What makes it different from others?

What a waste of my time!!!

People are voting emotionally.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I grew up watching "les années collège/ lycée" (Degrassi Junior High/High in French). Must have been aired for the first time in 88 or so, and I was in junior high myself at the time. I was already a TV freak, but I really got hooked by this show : sometimes heavy, sometimes light, dumb, harsh, cute, cruel, cunning, corny, vicious, talkative, stinky, laughing, moaning, crying, smart, boring, entertaining, wise, so-so, great... You get the idea : all and its contrary. Just like life. Big hit on TV. We would often talk about the episodes among ourselves the next day, and a few times with the teachers : there are times and things you just don't/can't discuss with your parents when you're in junior hi without feeling super dumb, shameful, sinner (continue the list) because you brought the subject. See what I mean ? My years were not as bad as these kids' in comparison. There was drama aplenty : I think maybe, what, 10 episodes overall ? say 5, do have happy endings.?. Kids in there, they got heavy blows. Ils prenaient cher! A bit of a Zola or Hector Malot's "Remy without family" trend. Somewhat refreshing, more relating to real life experiences : you get hit, recover and move on until the next. Teenagehood is drama, is an ordeal, is a sheat you have to live through and learn to cherish.I just learned here tonight that the show was Canadian which explains why the drama hooks you up. Americains would have put happy endings all over the place (in everything they do for the screen they need a useless happy ending, I just hate it) ; though I must admit that recent creations (nip/tuck, for example) finally got rid of the Disney coating, yes. Like a snake changing skin. An excellent social series, in phase with its time, with kids actually being kids, being black, yellow, red, cathos, Jewish, goths, hippies, slim, fat, with zits, braces and geek looking glasses, not rich... All what we've been through. Not cleaned 20 yrs old to play 13 yrs old ones. To my knowledge, sadly, there hasn't been any reruns back here, too bad. I'll have to get it on DVD, to show it to my daughter when she'll start wondering about the very same issues that were treated in Degrassi (she's only 3 now, but kids grow up faster than you'd think !). It definitely beats the sheat out of its descendants : 90210, Dawson, and, ow, I forgot the title, you know, that horrible good thinking and well mannered Wasp family the Dad is a preacher with 6 or 7 kids ?.. Yes, that one. I hate the general ambient of the series, wanna pop a cap in the TV ! I definitely recommend Degrassi Junior and High, as a must have in home video collection. Make a useful gift to a troubled pre and/or early teenager you know...

OK, lets get this out of the way. I'm 30 years old at the time of this review. I was in grade 6 when Degrassi junior high started. I remembered Degrassi Street from Sunday morning, and hated it--I was not about to like this show. Little by little throughout the year, I was hooked. By the time I graduated high school I had spent 6 years with this kids. Second item. The acting was terrible! Even as a kid, I knew it, but that was part of the success of the show. These were regular thirteen year old drama student acting as thirteen year old kids dealing with issues. Some of the actors went on to act in other shows, movies etc..., some did not. Others posts have mentioned that this may be the best show ever to come out of Canada, and that may be true...sadly. This is not M*A*S*H though. This is not high drama. This was a show that captured the moment precisely. It caught the correct vibe of the time. I don't know if it has aged well since it first aired and I don't care. This show, even if you couldn't directly relate to a single character, was bang on, on what was going on at school at the time. I may not have had Wheels, Snakes or Joeys problems, but they were my classmates. I watched them year after year, for years. No class trips to Australia, no Rolls Royces, no mansions, no rich daddies. Just real issues, year after year. Thank you, for those years. Long live Zit Remedy.

First syndicated in Australia on the ABC's "Afternoon Show" with James Valentine from 1988/1989 onwards, this was a terrificly topical show for elderly children and younger adults. Episodes concerning teenage alcoholism, pregnancy, delinquency, child abuse, homosexuality, harassment, puberty and depression were delivered with an immediate frankness not previously produced for the little screen."Degrassi Junior High" was throughly entertaining; creating many lasting characters, particularly Joey Jeremiah and Derek "Wheels". The show lost its earnesty - though not its appeal - when it became "Degrassi High", the tele-movie extrapolation, "School's Out" was subpar whilst strangely compelling and the most recent series deplorably banal, but the original series was a classic."Degrassi Junior High" looks as if it was hastily filmed; with post-production added only sparingly - the show looks scant and cheap - but it was undeniably charming; the very theme song ("Wake up in the morning...feeling shy and lonely...") alerted me to the joy that would unfold over the next 22 minutes or so. The Junior High School looked anitiquated, dirty, cold and industrial - the Toronto skies were perpetually grey, the stories and familiy life not alway positive, but it was thoroughly commendable.I haven't seen an episode in years; I try desperately to remember more of the plotlines, more of the obscure characters. I can't - only the vibes remain. But what vibes! And what a show! It has deservedly won quite a cult following around the world, particularly Australia and the U.K, but the author is surprised to discover that it is virtually unknown in the U.S and to some extent in its homeland!Let's see it on DVD soon!

I enjoyed watching this show in high school and college. The main theme of the show was problems faced by kids while growing up (including teen pregnancy, drugs, peer pressure, death of a loved one, relationships, etc.), and I had heard of teachers using it to invoke class discussions during school. All in all, I recommend this to anyone who has ever been a teenager.