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Degrassi: The Next Generation season 7

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Degrassi: The Next Generation
(season 7)
Season 7
File:D-TNG season 7 Intertitles.jpg
Degrassi: The Next Generation (season 7) intertitles
No. of episodes24
Release
Original networkCanada CTV
United States The N
Original release5 October 2007 –
23 June 2008
Season chronology
← Previous
6
Next →
Season 8
List of episodes

The seventh season of Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada on 14 January 2008, concluded on 23 June 2008, and consists of twenty-four episodes.[1] Degrassi: The Next Generation (also known as D:TNG, DTNG, Degrassi:TNG, or simply Degrassi) is a Canadian serial teen drama television series. Season seven takes place during the second semester of the 2006–2007 school year,[2] and continues to depict the lives of a group of high school children and college freshmen as they deal with the some of the challenges and issues young adults face, such as relationships, drugs, cancer, rape, and HIV. Production took place between April 2007 and December 2007.[3]

Season seven aired Mondays at 7:30 p.m. (7:00 p.m. in Quebec) on CTV, a Canadian terrestrial television network.[1] In the United States it aired Fridays at 8:00 p.m. on The N, a digital cable network aimed at teenagers and young adults.[4][5] Season seven premiered in the US three months before it began broadcasting in Canada, on 5 October 2007.[4] In total sixteen episodes aired in the US before they did Canada. Further to being broadcast on television, episodes were made available for free streaming on CTV's website,[6] and registered users of the Canadian and U.S. iTunes Stores are also able purchase and download the season for playback on home computers and certain iPods.[7][6]

In addition to the twenty-four regular episodes, two "special episodes" were produced, not part of the Degrassi continuity. The first, "Degrassi in Kenya" depicted the cast members travelling to Africa to assist the building of a school. The second, "Degrassi of the Dead", was a Halloween special, and featured the characters being turned into zombies.

Viewing figures for season seven were not as high as previous seasons; by the twelfth episode, figures were down to 314,000 viewers, a 46% decrease from the season premiere which was watched by 585,000 viewers. Despite the decrease in viewers, however, reviews for the season were of praise, rather than criticism.

Cast

The seventh season had twenty actors receive star billing. Continuing in their roles from the previous season, the students were portrayed by Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt, Lauren Collins as Paige Michalchuk, Stacey Farber as Ellie Nash, Aubrey Graham as Jimmy Brooks, Shenae Grimes as Darcy Edwards, Jamie Johnston as Peter Stone, Shane Kippel as Gavin "Spinner" Mason, Mike Lobel as Jay Hogart, Miriam McDonald as Emma Nelson, Adamo Ruggiero as Marco Del Rossi, and Cassie Steele as Manuela "Manny" Santos.[8] As the adults in the series Stefan Brogren played the part of Archie "Snake Simpson, Melissa DiMarco played Principal Daphne Hatzilakos, and Amanda Stepto played Spike Nelson. Brogren and Stepto had played the same characters in Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, two of the preceding series in the Degrassi franchise.[9] Charlotte Arnold, Mazin Elsadig and Paula Brancati were introduced as Holly J. Sinclair, Jane Valieri and Damien Hayes respectively, who are new students to Degrassi Community School as a result of the recent closure of their former school, Lakehurst. Dalmar Abuzeid, Marc Donato and Nina Dobrev, portraying Danny Van Zandt, Derek Haig and Mia Jones respectively, were promoted from recurring cast members to the main cast list.[10]

Returning in their recurring roles were Jake Goldsbie as Toby Isaacs, Melissa McIntyre as Ashley Kerwin, Steve Belford as Jesse Stefanovic, Linlyn Lue as Ms. Kwan, and Jennifer Podemski as Ms. Sauve.[11][12] Raymond Ablack, Marc Minardi, Samantha Munro and Scott Paterson were introduced in recurring roles as former Lakehurst students Sav Bhandari, Lucas Valieri, Anya MacPherson, and Johnny DiMarco. Nathan Stephenson also joined the roster of recurring cast members as Griffin, the new roommate in Ellie, Marco and Paige's apartment.[12][13] Deanna Casaluce, who had appeared as Alex Nuñez since season three, appeared in the second and third episodes before leaving the series.

Stacie Mistysyn, who portrayed Caitlin Ryan in the earlier incarnations of Degrassi, as well as seasons one to five of D:TNG, guest starred in episode eight, "Jessie's Girl".[14] Jake Epstein, who had appeared in seasons two through five in a starring role as Craig Manning, guest starred in the fourteenth episode "Bust a Move, Part Two", which also featured a guest appearance from Shirley Douglas as Smithdale University's Professor Dunwoody.[15][16] Episode twenty featured a guest appearance from Free the Children founder Craig Kielburger as himself, and Daniel Clark returned to play Sean Cameron. English pop singer Natasha Bedingfield appeared in the season finale performing her songs "Unwritten" and "Pocketful of Sunshine" at the graduation prom.[17]

Crew

The season was produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTV. Funding was provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, the Canadian Television Fund and BCE-CTV Benefits, The Shaw Television Broadcast Fund, the Independent Production Fund, Mountain Cable Program, and RBC Royal Bank.[12]

Linda Schuyler, co-creator of the Degrassi franchise and CEO of Epitome Pictures, is the co-executive producer of season six with Epitome Pictures' president, Stephen Stohn. Brendon Yorke also serves as an executive producer. David Lowe is the producer, Stefan Brogren is the creative producer, and James Hurst the executive creative consultant. Vera Santamaria is the executive story editor, with Duana Taha serving as the junior story editor. The editor is Stephen Withrow, Stephen Stanley is the production designer, and the cinematographers are Gavin Smith and John Berrie.[12]

As of 31 March 2008, the writers for the season include Nicole Demerse, Brian Hartigan, Matt Huether, James Hurst, Aaron Martin, Kate Miles Melville, Vera Santamaria, Duana Taha, and Brendon Yorke. Directors of the episodes include Phil Earnshaw, Eleanore Lindo, Stefan Scaini, and Pat Williams.[12]

Reception

Viewing figures of the seventh season of D:TNG did not fare as well as previous seasons. The first twelve episodes averaged only 455,000 viewers, compared to the same number of episodes in season six, which averaged 500,000 viewers.[18] The season premiere achieved the highest figures with 585,000 viewers.[19] This progressively dropped over the forthcoming weeks from 446,000 viewers on 28 January 2008,[20] to 407,000 viewers on 11 February 2008,[21] and continued to fall to 314,000 viewers over forthcoming weeks.[22]

Despite the poor ratings, the mass media still reacted positively to the season. Joel Rubinoff of the Waterloo Region Record praised the show for "remaining consistent … [in] its ability to shock and surprise in a way that never lets us [the viewers] down … Shenae Grimes, whose complex portrayal of a young woman in mental pain—and the conflicting emotions that entails—makes her depiction not only believable, but to those who have had similar experiences, entirely relatable."[23] Raju Mudhar of the Toronto Star also had praise for the season, commenting that "the way that it has managed to deal with aging—which has been the destruction for many of its peers, and the level of honesty and attempted authenticity has always set Degrassi apart. The fact that show has always cast actors within a year or two of their characters' ages has always helped."[24] AfterElton.com, a website which focuses on the portrayal of homosexual and bisexual men in the media, and owned by MTV Networks' Logo cable television network, named the character Marco del Rossi as one of their "Top 25 Gay TV Characters".[25]

D:TNG also won awards for its gay-oriented storylines; it was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in the "Best Drama Series" category, alongside Dirty Sexy Money, Greek, The L Word and the winner, Brothers & Sisters.[26][27] In the US, The N was presented with The Trevor Commitment Award by The Trevor Project for breaking new ground in the positive representation of gay and questioning youth.[28] The season was also nominated for a Teen Choice Award, in the "Choice TV: Comedy" category. The winners will be announced on 4 August 2008.[29]

Episodes

Season seven premiered on The N two months before its CTV debut;[1][4] Canadian viewers had to wait until the thirteenth episode to watch an episode before American viewers. The N broadcast the season in three separate blocks, airing the first seven episodes from 5 October to 16 November 2007, before putting the show on hiatus. It returned on 8 February 2008, and went off air 9 May, before returning once again on 11 July for the remaining six episodes. In Canada, the season premiere aired 14 January 2008 and aired a new episode each week until the season finale on 23 June.

The N aired episode 718, "Another Brick in the Wall" before 717, "Talking in Your Sleep", and 721, "Everything She Wants" before 720, "Ladies Night". CTV aired held back episode 703, "Love is a Battlefield," and broadcast it after episode 719, "Broken Wings".[5]


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References

General
  • Ellis, Kathryn (2005). Degrassi: Generations - The Official 411. New York, NY: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-1-4165-1680-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
Specific
  1. ^ a b c "Degrassi: The Next Generation Premieres on a New Day, Jan. 14". CTV.ca. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  2. ^ The-Mary and The-Seth (2007-01-26). "Linda Schuyler Created Degrassi For You". The N (Podcast). Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  3. ^ City of Toronto Film and Television Office (2008-01-07). "2007 Production List" (PDF). Toronto, ON. pp. p. 16. Retrieved 2008-03-31. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  4. ^ a b c The-Mary (2007-09-07). "THE DEGRASSI PREMIERE IS MOVED TO OCTOBER 5TH!". The N. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  5. ^ a b "Degrassi: The Next Generation on The N". TV Guide. Time Inc. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  6. ^ a b "Degrassi Season 7 returns with 24 new episodes; eight hot young actors join cast". Channel Canada. 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2008-07-31.
  7. ^ Epitome Pictures. "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (note: Requires iTunes software). The N. iTunes Store. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  8. ^ Ellis, pp. 52–3, 56–57, 64–65, 68–71, 74–75, 78–81, 84–85
  9. ^ Ellis, pp.42–49, 90
  10. ^ Jancelewicz, Chris (2008-01-07). "Q&A: 'Degrassi:TNG's' Nina Dobrev Talks Mia". AOL Canada. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  11. ^ Ellis, pp. 66–67, 76–77, 86–87, 89–90
  12. ^ a b c d e Schuyler, Linda (co-creator, co-executive producer); Moore, Yan (co-creator); Stohn, Stephen (co-executive producer). Degrassi: The Next Generation - Season 7. Epitome Pictures. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |date2= ignored (help)
  13. ^ "Actors". CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  14. ^ Vera Santamaria (story, teleplay); Aaron Martin (story); Phil Earnshaw (director) (2008-02-08). "Jessie's Girl". Degrassi: The Next Generation. Season 7. Episode 8. The N. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Peesker, Saira (2007-12-11). "Epstein set for real-life graduation". CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  16. ^ "Shirley Douglas guest stars on "Degrassi"". CTV.ca. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
  17. ^ Warner, Tyrone (2007-12-05). "Natasha Bedingfield talks 'Degrassi'". CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  18. ^ Bailey, Patricia (2007-03-27). "CTV ups its order for Degrassi". Playback. Toronto, ON: Brunico Communications. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  19. ^ Brioux, Bill (2008-01-23). "The Degrassi Myth". TV Feeds My Family. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  20. ^ Brioux, Bill (2008-01-31). "jPod gets jPasted". TV Feeds My Family. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  21. ^ Brioux, Bill (2008-02-14). "MVP Needs Performance Enhancement". TV Feeds My Family. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  22. ^ Brioux, Bill (2008-03-19). "Mercer Tops CBC Winter Numbers". TV Feeds My Family. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  23. ^ Rubinoff, Joel (2008-02-01). "Keeping it real". Waterloo Region Record. Waterloo Region, Ontario: Metroland Media Group. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  24. ^ Mudhar, Raju (2008-01-03). "Same old Degrassi – but darker". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario: Star Media Group. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
  25. ^ Jensen, Michael (2007-11-29). "Readers' Choice: The Top 25 Gay TV Characters Revealed!". AfterElton.com. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  26. ^ Lam, Eva (2008-04-23). "'Degrassi: TNG' Nominated For GLAAD Award". andPOP. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  27. ^ "The 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards". 2008-06-27. Bravo. {{cite episode}}: External link in |transcripturl= (help); Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |transcripturl= ignored (|transcript-url= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Halterman, Jim (2008-07-03). "Supporters of gay youth honored at the Trevor Project Gala". AfterElton.com. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  29. ^ "Miley Cyrus Hangs Ten as Host of "Teen Choice 2008"" (PDF) (Press release). Teen Choice Awards. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-07-18.

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