A New Start (Degrassi High)

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. 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. 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. As a result, the episode was controversial when it aired, 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 controversy predated a similar one fourteen years later, involving of "" that was banned from airing in the United States for two years.
Plot.
Part one.
While getting prepared for their first day of Degrassi High School, Erica Farrell (Angela Deiseach) suddenly becomes sick and runs into a bathroom to vomit as her sister Heather (Maureen Deiseach) is discussing the new school. Later on, Heather sits down with Erica and tells her to see a doctor, but Erica insists she is fine.
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 Nelson (Amanda Stepto) and Liz O'Rourke (Cathy Keenan), the former of who is now taking her daughter Emma to a day care nearby the high school. Although Heather is excited to see them, Erica looks on, alluding to the reason for her sickness—pregnancy.
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 appears to not be amused and says that "he turned out to be a jerk", and walks away to find her class. 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.
Joey, Snake and Wheels are later walking through the corridor until Joey bumps into Ms. Avery (Michelle Goodeve), who they say hello to. Avery tells them that after Degrassi Junior High burnt down, she lost her job, and took another up at Degrassi High's resource center. As they walk further down the hall and discuss a new name for their band The Zit Remedy, Dwayne bumps Joey, and then blames he, Snake and Wheels for burning down the school. When Joey denies burning down the school, Dwayne simply tells him "You were there", and explains his plans to initiate the three of them. When Snake explains the school banned initiation per a handbook, Tabi tosses the handbook and the three walk away.
In their new communications class, Heather brings up Jason to Erica, who tells her to never bring his name up again rather defensively. That night, Heather discovers Erica crying and attempts to console her. Erica reveals she suspects she is pregnant, and has all of the textbook symptoms. She also admits she "mostly" used protection. Heather offers to buy her a drug store pregnancy test and the two embrace.
Back at school, Snake is cornered by Dwayne, Tabi and Nick for his initiation and later chased down the halls. He later returns to Joey and Wheels covered in white powder, which he pretends is a "bad case of dandruff", as Joey and Wheels run away. Back at home, Erica has taken the test and the two are waiting for the results. Erica suggests having an abortion, which Heather disagrees with, telling her abortion is wrong. The results come back and she tests negative.
Later at their lockers, Erica says to Heather that her period still hasn't started. Heather tells her not to worry. Erica decides maybe she should buy another pregnancy test, which Heather agrees with. In the halls, Wheels is next for initiation, and is ganged up on by Dwayne, Tabi and Nick, 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. Spike discusses about the consequences of having a baby as a teenager, but despite them, she still loves Emma. Erica asks her if it was really horrible being pregnant, to which Spike explains that she felt like an outcast, but that she was lucky to have a supportive mother. Heather chides Erica for reminding Spike of her own issues. In communications class, Erica brings up the subject of abortion, which causes nearly all of the classroom to erupt in debates. Liz tells Spike to say something, but Spike tells her that just because she had Emma, doesn't mean she knows what is right.
Later on, Erica goes to an abortion clinic, where she is swarmed by pro-life protesters. She led inside the clinic by a woman, where she expresses interest in talking to someone about her abortion. She is explained the procedure. Back at school, Joey narrowly avoids Dwayne, Nick and Tabi by hiding in the girls' washroom, which draws laughter from a bunch of nearby girls. 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. The pro-life Heather disagrees, but Erica insists, and says she wants to have kids when she is older, not now. Heather responds "So you kill it?", which causes Erica to cry. She says she wants Heather to come with her, but she refuses to and runs out of the room.
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.
References in later episodes.
The aftermath of Erica's abortion is explored after "A New Start". In the third episode "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do", Heather is asked by two students in the library about rumors someone had an abortion, which Heather denies. They later discover "MURDERER!" as well as a pro-life poster written on Erica's locker. In the fourth episode "Dream On," Liz O'Rourke, who does not yet know who had the abortion but knows that one took place, expresses disgust about it towards Spike, who tells Liz that it is none of their business.
In the fifth episode, "Everybody Wants Something", Erica discovers the words "ERICA FARRELL MURDERS BABIES!" written in red on the mirror of the girl's washroom. Later, Spike calls out Liz for her attitude towards Erica, stating that "so you think you're god and know everything?". Liz explains her reason for being pro-life as being that her mother was nearly forced to abort her because her father did not want the baby. The hate campaign against Erica escalates when she sees Liz stick a pro-life poster on her locker, leading to a physical confrontation between the two.
Production.
Prior to "A New Start", Degrassi's writers had been reluctant to tackle the subject of abortion. The idea had been toyed around with as far back as Christine "Spike" Nelson's pregnancy in the previous series, 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. 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.
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."
During the series' pre-acting workshops, the actors were given monologues concerning both sides of the issue to read "with conviction". 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, which co-creator Linda Schuyler commented was a "real stretch" for Keenan. The topic polarized the cast members, with some refusing to say what had been written for them in the script.
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 counselling session, Deiseach entered an elevator, where a man called her a "whore".
Principal photography of the two-parter took place in the spring of 1989, wrapping on May 24.
Reception.
The episode was controversial when originally aired, but was nonetheless well received by the majority, who praised the handling of the abortion plot line. Lynne Heffley of the Los Angeles Times said that the episode still proved "Degrassi" as being one of the "most gutsiest shows on television". A more negative review came from The 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".
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."
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. 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". 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...". In protest, he requested his name be taken out of the credits of the PBS version.