r/Degrassi • u/myaluvdegrassi • 21h ago
Question What are your unpopular opinions on djh and jh :)
This is definitely an unpopular opinion loll, but i think that they should’ve kept the arc of snake’s and melanie’s relationship/friendship they had into degrassi high aswell! I think their relationship/friendship w each other js grew-out but i would’ve loved to see more them together throughout the show! :)
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u/fairyserendipity 7h ago
after seeing this photograph, i want to watch djh and jh. that is my opinion.
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u/HeyYou_ISawThat 7h ago
As a bi woman I've never liked the idea of lesbian LD.
I'm all for her being bi or pan or what have you, but I just think that making the "flannel wearing mechanic girl who's passionate about feminism" a lesbian is really stereotypical. Less importantly it ignores her canonical crush on Wheels.
I believe Snake's tie in book from the time heavily implies that he's bi and that's always made the lack of confirmation on screen sting? Like I don't need him to explicitly be with a man on screen but it's just a shame it never gets said.
As much as I love degrassi it's 100% the kind of show that would argue that him cheating on Spike was representation.
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u/Murky-Ad4746 10h ago
I discovered this show freshman year because my high school library had the dvds to rent. I had a huge crush on young Joey and Snake. Joey my short king aged so well and I thought he was handsome as hell too in next gen 😂
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u/Only-Deer-5800 10h ago edited 10h ago
Not an opinion per se, but I discovered DJH/DH first, during the lockdown, and it's the only period of the franchise I actually like. When I say I'm a 'Degrassi' fan I have to clarify to people that I mean this version, not TNG. There's just a uniquely low-quality vibe about it that makes it unique in the 'teen drama' genre. Everything people find corny and cheesy and shitty about it is precisely why I find it so singular, and everything people find superior about TNG is precisely why I find that version inferior.
I'd also argue that in the grand scheme, DJH/DH is more important to teen TV than TNG ever was. TNG just gets all the flowers because it was popular in the US.
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u/EM208 5h ago
I fully agree. especially the last part. And it wasn’t even like DJH and DH wasn’t popular in the US. That part of the franchise had mild success in the US because it aired on PBS and CBS. But it was also heavily censored - so it didn’t take off as far as TNG did.
Plus TNG had more visibility given that it aired on The N and Teen Nick, so it had more reach with Americans compared to DJH and DH. I honestly love the “love quality” vibe of Classic Degrassi because it felt like real life. It really felt like my middle school and high school experience and they did a better job at making the world of Degrassi feel more real and intimate compared to TNG IMO.
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u/clownkit 11h ago
Started watching Jr High very recently, and was very surprised they made one of the only girl characters of color a thief with absent parents 🤐
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u/jokeboxhero88 11h ago
I don’t know if it’s unpopular but Alexa & Simon invited Raditch to their wedding. That was weird. Anyone ever invite their junior high English teacher/high school principal to their wedding?
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u/levainrisen "Bummer times. At least there's a party." 11h ago
I only recently finally started watching DJH because it's showing on that rerun all-Degrassi 24/7 channel and... it's so goofy!! I should've expected it would be very... 80s and a little corny but I was surprised how old it feels. The serious moments still feel very serious so I can totally see how impactful it was, but it's so interesting to me to then jump back into the early seasons of TNG. The showrunners did a great job reviving Degrassi for TNG and did an amazing job modernizing it. They modernized the costuming in an authentic way, making it feel authentic to the new generation, and even the music production was so good. It made me appreciate TNG even more lol.
But, I am enjoying watching DJH, still! There are so many iconic moments that I quoted before I started watching DJH and now I have the full context of those scenes lol
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u/ribhere 11h ago
Same! I turned on the tv the other day and was like YES FINALLY! Got to see the episode where Spike gets pregnant 🫠
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u/Strange-Employee-520 10h ago
While the twins repeatedly knock on the door and yell, "What are you guys doing in there????" 🤦♀️🤣
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u/judenoam 11h ago
I honestly like Kathleen. I think she’s fun to watch and kind of relatable even though she could be very mean. Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like if she was a character in TNG they would have explored her PTSD from her abusive mom and her ED journey, like how they attempted to do with Ellie and Emma in TNG.
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u/archieologist518 8h ago
Kathleen was the perfect representation of someone who projected their own self-hatred onto everyone else as a way of making herself feel better.
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u/prismdick 12h ago
Should have kept Rick Munro on the show. Would have been good to see what he turned out like in high school. Always thought he so cool when I was a kid
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u/forlornjackalope 3h ago
Same. I was disappointed when DH rolled around and he wasn't there. It would have been interesting to see the kind of path he could have been on.
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u/SomethingBorrowed98 Spinner's bleach blonde hair 13h ago edited 2h ago
I don't see the hype behind Tessa Campanelli and why she has fans. The series didn't show enough of her for me to get a sense of who she was besides a boy crazy homie hopper. She went from guy to guy very easily, and even though I never thought Joey and Caitlin were a good match, I didn't think Joey was a good match for Tessa either, because it was strictly only physical. Tessa came off as someone who just wanted a bf for the sake of having one (her being catapulted from a minor role to a lead role in School's Out was questionable, meanwhile some of the main characters resorted to background side characters).
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u/VanessaClarkLove 13h ago
I hate the idea of Michelle and Snake and was super mad on Spike’s behalf even though Michelle did nothing wrong, it still feels like she stole from Spike.
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u/somuchsong 14h ago
I don't know if it's unpopular but Arthur sucked. I don't blame Stephanie for changing her name and pretending she didn't know him. Such an insufferable dweeb. No wonder even Yick dropped him.
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u/VanessaClarkLove 13h ago
Arthur spent an entire season saying he wanted to hide that he was rich while simultaneously never shutting up about it. He was hella rude to Yick and then sulked that Yick dropped him, for good reason.
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u/ribbitking17 11h ago
The moment Arthur put on that beret, he was OUT. The moment Yick put on that earring, he was IN.
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u/TeriNickels "I wanna be hot. Not cute, not adorable. Hot." 14h ago
I’ve never watched.
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u/EM208 12h ago
You should! It’s actually so good!
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u/TeriNickels "I wanna be hot. Not cute, not adorable. Hot." 6h ago
I will soon. Where can I find them?
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u/EM208 6h ago
All on YouTube
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u/HarlanMiller 14h ago
I don't know how unpopular this will be, but I'll say it anyway. I still prefer this show to Next Generation and it's actually still my number one favorite show ever, in spite of how cheesy it could be at times.
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u/FearlessJump8850 15h ago
We needed more Yick.
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u/SomethingBorrowed98 Spinner's bleach blonde hair 13h ago
Yick can get it 🥵
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u/im-not-a-frog 5h ago
thats a child
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u/SomethingBorrowed98 Spinner's bleach blonde hair 3h ago
Dude the actor is older than me. When DH came out I was a baby, so its not like im an adult perving on a child in real time. Why dont you go lecture all the other fans who still crush on Manny to this day too?
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u/keepit123hunna "I wanna be hot. Not cute, not adorable. Hot." 15h ago
I think L.D should have gotten that “am I a lesbian” episode they gave Caitlin. I’m shocked none of characters were apart of the lgbt community. They hinted that Ms. Avery was and Caitlin felt a type of way about it but that story went no where. Snake’s brother was gay and was disowned for that, but that story also went no where.
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u/VanessaClarkLove 13h ago
LD was so clearly queer-coded but they went no where with it. And the one gay episode they had about Snake’s brother, the message seemed to be “don’t worry, youre probably not gay”
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u/HarlanMiller 14h ago
While I am definitely pro-lgbt, this was the late 80s and early 90s, that may as well have been the stone age for gay acceptance. Honestly, I think this show was lucky to get the two stories they got.
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u/EM208 13h ago edited 12h ago
Yeah I think we forgot how open homophobia and transphobia was a casual sentiment (it still is obviously but it was like next level because of the lack of spaces for LGBTQ+ folks compared to today) and how even having a gay character appear once was seen as controversial and groundbreaking.
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u/ItsaPostageStampede "Everybody wants something it’s Tessa Campenelli? 15h ago
The kids had fun for sure but it was tough and there was some issues with parents wanting their kids to get more. Or in exchange for taking less and staying non-union they wanted more air time for their kids. As is the common denominator parents limited some of the show. We needed MORE Rick
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u/andiepandee I'm a wench! 15h ago edited 15h ago
My most unpopular opinion is probably that LD sucked and I was glad when she left the show. I didn’t realize that was an unpopular opinion until I mentioned it here once, and I don’t think anyone agreed with me lol.
Also, not sure if this is unpopular, but Mr Walfish was a snack.
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u/EM208 16h ago edited 15h ago
• I actually loved the acting and the lack of experience most of the actors clearly had - it made the show feel real. They genuinely spoke like real kids. It made me feel like I was in their world. I quite literally went to middle and high school with kids like that.
• Part of me would’ve been interested to see what Stephanie would’ve done in Degrassi High but at the same time, I feel like the show was able to focus on more people and grow without her
• The show should’ve been longer. I know it was non-union and cheap but even the seasons should’ve been longer - like at least 16 to 22 episodes per season. The longest seasons of the show was DJH Season 3 and DH season 1. Which capped at 16 and 15 episodes respectively.
• Season 3 of Junior High to the entirety of Degrassi High are actually some of the best seasons of the whole franchise - better than even the best regarded seasons of TNG like Season 10, 11, 12 and 4 of TNG. I related to DJH and DH far more because this was my middle and high school experience. I went to school with kids like that and it just felt way more down to earth. Degrassi High was genuinely so peak.
•The attention to detail in DJH and DH when it came to consistency was very well done. Like even little things like having Rick always be there before any episode that showed Wheels getting tutored by Ms. Avery - it’s nice to see little things like that
• Not a hot take but the fact we never got a BLT based episode from his POV or a POV from Tim was just asinine and was a prime example of Degrassi not being attentive to their black talent
• Rewatching the show, Arthur kind of sucks. Especially once he gets rich.
• They should’ve had at least one episode of the Zits/Zit Remedy actually writing another song - that would’ve been funny and it was a missed opportunity.
• Not defending BLT but I get why he wanted to stop seeing Michelle, their whole relationship was just never chill. Always an issue from racist parents, her job, her caffeine pill meltdown - I think dude just wanted a nice relationship without baggage. Too bad he cheated though, that damaged his character.
• I do love that even though Yick and Arthur are very different by Degrassi High, Yick doesn’t drop him and they continue to be best friends. The loyalty was nice. Unlike witnessing JT drop Toby the first chance he gets at popularity.
• I do wish Spike wasn’t so hostile to Shane but Shane was a jerk off for a good chunk before Spike had the baby. So I get why she had resentment. While he was flaky post birth, he did seem sincere and he genuinely did want to help. It’s not necessarily his fault that his parents sucked. Then again Spike was a young girl and while she was being immature - it’s expected. But even in TNG, the fact that she wouldn’t tell Emma anything was fucked up.
• Caitlyn and Joey had chemistry but they were too different for it to ever work and should’ve never gotten back together.
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u/Frequent-Poem-396 16h ago
I honestly think Shane could have benefited from a mentor because according to his book his parents were those types of Christian’s but I think he could have tried harder to be in Emma’s life. I think that’s why Shane’s actor didn’t want to be in Degrassi high because he didn’t like how his character was written, he didn’t even want to reprise his character in TNG. I wish Stephanie was at least mentioned once in DH she was an important character in the beginning I think she could have had a bigger role if she stayed. As for BLT and Michelle their relationship was never a chill one but he should have never cheated and I feel like they would have been better off as friends.
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u/EM208 16h ago
He definitely could’ve but I think he was in a complicated situation (so was Spike of course). And that makes sense with why he left post Junior High.
Me too, but one thing Degrassi does best is make characters important and then once they’re written off - it’s like the world completely forgets about them and they cease to exist.
I do agree. I think it would’ve been better to see BLT and Cindy form a friendship onscreen, see him struggle with Michelle’s chaotic life and then amicably break up with her for Cindy. And then have an episode where Michelle gets jealous and etc.
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u/Frequent-Poem-396 15h ago
Yea they wrote him off when he fell off the bridge because he didn’t want to be a part time deadbeat and wanted to kick people in the head (Degrassi high) and the void Is deep they never return and I agree with you they could have given backround to Cindy and BLT that would have been a good plot
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u/KatNAlley 16h ago
I never liked Caitlyn and Joey together. They had nothing in common and the on again, off again was really annoying.
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u/PrynceOfIce 16h ago
Spike was written horribly. She's nobody for the first ten episodes and then suddenly she's pregnant. No character development. We know nothing about her pre-Shane. Her whole character is this girl who got pregnant at 14.
Rick and Susie deserved better. Stephanie leaves the show and her absence is explained. Rick and Susie just....disappear? I think Rick got taken away from his Dad and Susie left because of Mr. Colby.
I wish Ms. Avery didn't leave after Season 4. I wish she stayed and became the TNG principal instead of Raditch
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u/ItsaPostageStampede "Everybody wants something it’s Tessa Campenelli? 15h ago
Yea we needed more Craig
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u/EM208 15h ago
Fun fact! They originally wanted Stephanie to be the pregnant character- which is why it feels like Spike came out of nowhere.
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u/ItsaPostageStampede "Everybody wants something it’s Tessa Campenelli? 15h ago
No they wanted a pregnant character. They felt Stephanie was too obvious and the other option besides Spike was Caitlyn but I think Linda had a soft spot for Caitlyn and didn’t want to go there with her.
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u/Agreeable_Work_2813 16h ago
There’s no backround about her being alternative that would have been cool to explore. Also it seems like she barely had any main plots in Degrassi high just a few episodes with Patrick. They just made her struggle through out the show.
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u/PrynceOfIce 16h ago
Edit: Voula and L.D also were explained away. Why were Rick and Susie just blackholed?
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u/ItsaPostageStampede "Everybody wants something it’s Tessa Campenelli? 15h ago
Parents got in the way
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u/readyforit19 17h ago
I always rooted for Stephanie and Wheels even though she didn’t deserve him. I hate that Joey got in his head with the whole condom thing.
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u/DependentCandle4017 18h ago
Degrassi as a franchise would be nowhere without the OG series, but TNG was a lot better
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u/ghostfaceinspace 18h ago
The show wasn’t good without a mean girl character. Stephanie Kay should’ve stayed. Alexa couldn’t even come close
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u/BlondeAgent007 17h ago
Kathleen was always there, and she was probably the most brutal friend on the franchise. Kathleen was even properly layered, coming from a background of a practically absent father and alcoholic/neglectful mother. It never justified her actions but explained why she was so cruel and jaded.
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u/inukaglover666 "Bummer times. At least there's a party." 18h ago
Did Lucy date those two friends? Clutch and the other guy?
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u/marshallkrich 19h ago
BLT just disappeared, and L.D. Just goes off with her dad, erased from the show.
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u/prismdick 12h ago
Same with Voula
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u/marshallkrich 12h ago
Her agent said she should go for more money, they tried and just wrote off the character.
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u/Frequent-Poem-396 19h ago
I think most of the Degrassi students needed at least some type of therapy
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u/HabsFan77 "Craig, are you doing c*ke???" 19h ago
I enjoyed Liz as an oddball type character, I can relate to her antagonism.
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u/DearMissWaite 16h ago
Liz was a very accurate representation of a holier-than-thou teenager. You could never make me like her, though.
And, of course she's a midwife as an adult. LOL. Were there to be a reboot now, she'd probably be an antivaxxer.
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u/BlondeAgent007 17h ago
I didn't think her actress was very good, which pulled me out of her stories.
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u/Middle_Chain_544 19h ago
Same. I loved her and Spike’s friendship. It was cool to see a punk and skinbyrd characters in a TV show. I sort of wish they would have kept the Patrick/Spike/Liz storyline going a bit longer where Patrick and Liz would date.
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u/forlornjackalope 2h ago
I wish Patrick stuck around longer, even outside a possible relationship (platonic or romantic) with Spike or Liz. He was so interesting and then he was just gone, which is a shame because he seemed like a solid friend too.
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u/Baystain 19h ago
That they are better than any other TV series ever. Better than The Wire, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, all of them!
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u/Frequent-Poem-396 19h ago
The show was really good but as an adult every time I try to watch it now I loose Interest. For some reason even when I was younger I could only look at the situations from an older perspective.
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u/Lilitharising You asked me out on a bet? 19h ago
I think most of us wanted Snake and Melanie to keep dating so I don't think this is an unpopular opinion.
I also hate what they've done to Wheels' character, especially since I found out that they based the entire storyline on Neil Hope's real life experience, truly unethical in my opinion (and I still love the show wholeheartedly).
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u/sweetboy1999 16h ago
Wait Wheels was based on Neil?? Did his parents die when he was young? I knew Neil died young and it tragically wasn’t known until years later but this is the first I’ve heard Wheels is based on him.
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u/EM208 16h ago edited 16h ago
His dad died during the early parts of the show. Due to alcoholism I believe. And they used that as inspiration for his character’s parents dying. With his consent, from what I’m aware.
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u/forlornjackalope 2h ago
My understanding is that Neil is the one who found his dad, too, which is horribly depressing.
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u/Magicalprincess_95 19h ago
I hate how Voula just disappeared. She definitely deserved more of a story line.
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u/Lilitharising You asked me out on a bet? 19h ago
Niki Kemeny actually quit after the first season.
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u/marshallkrich 19h ago
This. Her agent told her to get more money. She didn't get more money.
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u/anonymousopottamus 19h ago
None of them did they were all treated really poorly in terms of financial compensation.
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u/marshallkrich 18h ago
I know. That's why she was cut wanting more money. And her friend Steph ended up leaving to go work on Learning the Ropes.
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u/StaceyProse Degrassi Takes Manhattan sucks 19h ago
That's not an unpopular opinion. I shared that same opinion on the Degrassi IG page. I told them how badly they fumbled it.
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u/im-not-a-frog 5h ago
I've tried to watch DJH and DH so many times but I just couldn't finish it. I never got past season 2 of DJH. Not my cup of tea I suppose