The Kids of Degrassi Street

The Kids of Degrassi Street

1979
The Kids of Degrassi Street
The Kids of Degrassi Street

The Kids of Degrassi Street

7.8 | en | Drama

The Kids of Degrassi Street is a Canadian children's TV show that aired from 1979 to 1986, and is the first in the Degrassi series, about the lives of a group of children living on Degrassi Street in Toronto, Canada. It grew out of four short films: Ida Makes a Movie, Cookie Goes to the Hospital, Irene Moves In and Noel Buys a Suit, which originally aired as after-school specials on CBC Television in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982, respectively. The show was acclaimed for its realistic depiction of every day children's lives and tribulations, and remains memorable to many Canadians because of this. Kids of Degrassi Street featured many of the same actors who would later appear on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, including Stacie Mistysyn, Neil Hope, Anais Granofsky, Sarah Charlesworth and others. However, their character names and families were different, so this series cannot technically be seen as an immediate precursor to the later shows.

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Seasons & Episodes

1
EP26  Griff Gets a Hand
Jan. 01,0001
Griff Gets a Hand

Robin ""Griff"" Griffith is having trouble with schoolwork. He'd rather be drawing pictures than studying, and when his friend Danny, the crossing guard, asks for a caricature of himself, Griff is determined to make it his best ever. But Danny suddenly dies of a stroke, and Griff just can't stand that he didn't finish the caricature in time.

EP25  Ryan Runs For Help
Nov. 01,1984
Ryan Runs For Help

The Yearbook needs pictures. Lisa sees her chance to spend some time with Griff when Casey comes up with a brilliant plan - Griff can draw caricatures of everyone!

EP24  Martin Hears the Music
Oct. 01,1984
Martin Hears the Music

Nobody wants to be different from everyone else, and Martin is horrified to discover that he's going to have to wear a hearing aid. And it certainly doesn't help that everybody starts acting so weird around him.

EP23  Karen Keeps Her Word
Sep. 01,1984
Karen Keeps Her Word

Ryan is always making up stories, and it's hard to know when he's telling the truth. But his best friend Benjamin is convinced of Ryan's tales of treasure when Ryan produces evidence - he actually has a gold coin he found! Even though he's grounded, Benjamin sneaks out to a construction site to investigate with Ryan, and ends up falling down a hole and can't get out.

EP22  Lisa Gets the Picture
Dec. 01,1983
Lisa Gets the Picture

Money is on everyone's mind as the yearbook is in desperate financial straits. But Karen's not remotely interested in the yearbook's problems, or in the class voting itself a nuclear- free zone. She's found a pair of roller skates that are destined for her feet - all she needs now is the money to buy them.

EP21  Jeffrey Finds a Friend
Nov. 01,1983
Jeffrey Finds a Friend

Connie has her eye on Candy, the popular captain of the baseball team, but he doesn't even know she exists. She'd do anything to catch his eye, and everyone has advice to offer, but being a ""lady"" is tough for a tomboy like Connie who'd rather be playing baseball.

EP20  Connie Makes a Catch
Oct. 01,1983
Connie Makes a Catch

Rachel is very keen to be her school's representative to the new City Hall Youth Council. She's interested in the issues and is ready to work hard. But Billy's break dancing and Pete's campaign management have put Billy well in the lead.

EP19  Griff Makes a Date
Sep. 01,1983
Griff Makes a Date

Martin can't believe the Pirates from Boulton Ave. want him as area lieutenant for their expansion to Degrassi Street - they're the toughest gang around! But he's not sure that he's that tough.

EP18  Martin Meets the Pirates
Dec. 01,1982
Martin Meets the Pirates

When Connie returns five dollars Casey has dropped on the floor, Casey thinks Connie is contributing her share for the present for their teacher, and doesn't pay attention to Connie's explanations. Connie's not worried - she'll be collecting for her paper route on Wednesday, anyway, and she can pay up then. But the paper goes on strike, and Connie finds herself in more trouble than she thought.

EP17  Rachel Runs For Office
Nov. 01,1982
Rachel Runs For Office

Liz finds she has her hands full when she takes on a babysitting job with two lively kids, and one who refuses to have anything to do with her. How will she ever get Martin on her side?

EP16  Connie Goest to Court
Oct. 01,1982
Connie Goest to Court

Samantha can't wait for her city slicker cousin, Lisa, to arrive for the weekend. She's so sophisticated now she just knows that Lisa will be impressed.

EP15  Liz Sits the Schlegels
Sep. 01,1982
Liz Sits the Schlegels

No one really like Griff - after all, he used to be a Pirate - but it doesn't matter much to him, until he meets Lisa, just back from Vancouver.

EP14  The Canards Move Out
Dec. 01,1981
The Canards Move Out

Jeffrey is supposed to be the smartest kid in the class, and he's mortified when Connie, who claims she never studies, beats him on a math test - in fact, she bets that she can beat him on the next one, too.

EP13  Samantha Gets a Visitor
Nov. 01,1981
Samantha Gets a Visitor

When a new survey line goes through the pen of the rabbit Casey and Lisa share, too much arguing over rights makes them lose sight of their responsibilities - to look after Rabbit.

EP12  Benjamin Walks the Dog
Oct. 01,1981
Benjamin Walks the Dog

When both divorced parents want to come and watch her at the gymnastics meet, Catherine gets involved in some fancy footwork to prevent them from making a scene in front of the whole school.

EP11  Cookie Finds her Balance
Sep. 01,1981
Cookie Finds her Balance

Chuck has told Tina his dad's a pilot, but Pete insists on inviting their father to the school play. How can he hide the fact that his father's actually finishing up his time behind bars, except by un-inviting him?

EP10  Chuck Makes a Choice
Nov. 01,1980
Chuck Makes a Choice

Billy and Pete want to to grown up things, without Billy's pesky little brother, Benjamin. They finally get rid of him, but Billy has second thoughts when it looks like they might have gotten rid of him forever.

EP9  Pete Takes a Chance
Oct. 01,1980
Pete Takes a Chance

Lisa simply doesn't want to leave Degrassi Street and move to Vancouver, but it seems no one will listen to her feelings on the subject. In fact, her feelings are so strong she's having trouble listening to anyone else's.

EP8  Casey Draws the Line
Sep. 01,1980
Casey Draws the Line

Pete always has his eye out for a money-making proposition, and he knows he's found a winner, but he just needs a little capital. However, his ""investment"" costs him more than he expected, when he puts his friendships on the line.

EP7  Billy Breaks the Chain
Dec. 01,1980
Billy Breaks the Chain

Billy knows it won't be luck that sends him to hockey camp, it will be his own hard work. Then a bad-luck chain letter comes to him, and while he hesitates about passing on the bad luck, disasters begin to occur.

EP6  Sophie Minds the Store
Oct. 17,1979
Sophie Minds the Store

Sophie gets Chuck to help her out at her parent's store, but the cash is out by $20 at the end of the day. Chuck's father is in jail, so it must be like father, like son, right?

EP5  Noel Buys a Suit
Oct. 10,1979
Noel Buys a Suit

When Irene comes to live on Degrassi Street, Ida thinks she's just a little too friendly with Cookie. But Irene's not the only newcomer to Degrassi Street. Reports are circulating that Bigfoot has been seen in the neighbourhood.

EP4  Lisa Makes the Headlines
Oct. 03,1979
Lisa Makes the Headlines

What Lisa needs to make her newspaper is a real scoop. But when she does find some real news, she has to decide which is more important - the truth or family loyalty?

EP3  Irene Moves In
Sep. 26,1979
Irene Moves In

When Noel's dad decides to get married again, Noel isn't so sure he likes the idea. Gayle is running everything, changing the house around, and she doesn't like the terrific checked suit Noel has bought for the wedding.

EP2  Cookie Goes to the Hospital
Sep. 19,1979
Cookie Goes to the Hospital

When Ida's movie on garbage wins first prize in a competition, but the judges commend her film on war, she has to decide between accepting the prize, and owning up to the truth.

EP1  Ida Makes a Movie
Sep. 12,1979
Ida Makes a Movie

When Ida's movie on garbage wins first prize in a competition, but the judges commend her film on war, she has to decide between accepting the prize, and owning up to the truth.

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7.8 | en | Drama , Family | More Info
Released: 1979-09-12 | Released Producted By: , Country: Canada Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

The Kids of Degrassi Street is a Canadian children's TV show that aired from 1979 to 1986, and is the first in the Degrassi series, about the lives of a group of children living on Degrassi Street in Toronto, Canada. It grew out of four short films: Ida Makes a Movie, Cookie Goes to the Hospital, Irene Moves In and Noel Buys a Suit, which originally aired as after-school specials on CBC Television in 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982, respectively. The show was acclaimed for its realistic depiction of every day children's lives and tribulations, and remains memorable to many Canadians because of this. Kids of Degrassi Street featured many of the same actors who would later appear on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, including Stacie Mistysyn, Neil Hope, Anais Granofsky, Sarah Charlesworth and others. However, their character names and families were different, so this series cannot technically be seen as an immediate precursor to the later shows.

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Reviews

Realrockerhalloween The kids of degrassi street was an innocent, low budget program that set out to show kids in their natural habitat from home life to the playground.Actors consisting of regular kids dealing with staying at the hospital over night by themselves, a new marriage, losing a young sibling And trying to impress the opposite sex.Showing many regulars like Neil Hope who would become a fan favorite and perfect their trade before junior high began.Different from other installments in the series, the kids version was more realistic, touchy feely and at times slow in pacing. I appreciate those qualities myself since most programming today flies by so quickly you never get to know the characters or care about the problem at hand.In a way I found the latter eps drawing me in wishing that it could last for a few more seasons or at least keep the characters the same instead of changing who they are and their backgrounds for the new series on the horizon.For degrassi fans its a must to own as this is where it all started and without the humble beginnings their would be no current show.While the other is more well known in terms of popularity I find this simple series to be a relaxing slice of life that helps recapture your youth and won an award for children's programming.Anyone who buys a copy even helps donate cash to PBS or so it claims on the box and helps the likes of Arthur, sesame street and Mr. Rogers live on forever.So head out to the street and remember what being a kid is all about.
apfmh_LP This was the last series of the Degrassi franchise that I watched (including up to season 11.5 of Next Generation) and I just finished the last episode today.Off to a slow start with pilot "Ida makes a movie". Whilst it contain a lesson about white lies, it was a bit hard to watch as it was aimed at such a young audience. The episode after this "Cookie goes to hospital" was a bit easier to watch, and with each new episode it got easier to watch. By about episode 4 or 5, I was thoroughly enjoying the show!As a long time Degrassi fan (been watching for 12 years, since I was about 10 when my mum showed me it!), it was also really entertaining to see a lot of Degrassi Junior High actors as youngsters! They play completely different characters, but it was interesting to see anyway! Some of the cast are Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin Ryan), Neil Hope (Wheels) are the main two that we see, but some of the less main characters actually played a pretty big part in Kids Of such as Sarah Charlesworth (Suzy, Caitlin's friend), Danah-Jean Brown (Trish, on newspaper staff), John Ioannou (Alex, who goes out with Tessa), Christopher Charlesworth (Scooter), Tyson Talbot (Jason, his main appearance is in The Great Race as captain of the swimming team), Arelene Lott (Nancy, editor of newspaper) and Anais Granofsky (Lucy) also makes an appearance towards the end of the show! Funnily enough, Dave James plays Neil Hope (Wheels)'s brother, and then in junior high plays Mike, Wheel's biological father.Though aimed at younger audiences, the show still held true to the rest of the series. Each episode dealt with an issue, often friendship- related, and had a realistic take on it. It usually did end with a happy ending, unlike Junior High and High; I guess this is because it was aimed at a younger audience. The issues go from little quarrels in friendships, to bigger things like being the only girl in sixth grade with a boyfriend and not letting that get in the way of your friendship, to raising money for school activities and making the right friends. Always a lesson, always entertaining!Give it a go, just make sure you watch more than the first episode please, because it does get better, I promise!!!
galensaysyes In this series one sees Degrassi in its original form: classroom videos for little kids; and this was the form and the audience it should have stuck to. The more popular follow-up show remained the same, except for ever-growing pretensions to a significance in excess of its powers, and an ever-growing tendency toward salaciousness, which culminated at last--in the one chance the show received to sit up late amongst the grown-ups--in the series' house princess (along with her opposite number, a butter-wouldn't-melt little minx) losing her cherry. And who knows but what that had been the writers' covert object all along, even as far back as Degrassi Street? I'm reminded of a comment by one of the women in John Huston's life about another, whom he had raised from a child: something about the appeal to a man of seeing a girl grow to ****able age before his eyes. Such matters aside, the Junior High/High/School's Out episodes never graduated from the Degrassi Street level: they featured the same diagrammatic plots, the same tendentious conversations, the same cardboard performances (and the same cheap-looking production). In this initial series those things were only to be expected, since after all, that's what educational TV is like. But at 18 the cast remained as blank and flat as at 8, and still inhabited the same classroom toy-town universe; as if someone had carried on the Dick and Jane readers and pinned a Big Issue to each character: Dick gets AIDS, Jane gets anorexia, Baby Sally gets pregnant--but they're no more real for it. Degrassi Street was the first expression of what Degrassi had to say, and the last honest one; in those days the enterprise still had its head about it and knew its limits. Afterwards, all was overreach.
zootipantz And a humble beginning, for sure. Very low budget, very low key, and very Canadian are three ways to describe this show, the first of the 'Degrassi' ventures. The cast is made up of regular kids, not professional actors (though they did of course get paid for their work here). The slickness and professionalism of the current 'Degrassi' series (see 'Degrassi: The Next Generation') is non-existent here, instead replaced with an earnestness and realism missing from most TV shows, past and present. So realistic at times that it gets a bit boring, but overall the show is fun, mainly because of the appealing cast. The actors/actresses have always been the heart and soul of the 'Degrassi' shows, and this is no exception.Zoe Newman, Dawn Harrison and Allan Melusi starred in the pilot, a short film from 1979 called 'Ida Makes a Movie,' and all three returned two years later when that short was turned into 'The Kids of Degrassi Street.' Some later regulars include Neil Hope, Staci Mistysyn, John Ioannou, Christopher Charlesworth and Anais Granofsky went on to star in the second 'Degrassi' series, 'Degrassi (Junior) High.' Another latter day regular, Rachel Blanchard, is now a budding film actress. The rest of the kids have been relegated to "Where are they Now?" status, but live on in immortality in TKODS, which is available for purchase on video (two to three shows per video). If you're a fan of the current series, or were a fan of the show from the late 80's/early 90's, then this show is a must for your 'Degrassi' collection. It all stated here, folks.