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“A Whole New Degrassi” is the tagline the show is selling us as it journeys into its 13th season, from the departure of old characters finally setting in, to the tenure of new ones beginning, and a complete deviation from the title sequence format Degrassi had used for 12 years.  Even the show’s timeline is different, as the season kicks off during the summer time and looks to take place in that time period for at least a few more episodes.

Degrassi has produced fantastic premiere episodes over the past several years, but this one ultimately falls short of the overall qualities that helped get seasons 10, 11 and 12 off to blazing starts. Summertime’s primary plot, while providing us some promise for future episodes, is merely mediocre compared to the much-stronger B and C plots.

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MAYA PLOT REVIEW: When it comes down to it, Maya’s plot feels more like setup/filler material than a plot that drives a season opener.  With Maya we’ve now reached a point where they keep going back and forth between this sweet girl and someone going through various “bad girl” phases…bad girl in quotes because in this episode she was either legitimately misunderstood by her mom, or busy being ineffective at being an actual bad girl.  We knew that Maya would be headed to Paris by the end of the episode, but nothing ever happened to put that into question.  The upside to Maya’s conflict comes near the end, when she confesses that she feels like everyone leaves her eventually.

As a whole, the newbies make little impact in their debut, though we know their roles will expand in the very near future.  Winston just exists in this episode, while Zoë shows hints of being the diva the show has advertised her to be.  Miles was the most interesting character of the night.  We can tell he’s a rich kid who gets into trouble, but the verbal tongue lashing he received from his high-profile father instantly adds intrigue (and a potential storyline of its own down the road).

At the end of the episode we find all of the characters on a bus, ready to head to Paris for the summer.  By that point the plot has done a lot of subtle things to setup what’s coming: relationship drama between Maya and Miles, and a juicy feud between Maya and Zoë.  While this episode does enough to ensure that upcoming is full of potential, it does little for itself to be engaging in the now.

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CLARE PLOT REVIEW: The knot in my stomach that wouldn’t go away the second Degrassi revealed Clare might have cancer in The Time of My Life returned, as Clare’s cancer diagnosis is confirmed in this episode.  This plot is difficult to watch, but in the way that you can appreciate because you know that what the show is doing more than connecting with you…it’s striking a nerve.

Eclare’s “sexy online exchange” is as awkward and silly as I would expect that kind of situation to be in real life.  The plot’s tone abruptly switches as Helen informs Clare that her test results came back positive for cancer.  The show’s decision to have music playing while we see Clare’s reaction to the news provides a more emotional impact than if we were to hear an actual exchange between Clare and Helen (and it’s just as effective as Spinner’s cancer reveal scene in Death or Glory).

Where this plot shines is that not only does the show delve into technical details describing how the treatment process will work, but also Clare’s reaction to it all as things progress.  She knows she has cancer, but she feels fine, so she’s able to go into it with a very positive outlook at first.  Aislinn does a fantastic job of conveying Clare’s fear once the gravity of the situation sinks in.  In returning to Toronto to be their for his girlfriend, Eli simply does what I and any other guy with a lick of sense would do if they found out their girlfriend had cancer.

The thought of being in Clare’s situation is terrifying from every angle, and the final scene is a mix of emotions: Clare’s long journey through treatment begins, but she’s surrounded by the two people she loves most.  It’s hard to tell how this storyline will play out, but it got off to a very strong, emotional start.

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IMOGEN/ADAM/BECKY PLOT REVIEW: I browsed through a lot of random fan commentary about this plot after the episode, and one of the things that struck me was how some thought that Becky’s jealousy seemed a bit much.  Imogen’s awkwardness in this episode made it impossible for her to be subtle, so it was blatantly obvious to Becky that Imogen had a thing for Adam, someone she’d be working with all summer while Becky was away.  If I were Becky, I’d be lying if I said wasn’t worried.

There’s a bit of hesitation at the thought of Degrassi keeping Imogen for another season, then immediately throwing her into the midst of a love triangle.  However, it’s interesting watching Imogen in this episode as she basically clings to Adam from the moment she sees him.  I like the dynamic of Adam and Imogen interacting and summer camp is a fun backdrop that will enhance that, though I don’t really see Adam as the type who would just up and cheat on Becky because of a lapse in self control.  Whether it’s Imogen’s neediness, or Becky/Adam’s jealousy, I’m interested to see how this plays out.

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Degrassi Extra

How turned are the Degrassi writers? So much that they wrote up some love triangles, love squares and video chat sex (as they call it in Canada) in the season 13 premiere. A recap of the episode is below.

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Degrassi Vine 101: Little Mistakes

Cristine and Ricardo try to dance their way back into the hearts of viewers after screwing up their Wild West movie.  The tagline for Degrassi Vine is “If you think it’s dumb…we did our job.”

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All I Wanna Do airs Thursday, July 18th at 8pm EST on MuchMusic and 9pm on TeenNick.

Despite her illness, Clare is determined to remain a regular girl.  Alli is lonely in Paris and tries to make the best of it without her BFF.  Tristan tries to “bro” up while rooming with the guys.

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Here are some of the most recent searches people did on the web that somehow led them to this blog. First, let’s get all of the sex-related ones out of the way:

1) melinda shankar sex scene

2) melinda shankar nude

3) degrassi porn pics
Wait, is Shane Dawson planning on creating a Degrassi porn or something?

4) luke bilyk naked

5) is sarah fisher from degrassi bisexual

6) aislinn paul boobs

7) aislinn paul nude
I believe this is the first time for Aislinn showing up on the “we want nude pics of you” list. “Congratulations!”

8) xhamster alicia josipovic nude

9) luke bilyk boner

10) luke bilyk and munro chambers fucking

11) in degrassi season 13 does drew see zoe naked?

12) in degrassi season 13 does drew see imogen naked
Apparently season 13 is the year of Drew seeing everyone naked.

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13) how to audition for degrassi
This is the most common question I receive.  Degrassi casting info is occasionally made public.  If that’s the case, you just follow the instructions. But before you even bother trying to audition there are two requirments.  1) YOU MUST HAVE CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP. Cry all you want about it being unfair, but it’s the rule. Degrassi receives funding from the Canadian government, and in order to keep that funding they must hire Canadian actors/crew members. You CAN audition for Degrassi if you’re an American with dual citizenship, or you have a Canadian work visa.  2) YOU MUST HAVE AN AGENT. All of the actors on the show have agents. Degrassi will send out audition info to agencies. You can find out how to get an agent in Toronto here: http://www.actratoronto.com/

14) why didn’t clare graduate
Because Clare wasn’t a senior!

15) why did alex steele leave degrassi
Apparently she wanted to pursue other acting opportunities. The door is open for her to return to Degrassi though.

16) degrassi season 12 dvd release date
Who knows…the most recent information is that it will be released in the Fall of 2013, but a specific date hasn’t been announced yet.

17) degrassi adam dies 2013
Degrassi fans kill off Adam every year!

18) will zig comeback to deggrassi
Yes. Don’t be freaked out by his lack of appearance in season 13 so far. In season 12 Zig was one of those characters who would appear in some episodes, then disappear for long periods of tine during the summer block. Most of his appearances occurred during the second half of the season.

19) why was maya punished by her mom for staying out too late from degrassi summertime
Because that’s what happens when you stay out past you curfew? You get in trouble! FYI: there’s no way in hell my parents would’ve let me go to Paris after pulling the stunts Maya did in Summertime.

20) did degrassi drop the telenovela format
Yes? Well it’s been dropped for this summer season at least. As of right now Degrassi’s done readthroughs through 1328. There will be 32 episodes left after the summer block. There will be hour-long episodes here and there, but I’d also love to see them do something like a shortened telenovela event.

21) degrassi aftershow
MuchMusic is debuting a Degrassi Aftershow on Thursday, July 18th at 8:30pm EST.  This new show will air immediately after every new episode.  American fans won’t be able to watch it live, but I’m sure there will be Canadian fans who will record and upload the show each week.

22) will fiona return in season 13 of degrassi
Possibly, but I highly doubt it.

23) why doesnt teen nick play degrassi reruns
You know, I’m not really sure why. However, it depends on what you mean because there’s multiple layers to this:

*TeenNick normally doesn’t air reruns of Degrassi (any episodes from the seasons 10-12 era) during the weekdays
*Reruns of The Next Generation episodes air from 5am – 6am EST weeknights
*TeenNick will be replaying the previous week’s episode Thursdays at 8:30pm EST before the new episode airs at 9pm
*TeenNick used to have an encore presentation of the new episodes at 9:30…however, it looks like they’re not doing that for this summer block
*TeenNick’s special encore of new episodes will now happen on Sunday nights at 9pm EST. They’ve branded it Degrassi “Tweet-peat”.

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As we all know, Degrassi’s summer block consists of 8 episodes spanning 7 weeks (the finale will be on August 22nd).  That means Degrassi will have a whopping 32 episodes they’re going to need to divvy up between September 2013 and July 2014.  With the bad news of not having a telenovela comes the good news of having shorter hiatuses throughout the year.  Stephen Stohn tweeted information about that today:

The 40 episodes of Season 13 are being divided into four or five blocks, spread through the year—
Stephen Stohn (@stephenstohn) July 17, 2013

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The instant assumption is that block B will happen this fall, then blocks C and D (and maybe E) will happen next Winter/Spring/Early Summer.  My hope is that those 2014 episodes are scheduled in a way that puts them closer toward the summer.  I really don’t mind having a long hiatus over the winter (December-February), and would much rather see them use the end of season 13 to lead right into season 14 (like they did with TTOML this year, but bridge the gap that existed between that ep and Zombie).

Let’s also hope that with the show switching back to its original weekly format that 40 episodes remains the standard, because the moment they decide to do something drastic like slice that episode count in half, those hiatuses will become absolutely brutal.

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All I Wanna Do Sneak Peeks

Both MuchMusic and TeenNick have posted clips for tomorrow’s episode..the links to them are below:

Much Music’s sneak peek: http://blog.muchmusic.com/tristan-gets-an-eyeful-in-paris-on-thursdays-degrassi/

TeenNick’s sneak peek: http://www.teennick.com/blog/degrassi-all-i-wanna-do-sneak-peek.html

All I Wanna Do, as a whole, is an improvement over the premiere episode Summertime.  Degrassi may have stopped it’s two-parter format, but the idea of having a story arch that spans over an entire block still exists.  Some plots (i.e Tristan’s in this episode) may not drive the overall arch with much force, but they need to offer something valuable in some way, shape or form.

TRISTAN PLOT REVIEW:  What I secretly love about Tristan’s plot is that in my head its theme is an immediate throwback to one of the Degrassi’s most underrated episodes, Mirror in the Bathroom.  Upon arrival in Paris the guys and girls are assigned separate living quarters, with Miles, Chewy and Tristan being roommates.  Tristan assumes that Miles and Chewy won’t want to live with him if they find out he’s gay, so he pretends that Maya is his girlfriend.

Tristan also assumes that Miles and Chewy are making fun of him because of his sexuality, but that isn’t the case; they’re making fun of him because they already know he’s gay, and Tristan pretending to be “straight” is thoroughly awkward and unconvincing.

The fact Tristan already had his mind made up that Miles and Chewy would have an issue living with “a guy that likes guys” gives some insight into his character, one who’s seemed pretty confident with his sexuality up until this point.  Obviously Tristan’s dealt with being bullied in this manner before, but Miles continues to impress by taking the extra steps necessary to assure Tristan he and Chewy are cool with Tristan’s sexual preference.

While this plot harbors virtually no drama, its underlying theme resonates because it’s something we had to, have dealt with, and will deal with in our own lives.  Our insecurities can be justified by past events.  Society is quite open about rejecting each other on a daily basis, however, people can also genuinely not give a damn about whatever it is you won’t reveal for fear of judgement.  Tristan learns the positive side of the lesson that just because it’s a big deal to us in our heads, it doesn’t mean it’s a big deal to everyone else.

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CLARE PLOT REVIEW:  Clare’s cancer storyline continues to be difficult to watch.  Aislinn’s churning out what looks like effortless performances, while the story remains engaging based how draining the situation itself can be, mentally and physically.  Clare’s at a point where she doesn’t want to think about death, promptly turning off a WestDrive episode where Zoë’s character has cancer and asks if she’s going to die.  She’s also feels as if control is slipping away once she discovers that her hair is falling out.

While Eli is obviously doing nothing but trying to be helpful, seeds of doubt are placed in Clare’s head about whether he’ll be around for the long run by a fellow cancer patient whose boyfriend eventually broke up with her.
Clare decides to shave her head, and with the help of Adam and Imogen finds a wig that she thinks will impress Eli for their date.

While watching this plot I get a stronger understanding of how difficult it is to remain positive while dealing with cancer, and how important little things are such as Adam and Imogen taking time to help find Clare a wig, and Clare getting dressed for a date with Eli in her hospital room.  While there are humorous and comforting moments we’re still left uneasy with the fact that Clare needs an MRI to see if the cancer has spread.  The uneasy feeling continues as we prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.

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ALLI PLOT REVIEW: While we all roll our eyes and say “Of course” to Alli meeting a guy in Paris (because as TeenNick’s promos accurately say, Alli is “book smart and boy dumb), the ride there is somewhat interesting.  While everyone in Paris from Degrassi has their own social groups or are paired off like Jenna and Connor, Alli’s left to keep herself occupied in the City of Love.

She wanders the streets of Paris alone, with nothing more than a map and a cardboard cutout of Clare’s head so Clare could “take pictures” at various landmarks, a brilliant touch by the writers.  Alli asks a stranger to take a picture of her and Clare, but the guy tries to steal her phone.  However, he’s stopped by a guy named Leo, who returns Alli’s phone and the two become acquainted.

This plot is neither great nor awful in setting up what will be Alli’s storyline in Paris.  We this guy will become her love interest.  The only question now is how will this relationship blow up in her face?

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1304 – My Own Worst Enemy – Airs 7/25, 8pm EST on Much | 9pm EST on TeenNick
Drew helps a scared Clare try to break free from the hospital; Alli starts to find romance in Paris.

TeenNick’s Promo

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MuchMusic’s Promo

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DEGRASSI VINE 102: SAVE JIMMY

Jimmy is special.  All Lyle wants is for Jimmy’s sparkle to shine.  But what happens when Lyle pushes Jimmy over the edge?

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DEGRASSI EXTRA 303 (All I Wanna Do)

Things we learned in this episode…

*The only thing Tristan’s “straight guy” performance got him was a Razzie nomination
*13,470 ovaries exploded during this episode because of Miles being shirtless
*I’m not sure what’s shittier…the poo Alli fell into or her love life

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I know the networks tend to release their sneak peeks early in the week, but I enjoy posting them the day before the ep airs so they remain fresh in our brains.  Below are the preview clips for this week’s episode, My Own Worst Enemy.  MuchMusic’s clip is the episode’s opening scene with Clare, while TeenNick’s is the scene following the opening credits with Alli.  I don’t know if Canadians can watch the TeenNick clip, but it has been posted on youtube. Also, Much’s was posted on Tumblr for all to see.

TeenNick’s sneak peek: http://www.teennick.com/videos/clip/degrassi-my-own-worst-enemy-clip-1.html

TeenNick’s sneak peek on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT9q8sqxQzY

MuchMusic’s sneak peek: http://blog.muchmusic.com/clares-treatment-intensifies-on-thursdays-degrassi/

Much’s sneak peek on tumblr: http://eliandclareforever.tumblr.com/post/56214160736/opening-scene-to-my-own-worst-enemy

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WARNING: THE INFORMATION BELOW POTENTIALLY CONTAINS SPOILERS..READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

The other day Zap2It posted episode descriptions for every episode of this summer block except for 1306 (Cannonball) and the summer finale, Young Forever.  Well the description for the finale has finally been added, so you can make your own judgement as to what you think will happen.  The descriptions and airdates for 1305-1308 are below:

1305 – About A Girl (Airs 8/1)
Adam becomes jealous of Becky spending time with Todd; Alli may be falling too hard and fast for her Parisian waiter.

1306 – Cannonball (Airs 8/8)
NOTE: the title and description for this episode were mysteriously left off of Zap2It’s listings, but I do know for a fact one of the plots in this episode involve Maya/Chewy/Tristan/Miles.

1307 – Honey (Airs 8/15)
Leo and Alli are starting to get really serious; Drew needs to visit camp for comfort; Maya puts an expensive dress on her mother’s credit card to show up Zoe.

1308 – Young Forever (Airs 8/22)
As summer comes to an end and Becky tries to understand the meaning behind an unexpected tragedy, she orchestrates an evening to remember.

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CLICK HERE to watch the sneak peaks for this episode.

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My Own Worst Enemy features an intriguing start to a love square, another strong entry in this season’s strongest storyline by a mile, and a plot that has failed to even get off the ground in two episodes.  As this episode indicates that in the future Clare’s plot may not be as emotionally taxing as it has been so far, it’ll be up to the rest of the show’s current storylines to pull their weight.

CLARE PLOT REVIEW: Clare’s cancer storyline continues to be strong and strike the right chords emotionally. Right out of the gate we’re given a chilling scene as a scared Clare is moments away from undergoing an MRI.  Afterward, she becomes increasingly consumed by the fear that she might die.  Eli and Helen fail to console her, and she decides to go visit her friend Paula from group therapy.  She arrives at Paula’s room and learns that Paula (who has the same type of cancer as her) passed away earlier that morning.

Clare doesn’t want to die stuck in the hospital, so she enlists the help of Drew to sneak her out.  He takes her to Degrassi’s summer camp, where she runs the obstacle course with the kids until she throws up.  One of the kids coughs in her face because he has a cold and Clare freaks out, fearful that any kind of infection will kill her.  Once she returns to the hospital Eli freaks out because she left the hospital without telling anyone.  Helen interrupts their discussion to inform Clare that the MRI came back clear.  Though she’s not out of the woods yet Clare’s hope is restored, and she vows to keep fighting.

What has set this storyline apart from many others is how easy it engages you, and makes you feel whatever emotion Clare is feeling.  When Clare is nervous, I find myself feeling nervous.  When she found out about Paula dying, my heart dropped into my stomach.  When Clare found out the results of her MRI, I felt relieved and hopeful.  Just as enjoyable is the injection of humor and friendship from Drew.  Clare still has a long way to go with her battle with cancer, but so far the journey we’ve witnessed has been fantastic.

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ALLI PLOT REVIEW: I’m not sure if anyone else feels this way, but Alli’s plot remains stagnant in My Own Worst Enemy.  Once again it’s neither good nor bad…it just exists, lulling viewers into a state of uncertainty as to why this romance plot has yet to show any sparks. Alli asks Leo out and they agree to a picnic date, but she must also fit in a trip to the Louvre for a class assignment. She tries to get Leo to go there so she can do her assignment instead of having their picnic, but he’s annoyed by this and walks away from their date. Alli apologizes and the two decide to start over again.

When watching episodes as a viewer we’re looking to feel something. It can be good or bad, but we need to feel something. While the rest of the plots seem to be moving in some direction emotionally, Alli’s continues to sit here, offering nothing more than a mental break from the stress of Clare’s cancer and intrigue of trying to decipher Miles‘ sexuality. On a good note, Alli does openly acknowledge that she consistently lets relationships with boys get in the way of her life.  However, the relationship she’s developing with this Parisian boy has yet to connect, leaving the current feeling that Alli is being wasted on a summer filler fling.

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TRISTAN PLOT REVIEW: Upon Tristan and Miles’ reconciliation in All I Wanna Do, it was pretty apparently from the glimmer in his eye that Tristan had developed some feelings for Miles. He’s in full-blown crush mode here in My Own Worst Enemy, gushing about his feelings to Maya for the umpteenth time.

While Tristan has plans to eventually make Miles his boyfriend, Zoë overhears this and scoffs, because she has her eye on Miles as well. The two both want Miles to be their partner for a class project, but Miles chooses Tristan. The two talk as they venture the streets of Paris and Tristan kisses Miles, who offers a neutral reaction. Later, Tristan is unsure of what it means, and he’s disappointed when he and Maya find Miles on a couch with Zoë, who is flirtatiously sitting on his lap.

It’s safe to say that this is one of the more interesting love triangles to have been established on Degrassi. I thoroughly enjoyed the execution of this plot in this episode because we’re left with a good cliffhanger for once (something that, oddly enough, Degrassi had a difficult time doing with 30-minute Part 1 episodes when all of the episodes were broken up into two parts). For me the focal point is Miles and the fact that we still have no idea where he stands. Is he straight? Is he gay? Is he bisexual? Is he even interested in Tristan or Zoë? These are the questions that will linger as we wait for the next episode, a feeling of eagerness and so refreshing that a “To Be Continued…” frame isn’t necessary.

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1305 – About A Girl (Airs 8/1, 8pm EST on Much | 9pm EST on TeenNick)
Adam becomes jealous of Becky spending time with Todd; Alli may be falling too hard and fast for her Parisian waiter.

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Degrassi Vine 103: Inside The Degrassi Writers Room

What exactly do the Degrassi writers do in that secret room of theirs? This footage (captured with a hidden camera) reveals them enjoying some of Degrassi’s most serious scenes.

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Degrassi Extra 1304: My Own Worst Enemy

What we learned in this episode….

*Jenna bumped her head and forgot she’s seen Alli blushing over a guy a gazillion times before this episode
*Never….ever…EVER search for anything on WebMD…it will convince you that you’re dying
*It’s easy to sneak out of a hospital
*I’m convinced most of the kids in Paris have no idea how to actually speak French
*When you’re sick, it’s okay to cough in someone else’s face
*When traveling on a school trip to a different country, you’ll be free to roam the city and go on a date with a random stranger without adult supervision

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The main plot of this week’s episode involves Adam becoming jealous and insecure when he finds out Becky’s hanging out with a guy named Todd (remember when Nick Goluza said he was going to be on the show in season 13, then the fandom somehow convinced itself that Nick was lying and that Todd was a hoax? It turns out Nick wasn’t lying after all.).

Below are network sneak peeks from the episode.

TeenNick’s sneak peek: http://karydegrassi.tumblr.com/post/56572160526/teennick-aired-a-sneak-peek-of-about-a-girl

MuchMusic’s sneak peek: http://karydegrassi.tumblr.com/post/56916087540/muchmusics-sneak-peek-for-about-a-girl-the

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About A Girl is an episode that leaves me all over the place in terms of quality.  The meat of the episode is pretty good because it’s pretty simple: Adam is paranoid that his girlfriend is cheating on him, and instead of asking her about it (because that would be too obvious) he does something stupid.  From there things get weird, as the Tenners’ plot becomes convoluted and Alli’s plot once again goes nowhere, save some humor from Mr. DeLaurier.

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ADAM PLOT REVIEW: Trouble strikes in paradise as we see a plot unfold with Adam and Becky for the first time since the season 13 premiere.  Adam isn’t happy when he finds pictures of Becky hanging out with a guy named Todd in Florida.  Adam logs into Becky’s Facerange account and finds a chat log between her and Todd.  Though there’s no incriminating messages, Adam’s still suspicious because Becky never mentions to Todd that she has a boyfriend.

Against Imogen’s advice, Adam decides to log into Becky’s Facerange and impersonate her, sending a message to Todd saying she has a boyfriend and that they shouldn’t hang out anymore.  Adam thinks his plan is clever, but Becky finds out and decides the two need a break so she can think things over.

This plot feels strong because of how simple and straightforward it is.  Adam sees the pictures, freaks out, tries to solve things behind Becky’s back and it instantly backfires like everyone watching expected it to.  It’s like the plot takes a page from the Degrassi Junior High days of making it super obvious that the main character is going to do something stupid, and that you (the viewer) shouldn’t follow suit, making the turmoil feel worthwhile.

In reference to whether Adam’s actions seemed out of character, it’s hard to answer that with a yes.  Romantic relationships can make even the most normal, laid-back person behave like a complete idiot, something Degrassi loves to remind us time and time again.  It’s understandable that Adam would be freaked out over his girlfriend posting a bunch of pictures of herself with another guy. It’s even understandable that he’d do some investigating to find out what’s going on (I’m not necessarily condoning snooping in someone’s e-mail, etc, I just understand the emotional frenzy that would drive a normal person to do so).  It wouldn’t be Degrassi if characters took the common sense route and actually communicated with each other, and you can chalk up Adam’s “secret” message to Todd as him being too young and dumb to realize such a plan would never work.

Adam’s paranoia feels genuine and it’s played well throughout the episode.  He’s so consumed with it that he nearly loses his job (on a side note, I‘m loving serious Drew), and Jordy portrays Adam’s increasing anger well.  I’ve never had a strong attachment to Beckdam, but their final scene in this episode has been one of their better ones emotionally.  Becky makes fantastic points about how she’s not “trying to be gotten with” when it comes to Todd, and scolds Adam for not being straightforward with her like she was when it came to Imogen.  Becky’s wording clearly suggests that they’re not officially over.  However, given the state he’s in neither is Adam’s emotional distress, which will certainly lead him into deeper water.

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MAYA/TRISTAN PLOT REVIEW:  It appears that since we last saw the Tenners in My Own Worst Enemy, Zoë and Miles have been attached at the lips, sucking face every chance they can get.  That leaves Tristan sick to his stomach figuratively and literally, and he and Maya finally share a disdain for Ziles.  Maya plots to “cool off” Zoë and Miles’ hot makeout sessions by dumping a bucket of water on them, but she accidentally dumps it on her teacher instead.  Maya and Tristan are given detention where they must scrub floors, and Maya confronts Miles for leaving Tristan heartbroken.  Tristan witnesses the confrontation and no longer wants to be friends with Maya, because he never wanted Miles to know that he was upset over him.

Things made sense when Maya was interested in Miles, even though it imploded before it ever began.  Things continued to make sense when both Tristan and Zoë went after Miles, and Zoë eventually “won.”  Things still continued to make sense when Tristan and Maya both hated Zoë and Miles and their incessant PDA.  But by the end of this episode very little seemed to make sense because of weird character behavior and romantic undertones thrown on top of everything that‘s already happening.

I generally enjoy Tristan and his sassiness, but in About A Girl he’s borderline obnoxious, acting as if the world had come to an end because Miles chose Zoë as his flavor of the week.  Tristan’s Achilles heel is that he becomes far too emotional when it comes to romance.  After kissing Miles in My Own Worst Enemy he was too busy wandering around in lala land to care that his kiss had never actually been reciprocated (Miles didn’t react negatively, but he also didn’t react to it as if he were glad it happened).  In this episode, Tristan’s behavior is on the extreme opposite end of the spectrum, which in turn made him ending his friendship with Maya seem a bit extreme as well.  Maybe it’s because I’m old, but I saw Maya’s actions as her defending her best friend, not carrying out an agenda of her own (remember, Maya was led to believe that Tristan and Miles‘ kiss was mutual).

Miles and Maya give off the vibe that they like each other in some capacity, but that makes things feel crowded in this Miles mix of Zoë playing tonsil hockey and Tristan walking around butthurt. Even if that wasn’t the intention of the writers, on its own a plot where Maya steps in to exact “justice” for herself or for Tristan feels like it was stretched out to fill this episode.  That’s the downside to Degrassi completely reverting back to primarily 30-minute episodes while maintaining storylines that span over many episodes.  There are bound to be episodes where things feel off because very little seems to be getting accomplished.

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ALLI PLOT REVIEW:  I’m running out of words to say how empty and pointless Alli’s plot continues to feel.  This episode‘s plot is basically the same concept from My Own Worst Enemy: there‘s a date, but a kink in plans causes Alli to come up with some scheme that backfires, and ultimately none of it matters because Alli and Leo end the episode on a happy note.  Here in About A Girl, she’s afraid of moving too fast with Leo, who’s invited her for dinner at his place.  She’s worried Leo may want sex, so she brings Jenna and Connor along, telling Leo that Jonnor is “growing apart” and can quote, “benefit from hanging out with a couple as great as us.”  Connor unintentionally blows Alli’s cover, and Alli is forced to actually be honest with Leo and tell him she wants to take things slowly.

Alli’s potential (and Melinda’s talent) continues to be wasted, having Alli “right all of her past relationship wrongs” by taking it slow in a relationship I’m skeptical of to begin with.  Good for her that she’s trying, but the spark that hooks any fan into a ship on this show has been nonexistent with Alli and Leo.  If this were a couple that the show had convinced us to care about in any capacity, Alli‘s cautiousness and Leo‘s compassion would be sweet.  However, when it comes down to it Degrassi is a show that must entertain, and Alli and Leo’s relationship in itself continues to fail at this.  Past experience tells us that something big will probably happen, but the way this plot keeps moving by that point it might be too difficult to care.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the episode (and the only reason to watch Alli’s plot) is clearly Connor’s sex conversation at dinner.  Not only was it hilarious, but it also opened up a level of seriousness when it come’s to Jonnor’s relationship as Jenna responded to Connor’s hatred of even the thought of sex.  We can only hope this the beginning of what would be an interesting topic for Jonnor to explore.

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1306 – Cannonball (Airs Thursday, 8/8 at 8pm EST on Much Music, 9pm EST on TeenNick)
Adam takes Dallas’ advice and tries juggling two girls at once.  But he’s not that kind of guy.  When upset Tristan goes AWOL in Paris, Maya enlists her sworn enemy for help find him and  Alli continues to try and find balance in her relationships.

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TeenNick Promo

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MuchMusic Promo

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