You know why we need the CBC and can’t let CTV develop a monopoly over Canadian television? Degrassi.
Like many Canadians my age, I remember that TV shows involving Degrassi in some way hail all the way back to The Kids of Degrassi Street – a humble show that was a mix of The Little Rascals and The Littlest Hobo, simple stories with simple morals. The show struck such a chord that Playing With Time Productions was able to tease it out over the years into far more popular and successful shows like Degrassi Jr. High, and inevitably Degrassi High, shepherded along by the CBC. What made the show so special and vital to the TV landscape was the age group it had targeted: preteens dealing with problems in a realistic fashion without all the Spelling melodrama. As Jr. High came to an end, it made sense to keep the magic going and following the kids all the way through high school, but by the time that school was out, it was clear that the show and the characters had run their course.
When the word was on the street that the show would be coming back with a new spin and some old ingredients, it was cause for excitement, but I’ve watched from a distance at the gimmicky tactics the producer’s have been using for this particular incarnation. Based on its numbers compared to the CBC’s versions, I guess the show should be considered a success, but at what cost does this success come at. Where is the line that gets crossed from great original Canadian Programming, to pre-packaged mass market pablum to be consumed south of the border? In its quest for ratings supremacy, the CTV has skirted around its responsibilities to the viewing public as a Canadian broadcaster. Under CTV’s watch, Degrassi has Americanized itself with special guests and ridiculous special episodes like Degrassi goes Hollywood. What the hell does Hollywood have to do with Canada? Isn’t the idea of creating Canadian content to distance ourselves from that place?
No, being popular is not the issue here. The fact that it’s successful doesn’t make the show any less Canadian (no matter what Brian says) it’s the way it’s gone about achieving that fame that is the problem. If they want to run some kind of integration with MTV Canada, I’m all for it. If they want to achieve some kind of international popularity by forgetting where it comes from however, that’s where I have a problem.
[...] - The Next Generation: I’m sure regular readers are well aware of my feelings towards the rejigged version of this show, and I kind of get the feeling that CBC decided to [...]