School's Out!

Forget Zach n' Kelly's puppy love! Give me Joey n' Caitlin's hot n' cold courtship! And who wants fashion diva Lisa Turtle, when they could have the unforgettable Lucy Fernandez!?

Quoting that "it's so horrible, it's awesome", Jim guiltily admits that he's caught more than his share of Saved By The Bell. But only way back in the day when there was nothing else on TV (of course). However, since I've converted him to be a Degrassi man, he's long left Screech and Belding in the chalk dust in favour of Arthur and Raditch. Not that it was hard to convert him, the show parallels his own high school era, giving him a unique sense of nostalgia, while indulging my own.

Anyhow, as I recently shared in another post, Jim n' I have been watching Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High on DVD during meals over the last few weeks. This is our second time watching the series together, and just like last time, as the series winds down, I find myself a little melancholy saying farewell to my old Degrassi pals. After all, we've been through so much together! Drinking and driving, abortion, bulimia, drugs, cheating, divorce, suicide, AIDS... every episode a hot topic. 

Best of all, each one always offers something different to poke fun of: The late 80's clothes (holy shoulder pads and mom jeans, Batman!); hairstyles (Wheels' curly mullet which is always neatly parted down the center, and later on, Snake's 'Prince Valiant' bob...  Although I like Snake, so I try not to make fun of him too much. But Wheels is fair game.); the way-too-obvious product placement (Who walks around their school eating from a jar of peanut butter?); and the unlikely relationships (Tessa and Alex? Really? He looks like Bubbles!)   Quite often Jim is also quick to point out the bad acting, which I try to defend as part of the show's charm. 

So as this evening's dinner marks the end of the series once again with the episode Last Dance, (where you can't help but feel super sad for poor Dwayne, the bully with HIV), it's now time to bid everyone farewell with School's Out - the infamous TV special that capped everything off a year after the show ended. I look forward to watching part of it tomorrow with lunch, even though it is actually quite depressing.

**Warning: Spoiler alert** (Even though this shouldn't be a spoiler since School's Out is almost 20 years old!)

Now I know that when people think of School's Out, everyone always remembers how Wheels killed that kid and made Lucy go blind. And of course no one can forget how they dropped the f-bomb not once -- but twice(!) -- with "Joey's f***ing Tessa!?" But while those memorable moments never fade, what some might forget are the lost friendships, which I think hurts the most. How can you not feel empty inside as Snake pulls away to head off to college while Joey begs for forgiveness?

** End of spoilers**

Man oh man, what a dark way to end a series! Then again, I think most episodes ended on a darker note... which, as mentioned in my previous post, is just one more thing we like to make fun of. "Don't kill your unborn child! Abortion is murder!" *cue upbeat music* Do-do-do-do-do-do, Do-do-do-do-do-do.....

Ah, Degrassi..

For those of you who haven't seen School's Out in a while (or ever), you can check out all eight parts on YouTube right here. For those who just want a quick recap, someone created a little summary that pretty much says it all, without saying anything. But really, if you're a fan of the show, you'll probably want to skip the homemade recap in favour of watching the whole thing. I know I would.... and I plan to tomorrow!