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ashlee booed off stage


bouche

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One of the things I liked about the Degrassi shows was that they focused on the kids. Consider: most often when a show was set in a school, it was an adult who was the center of attention and/or the main character (e.g., "Welcome Back Kotter", "Head Of The Class"). The kids had problems, and the adult was there to solve the problems for them (or to stand there and say, "I trust you to do the right thing").

In the Degrassi shows, the adults were often the cause of the problems. (I recall one show where one student's mother was an alcoholic, which caused a lot of stress for the student, who wanted to have her friends over to her home for a study session; seeing how the daughter had to take care of her nearly passed out mother is awkward for me to watch, and must be heartbreaking for any kid who's had to do that in real life).

Most of the action and dialogue in the show took place between the kids, with the adults minor supporting characters, at best. Also, being set in a real school, with real school grounds, and a real neighbourhood, gave it a much more real feel than shows filmed on a soundstage, which almost gave it a documentary feel.

Aloha,

Brad

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exactly what bradm said. and it was a lot more realistic than...well, any other show i can think of, especially back then! i also liked that it was geared for kids, but not in a "ooh look you are young and dumb, insert laugh track here" way (i.e. saved by the bell). plus, the fact it was a canadian show made it extra special since there was so much more for us to relate to.

the characters were well written, well cast, and they kept the original actors all through the series, which was great since most of them were entirely likeable.

gad, i still love degrassi!!!! huxy, we should camp outside the video store the moment they announce the dvd release. heehee

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plus, the fact it was a canadian show made it extra special since there was so much more for us to relate to.

Pop quiz: what was the first Degrassi show? No, it wasn't "Degrassi Junior High", it was The Kids Of Degrassi Street. I remember watching it once, and my Dad happened to be walked by the TV. He glanced at it, and stopped dead in his tracks.

"That's the Degrassi grocery," he said.

"Yeah, the show is 'The Kids Of Degrassi Street'", I replied.

"I used to live near there..."

(Anybody remember the CBC semi-soap "Riverdale"? My Dad went to Riverdale Collegiate...)

Aloha,

Brad

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Now, if we could just get RatDog to make an appearance on Degrassi, playing, say, a fictional rock band led by one of the kids' parents, doing a show at a Degrassi school dance, and put that out on DVD, then Hux wouldn't have to make any choices as to what to do with his hard-earned money...

Aloha,

Brad

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Huxtable...room in your tent for me? I've been waiting for years to gorge myself on an all day Degrassi streak.

My friend Andy (who's a hardcore degrassi fan) told me two funny things this summer...

Pat Mastroanni (Joey) was so hard-up for guests to his wedding he posted a message on one of his fansites inviting degrassi fans to it.

The Zit Remedy Three had a falling out with Wheels. Snake and Joey are still buds but apparently Wheels took his stardom too seriously?!

This information came from a mall appearance tour that former Degrassi stars were doing this summer. Andy now owns a shirt that says "Zit Remedy World Tour". I'd pay 1000 bucks for it, wouldn't you?

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Digrassi does kick ass for all the reasons stated above.. but to bring this thread back to where it started for a second.

I'm not trying to justify what Ashlee did on SNL or any other performance or say that I support mass marketed entertainment products like her or her sister. BUT, I remember a discussion I had with Leon Pendarvis a number of years back.

At the time he was the keyboard player for The Blues Brothers Band. They did the superbowl half time gig along with Dan, John Goodman and Jim Belushi, James Brown and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. The whole thing was totally lipsynced, vocals, instruments, the whole bit.

I was asking Leon what the deal was with that. Sure I expect from the likes of Britney, but The Blues Brothers Band is a chock full of smoking players with more than enough skill as musicians to rock out any show. He was saying that the musicians didn't even have a choice, it was lip sync or don't bother showing up. He was saying with the turn around on a show like that there isn't time to properly set up a stage that would allow for the intruments to be miked properly and all that bla bla bla.

Anyway, I'm not trying to justify the act, I would rather hear a musician screw up in real life than play perfectly off a tape. I just wanted to relay some I was given as to the reality of these types of shows. Football games, award shows, televised benefits, apparently any gig where they are changing bands quickly is prone to being lip synced.

It's sad that that is the norm, regardless of who is behind the mic.

Anyway.. just wanted to post the story I got from Leon. Back to your degrassi discussion. One of my favourite things about degrassi is that they didn't wardrobe and makeup the kids. They essenetially just wore the clothes they owned in real life with the hair cuts they got on the weekend. That type of reality I think was healthy and added to the overall believeability and impact of the show. I bet we could run a whole thread on the comparisons between Degrassi and other high school type shows (The OC, Saved By The Bell, Beverly Hills 90210) and jambands/"real" bands and the ashlee/jessica simpsons. Did that make sense?

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