Tuesday, February 07, 2006

I can't shut up...

...about Degrassi:TNG. That is quite a surpise to me. Yesterday and today, I watched 2/3 of the second season. The writing is pretty powerful, with several very engaging characters/actors.

After watching the first season, I thought to myself, it sure would be better if it had more stories about the adult generation in it. Well, the second season gave me just that, with the Spike/Snake wedding, and heavy Joey involvement in the plot. Good work. Nice to see more Lucy and Caitlin as well.

I also felt that one of the strengths of Degrassi JH/H was the size of the cast. D:TNG suffered by focusing on a small group of people. Well, they introduced a bunch of new characters in season 2, bringing up the cast size to something more Degrassi-like, allowing exploration of more diverse subject matter.

Finally, it was interesting to see that Bruce McDonald directed a few more episodes, and again did a great job with them.

So, why isn't this series all over the tube in the US? Subject matter too controversial, perhaps? Maybe they can't sell a series set in a foreign city? Funny, in Degrassi Junior High, they always hid the identity of the city; they actually went so far as to show US money in one episode of DJH...

9 comments:

Marysienka said...

I don't watch Degrassi, but I did watch House again this week! It's good, and they've got some tricky cases! However, I still like GA better ;)
Have a nice day!

Bil The Man said...

There is no way I'm trusting your op on any canadian tv. Spike/Snake wedding? Right. It is on in the US it is just that no one watches it.

We do watch Scrubs every week now. It is quality stuff. Makes us laugh.

Tall Medstudent said...

Dang, I just watched the last third of season two. Wow, good stuff.

House has some awesome episodes, particularly around the end of season one. I heard from a girl in my small group that Sunday's GA was pretty spectacular...

I've only seen one episode of 'Scrubs'. Was it Anita that was so heavily into that show?

Bil The Man said...

Don't know about who was into it but I think that a lot of people watch it. Scrubs is really funny. At least to us. The DVR really has changed our TV watching. We watch more but we do it more efficiently. We don't watch as many movies which I suppose is a downside.

We watched 5minutes of DTNG last night. I realize that it isn't enough to make judgements but here I go. The acting was awful. They did deal with complex issues (girl at party in bedroom with boy now slut) that are probably interesting to 13yo kids. All in all, it was not good. Sorry U2.

Tall Medstudent said...

That confirms it. Americans are afraid of hard topics and multi-season plotlines.

Marysienka said...

spectacular is the right word :)

Richard said...

Hey U, thought you'd like this Degrassi article from today's Globe and Mail:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060209.DEGRASSI09/TPStory/?query=

Anonymous said...

Multiseason plot lines = LOST
By the way...hi! :)

Tall Medstudent said...

a.m., I was waiting for someone to mention 'Lost'! :) I love that show... thank goodness I don't have an actual television.

Thanks, Rich, I hadn't heard about the movie project. Interesting. The graphic novels, I had heard about, although I'm not sure where. Last I checked, they were slated for a fall release, so springtime would be nice. :)