The Gazette from Montreal, Quebec, Canada • 118

CHILDREN'S TELEVISION JANICE KENNEDY Final season is winding down for the kids of Degrassi High onsider the life of a teenager. If you had to restrict your scription to a single word, you might call it, simply, full. Crammed daily with more ups and downs than most adults see in a month, teen life is at once a challenge, a series of disappointments and frustrations and a wild I joy ride. Something like Degrassi High. Television's best show for preteens and young teens, Degrassi consistently gives audiences a believable, full-color portrait of life in the teen lane, circa 1991.

Week in and week out, kids get to relate to a whole spectrum of familiar feelings and incidents. Week in and week out, parents are offered a rare glimpse into a world that is often strange and mysterious and occasionally a little scary to them. It bears repeating that Degrassi's race is almost run that the popular, award-winning series is nearing its last airing. As of Monday's episode (8:30 p.m. on CBC), the final season of the series will be more than two-thirds over.

There will be no new Degrassi shows after the end of February, scheduled air date for One Last Dance, the show that signals the closing of Degrassi High. If you're a viewer who favors original, quality television or if you're a young person who likes the idea of programming tailor-made you tune in while there's still time. To date, the final Degrassi season about to make a rock video at their has featured shows dealing with sex- school and, since The Savages are ual abuse, with feminist issues, with their music idols, there are no kids caught in their parents' marital mountains high enough to stop the crossfire. It has personalized AIDS, trio from sneaking in to see them. giving the disease a human face and driving its tragic impact home with On the more serious note that the force.

It has looked show regularly addresses, Caitlin compelling at drug use, at peer pressure, at the (Stacie Mistysyn) of lying and stealing. must deal once consequences Starting next week, in a powerful again with her two-part treatment of the topic, it problematic parwill take a look at teen suicide. Fo- ents. those left be- It's all part of cusing particularly on hind and on their anger, these epi- that colorful, visodes make use of the input provid- brant, thorny exed by several professionals, as well istence that conthe show's resident experts, the stitutes the teen as by kids themselves. years.

It's part of But as in real life the measure Degrassi High, the which Degrassi has always program that best against judged its plot credibility there is reflects that boismuch of the lighter side as well. Mistysyn terous period. There are the locker-area jokes and the dynamics of high-school politics. There are the ongoing soap operas of you're looking for a teenage exever-changing romances. And in the in season's premiere episode in No- perience an entirely different vember, the series broke ground context, Sunday's Magical World with a first-ever nude scene that was of Disney (CBC at 6 p.m.) is feature a wonder of skilful scriptwriting and worth checking out.

Farewell Miss filming and a funny, moving, Freedom is based on the true story piece of of a Greek immigrant family in the unique television. Southern U.S. in This week, the subject (or part of 1917. Roxana Zal it) is music. In an episode titled Ex- is featured as the teenaged daughter tracurricular Activities, in a family that finds itself in a the twins Heather and Erica (Maureen and frightening new world dominated by for Angela Deiseach) and Lucy (Anais the Ku Klux Klan.

Granofsky) get set for a dream come Part 1 airs tomorrow; the conclutrue. The Savages, they hear, are sion, next week. HM WE DISCOUNTS GIVE 3 WINDOWS. SIDING, ROOFING Mfg. top quality aluminum vinyl WINDOWS, Super All types of roofing build SLIDERS, CASEMENTS, BOW, BAY, BAY UP DOWN FALL additions, solariums and finished DOORS: STEEL GARAGE basements bathrooms.

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