so I guess that is why she is so smart, but
still.. be a little comforting to Tabi. She didn't have many speaking
lines in the show. Don't yell at her! Like Nancy, before these crucial
episodes Joanne was a professional hall walker (just walking in the
background). I just found out that she was also in Degrassi Junior High!
wow, I guess I wasn't watching the people in the background clear enough.
MIYA
(you know, the girl in the wheelchair)
Caitlin's faithful sidekick, always around when
you need her. Able to speed away from you if she is mad at you. This
was Miya. Was she always in the Degrassi universe? for the most part.
During the early Junior high episodes there was another girl in a wheelchair
(she can be seen in the episode where The girls team swims against the
boys team) She was not Miya, because she looked more like Voula on crack.
Miya was a good friend to everyone that liked her back. For the most
part she was friends with Caitlin, Melanie, Kathleen.. etc. One day
the friends wanted to go check out a movie, but they didn't want Miya
coming, I guess because she takes too long to putt putt along on the
street. So they made up some fib that the theater with the movie they
were seeing didn't have proper handicap access. Miya knew this was a
fib and she was really hurt. Miya along with Nancy is another girl you
will never see taking Gym. Another story that sticks out in my head
involving Miya is the one where she goes to Melanie's birthday party
and Kathleen brings the stolen joint she found in the tampon machine
(Yick and Luke hid it.. great place guys). Anyways Miya takes a puff
and starts coughing. It would be cool if she got stoned and got up..
walked around, and started doing the moonwalk.
UPDATE: I saw
Miya downtown one day back in March 1998, and guess what... She was
WALKING! (with a Terry Fox style limp though). So it was all a sham
on Degrassi. She was like Guy Calbaero from SCTV. All she wanted was
respect and sympathy! Well maybe I'm being a little too hard and mean.
