Bell rings at Degrassi

Bell rings at Degrassi: school series back on: Degrassi: The Next Generation airing Sunday on CTV.

Journal: Charlottetown Guardian
October 13, 2001 pg C10
Authors: Jim Slotek
Special Features: Photograph
Document Type: News
Publication Date: 011013
Word Count: 349
Accession Number: CHGN200110130004

Fulltext:

TORONTO — The ghost of TV’s Riverdale haunts a kittycorner of the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. There you’ll find a pleasant cul de sac of solidly built fake houses, a variety store and a Degrassi Street sign.

Fans of the defunct Canadian soap — and they are out there — will be able to recognize the street when Degrassi: The Next Generation hits CTV on Oct. 14.

Recycling being a virtue, Epitome Pictures decided to let the “street” stand, adjacent as it is to the impressive, lifesize Degrassi Community School they built on their own studio lot.

“It cost a lot of money,” says Degrassi and Riverdale creator Linda Schuyler, as we move from the gym to the main hallway and principal’s office. “But it would have cost a lot of money to convert an existing school, and there’d be no guarantee we’d have it next year.”

So it is that one of the best looking, best-equipped schools in the city has no actual students.

Of course, you wouldn’t know it from the teenage traffic in the halls. As director Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo) preps the next scene, Jake Goldsbie, who plays Toby, holds a can of Silly String and his eyes glint.

“Guys . . . guys . . . no!” says a floor director, sensing unprofessional activity in the air.

McDonald leans over and whispers something to Jake, who immediately fires a blast of Silly String into the floor director’s face.

“That was Bruce’s idea!” he immediately says, pointing a finger for emphasis.

It was indeed. The idea of having kids run amok with Silly String was one of those McDonald touches not included in the script.

“It was one of those little touches to, y’know, fill in the space, give the scene some life, give it some jump,” says McDonald, who is directing several episodes of the new series, including the one-hour Reunion Special on Oct. 14 that uses the old cast (Joey, Caitlin, Snake et al) as a springboard to introduce the new.

Copyright Charlottetown Guardian 2001 All Rights Reserved