Customer Reviews

Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season Five

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In my opinion, this is the best (and most dramatic) season of Degrassi yet, filled with everything you can possibly think of that a teenager might experience during their high school years. (I was a senior in high school when this season originally premiered so I know what I'm talking about!)

Season 5 starts off with the introduction of newcomer Peter (the principals son by the way) whom Emma has a desperate crush on, only to later find out that he wants Manny, her best friend. Manny is desperate to pursue a career in acting, and, after getting some pretty harsh criticism from a casting agent, decides to go so far as to get plastic surgery, much to the dismay of her very strict father, who refuses to let her become an actress and throws her out of the house after calling her a slut. A very upset Manny then goes to a party that Peter invited her to, gets drunk, and allows Peter to film her taking her top off. Manny begs Peter to delete the footage, but when she calls him a freak and refuses to date him, he emails the video to everyone at school, angering not only Emma, who is horrified that Manny did such a thing with the guy she likes, but also Paige who is disgusted by Mannys behavior and immediately throws her off the squad. A distraught Manny begs Emma for forgiveness, and ends up moving in with her. She also begins dating Craig again, who is on his way to becoming a serious musician.

Now onto the other characters.

Liberty reveals to JT that she is pregnant, and they both eventually agree to keep the baby, and plan on moving out together. In order to move out, JT picks up more shifts at the Pharmacy he works at, but when he realizes that he won't be able to support Liberty and the baby with the amount of money he's making, he begins dealing drugs and when Liberty finds out what's he's been up to, she breaks up with him. Around that time, Libertys parents urge her to give the baby up for adoption once its born, and she agrees. Devastated by the news and by the break-up, JT overdoses on painkillers and lands in the hospital.

Meanwhile a friendless Spinner, who is still dealing with his guilt over the shooting (from season 4) meets good girl Darcy, who is part of friendship club, and after they start dating, Spinner vows to become a born again virgin (yeah right!)

Paige, who is stressing over getting into the college of her dreams, and is still dealing with her breakup with Matt, begins experimenting with her sexuality and is soon dating bad girl Alex.

Jimmy is dealing with being crippled and is trying to find out who he is when he realizes that he's no longer the basketball star he once was.

Emma begins to develop feelings for Peter yet again, who feels the same way about her, but is desperate to keep her feelings a secret from a still-very-angry-at-Peter Manny. During a school play, Emma and Peter sneak off for a makeout session...only to find her stepfather (aka Snake) and the school principal (aka Peters mom) kissing. A devastated Emma tells her mom, who kicks Snake out of the house, thus leading to Emmas bout with Anorexia. During this time, Manny becomes angry with Emmas change in behavior, which angers Emma, who eventually confesses that she's been dating Peter. All of this leads to Emma having a serious panick attack, which lands her in the hospital.

....etc. I guess now you get the point when I say its a very dramatic =) and definitely a must see!

I love the cheesy escapism of this Canadian teen soap, in which every episode is A Very Special Episode. Watch Manny pursue acting, Emma struggle with anorexia, Liberty and J.T. deal with possible parenthood, Craig make it big in music, Spinner try to redeem himself, Jimmy struggle with his identity post-parapalegia, Paige explore a different aspect of her sexuality, and Marco come out to his Dad. And more. The stories seem a little better fleshed out this season, perhaps because of the back work done in season 4. In addition, the writing seems snappier and funnier, but I could have just been tired from being up all night with the baby;) Pure escapist fun. A guilty pleasure for those of us far past our high school days.

This is another great dvd box set of Degrassi! My daughter and I are still loving the characters on this show. It is very interesting to watch the trials and tribulations that this group of teenagers go through.
Highly recommended!

I live for and have an odd obsession with Degrassi. I love it to death, and have even seen some of the actors in person twice!

That being said, although the episodes are phenomenal as EVER, the plotlines are a tad calmer compared to previous seasons. And I was really dissappointed that there were absolutely NO commentaries, because they were definately my favorite part of the Season 3 and Season 4 DVD sets. I honestly believe that if the leads and writers of the "Our Lips Are Sealed" episodes had done a commentary, it could have probably helped a lot of viewers who have struggled with their body image and/or an eating disorder.

On the other hand, the bloopers were hysterical with a lot of funny moments from Cassie Steele. And the deleted scenes seemed like they may have included some alternate plot twists. But one thing that I found odd about one of the deleted scenes is that Manny supposedly borrowed that "look at me" silver sequinned mini skirt from Emma, to wear to Craig's wedding gig in "Weddings, Parties, Anything."

The interview with Cassie Steele wasn't too revealing, and seemed almost repetitive. And the auditions of the new full-season cast members almost make one wonder how horrible the other people who auditioned must have been, or perhaps which acting school whipped the new additions into shape before shooting comenced. 0.0

Overall, I was happy with this DVD set, because it's an addition to my collection, but I wasn't thrilled by it. I personally enjoyed Degrassi The Next Generation - Season 3 DVD set the most because it included humorous and serious commentaries, hilarious bloopers, deleted scenes, and Degrassi Karoke!!! =)

Hope this helped!

This is an edgy and quite realistic drama about high school and early college students. There are several plots and subplots this season, but the best one to discuss with your kids is probably the one related to teenage pregnancy. Liberty ("L") and JT are a typical teenage couple 15 and 16 years old. L is a very good student, and JT is a lovable joke telling geek. As the season opens they've been dating for about 5 or 6 mos. The topic of their "sex life" begins with JT pulling some condoms out and suggesing that he and L "celebrate" that she has learned to drive a car. This is more immature than crass coming from this character. L declines. He wonders what is wrong (the implication is that they have done this before but L is not longer interested - so JT is wondering if he has done something wrong). L blows him off. She treats JT like "a kid" for several days until he can't take it anymore. Then L finally reveals to him that she is pregnant (about 3-4 mos)! JT is stunned, and because he is driving when he tells her this news, he crashes his car. There are some good schenes when JT is worried and in disbelief at the pregnancy. L is very sick with morning sickness. JT tries to get her to go to the doctor, but she doesn't let him help with that. The two end up breaking up (very common in strained teen relationships), but then JT tells liberty that he won't abandon her or the baby. He is kind to her, and she is sympathetic to him as well. The next time we see this couple L is 6 mos pregnant and beginning to "show" - so JT tries to intervene again. He wants her to get some help with this and go to a doctor. L's brother finally puts two and two together to understand that L (and JT) are pregnant. He and JT get into a fight. Then they finally convince L to go to the doctor and talk to the guidence counselor at school. JT still wants to help so L lets him go with her to the ultrasound where he is amazed at the baby he can now see. He and Liberty decide that they want to raise the baby together and decide they must tell their parents (which the guidence counselor also wants them to do ASAP). The parents don't take the news well - JT's family says they are too young for all this (true - but it doesn't change anything), and L's parents want JT out of the picture (which is unacceptable to L b/c he has been helping her and the baby - her only support) - therefore, the two try to find a place to live on their own, and JT gets several jobs to make money. They never actually live together though. A desparate JT (who works at a pharmacy) finally sells some prescription drugs to a drug dealer (he's encouraged to do this by an old "friend" - who is a rotten influence). JT then tries to undo what he's done to make everything "right" again, but the drug dealer threatens him. L finds out about all this, and she's extremely angry. JT then brings the drug dealer more drugs (since he's threaten to beat him senseless if he doesn't). However, JT saves some of the pills and takes them in his despair. He collapses, and wakes up in the hospital. L is there along with both families. L asks JT if he was trying to kill himself -- he apologizes for everything and cries. The usually jovial JT says "this is no joke" about the situation he is living. L said she feels she has to give the baby up for adoption. JT is devastated. They also break-up (again). I feel this is a very realistic protrayal of teen pregnancy situation. These characters are not drop-dead gorgeous or independantly wealthy. There is a sense that "it can happen to anybody" if it can happen to these two. They want to do the right things, but they keep making mistakes. They got pregnant in the first place b/c they chose to have sex (first mistake) and didn't use the condom they used correctly (this is only discussed, not shown). I believe this show can really help a family discuss these issues. By the way, L does give up the baby, and JT gets to see the baby very briefly. It is (realistically) hard on both of them. The only down side to this portrayal is that JT is actually MORE mature than a lot of guys would really be --- this is something you should discuss with your daughters. There is other stuff in this season that you'll want to discuss (so watch everything before you watch it with your teen - so you can decide what is appropriate to show them - and plan what you might want to ask or say).

I loved season 5, it was one of my favorite seasons. I just loved Manny, Spinner, the beginning of Palex, and sadly enough the end of Jimmy and Hazel. Its a good buy and reminds you of how good degrassi used to be before they start being all about shock value.

Cons: Jimmy and Hazel have now broken up, but not only did they break up, Jimmy was too lazy to even bother trying to fix it. My complaint about Season 4 with us not knowing much about Hazel has increased in Season 5. Again, I don't even understand why the writers put those two together. They should've just made them friends. Although there were two whole episodes where Hazel acknowledged that she was being ignored by Jimmy, soon after they broke up over a painting. A painting?! If this wasn't goofy enough, then Jimmy later says in one of the last episodes that chicks don't dig guys in wheelchairs. Um, Jimmy, you had a girlfriend before the shooting, while you were in the hospital, and when you got out of the hospital. Matter of fact, your girlfriend tried her hardest to keep you around. His problem with women isn't about the wheelchair that he keeps reminding people he's in; it's the writers who felt like Hazel wasn't worth writing about. Meanwhile we get to hear a lot more about Emma and Paige. Emma is still melodramatic and annoying, and now she's decided to be anorexic, too, and in true Emma style, she tries to drag Manny down with her. And now Paige is a lesbian. When Marco came out, it made sense. With Paige, it seems like a scream for new viewers, and I'm not buying it. Then the way she ended the show just screamed out, "More people watch this show please. This is something you'll never expect." Yup, I expected everything that happened.

If not for wanting to follow the storyline, I'd fast forward straight past all the grown-ups' situations. I'm not interested in any of their stories. It's the same story we've heard again and again. Someone cheated.

Pros: Jimmy's father is gorgeous. Period. Now HIM I like seeing every single time he comes across the screen. I'm a little confused about why his mother is never around. (Did I miss something? Is she dead?) Even Liberty's parents are cool. I think it's interesting when the parents show up to lend themselves to a situation with the children, but the adults' situation in addition to the kids is overkill. If we're talking about Degrassi High, why not keep the focus on the high school and junior high students? I think they got it right with the way Liberty's parents and Jimmy's father played out. Manny's father is a bit rough, but even her parents showed up just enough to keep the story going. As far as J.T. and Liberty, I NEVER saw that one coming. Her story was interesting mainly because everything I guessed would happen didn't. We'll see if my guesses are right in Season 6. As far as Spinner, he's entertaining 100% of the time. Watching him at that Christian camp made me fall out laughing, and his troublesome friend is THE WORST (in the best way). Although disappointed in a decision J.T. made, that was another one I didn't see coming. I like that kid.

My favorite characters are (in this particular order): Jimmy, Spinner, Craig, J.T., Hazel (only because of Season 3 "Take on Me" when we FINALLY got to see her outside of Paige's shadow and realized she's far more interesting than she's given credit for), Ellie, Liberty, Darcy, Marco and Manny. Although Jay is the worst villain, I like him for his sense of humor and raw sarcasm. Everybody else? *shrug* Not interested.

I have never really watched Degrassi when it first aired, until one day I watched it at a relatives house, and since then I fell in love with it. So I decided to catch up with all the things that's been going on and I'm getting to know all who is who by purchasing from Amazon and I'm just enjoying all my Degrassi dvds and I'm still purchasing them until I get them all.

In this season, a lot of more stuff happens. Emma deals with Anorexia, Paige has troubles with her sexuality with Alex. Spiner is allowed to come back to school and makes a new friend Darcy, Manning acting career is ruined and Peter does something bad to ruin her reputation, Jimmy tries to get back into basketball, Elie becomes the new drummer for downtown sasquatch and Later Elie gets closer to Jimmy, Mr. Simpson cheats on his wife Spike. Jay and Silent Bob make two more apperances
J.T gets Liberty pregant and gets a job to support them, Later J.T even overdoses on prescription medicene. Jay and Alex gets starring credit, so does newcomer Peter and Mrs. Hatzilakos. Alex, Elie, Marco, Paige, Hazel and Craig graduate at the end of the season and Ashley returns at the end of the season

this is just one of those shows that is great to watch marathon-style on a rainy day. It takes you back to highschool with all the catty stuff that goes on. As a girl, there were times i totally got into it and other times i made fun of it, because as an adult i know how stupid some of the stuff kids say really is. But its one of those things you have in the back of the closet and watch when no one else is around...kinda like guys and porn.