Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome Degrassi Box Set, March 28, 2006
The third season of the popular teen drama Degrassi The Next Generation is now available on DVD. The three disc box set features all twenty two episodes from the shows third season--including the two part episode "Accidents Will Happen." This episode did not air in the United States on The-N, the network which airs Degrassi The Next Generation.
Now that the shows fifth season episodes are airing, season three seems like it was a really long time ago. It was before the school shooting and Jimmy's paralysis, and light years before Jay & Silent Bob decided to pay a visit to Degrassi Community School.
At the beginning of season three Emma's mom was preparing to give birth to baby Jack. This new addition to the family and Emma's home life with Mr. Simpson now as her step-father sent Emma on a mission to find her birth father Shane. Emma finds her father and he isn't exactly in the greatest shape. Season three definitely started with a bang.
Whereas the new character Craig Manning was very integral to the season 2 storylines, Craig had to share the spotlight with several other characters who had major stories during the shows third season. Season three was the season in which Marco came out to his friends regarding his homosexuality. Of all of Marco's friends Spinner had the biggest problem with Marco's revelation but the two would overcome this obstacle.
Another important season three storyline would be the volatile relationship between Terri and Rick. Their story would end with violent consequences.
Interracial relationships are nothing new to Degrassi The Next Generation (Craig & Manny, Ashley and Jimmy), yet it appeared the show was about to embark on another interracial relationship between Emma and Chris. Well perhaps the writers decided to go in another direction because although it once seemed like Chris would be an important character on the show he soon faded into the background.
Probably the most talked about episode from season three is "Accidents Will Happen." This is the two part episode that didn't air in the states. The reason why? Most likely because this episode deals with that hot button topic of abortion. In this episode young Manny finds herself sick and throwing up quite often. What is initially thought to be a cold or virus turns out to be an unplanned pregnancy. Manny turns to Emma's mom Spike for guidance. Spike became pregnant at the age of 14 and soon after gave birth to Emma. Spike is a comforting ear for Manny. I don't want to spoil things too much for people who have never seen the episode but it's very well written. It's a well known fact that Emma (Manny's best friend) is strongly against abortion (remember she flipped when her mom considered having an abortion when she became pregnant with Jack before the wedding?) Craig wants to keep the baby, Manny initially isn't sure what she wants. It's a great episode and one of the best Degrassi The Next Generation episodes ever because watching the episode you will truly empathize with every characters point of view when it comes to this controversial topic. Outside of the unplanned pregnancy, there are some other important scenes in these episodes. We see Manny apologize to Ashley for being involved with Craig while they were dating. "Accidents Will Happen" part two also features the clip of Liberty dressed in leather trying to pick up Sean. The-N shows this clip quite often in promo's but fans of the show have been left wondering when this happened, mystery solved.
Overall, season 3 was a really great season. For the most part the adult storylines took a back seat to the kids this season but there were several on-going stories including Mr. Simpson's cancer and the ongoing love affair between Joey Jeremiah and Caitlin Ryan.
Funimation once again did a great job with the DVD box set. The box and inner casing design is similar to the previous season box set. As expected you can count on cool extras. Bonus features include:
Deleted Moments
-Karoke
-Episode Commentaries "Accidents Will Happen" & "Pride"
-Ultimate Season 3 Interactive Quiz
-CTV Degrassi Promo
-Degrassi Yearbook
-Character and Cast Bios
-Degrassi marathon feature on every disc
|
|
|
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unedited Wonderfulness!, January 2, 2006
I watch Degrassi: The Next Generation on The N frequently. The only problem is that the episodes are edited or are completely unaired! There are two episodes on this DVD that were never aired on The N. The episodes deal with abortion so I am guessing that is why there were considered unacceptable to air. This show deals with issues that kids are dealing with today. It hits on topics such as Rape, Cutting, Drugs, Alcohol, Sexual Preferences, etc. You should also check out Degrassi Junior High, it was released in the 1980's and is just as helpful and entertaining at the same time as this is. Enjoy!
|
|
|
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Degrassi , February 23, 2006
It is pretty difficult to describe the television show 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' in just a few sentences, you have to experience it yourself. On the outside it is you're typical teen soap opera/drama in the tradtion of such favorites as 'Dawson's Creek' and 'The O.C.' But what makes Degrassi a higher quality show than those others is the heart, tenderness, and believability that the show provides to it's audience.
At its center 'Degrassi' has a cast of extremely gifted young actors who don't play their characters as the sterotypical jocks, geeks, etc. that one sees in other shows. Though many of the characters have roles that would only require that amount of energy to make them sterotypical they go above and beyond to create realistic people that resemble not the James Van Der Beeks or Adam Brodys that we see in other shows, but real live people who we grew up with in high school. The writing and direction of the show is of an excellent caliber and continues again and again to surprise with the increasing quality of each passing episode.
In the thrid season of the show (in my opinion the best season) plots that began back in season two emerge into greater importance and the students of Degrassi Community School must deal with crises that mimic almost exactly what every high school in the world at one point or another has to go through.
The bottom line is that 'Degrassi: The Next Generation' is an outstanding show and one that no one can watch without feeling affected. Though some may think because this is the newest series in a long line of popular shows in the eighties and ninties (and some may think that it couldn't be as good as the originals) one should watch it and see for themselves the quality of the show is equal (and in some cases better) than the original 'Degrassi.'
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
DVD ~ Stacey Farber
DVD ~ Miriam McDonald
DVD ~ Stacey Farber
DVD ~ Miriam McDonald
DVD ~ Shenae Grimes
