History Series / DegrassiHigh

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* {{Irony}}: Wheels lost his parents to a drunk driver, [[spoiler: he ends up taking a life while driving intoxicated.]] Snake even "[[Lampshades]]" this in "[[TheMovie School's Out]]".

* {{Irony}}: Wheels lost his parents to a drunk driver, [[spoiler: he ends up taking a life while driving intoxicated.]] Snake even ((Lampshades)) this in (TheMovie).

* {{Irony}}: Wheels lost his parents to a drunk driver, [[spoiler: he ends up taking a life while driving intoxicated.]]

%%* HeterosexualLifePartners: Snake, Joey, and Wheels.

* ADayInTheLimeLight

* AnAesop
* AllForNothing: Constantly.

* AntiHero: Wheels.

* BadassBeard: Scott the abusive boyfriend
* BadBadActing
* BetaCouple: Simon and Alexa.
* BettyAndVeronica
* BigEgoHiddenDepths
* BirdsOfAFeather: Simon and Alexa.
* BittersweetEnding: Almost half the episodes.
* {{Blackmail}}
* BreakTheHaughty: Dwayne. Poor, poor Dwayne.
* BrokenBird: Liz.
* BrotherChuck
* TheBully: Dwayne (initially) and his minions, Nick and Tabi.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''School's Out''.

* DiabolusExMachina
* DirtyCoward: Claude.
* TheDitz: Alexa and Simon - a rare ditz couple.
* DomesticAbuser: Scott, Kathleen's boyfriend.
* DownerEnding: Almost half the episodes.
* DrunkDriver: Wheels.

* FanService: In ''School's Out''.
* FawltyTowersPlot

* FreudianExcuse

* GentleGiant: Snake.
* {{Gonk}}: Nick.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Dwayne.
* HopeSpot: In the first episode.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy
* {{Jerkass}}: Dwayne's minions and later Wheels after his FaceHeelTurn.
* JerkJock: Dale.

* LivingInAFurnitureStore

* LoveTriangle: Joey, Caitlin, and Claude were the main one.

* TheMagicPokerEquation: Subverted in "The All-Nighter".

* NoGoingSteady

* TheOjou: Lucy.
* PluckyGirl: Spike and Michelle.

* RetCon
* RomanticFalseLead: Claude.

* SecondHandStorytelling
* ASimplePlan
* SlumberParty
* SmugSnake: Luke.

* SpearCarrier

* SmallNameBigEgo: Joey.
* TeenDrama

* TookALevelInJerkass: Wheels and, to a lesser extent, Yick.
** Joey in TheMovie.
* TookALevelInKindness: Kathleen.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Amy and Allison.
* ValleyGirl: Amy and Allison.
* WhereDaWhiteWomenAt: BLT and Michelle
* WildTeenParty
* ZanyScheme

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Claude]].

* OneOfUs: Tomboyish L.D. is clearly shown reading, of all things, a David Eddings book.

The immediate sequel to ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'', and the show that solidly transformed the ''Degrassi'' series into a full SoapOpera. This series lasted from November, 1989 to January, 1991. A total of 28 episodes in two seasons.

Like the rest of the ''Degrassi'' franchise, the series was intended as a tool for teaching teens about "hot-button" issues like abortion and AIDS. In many ways, it serves as a bridge between the individual episode focus of ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' and the sprawling SoapOpera of ''DegrassiTheNextGeneration.'' But in spite of that, it was far more continuity-heavy than ''DegrassiTheNextGeneration,'' with its ThreeMonthRule and HeelFaceRevolvingDoor.

The series ended with a GrandFinale movie, ''School's Out,'' which caused an outcry by going DarkerAndEdgier than anything ''Degrassi'' (or almost any other teen show) had done at the time, with tons of FanService (from actors who were real teenagers), drugs and alchohol, sex scenes, and characters turning very unpleasant. Most notable was using real cursing in a show that had never had it before -- one foul-mouthed line became an instant MemeticMutation. Like many DarkerAndEdgier shows, fans tend to either love it or hate it. (Of course, compared to ''DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' it feels almost quaint in a lot of ways -- and yet, still DarkerAndEdgier in others.)

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Just like in ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'', it's very frequent.

* AlphaBitch: Averted when Stephanie Kaye left ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' -- this may be the only teen SoapOpera without one.

* AscendedExtra: Maya, Michelle, Diana, Alex, Dwayne and Tessa. All of them were minor or background characters in ''DegrassiJuniorHigh''.

* DemotedToExtra: Arthur and Yick. Along with Stephanie Kaye and Joey, they were the main stars of ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' (especially in season 1), and were often involved in a subplot in every episode. But no longer cute little kids, they were relegated to minor background players in ''Series/DegrassiHigh''.

* {{Expy}}: Diana becomes a DarkerAndEdgier version of Voula from ''DegrassiJuniorHigh''.

* FormerChildStar: RealLife example: of the show's actors who stayed in acting, most were hopelessly type-cast. A few of them even ended up playing the same characters on DegrassiTheNextGeneration; although this would likely fall under CastingGag.

* NaiveEverygirl: Melanie, although she's a bit toned-down since ''DegrassiJuniorHigh''. Michelle also.

* SpoilerOpening: The credits spoil a few things; far worse is the decision to put the ''Degrassi Talks'' episodes on the ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' [=DVDs=], making it impossible to watch them in the order you see the discs without spoiling the biggest surprises.

At its best, ''DegrassiHigh'' turned LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters into TrueCompanions with a bond so real you could taste it, and a school that felt more real than almost any other on TV. It still has a ton of die-hard fans who love it like ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fans love their continuity. At its worst, it could be frustrating stew of too many SpearCarrier characters and repetitive romantic subplots, made worse by regular RetCon. The most striking innovation of the show was that all characters had SoapOpera adventures even when the camera wasn't on them, and time visibly passed each episode -- which made everything fit together, but also meant a ton of SecondHandStorytelling.

The series was followed up with ''Degrassi Talks,'' a documentary special where ''Degrassi'' actors interviewed people for real stories of drug addiction, domestic abuse, etc. interspersed with relevant clips from ''DegrassiHigh.''

* DemotedToExtra: Arthur and Yick. Along with Stephanie Kaye and Joey, they were the main stars of ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' (especially in season 1), and were often involved in a subplot in every episode. But no longer cute little kids, they were relegated to minor background players in ''DegrassiHigh''.
** Melanie. She has even less screen time than Yick and Arthur in ''DegrassiHigh''.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Just like in ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'' it's very frequent.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Joey.

** Spike likes Snake, but he has still a crush on Michelle (ironically since in ''The Next Generation'' Snake and Spike are a married couple).

* DemotedToExtra: Arthur and Yick. Along with Stephanie Kaye and Joey, they were the main stars of ''DegrassiJuniorHigh'', and were often involved in a subplot in every episode. But no longer cute little kids, they were relegated to minor background players in ''DegrassiHigh''.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor

* NaiveEverygirl: Melanie, although she's a bit toned-down since ''DegrassiJuniorHigh''.

* PutOnABus

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While Joey and Caitlin are having an emotional conversation at the talented show, Wheels is dancing in the background in his Mexican outfit (complete with a huge sombrero covering his head).

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: While Joey and Caitlin are having an emotional conversation at the talented show, Wheels is dancing in the background in his Mexican outfit (complete with a huge sombrero convering his head).

* TedBaxter: Joey.

* StylisticSuck

* PrecisionFStrike: The F-word is used ''twice'' in near-succession during the climax of "[[TheMovie School's Out]]". Extremely jarring in that the show hardly ever used even ''mild'' swearing.