Degrassi Talks | |
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Genre | Video journalism |
Created by | |
Presented by | Rebecca Haines Neil Hope Pat Mastroianni Stacie Mistysyn Siluck Saysanasy Amanda Stepto |
Theme music composer | Stacie Mistysyn Keith White |
Country of origin | Canada |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Linda Schuyler |
Cinematography | Rebecca Haines Neil Hope Contents |
Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
Production company | Playing With Time, Inc. |
Original release | |
Network | CBC (Canada) |
Release | February 29 – March 30, 1992 |
Degrassi Talks is a Canadian non-fiction documentary television miniseries and part of the Degrassi franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. Running six episodes from February 29 to March 30, 1992, it featured actors from Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High taking the role of journalists and conducting interviews with other teenagers and young adults across Canada on various topics addressed by the series such as abuse, substance addiction, homophobia, and teenage pregnancy. It combined candid and man-on-the-street interviews as well as relevant archive footage from the television series and on-screen statistics. Each episode was hosted by an actor whose character had some relation to the focused subject.
The theme song was composed by actors Stacie Mistysyn and Keith White. Companion books based on each episode were also published by Boardwalk Books, [2] prefaced with biographical interviews of the actor who presented the original episode. [3] The show received critical acclaim, but proved less popular with teenage viewers, who felt the information provided to be redundant and at times perpetuating certain stereotypes. Broadcast after the television movie School's Out but filmed before, it was the last Degrassi series until the franchise was revived in 2001 with Degrassi: The Next Generation .
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Degrassi actors Rebecca Haines (Kathleen), Neil Hope (Wheels), Pat Mastroianni (Joey), Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin), Siluck Saysanasy (Yick), and Amanda Stepto (Spike) travelled around Canada to discuss health and social issues with other teenagers.
Degrassi Talks was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. [1] The series was funded by the ministry of then Health Minister Benoît Bouchard, who contributed $300,000 to the development of the series. [4]
Promotion began for the series as early as November 1990, with an extensive transit and flyer ad campaign. [5] Following this, a toll-free number was advertised. Five hundred teenagers called, of which most of the forty seen in the series were selected to be interviewed on camera. [1] [6] Each episode was hosted by an actor from the series whose character experienced the issue discussed. [7] The cast members were put through production workshops and taught how to handle video equipment. [7] The filming of the show took place in early-mid 1991, shortly before principal photography began on the telemovie School's Out. [8] [9]
The actors conducted interviews across the country, staging both candid and man-on-the-street interviews in a journalistic fashion. and recording what Schuyler described as "miles of footage". [5] [6] The actors stopped at 26 cities, including the country's major cities as well as smaller cities such as Grand Centre in Alberta, Whitehorse in the Yukon, and Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia. [10] The show also displayed relevant clips from the Degrassi series, as well as facts and statistics on-screen. [11] Schuyler said at the time that PBS, who aired Degrassi in the United States, had been interested in the series. [5]
The show's theme is a duet composed by Keith White, who played Tim O'Connor, and sung by him and Stacie Mistysyn. At the time, Mistysyn had been rehearsing with an unnamed band, and she and White had begun collaborating in creating music. [12] [13] The opening sequence features shots of Mistysyn and White recording the song in a studio.
The first episode, "...On Sex", was screened for a group of Ottawa high school students on February 12, 1992, with the six main hosts in attendance. [14] [4] It then ran on CBC from February 24 to March 30, 1992. The series was re-run in 1995 on CBC. [15] That same year, the series also aired in the United States on WNET as well as Australia on ABC TV. [16] [17]
Degrassi Talks garnered a positive reception from television critics at the time of its release. In a profile of the series for the Montreal Gazette , writer Mike Boone gave the series a positive review. Boone called it a "rare series" in what he described as a "teenless wasteland" on Canadian television, citing a lack of teen-oriented programming on the country's television networks. [10] He further stated that the series featured "faces and voices seldom heard or seen on prime-time network TV". [10] Erick Kohanik of The Hamilton Spectator praised the premiere episode Sex for its "frank talk", also noting how it had a "good street feel". [18] Hester Riches of the Vancouver Sun compared it to "a typical Degrassi episode [...] working in a non-judgmental way". [19] Joan Weller of The Ottawa Citizen similarly praised the companion books, noting how the actors also discuss their own relations to the problems in the introductions. [20]
Despite being critically acclaimed, the initial Ottawa screening drew a mixed reaction. [21] One student asked the cast members why the only person with HIV depicted in the episode was effeminate. [21] A journalist from the Waterloo Region Record interviewed a group of students from the area, the majority of whom panned the series or viewed it as unnecessary, with one student stating: "I thought it insulted my intelligence." [21]
Degrassi Talks was nominated for the Gemini Award for Best Youth Program or Series in 1993. [22] [23]
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | "...On Sex" | Linda Schuyler, Philip Earnshaw & Kit Hood | Susin Nielsen & Laura L. Vickers | February 24, 1992 [24] | |
Amanda Stepto (Spike) hosts an episode that explores the stories of teenagers who are facing the consequences of sexual activity. Topics include teenage pregnancy, AIDS, and infertility. Anais Granofsky (Lucy) interviews 16 year old mother Vicki, who is unable to date and socialize due to her responsibilities. Stepto herself interviews a woman named Shantih, who had given her baby up for adoption. Stepto reveals to her that she herself is adopted. A 17 year old girl named Angie details how she became infertile as a result of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. A couple named Lucy and Kurt, who enjoy an unproblematic sex life, are also interviewed. Darrin Brown (Dwayne Myers) makes an appearance interviewing Bentley, a young HIV-positive man who taught sex education to high school students. Note: Stepto's character dealt with teenage pregnancy. The actress had previously discussed her adopted background in an interview with Janice Kannedy of the Montreal Gazette in 1988. | |||||
2 | "...On Alcohol" | Linda Schuyler, Philip Earnshaw & Kit Hood | Susin Nielsen & Laura L. Vickers | March 2, 1992 | |
Neil Hope (Wheels) explores the effects of alcohol abuse among Canadian youth, as well as drunk driving. Rebecca Haines (Kathleen) interviews 17 year old Teresa, who struggled with alcohol. Neil Hope interviews 18 year old Nathan, whose parents split as a result of alcohol and who struggled with drinking himself. Hope mentions 15 year old Jimmy Whiffen, who died from alcohol poisoning. Two sisters, Missy and Michele, who lost their mother in a drunk driving crash, and a driver, Michael, involved in a crash himself and later incarcerated, are also interviewed. Note: Hope's character lost his parents in a vehicular crash with a drunk driver. In the episode, Neil Hope reveals that he had lost his father to an alcoholic disease. He previously discussed this in the 1989 documentary Degrassi Between Takes. Nicole Stoffman, who played Degrassi Junior High character Stephanie Kaye, appears via archive footage from the Season 1 episode "The Big Dance". | |||||
3 | "...On Abuse" | Linda Schuyler, Philip Earnshaw & Kit Hood | Susin Nielsen & Laura L. Vickers | March 9, 1992 [25] | |
Rebecca Haines (Kathleen) hosts an episode which explores young victims of abuse, such as emotional, physical, and sexual. Neil Hope interviews Matt, a 20 year old man who was severely whipped by his stepfather, and began abusing drugs, which lead him to be jailed for stealing. Siluck Saysanasy interviews Cathy, a 17 year old girl from the Yukon who suffered abuse from every boy she had dated. Stacie Mistysyn interviews La'Quita, a 21 year old woman with cerebral palsy who suffered years of emotional abuse from her parents, and Mathieu, a 17 year old French-Canadian boy who was abused by his father from 9 to 15 years old. Haines interviews Debi, an 18 year old woman who was date-raped. Amanda Stepto interviews Kimberley, a 19 year old woman who was forced to give her boyfriend oral sex constantly. Pat Mastroianni interviews Peter, an 18 year old man who was sexually abused by a babysitter, and a man in Vancouver named Jim, an abuser whose face is obscured. Debi is later revisited several months later, where she had begun dating a new boyfriend who was supportive. Note: Haines's character was the victim of physical abuse by her boyfriend. In the episode, Rebecca Haines reveals that two years prior, she was the victim of date rape, and had been inspired to become public with it and get counseling after interviewing another woman who had been date raped. [26] | |||||
4 | "...On Depression" | Linda Schuyler, Philip Earnshaw & Kit Hood | Susin Nielsen & Laura L. Vickers | March 16, 1992 [27] | |
Pat Mastroianni (Joey) explores the subject of depression, including those expressing fear of environmental damage, peer pressure, and alienation. In Alberta, Mastroianni interviews Dean, a 21 year old man with fears about pollution, and Don and Carol, a couple, and whom the latter suffers from depression. Angela Deiseach (Erica) interviews Leith, a 23 year old man who suffered bullying for his race, sexual orientation, and grades in school. Amanda Stepto interviewed Linda, a 17 year old girl who suffers anorexia nervosa and low self-esteem. Stefan Brogren talked to Derek, whose brother suffered depression caused by a chemical imbalance and later committed suicide. A disclaimer notes that on May 15, 1991, interviewee Carol took her own life via a drug overdose, in the lead up to her wedding with Don. Note: Mastroianni's character experienced brief depression when his girlfriend ended their relationship. In the episode and in the companion book, Mastroianni revealed that he was emotionally affected by Carol's suicide and Don's reaction to it. [28] | |||||
5 | "...On Drugs" | Linda Schuyler, Philip Earnshaw & Kit Hood | Susin Nielsen & Laura L. Vickers | March 23, 1992 [29] | |
Siluck Saysanasy (Yick) explores the subject of drug abuse, such as the effect it has on families, relationships, and the abuser themselves. Maureen McKay (Michelle) interviews Keith, a 22 year old man who became addicted to Ritalin. Stacie Mistysyn interviews Rita, a 17 year old girl whose parents became heroin addicts and introduced her to cocaine when she was nine years old. Saysanasy interviews James, a 17 year old boy who became an alcoholic, and his 20 year old sister Cathy. In Winnipeg, Pat Mastroianni interviews Brian, a 23 year old man who previously abused solvents. Neil Hope interviews Shawn, a 17 year old boy. Cathy, from Abuse, is revisited, where she describes taking psychedelics and injecting cocaine with older friends. Matt from Abuse is also revisited, where he describes taking drugs to escape his problems. Note: Saysanasy's character began smoking in high school. In the episode, Saysanasy is asked by an interviewee if he smoked, and he later reveals that he did, and struggled to quit. | |||||
6 | "...On Sexuality" | Linda Schuyler, Philip Earnshaw & Kit Hood | Susin Nielsen & Laura L. Vickers | March 30, 1992 [30] | |
Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin Ryan) explores the subject of sexuality, including puberty, and homosexuality. Mistysyn interviewed her co-stars Pat Mastroianni, Stefan Brogren, Angela Deiseach and Kristen Bourne (Tessa). Shawn from Drugs and Bentley from Sex are also revisited, the former about masturbation and the latter on homophobia. Brogren interviewed a man who had suffered homophobia from his peers and his teachers. Mistysyn mentions the Murder of Kenneth Zeller, a gay teacher who was beaten to death. Mistysyn also interviews her own sister, Kim, a lesbian whose gay, lesbian and bisexual alliance at school received threats of violence and discriminatory messages. Note: Mistysyn's character briefly questioned her sexuality. |
To coincide with the debut of the series in February 1992, Boardwalk Books published companion books based from the six episodes. [31] The books, which contain more content than the television series, feature an image the host of the episode, usually while holding camera equipment on the front cover, and a preface written by Degrassi writer Catherine Dunphy, profiling the actor who hosted the episode. The books also feature expanded versions of several interviews seen in the series, as well as other interviews that were not shown in the series due to time constraints. [32]
No. in series | Title | Front cover | ISBN |
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1 | "Sex" | Amanda Stepto | ISBN 1551200007 , 978-1551200002 |
2 | "Alcohol" | Neil Hope | ISBN 1895681006 , 978-1895681000 |
3 | "Abuse" | Rebecca Haines | ISBN 1895681022 , 978-1895681024 |
4 | "Depression" | Pat Mastroianni | ISBN 1551200031 , 9781551200033 |
5 | "Drugs" | Siluck Saysanasy | ISBN 155120004X , 9781551200040 |
6 | "Sexuality" | Stacie Mistysyn | ISBN 1551200058 , 9781551200057 |
Degrassi Talks was packaged in the Degrassi Junior High DVD set released in October 2005.
DVD name | Ep # | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | DVD Special Features |
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The Complete Series | 42 | 25 October 2005 | N/A | 28 April 2006 | Degrassi Talks Series Degrassi Behind The Scenes Photo Gallery |
It was announced that the series would be available to stream on Amazon Prime Video on July 18, 2023. [33]
Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. It is the second entry of the Degrassi television franchise after The Kids Of Degrassi Street and aired on the CBC from 18 January 1987 to 27 February 1989, and on PBS in the United States starting from September 1987. The series follows those who attend the titular fictional school and the issues they face.
Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Yan Moore and Linda Schuyler. It is the fourth series in the Degrassi franchise and a revival of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. It premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001 and concluded on August 2, 2015 on MTV Canada.
Degrassi is a Canadian teen drama television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler, that follows the lives of youths attending the eponymous secondary school in Toronto. Each entry since 1987 has taken place in the same continuity. Outside of television, the franchise comprises a variety of other media, such as companion novels, graphic novels, documentaries, soundtracks, and non-fiction works.
The Kids of Degrassi Street is a Canadian children's television series created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. The first entry in the Degrassi franchise and the only one to focus on children instead of teenagers, it follows the lives of a group of children living on De Grassi Street in Toronto. It was produced by Hood and Schuyler's independent company Playing With Time. The series originated as a collection of annual standalone short films that started with Ida Makes a Movie, a live-action adaptation of the Kay Chorao book which premiered on the CBC on December 8, 1979. It became a full series in 1982 when the CBC ordered five more episodes.
Degrassi High is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. It is the third entry in the Degrassi franchise and the direct continuation of Degrassi Junior High, and was broadcast on the CBC from 6 November 1989 to 18 February 1991.
Stacie Moana Mistysyn is an American and Canadian actress who is best known for her role as Caitlin Ryan throughout multiple incarnations of the Degrassi teen drama franchise, from Degrassi Junior High through Degrassi: The Next Generation. She previously played Lisa Canard in The Kids of Degrassi Street from 1982 to 1986.
Amanda Felicitas Stepto is a Canadian retired actress who played Christine "Spike" Nelson throughout the majority of the Degrassi teen drama franchise. With no previous acting experience, she rose to prominence playing the character on the CBC's Degrassi Junior High (1987–1989) and its follow-up Degrassi High (1989–1991).
Linda Schuyler is a Canadian television producer. She is best known for being the co-creator and producer of the Degrassi franchise, which has spanned five series over four decades. She is a co-founder of Playing With Time, Inc., and Epitome Pictures, the production companies involved with the franchise over its 40-year-long history respectively.
School's Out is a Canadian drama television film based on the Degrassi teen drama franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. It was directed by Hood and written by Yan Moore, based on a story by Moore, Schuyler and Hood. It aired on CBC Television on January 5, 1992, and served as a finale to the series Degrassi High and its predecessor Degrassi Junior High, which are collectively known as the Degrassi Classic era of the franchise.
Caitlin Ryan is a fictional character from the Degrassi teen drama franchise. Portrayed by Stacie Mistysyn, Caitlin is a main character on both Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which chronicle her maturation from a seventh grader to a high school graduate. Mistysyn returned to play an adult Caitlin on Degrassi: The Next Generation, in which Caitlin was a recurring character. Mistysyn won a Gemini Award for her portrayal of the character in 1989.
Christopher Hood, known professionally as Kit Hood, was an English-born Canadian filmmaker who co-created the Degrassi television franchise and its first three entries: The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979–86), Degrassi Junior High (1987–89), and Degrassi High (1989-91), as well serving as the writer and/or director of the majority of their episodes. As a director, Hood won a Gemini Award in 1987 for the Degrassi Junior High episode "It's Late".
Christine "Spike" Nelson is a fictional character from the Degrassi teen drama franchise. Portrayed by Amanda Stepto, Spike appeared throughout Degrassi Junior High (1987–89), Degrassi High (1989–91), and the first nine seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–10). Starting as an unnamed extra before being given a name and storyline, Spike's character largely revolves around her teenage pregnancy and motherhood.
The sixth season of the Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada on 28 November 2006, concluded on 14 May 2007 and contains nineteen episodes. This season depicts the lives of high school juniors, seniors and graduates as they deal with some of the challenges and issues young adults face such as imprisonment, online predators, burglary, substance abuse, stress, gambling addiction, financial difficulties, school rivalries, pregnancy scares and death. This is the first season in franchise history to feature college aged characters in prominent roles. Unlike the previous seasons, which took place over the course of an entire school year, season six only covers the fall semester of the school year, utilizing a semi-floating timeline. It also marks the first death of a main character in the series.
Epitome Pictures Inc. was a Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn in 1992, the company is best known for producing Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class, the fourth and fifth respective entries of the Degrassi teen drama franchise, of which was co-created by Schuyler. Other television series produced by Epitome include Liberty Street,Riverdale, and The L.A. Complex. In 2016, Epitome was absorbed into DHX Media and the Epitome name and branding ceased.
"Mother and Child Reunion" is the two-part pilot episode of the Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi: The Next Generation, which premiered on October 14, 2001 on the CTV Television Network. The episode was written by story editor Aaron Martin and series co-creator/creative consultant Yan Moore, and directed by Bruce McDonald. As with the majority of Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes, "Mother and Child Reunion" takes its title from a pop song, "Mother and Child Reunion", written and performed by Paul Simon.
"It's Late" is the 11th episode of the first season of Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi Junior High. It originally aired on the CBC in Canada on April 5, 1987. After a careless night with Shane at a classmate's party, Spike fears she is pregnant. Meanwhile, Arthur gives continuously bad romantic advice to his friend Yick.
The first season of Degrassi Junior High, a Canadian teen drama television series, aired in Canada from January 18, 1987, to May 3, 1987, consisting of thirteen episodes. The series follows the lives of a group of seventh and eighth grade school children attending the titular school as they face various issues and challenges such as child abuse, homophobia, teenage pregnancy, and body image. Filming for the season began on 8–10 July 1986 in Etobicoke, Ontario and wrapped in the winter of 1986.
"Bye-Bye, Junior High" is the sixteenth episode of the third and final season of Canadian teen drama television series Degrassi Junior High. It originally aired on CBC Television in Canada on February 27, 1989. It was written by Yan Moore and directed by Kit Hood. The episode takes place at the end of the school year as graduation approaches; despite the fallout from the death of his parents at the beginning of the season, Derek "Wheels" Wheeler manages to pass, but Christine "Spike" Nelson, who is raising her daughter Emma, must make up for poor grades over the holidays, something which she does not react well to. At the graduation dance, a fault in the boiler room causes a fire to spread throughout the school, razing it to the ground.
Playing With Time, Inc. was a Canadian independent film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1976, it is best known for being the original production company for the Degrassi television franchise, producing The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979–86), Degrassi Junior High (1987–89), and Degrassi High (1989–91). It also produced educational short films throughout its existence. The company's work was known for its unconventional filmmaking practices, including casting ordinary people in lieu of experienced trained actors. Schuyler founded Epitome Pictures in 1992, leaving Hood in sole control of the company. By 1998, it was dormant.