Canada's National Treasure

It's not Michael J. Fox, Jim Carrey, or Mike Myers. Nor is it Hockey, Canadian beer, or the word aboot.

It's Degrassi, the seemingly neverending TV series about teenagers struggling with angst, date rape, abortion, self-image, just to name a few coming-of-age issues. Watching Degrassi: The Next Generation has become my summer's TV obsession, overtaking Giada and her Food Network clan to claim the top spot in my TV To-Do List.

Weirdly, during my recovery from being sick over the 4th, I was channel-surfing when I decided to stop on The N (Nickelodeon's Tween/Teen Channel). When I channel-surf on Satellite, I use the Page Up/Page Down button to get through the Guide and always saw Degrassi come up. Now, the first and only time I heard about the show was through the brief mention of it in Chasing Amy. But, I was feeling ill and bedridden, and, suffice to say, I gave the show a chance. Soon, I found myself scanning forward to find out when it'd be on again, and now I've got it on my trusty VCR timer (no Tivo for me, I'm old school).

I'm a sucker for Coming-of-Age stories which explains my obsession with Dawson's Creek and my thesis film, so Degrassi is right up my alley. The show is fantastic simply because the actors actually are teenagers, and their stories (albeit very issue-oriented) are compelling and fun. While the actual performances of these actors vary (some very good, others bordering on bad), I appreciate the authenticity of the high school experience within the contrived teenage-soap opera genre filled with pretenders like The OC and blatantly controlled docu-dramas like Laguna Beach. Plus, it doesn't hurt that some of the girls are pretty hot (waiting for the lightning bolt to hit me).

I'm so obsessed with the show that I'm thinking of doing casting sessions in Canada to find actors for my thesis film. I think there's something in that Canadian water that creates fantastic teenage actors.