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« Degrassi: The Next Generation
Episode Recap: "Degrassi of the Dead"
Before I can get into this week's episode, I have to put it out there that I'm a huge fan of zombie movies. I've seen 'em all! My favorite of them being Shaun of the Dead, which (in case you haven't seen it) takes a more comedic approach to the classic zombie story. When I found out the Halloween episode of Degrassi was going to be about zombies invading the high school, my love for this show was completely renewed. I thought it was ridiculously cool when they got Kevin Smith to do a guest stint, but this week's episode brought it to an even higher level. And just to sweeten the deal, the writers made a great decision not to include any of the new Lakehurst kids in the mix. But now for my recap.
You had to guess something odd was happening when the episode kicked off by going right into the opening theme. What? No setup for this week's dramafest? Instead, they interrupted the credits for an emergency alert. Apparently, genetically modified vegetables have caused a global catastrophe and the undead are roaming the streets. Peter, Manny, Paige, Jay and Ashley (another Breakfast Club-esque grouping) have found shelter inside the high school but the undead bodies of their classmates are all around them. Great day for Paige to decide to visit her alma mater! As the group contemplates their next move, Manny insists that Emma will come to save the day. Perfect timing for a zombified Emma to appear outside the window. With no options left, Jay decides to make a run for a car only to be greeted by the undead principal, who takes a big juicy bite out of his neck. The remaining four make their way to the gymnasium, where zombie Jimmy awaits them. In true Ashley tradition, she uses this completely inopportune time to declare her love for her undead boyfriend. Silly Ashley fell for his "even when I'm dead I still don't have use of my legs" trick and just as soon as she turned her back, poor little Ashley went bye-bye.
With only three people left, Peter switches into hero mode by disappearing into a horde of zombies attempting to distract them from the girls inside the gym. Then with just Manny and Paige left, the two have to set ill feelings aside if they have any hope of getting out alive. The best line of the episode came when Manny asks "Are you hitting on me?" in response to Paige's comment that despite their long-standing rivalry, she's glad they're alive together. As they make their way through the air ducts, they come upon the science lab where mad scientist Derek is performing experiments on a zombie Spinner. Clearly out of his mind, Derek's plan is to blow up the school and repopulate the earth with the school's only surviving females. Just when all hope seems lost, Paige uses her flirtatious ways to lead deranged Derek right into Spinner's biting range and the girls make a run for it as Derek uses his dying breath to push the button to blow up the school. In a selfless act, Paige pushes Manny out of harm's way. As Manny makes her way to the school bus, she finds Peter walking among the zombies. Apparently all they had to do was act like they were one of them to survive. Manny and Peter drive off on the bus on their quest to repopulate the world.
Overall, my real complaint about this week's show was that it was only 15 minutes long. I get the fact that they probably spent their entire budget on the added effects, but come on, what a scam? The episode ended after 15 minutes and the rest was just a making-of. How do you create a making-of segment that's as long as the actual segment? Regardless, I was entertained. It had all the elements of the classic zombie movie. Ashley's "I love you" monologue is a must for any zombie flick and I'm pretty sure Derek's mad scientist bit was a reference to Day of the Dead. And of course, as is the case with most great zombie movies, the end leaves no room for a sequel. Everyone is dead. Good stuff!
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Oct 27, 2007 12:11 AM
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They could have done so much with this. I was disappointed it was so short as well. I thought they would start off with showing them turn into zombies. And exactly how small is their budget. For that little 15 minute mini as they referred to it numerous times during the behind the scenes thing,it doesn't seem like they would have to shell out that much. Come on, all they did was trash the school, and zombify everyone, and there was an explosion add on the other visual & special effects, i still don't think the whole budget was blown. It would have been better if it was an hour episode therefore without the commercials it would have ironed down to about 40 something minutes which would have been justice enough for something I thought would entertain me. Instead, all I got was 15 minutes of what the hell was that.
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Oct 27, 2007 5:02 AM
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It would have been a lot better if they showed the other kids in school getting turned into zombies. I was almost expecting them to show another group's attempt to survive once the Manny story ended. But I loved the random 1-liners like "Yeah, Peter showed me topless on the internet but if we're the only ones left on earth then what does it matter?"
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Oct 27, 2007 11:00 AM
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Adam, it was short because this wasn't an actual episode. You may have noticed Miriam constantly refer to this as a webisode, and that's because "Degrassi of the Dead" was intended for the internet only. It was going to be a Halloween special for CTV.com, something to tide over fans as the season hasn't even started in Canada yet. The "making of" scenes were online webisode extras. The N, wanting to shorten the upcoming hiatus as they split the season in half (when the CTV starts broadcasting the season) aired the webisode and the "making of" web-clips together as episode five of the season. However, the real episode five, combined with episode six as a "two-parter" is entitled "Death or Glory" and will air next week. In Canada, "Death or Glory" will air the week after episode four ("It's Tricky"). In other words, this was not an actual episode, and the fact that it was a webisode explains the shortness. It was also up on CTV.com for a week before it aired on The N, so most Degrassi fans had already seen it. Stupid move by The N.
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Oct 27, 2007 4:59 PM
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I was disappointed! I am a HUGE fan of zombie movies and have even seen the gorey Italian ones. lol
I was disappointed by the length and the small cast. I wanted to see the whole school in meltdown mode.
Oh well.
And the "making of" wasn't really a making of... it was more of a "Let's see us act goofy together!"
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Oct 31, 2007 8:08 PM
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