A New Start (Degrassi High)

"A New Start"
Degrassi High episodes
A CBC promotional poster for A New Start
Episode nos.	Season 1 Episodes 1-2
Directed by	Kit Hood
Written by	Yan Moore
Cinematography by	Phillip Earnshaw
Editing by	Robert de Lint
Production code	101-102
Original air date	November 6, 1989 (1989-11-06)
Episode chronology
← Previous — Next → "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"
List of episodes

"A New Start" is a two-part episode that serves as the premiere of the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi High. Both parts aired on CBC in Canada on November 6, 1989, and on PBS in the United States on January 13, 1990.^[1] The episode was written by Yan Moore and directed by Kit Hood.

In the episode, which sees the characters of Degrassi Junior High now begin high school, Erica Farrell (Angela Deiseach) discovers she is pregnant following a summer romance and experiences the social consequences of having an abortion; she finds herself at odds with her pro-life sister, and protesters swarm her outside of an abortion clinic. The sub-plot involves Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni), Archie "Snake" Simpson (Stefan Brogren) and Derek "Wheels" Wheeler (Neil Hope) being subject to a hazing campaign by Jeremiah's former enemy Dwayne Myers (Darrin Brown). The episode was made in reaction to the abortion debate of the late 1980s. The writers of Degrassi had thought of making an episode on abortion as early as Degrassi Junior High but ultimately avoided it due to the extremely polarizing nature of the topic.

While it received mostly positive reviews from critics, it was controversial, but more so in the United States, where scenes of Erica making her way to the abortion clinic swarmed by anti-abortion protesters were removed by PBS. The move drew backlash from the show's producers, with Kit Hood requesting his name be removed from the credits.

Plot[]

Part one[]

While getting prepared for their first day at Degrassi High School, Erica Farrell (Angela Deiseach) suddenly becomes sick and runs into a bathroom to vomit as her sister Heather (Maureen Deiseach) expresses her excitement at the new school. At Degrassi High, many of the students from junior high school reunite with each other. As Erica and Heather approach the school, they are met by Christine "Spike" Nelson (Amanda Stepto) and Liz O'Rourke (Cathy Keenan), the former of who is now taking her daughter Emma to a daycare nearby the high school. Although Heather is excited to see them, Erica looks on, emotionless.

In school, Grade 10 students Dwayne Myers (Darrin Brown) and his friends Tabi (Michelle Johnson-Murray) and Nick (George Chaker) express their dismay at the influx of the younger students, and they decide that "initiation" should be brought back "unofficially".

Erica and Heather meet up with Lucy Fernandez (Anais Granofsky) and L.D. (Amanda Cook), where Heather tells them that Erica had a romance over the summer; a camp counselor named Jason. Erica, not amused, says Jason was a jerk and leaves. Heather explains that the two had a fight and broke up before they left the camp, and then tells them that Erica lost her virginity to him, despite having only known him for two months.

After Joey, Snake and Wheels meet their junior high teacher Ms. Avery (Michelle Goodeve), Dwayne bumps into Joey and then blames him, Snake and Wheels for burning down the school and explains his plans to initiate the three of them despite the school having banned initiation.

After noticing Erica's behavior at school, she consoles her back at home and the two decide to buy a pregnancy test. Back at school, Snake is targeted in the initiation He later returns to Joey and Wheels covered in white powder as Joey and Wheels run away. As the twins wait for the pregnancy tests, Erica suggests having an abortion, which Heather disagrees with, telling her abortion is wrong. The results come back and she tests negative.

Later at school, Erica says her period is still late and decides to buy another pregnancy test which Heather agrees with. In the halls, Wheels is next for initiation and returns to Joey and Snake in the cafeteria covered in shaving cream. Snake and Wheels tease Joey, who is next. Back at home, Erica awaits her test results.

Part two[]

Her results return and Heather jokes she can finally use the washroom. When she is out of sight, Erica appears to be stunned, implying that the test came back positive. Back at the school, Erica and Heather meet Spike and Liz again. Erica asks Spike how horrible it was being pregnant, which Heather feels is an offhand question. Spike explains that she felt like an outcast and had no social life, but that she still loved Emma. In communications class, Erica sparks a class debate about abortion, which Spike refuses to participate in, feeling that because it was wrong for her, it did not mean it was wrong in general.

Later on, Erica goes to an abortion clinic, where she is swarmed by pro-life protesters. She is led inside the clinic by a worker, who explains the procedure to her. Meanwhile, Joey continues to hide from the initiation. At home, Erica reveals she lied to Heather about the results of the second test, that she had a third done at the clinic, and that she's made an appointment for an abortion. Heather vehemently disagrees, and despite Erica pleading her to come with her, a panicked Heather refuses.

Joey is later caught and undergoes initiation; while he is being dragged up a ramp while rolling a banana under his nose, the three leave, just as Joey is approached by Mr. Raditch (Dan Woods), who tells Jeremiah that he is the new vice principal, and takes him to his office for a "little chat". After class, Heather pulls Spike aside and asks her whether she'd ever thought about having an abortion. Spike responds that she did, and that she felt it was wrong to have one, but clarifies that it was her choice, and Erica (who Heather doesn't name) feels it is right for her. Spike tells Heather: "Y'know, it's great to have high ideals and stuff, but when you're in that situation, right and wrong, they can get really complicated."

Back at the clinic, protesters are still circling outside. This time, Heather is with Erica, and the two go together, where they are swarmed (and in Erica's case the second time) by the protesters. As they make it to the top of the stairs, one protester holds up a plastic fetus, and the two are led inside by the woman.

Cast[]

Credited in order of original broadcast:^[2]

Production[]

Prior to "A New Start", Degrassi's writers had been reluctant to tackle the subject of abortion.^[3] The idea had been toyed around with as far back as Christine "Spike" Nelson's pregnancy in the previous series,^[4] but head writer Yan Moore feared it would not go down well. Moore said in 1989: "Years ago, when we began doing Degrassi Junior High, I swore I would not do this topic because I didn't see there was any way we could possibly do it." Moore felt that abortion was such a polarizing subject at the time that there was no definitive middle ground.^[3] However, after the cast had gotten older, and the producers had done research into youth issues, Moore changed his mind, and creators Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood felt that the cast were emotionally mature enough to handle the topic, and that the identical twin characters of Erica and Heather Farrell (Angela and Maureen Deiseach) were perfect for portraying the polarization.^[3][4]

Linda Schuyler said in 1989 that the topic felt appropriate for ushering in the new series as the subject could be further explored throughout the season, stating, "The issue is not over with in this show. There are three or four subplots which show the angst isn't over with. You just can't put something like this at the end of your season - well, you could but I don't think it would be responsible. The issue doesn't stop and start in an hour."^[4]

During the series' pre-acting workshops, the actors were given monologues concerning both sides of the issue to read "with conviction".^[4] Some of the actors expressed the opposite opinion of their character. Cathy Keenan, who played the pro-life Liz O'Rourke, for example, was pro-choice in real life,^[4] which co-creator Linda Schuyler commented was a "real stretch" for Keenan.^[4] The topic polarized the cast members, with some refusing to say what had been written for them in the script.^[4]

As part of the preparation for the episode, Angela Deiseach, who played Erica, visited a real abortion clinic in Toronto. There, she was recognized from the show by pro-life protesters. Deiseach then attended a counselling session, with nobody in the room knowing that she was an actress. After the session, Deiseach entered an elevator, where a man called her a "whore".^[5][6]

Principal photography of the two-parter took place in the spring of 1989, wrapping on May 24.^[7]

Reception[]

A pro-life protester holds a plastic fetus up towards Erica and Heather. This scene was controversially cut from the PBS broadcast in the United States.^[8][9]

The episode was controversial when originally aired,^[10] but was nonetheless well-received by the majority, who praised the handling of the abortion plotline. Bob Remington, writing for the Edmonton Journal, felt the episode handled the issue of abortion responsibly, portrayed every view point on the subject, and unlike other television series which addressed the same issue, there was no "miscarriage cop-out".^[11] Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times declared that the episode still proved Degrassi as being one of the "most gutsiest shows on television".^[12] Writing for The Toronto Star, Antonia Zerbisias acclaimed the episode, asserting that it was "a gutsy show, particularly in the light of the current political and emotional climate [of the 1980s]", and singled out the exploration of both sides of the abortion topic. Furthermore, she quipped that if the show was an American prime time show, "the whole thing would turn out to be a hilarious mix-up. We'd have lots of eye-rolling, sophomoric one-liners about burgeoning bellies and then ooops! Turns out the smart alec kid brother merely murdered the bunny for a school science project."^[13]

A mixed review came from The Province's Lee Bacchus. While feeling the episode and the series continued its predecessor's realism, Bacchus felt that it simplified the issue to "the bumper-sticker level of righteous moralism" and "lofty platitudes".^[14] A more negative review came from Toronto Star's Diane Roberts, who stated that the episode was "fundamentally dishonest" in its portrayal of abortion, and that Erica "has no choice at all since she is totally unwilling or unable to look her situation squarely in the face".^[15]

From organizations[]

Laura McArthur, president of the pro-life organization Toronto Right-To-Life, said of the episode: "There's nothing nice or necessary or reasonable about an abortion. Abortion is not something that should be an option in our society, so we felt that it [the episode] was a very bad message to give to teenagers."^[10]

American censorship[]

When the episodes aired on PBS in January 1990, scenes of Erica making her way to the abortion clinic as she is swarmed by anti-abortion protesters were removed.^[16][8] Kate Taylor of WGBH, who was also involved in the series' production, stated that the choice to cut the scenes was an "[a]esthetic decision".^[9] The choice was done without the consent of the show's original producers, which drew a negative response from co-creator Kit Hood, who denounced PBS's changes and said that Taylor was "bringing a personal bias to this but she won't verbalize it", further stating that what they had done gave the episode "an American ending, happy, safe but incomplete...".^[11] In protest, he requested his name be taken out of the credits of the PBS version.^[9] Canadian critic Bob Remington, while praising the episode, defended PBS's decision, feeling that it did not avoid the issue "or take the easy way out" as had been insinuated, and that the producers were overreacting over something arguably minor.^[11]

See also[]

• "It's Late", a similar episode from Degrassi Junior High involving teen pregnancy.
• "Accidents Will Happen", a similar episode from Degrassi: The Next Generation involving teen pregnancy.

References[]