Show Info --> Episode 3 News
Note: All information comes from Degrassi.tv. Any typos, spelling mistakes, etc. have not been fixed.
July 8, 2003
I was just speaking to our distributor, who in turn has been negotiating with two separate companies for Degrassi DVD rights. They are going to wrap up the negotiations as soon as possible, which will mean that in a few months time DVDs would be available in both the U.S. and Canada.
To be clear on the difference between U.S. and Canada air dates--they both start out almost the same--CTV will start Season 3 in mid to late September, and The-N will start Season 3 probably the first week of October. It's just that The-N then spreads the episodes out over the full year, whereas CTV in the past has run them quicker--but this year with our new CTV Wednesday at 8:30pm timeslot we may find there are more pre-emptions and Canada may not be as far ahead of the U.S. by the time the season ends in Canada.
Re the possibility of a show dealing with suicide, this is not a crazy idea it just needs to be handled extraordinarily sensitively, and the timing and story have to be just right. Not all shows can be as funny as you will find Episode 303 is. The issue of suicide is real and it is something we do talk about, and if we think we have the right spot for it we may well do an episode with such a storyline.
July 7, 2003
We're shooting 306 (Gangsta Gangsta) today. Over the weekend I saw the rough cut for 303 (U Got the Look)(there are some very FUNNY moments in it!) and the fine cut for 304 (Pride) which is very powerful... (Remember we shot 303 after 304 and 305).
We've had some name changes--308 which had been "Control" is now called "Whisper to a Scream" and 310 which had been called "Wild Boys" is now called "Never Gonna Give You Up". 311/312 is now called "Holiday", although someone suggested "Do They Know It's Christmas" which I kinda like. 313 is "Don't Dream It's Over", 314 is "Accidents Will Happen", and 315 is "Pappa Don't Preach". As always, nothing is final until we go to air!
July 5, 2003
I would say that the most difficult episode to produce was Shout. The American viewers have not seen it yet, so I don't want to spoil it for those viewers--it's coming up in less than a week on The-N. Also, I'll be quite interested in whether The-N edits the show or not. There is one scene in particular which may or may not be different from the Canadian version. The difficulty was not in the content itself, but rather in how to tell the story so that the issue is presented in a believable and realistic way, trying not to be obvious or stereotypical, and not preachy, but at the same time there are enough elements so that viewers can properly decide what they would or wouldn't do in a similar situation; i.e. that there is a simple moral sense, but leaving it to the individual viewer to decide what that sense is. That is of course what we try so hard to do on all the episodes, and sometimes we succeed better than other times! After the American viewers have seen the episode I can say a bit more about it. One of the difficulties was whether it actually could be shown at all in the U.S. In the end, The-N has been very creative and has solved the dilemma by showing Shout 1 and Shout 2 (which are episodes 207 and 208) together with How Soon Is Now (which actually is episode 220 and is meant to occur much later in the season) all as one 90-minute trilogy--in doing this they have been able to present the story with the necessary degree of resolution to make it possible to show within the limits of U.S. television standards. I know a lot of you have expressed problems with The-N, but actually they have worked very hard to make it possible, and the individuals there have been terrific to work with! Also later in Season 3 we're intending to have a follow-up story related to Shout.
p.s. thanks for the rave music suggestions, Jody and I appreciate them; and a storyline/arc related to Marco will be quite prominent this season!
July 2, 2003
For those of you in the U.S., there has been some press interest in the trilogy of programs (Shout 1, Shout 2 and How Soon Is Now) that will be broadcast July 11 on The-N, so we should keep our eyes peeled, over the next week or so. Just came back from a read-through of 309 (Against All Odds). The main plot involves Emma, Manny, Craig and Chris (the new character) and the other plot involves mainly Spinner, Jimmy and Marco. It was a good read-through; we'll need to come up with some good music for the rave they attend! And earlier in the day Miriam (Emma) was rehearsing with Jonathan Torrens for a reshoot of a couple of scenes in 301/302 which we'll do tomorrow (although I'll be in the recording studio working on the new vocal arrangements in the theme song)...
July 1, 2003
Someone asked how much the actors know about what is happening in the upcoming season. We have general discussions with them in April, but the reality is that even we don't know exactly what is going to be happening. The scripts are started about three months before we shoot them; we shoot the last episode in the first week of November, which means that the script for that won't even be started for a few weeks. Even when the scripts aer started, quite often they shift around completely. About a month before filming an episode we have a read-through with all the actors for that episode (they don't act, they just read their lines--and there's no rehearsal, this is the first time they've ever seen the lines)--that is the first time the actors really know what the episode will be about--I love that process, because after the read-through we get some very genuine and very useful comments from all of the cast, and quite often some major changes are made as a result.
June 30, 2003
Here are the tentative titles for the first half of the third season (but these often will change and aren't final until we actually go to air!)
301/302 "Father Figure"
303 "U Got The Look"
304 "Pride"
305 "Why?"
306 "Gangsta Gangsta"
307 "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?"
308 "Control"
309 "Against All Odds"
310 "Wild Boys"
311/312 "Holiday" Note--this is a Christmas Special. It was during a conversation with CTV in March that we suddenly thought it would be a great idea to do a Christmas special episode--the challenge being that we would be shooting the episode in August when there wouldn't be any snow! So... since the forecast called for the final snowstorm of the season a day or so later, we quickly got a crew together, called up all the actors we could find on short notice, and shot a bunch of exterior scenes in the snow--of course, we only had a very rough idea of what the script would be, so we gambled that the scenes would actually fit into the final script--which we are still in the process of writing--you will all be the judge whether the gamble pays off!!
June 25, 2003
We're doing some outside shooting today, and it is REALLY hot and humid! We've also done some rehearsing of a "garage band" which will be appearing in one of the upcoming episodes (I'm going blank for the moment, but I think it's 307.)
June 24, 2003
We are just finished shooting a scene in the school foyer (Manny catches Craig’s eye, but Ashley has his heart!) and are about to shoot the final six seconds of the opening sequence. I chatted with Shane Kippel (Spinner) because there are posts on the TV Tome site from someone claiming to be Shane. He confirmed that it is not him (must say it was pretty clear it wasn't, particularly when the person didn't even know how old Shane was!). In answer to a question, we do what is called "unit publicity" photo shoots on set for one day every episode (featuring a scene or scenes from that episode), and then once a year we do "gallery" photos which are the ones that have the actors generally against a plain background, in different groupings and sometimes solo. We're doing this year's gallery shoot next week. And in answer to another question, yes Terri, Nadia and Kendra are all coming back...
June 23, 2003
The other good news is that I believe the first new episode that will be shown starting July 11 is actually three new episodes, all packaged together--Shout 1, Shout 2, and How Soon Is Now. (That means there will be some small elements of How Soon Is Now that won't make quite the sense that they would if it were shown in its regular order, later in the season, but still it's great that the U.S. viewers will see all these episodes.) I'm hoping that any editing will be minor!
p.s. we're still on hiatus, but start shooting again tomorrow
June 21, 2003
That was quoted on the TV Tome site, and it is completely untrue. The-N will be airing Season 3 and any and all further seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation. They are extremely supportive of us, we have been discussing all of our storylines with them, and we are hopeful that this season there will not be much editing of the shows in the U.S. The-N is hoping to start airing Season 3 in the first week of October.
June 20, 2003
We are still on hiatus; Monday will be a rehearsal day for 303, then we start shooting 303 on Tuesday. First up on Tuesday though we are going to reshoot the final segment of the opening sequence because of something technical that didn't work out the first time (the final segment features Marco). That will mean that we can do a final edit on the opening sequence on Wednesday (we have to make sure it is exactly 44 seconds long in total), and transfer and colour correct the locked sequence by the end of the week, and then add the credits (we proobably going to use a quite new style for the lettering), in time for a music session Monday when we will record some new voices for the chorus and then do a final mix of the full opening music...
June 18, 2003
Just got back from the recording studio where we were adding guitars to the new remix of the theme song. In Canada we never saw the New Year's Eve lock-up. I saw it for the first time when Noggin brought us a tape a few weeks ago when they were up here (we were talking about developing a potential new series). And someone asked about Daniel Clark's hair. Well, in the new opening sequence he wears a hat like Eminem!
June 17, 2003
We're on hiatus today, no shooting, it's very quiet at the studio! So maybe I can answer a couple of questions that have been posted:
Someone asked whether any cast will NOT be returning this year--in fact everyone will be back!
Another question was when Season 3 would be on The-N. OK I know (and when I speak to the people at The-N THEY know) the frustration that all the American viewers feel. Here is what I understand, although things have changed from what I've understood before:
Starting July 11th The-N will run every episode in Season 2 that has not been seen--starting as most of you know with the three episodes that deal with Paige's rape (Shout Part 1, Shout Part 2 and How Soon Is Now, which is actually from much later in the season), and then new episodes every week after that. So that gets Season 2 complete.
Then in September they are talking about doing something that would not be available to Canadian viewers. I can't talk about what it is, but it sounds quite cool.
Then probably starting the first week of October they would start running Season 3--however after maybe five episodes they would probably take a break as they did last year, then run some more, then take another break. That is just the way that they program their channel and there's not too much we can do about it! (Except for one thing--we are talking to a U.S. distributor who could potentially release Degrassi: The Next Generation DVD's, which would include the uncut versions of the shows.)
June 16, 2003
Here are some excerpts from today's release: Season 3 begins with the pending arrival of a new baby for Spike and Snake, inspiring Emma to start a search for her birth father just as she starts high school… Degrassi kids will continue to deal with tough issues this year, including homosexuality, abortion, cutting, racism, teen pregnancy and cancer… These storylines will be blended with dating woes, friendship challenges, peer pressure and a healthy dose of fun and laughter… Acclaimed director Bruce McDonald, winner of the 2002 Directors Guild of Canada Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series for his stellar directorial work on Degrassi, will once again kick-off the school year by directing the season premiere episode...
June 15, 2003
Tomorrow I will be able to fill you in a little bit on the storyline for the opening special... CTV is issuing a press release which announces the start of production (of course you already know that we actually started production a few weeks back) and as soon as they issue that release I can fill you in a bit... Also tomorrow, we are shooting a scene for Episode 305 ("Why") that I can NOT tell you about but it will be a very moving scene and very difficult to shoot (for reasons that will become apparent when you see it!!). Then Tuesday and the rest of the week we take a break from shooting so that the cast members can focus on exams this week at their normal schools before we start shooting 303 which is tentatively called "U Got The Look"--as I mentioned before we are shooting out of order which is why we will have already shot 301/302, 304 and 305 before shooting 303.
June 13, 2003
in reply to a question ...newcomer Daniel Morrison joins the cast as Chris Sharpe, a new Grade 9 student and budding hiphop DJ... and Stacie Mistysyn joins the cast as a regular this season playing Joey’s high-school flame Caitlin Ryan...
June 12, 2003
Was just in Editing trying to pick music for the scene in 301/302 when Emma and Craig are on the train, and also for a scene near the end of the show that I can't talk about. And watched a partial assembly of 304 (we're still shooting the remainder of the episode). Neat scene with Marco and Spinner having a serious conversation in the washroom! Also, Ashley looks fabulous this year--her hair is longer and more dark-reddish. Someone asked if all the cast are here every day--no, we are very specific about what scenes will be shot, so only the cast necessary for those scenes are here, and if they are only needed for part of the day they are only here for that part, so they can spend the rest of the day back at their own school...
June 11, 2003
We're flying back today, and it will be great to get back to set. Someone asked what a typical day is like on set for the cast, and to use today as an example it is a 7:30am start, and the first actor required (today its Emma) has to be on set after clearing Hair, Makeup and Wardrobe at 8:15 (meanwhile they've been setting up the lighting and blocking the camera positions with a stand-in). We'll shoot about 6 scenes today, all of them interior (including a "swing" set which has been refitted to be a doctor's office). Since we shoot a half hour episode in 4 days, and since the episodes actually last just over 22 minutes without commercials, we'll be shooting between 5 and 6 minutes of the final episode today, but of course we'll do multiple takes and angles on each scene. Lunch will be at 1:30pm, but there is tons of food available all day. We should complete today at about 7:30pm.
June 7, 2003
We're using the same theme song this year, but with a slightly tougher arrangement. If you remember in "Drive" there was a rock guitar echo of the theme a few places in the episode. Amongst other thing, we're thinking of using the same rock guitar to replace or add on top of what we call the "dugga duggas" (the electronic blips that start at the very beginning of the theme before the voices come in). I'm heading off to Banff for a few days to attend the Banff Television Festival, where pretty much everyone on the Canadian tv industry will be. On Thursday or Friday, after I get back, we'll go into the studio do the recording and mixing of the new version of the theme... it's always fun being in the recording studio--it's like you're in a different almost spaceship-like world for the ten or so hours that we'll be in there...
June 6, 2003
Today is a beautiful day in Toronto, we're shooting on location in a park and in an arena with Jimmy, Spinner, Craig, Paige and Marco. Yesterday was spitting rain, but we were very lucky. We got all the scenes we needed to, with the rain holding off. Then there was one where Joey is angry with Emma and Craig for something they have done (can't say why!), and he has had to drive out to pick them up. The way the scene was originally written, Joey was in his open convertible and it was sunny. But it actually works much better to have them all miserable and pissed off in the rain!!
June 4, 2003
A rare occurrence--today, tomorrow and Friday we are shooting on location. Usually we shoot everything in the studio, but for reasons wou will see when you see the shows, we need to be on location for these days. It's a lot more expensive for us to be on location, so we like to bunch the days up when we do it. So today is the final day of shooting on 301/302 ("Father Figure"), and tomorrow and Friday instead of shooting 303, we are going to be block shooting 304 ("Pride") and 305 ("Why"), on location. Block shooting means we shoot 304 and 305 together as though they were the same show, but then they get separated into two shows in the editing. This way we maximize our location days. But it also means I can't just sit in my office and know whats going on on set by watching my video monitor, the way I can when we're at the studio!
June 2, 2003
Just got back from the offical CTV annuoncement of their fall season. It was an amazing party. A lot of our Degrassi gang were there, and a number of American stars, including Ruben and Clay from American Idol (each sang a song) and all the 100 finalists for Canadian Idol who got on stage and sang along with Clay and Ruben. CTV officially announced that this fall Degrassi will always be on Wednesday evenings at 8:30pm. We consider that wonderful news--I know there will be some of our viewers who prefer the Sunday evening time slot, but we have a shot at much bigger audiences on Wednesday in full weekday prime time--and there should be fewer pre-emptions. We will follow My Wife and Kids, and lead into West Wing.
June 1, 2003
It's a 7:30am call tomorrow. The entire day we are shooting in one set: a living room.
May 30, 2003
Just had nice catch-up chat with Stacie Mistysyn (Caitlin)--she and Pat Mastroianni (Joey) are in a scene which is shooting right outside my office--it's being dressed to look like a production office, which of course it really is anyway! (I hope my fish make it into the episode!) Normally we shoot everything in one of the three studios (A, B amd C) or on the Backlot, but occasionally (like now) we shoot in the office space itself. Last year the corridor at right angles from my office became the hospital corridor where Craig's father used to work as a doctor in Tears Are Not Enough. And we quite often shoot in the production washroom--when it is supposed to be the Girl's washroom we put up a Tampax dispenser, and when it's supposed to be the Boys Washroom, we take down the Tampax dispenser and put up a wall of fake urinals--check it out next time you see a scene in a washroom!
May 29, 2003
Apparently shooting went really well today... I'm not at the studio, but am in meetingS outside Toronto for today and tomorrow. Bruce Macdonald is directing the opening special, and always does some crazy things that we're not expecting (like having extras carry a hug rhinoceros head in the background).
I'm surprised nobody has wondered what role Jonathan could be playing!
We're not sure when Season 3 will start on CTV--the earliest would proably be the third wek of September...
May 28, 2003
The time for tonight's rerun episode on CTV is a bit confusing: at 8:30pm in Ontario, Quebec and BC, 7:30pm in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and 9:30pm in Alberta and the Maritimes!
Today we're shooting everything inside--yesterday was half on the backlot (and in the woods for the butterflies) and half inside. I had a nice chat with Jonathan Torrens who is playing a guest role on this episode. In the U.S. viewers may not be as familiar with him, but he is terrific, and I think a lot of the Canadian viewers will recognize and like him...
May 27, 2003
This morning we were shooting a scene which involves butterflies. Did you know that if butterflies are kept cool, they get a bit dozy and don't fly away, and then under the camera lights they get a bit warmer and then fly up???
May 26, 2003
7:58am, outside the school set with about 50 extras in the background, Paige and Spinner close together chatting--the clapper board goes up, Linda calls "1 take 1", clapper board down, Bruce McDonald calls "Action", Craig steps into frame with his camera--and that's how Season 3 all started this morning!
May 25, 2003
And there may be someone else who we discover has a disability in the Season 3 opening special. Oops! I've said too much!
May 23, 2003
Just walked back from set to my office, we are just completing the final shot of the day. All of the cast have been here, as we have been shooting the new opening sequence. And Monday, the cameras roll on the first episode of Season 3--a one-hour special (301/302) that at this time is called "Father Figure". It's great to be back!