Dons Picks

I texted this prior, but thought I'd get a record up for them:

(1) Miami vs (8) Bucks:  Heat in 4: Possibly the least exciting series in history... it isn't even worth witty banter

(2) Knicks vs (7) Celtics: Knicks in 7: I've always kind have felt that Rondo didn't actually make teams better, so I don't think his absence changes that much, with Avery Bradley playing so strong. I also have some doubts about the Knicks, but I still think the Knicks are playing too well to fall off here.

(3) Pacers vs (6) Hawks: Pacers in 5: I honestly know nothing about the Hawks outside of Josh Smith, so I gather they aren't very good. Plus the Pacers are the only team that rivals the Grizz in defense, so it has to count for something.

(4) Nets vs (5) Bulls: Bulls in 6: I couldn't possibly care less about a series. I'll just be excited to see either of these teams out of the playoffs quickly.


(1) Thunder vs (8) Rockets: Thunder in 5: I actually think this could be an interesting series, but I don't see this going 7, so I fell back on 5 here. I think the Thunder have some weaknesses, but Westbrook should roll all over Lin for a series.

(2) Spurs vs (7) Lakers: Spurs in 7: I really want to pick Dwight and Gasol here... I really do.

(3) Nuggets vs (6) Warriors: Nuggets in 7: An exciting series with one superb offense against another extremely efficient offense. The difference? The Warriors "D" still isn't great (although improved on past years), and Curry can't possibly win 4 games by himself... can he...

(4) Clippers vs (5) Grizzlies: Grizzlies in 7: No rationale, but my love for my Grizz...


2nd Round

(1) Miami vs (5) Bulls: Miami in 4: The Heat will lose sometime this playoffs. But certainly won't be against the depleted Bulls. The Bulls with MVP winning Rose got rolled by the Heat two years ago, so this should be even more dominate.

(2) Knicks vs (3) Pacers: Pacers in 6: Teams that rely on the three, will not win a title, or a series against a team that can defend well and play physical.

(1) Thunder vs (5) Grizzlies: Thunder in 7: I actually think the Thunder could easily lose this series. Tough matchup. I think Durant will do enough to get the calls in game 7 though, to win this.

(2) Spurs vs (3) Nuggets: Nuggets in 6: Maybe I'm sleeping on the Spurs, but the Nugs have looked too good, for too long. Plus for 4 straight years the Spurs have lost to a lower seeded team, and this will be the last chance for them to keep that streak alive...

3rd Round

(1) Miami vs (3) Pacers: Miami in 5: Pacers can frustrate them with their defense, but who really scores for this team...

(1) Thunder vs (3) Nuggets: Thunder in 5: I don't think the Nuggets match up well at all against the Thunder fire power, and at this point it seems inevitable the Heat Thunder rematch...

Championship

(1) Miami vs (1) Thunder: Miami in 6: I really really want to say Miami in 5, but that gives them only two losses the whole playoffs, so I'll say the Thunder sneak another one. The problem is, the Thunder aren't as good as they were last year, without Harden, and the Heat are actually better (and truly committed to their small ball). This leads to possibly the boringest playoffs in NBA history. The question isn't who wins the title... the question is how many losses will the Heat get there, and my magic number is... 3

2013 NBA Playoff Predictions

The Magic are sitting at home.  Oh, well.  It's still playoff time.  Let's do this.

Eastern Conference

First Round:

(1) Miami over (8) Milwaukee in four.  Soon enough, we'll forget this one ever happened.

(2) New York over (7) Boston in five.  The studio crew on ABC is trying to convince us that Boston can still be a legitimate threat to the Heat in the east.  Bill Simmons says that the Celtics have an "identity" now, whatever that means.  I say that they're a 41 win team, that won't have the chance to test the Heat.

(3) Indiana over (6) Atlanta in five.  DE-FENSE.  Or something.

(4) Brooklyn over (5) Chicago in seven.  Not sure what to make of this series.  Deron Williams is playing better, or so I hear.  Derrick Rose won't play, or so I hear.

Conference Semis:

(1) Miami over (4) Brooklyn in five.  Only because it seems wrong to pick the Heat to sweep both of their first two series.

(2) New York over (3) Indiana in seven.  I think there are only two teams in the East who really can challenge the Heat.  These are those two.  I'm going chalk.  So sue me.

Conference Finals:

(1) Miami over (2) New York in six.  I think the Knicks can beat the Heat.  But the Heat also were 12 games better over a season where they've probably been on auto-pilot for the past one or two months.

Western Conference:

First Round:

(1) Oklahoma City over (8) Houston in six.  Houston's an eight seed?  That doesn't seem right.  I'm not getting cute here, though.  The Rockets are tremendous for an eight seed... but still an eight seed.

(2) San Antonio over (7) Los Angeles in six.  I have no idea what to expect here.  If Dwight were to put the Lakers on his back and rip off a bunch of 28-16-4 performances on the way to an upset, it wouldn't be surprising, only a reminder that he was once the consensus second best player in the game.  But even if he breaks out, I can't imagine that a team that will probably rely on Jodie Meeks to knock down a big shot or two can beat the Spurs.

(3) Denver over (6) Golden State in five.  I love everything about this series, except that one of these teams has to lose.

(5) Memphis over (4) Los Angeles in seven.  Only because I needed an upset.  If Memphis loses, though, do they blow things up and trade Z-Bo to build around Conley and Gasol?  I'm afraid to say it, but they may be the Hawks of the West.  I hope I'm wrong.

Conference Semis:

(1) Oklahoma City over (5) Memphis in five.  OKC just might be the best team in the league.  Stay tuned.

(3) Denver over (2) San Antonio in six.  Everyone says that a team without a star can't win in the playoffs.  I think they are wrong.  But even if they are not, who, exactly is taking over this series on the Spurs?  Tim Duncan?  A hobbled Tony Parker?

Conference Finals:

(1) Oklahoma City over (3) Denver in seven.  As much as I love Denver, OKC had the best point differential in the league this year.  They'll get back to the finals.

Finals:

(1) Miami  over (1) Oklahoma City in seven.  REMATCH ALERT!!  This feels like the moment we've been waiting for since last June.  OKC will get a little bit closer, but once a team establishes itself as the best in the NBA, I'm picking them until they prove me wrong.  Last year, I took the Thunder.  I'm not getting burned by the Heat again.  (See what I did there?  Get it?)

2012 NBA Playoff Picks

I know they've technically started, but here are some belated playoff predictions:

First Round:

Chicago over Philadelphia in four.  This one's no contest, the 76ers have been a mess lately.
Boston over Atlanta in six.  I'll buy into the 'one last run' logic as the Hawks get Rondo'd.
Orlando over Indiana in seven.  Hedo will hit at least one irrational game winner for the Magic.
Miami over New York in five.  Knicks will get one hero ball win at home.

San Antonio over Utah in seven.  Jazz's size up front will be almost enough to snag this one.
Memphis over LA Clippers in six.  The Clip get robbed in Lob City.
LA Lakers over Denver in five.  Bynum + Gasol = too much for Vale and Faried.
Oklahoma City over Dallas in four.  KD earns from good karma for leading the Frosted Tips to their fantasy title.

(Everything beyond the first round picks are updated as of 4/30).


With one game completed in each first round series, I've finally got time to squeeze in some predictions for the rest of the series.  Two knees have been busted and one ref's been chest-bumped since the playoffs began.  It's not possible for me to un-learn these things, so here are my picks for how the rest of the post season will play out, keeping in mind what we've learned so far but also adhering to the first round predictions posted above.

Conference Semis:


Chicago over Boston in seven.  The Bulls will be fine (or at least fine enough to make the ECFs) without D. Rose.
Miami over Orlando in five.  The Magic will get hot enough from three to steal one of these.

Memphis over San Antonio in seven.  I'm not sold the Spurs can handle back-to-back physical seven game series.
Oklahoma City over LA Lakers in six.  Some more good karma, this time from the elbow.

Conference Finals:


Miami over Chicago in five.  This happens with or without D. Rose.

Oklahoma City over Memphis in seven.  The two most complete teams out west, if only the Grizz could hit a few threes once in a while.

NBA Finals:


Oklahoma City over Miami in six.  After being able to coast through the first three rounds, the Heat won't find that extra gear against the Thunder - a team that may be just as talented but (out of necessity) will have been playing at a higher level for weeks just to get this far.

Degrassi Season 9 Power Rankings, Vol. 3

Whooo boy. I've been on a tear lately. Of course, with Degrassi airing FOUR new episodes a week, catching up just got a whole lot harder.

One comment before I get to the list: I cannot stand that the episodes air in different orders in the US and Canada. Are Canadians and Americans so different that they have to be told the story in a different way? I will never understand this.

(Last week's ranking in parentheses)

9 (7). Peter Stone

It's a second straight week in decline for Peter, mainly because he's done next to nothing. I'll give him props for helping out Sav and taking his possibly-maybe-not really-but kinda-arranged future wife to the formal. Not that she deserved him.

Anyways, as much as I love Season Nine so far, the dirty little secret is that I'm having a hard time filling out the power rankings. Basically the decision for the final spot came down to this: an old classic (Spinner), some new Niners that I'm not yet sold on (KC, Clare, Connor, Jenna), or some middle of the road upperclassmen (Danny, Chantay), or Peter. Spinner hasn't really done anything, although he was on fire during "Holiday Road" and may have had the best line of the season so far. ("Rebound eating? It's no way to end up in the wonderful world of meat. No, no, no, no. No deal.") I know that we're supposed to buy KC as the new Sean (checkered past, no parental support, impressionable, a hot temper, and now, a taste for alcohol) but I'm just not loving it. Clare is some kind of hybrid Emma/Liberty to Alli's Manny, but hasn't done much other than whine. Connor is Toby 2.0, which means we don't see nearly enough of him (really). Jenna intrigues me, but she's not list worthy yet. As for Danny and Chantay... let's just say it was a rocky start for the two of them as a "power couple."

This leaves us with Peter. Though he's done nothing lately, he still carried this season at the start, which was huge. Take away any of those characters that I just mentioned, and the show doesn't miss much (with the exception of Spinner, who is largely sentimental at this point). Peter doing meth (and assuming it was coke) was still a better storyline than anyone from this litter has turned in this year.

8 (3). Riley Stavros

Ah, the most problematic character on the list. On the one hand, Riley delivered us what is the likely best story of the year. On the other hand, he's got virtually no value when he's not the leading character. I can't think of a single other "major" character in Degrassi history who has been as all or nothing as Riley. Please allow me to quote from Volume Two of the DS9PR: "Riley's not a character who can float effortlessly into the background of other episodes. He's either the central character, or he's likely no in the episode at all.... I'm worried that the show won't find enough ways to use him." It'd be hard to keep him off of this list because of "Beat It," but I can't really keep him in the top tier without some versatility.

7 (6). Dave Turner

KC had a season's head start, but Dave is my pick for the leading male Niner. He's funnier, a better actor, and seems to fit seamlessly with other characters. For the record, I'm a huge backer of Bhandurner; let's hope they get together. Dave pushed Alli in a good way. She needs someone like Dave, because unchecked, Alli can be insufferable at times. All of this was summed up in this perfect exchange:

Dave: See, this is why I don't like you.

Alli: How can you not like me?!

6 (5). Holly Jeanette Sinclair

I've liked Holly J more than I expected to this year. She's also kind of like the anti-Riley; it seems that she MUST appear in every episode. Somehow, Holly J is the glue that connects the older characters. Heck, she even factored into Marco's storyline. As I mentioned last week, Holly J is the show's lead female. Even though I like others more, it would be hard to knock her off the list given what she's brought to the show this year. And once again, she's not done. I'm still pulling for a Spinner-Jane-Declan-Holly J love rhombus to break out at some point, but even without one, the Holly J-Declan relationship should provide enough fodder on its own.*

*By the way, I'm not totally off-put by the way the show has cooled its jets with the Holly J-Declan relationship. I think it's been smart to let the two of them hang around in the background of most episodes, rather than push them to the front and rush the drama. One thing that has been particularly noticeable this season with all of the new characters is that it has been hard to find natural ways to work everyone in. If Holly J's purpose is to facilitate connections for characters, I think that's a smart play.

5 (4). Fiona Coyne

I haven't lost the faith. Something big has to be coming.

4 (8). Anya MacPherson

I never really thought that I would feel much one way or the other for the Sav-Anya relationship. Boy, was I wrong. I feel for them both. In truth, the "Broken Promises" storyline should have been intolerable - it was a formulaic 'couple has misunderstanding, leads to unnecessary breakup' storyline. In reality, it worked. It felt real (at least, as real as anything ever feels on Degrassi) and I ached for both of them. Why? Because at their core, Sav and Anya are both good, decent people who deserve good things. Yes, there was a fair amount of deceit (on both ends), but it came from a good place, as both want to make the other happy but have their own baggage. In the past, it was hard to be moved by any breakup because at least one of the characters would have deserved it (Craig) or at least one of the characters would have been so miserable that it was hard to picture a relationship with that person being a good thing (Ashley). With Anya and Sav, neither of these was the case. They need to get back together.

3 (9). Alli Bhandari

Why does Alli rank four places ahead of Dave? Two reasons. First, in addition to the whole Bhandurner, we finally got to see the fiercely loyal Alli. If you were a ninth grade KC or Jenna,* you would absolutely have Alli come after you in defense of her best friend. I'm not always a huge advocate of attacking people for decisions like the KC-Clare-Jenna thing (which likely just compounds the problem anyways), but it wouldn't have been believable for Alli to sit on the sidelines here. Manny would have done it for Emma, after all. So although Alli won't get points for tact ("Go tip a cow or something"), I do give her points for her loyalty to Clare.

*Recycled Storyline Alert: Male character gets in trouble with his current girlfriend for flirting with another bikini-clad girl... at a car wash! Where have we seen this before?

The second reason I love Alli is because of her relationship with Sav. Of all of the relationships Degrassi has explored, it's never really done too much with brothers and sisters. Ashley/Toby was a missed opportunity. Ditto for Spinner/Kendra. Danny/Liberty gave us a little bit more, but not much, as did Paige/Dylan. Clare/Darcy? Please. Heather and Holly J cannot appear together, for obvious reasons. Has there been anyone else?

Season Nine has given us one fairly high profile brother-sister duo (Declan/Fiona, more on this in a minute), as well as the terrific Bhandari pair. Alli and Sav rarely appear together at school - which make sense - but their home interactions this year have been priceless.

2 (2). Declan Coyne

The Declan-Fiona relationship ("When you're not happy, I'm not happy") could be one of the best things to ever hit Degrassi... or it could be one of the creepiest. Something is just not right with this duo. It could be sweet, or it could turn horribly, inappropriately wrong. Either way, there's a ton of potential with this pairing. I could see Fiona and Holly J throwing down over Declan. I could see Declan playing the protective older brother (which he already has begun to, in a way). I could also see the two of them harboring some deep, dark secrets, which may be the biggest wild card that Season Nine has yet to play.

The RDTotP!

Is there a rhyme or reason to the way Degrassi employs pop-culture references? Why does the show reference a real celebrity/show in one breath ("She's no Lea Michelle") and then in another come up with a hilariously awful fake alternative ("Did you catch 'So You Believe You Can Boogie' last night?")? I don't get this.

1 (1). Sav Bhandari

Without a doubt. The funniest character of the season finally turned in the type of performance that I never thought he could (or should, for that matter) handle. The downside is that he's now split with Anya, which opens him up for more dramatic stories in the form of an inevitable relationship with someone else (Holly J?). I've already mentioned that I actually did think the Sav/Anya break-up was well done. I should also add that I felt the whole pregnancy scare was handled well, too.* Again, it felt real and from what we saw, Anya and Sav actually had a (somewhat) reasonable conversation about it. And though Sav may have been a touch blunt in encouraging Anya to take the morning after pill, I do believe that he had her best interests at heart.

*Of course we would get a morning after pill episode; how did I not see this coming? We've touched on condoms, abortion, adoption, teenage parenting... In hindsight, using the morning after pill was an obvious choice.

Even though he pulled off the serious episode, I still contend that Sav needs to be deployed primarily as comic relief. I don't think that I need to beat anyone over the head with this point: Sav is versatile enough to pop up in plenty of scenes, which I find to be a good thing because he's consistently funny. That's why he's Number One. Let's close with two of my favorite recent Sav-isms.

Mr. Bhandari: I keep saying, Sav, 'cool' doesn't pay the bills.

Sav: And I keep saying, Dad, I don't have any bills.

...

Anya: It can make me barf for days.

Sav: You know what barfs for months? A baby.

My Response....

So many things are true about this post... First, the rehashed storylines. I mean, just wait until next episode when Connor dresses up as Napoleon to lead the basketball team... Its oddly familiar, I must say. The rankings I overall agree with. Beat It is one of my favorite episodes ever, so I'd probably have Riley one, along with how it has Larping (I believe) with Anya, my favorite girl character. All in all, I am a huge advocate for season 9, one of my favorites ever... You are in for a treat.. I think you only have 8 or so left.

Degrassi Season 9 Power Rankings, Vol. 2

I'm through ten episodes of the new season of Degrassi, so it's time for another batch of the DS9PR. Two things I want to get out of the way before we get started:

• For a show that takes place in Canada, there's an alarming lack of snow, wouldn't you say? This bothers me.
• As far as I can remember, there's only been one episode EVER dealing with Christmas, and it came way back in season three. Doesn't this show seem just tailor made for cheesy holiday specials? Where are they? This also bothers me.

With that out of the way, on to the rankings. This batch of the DS9PR covers everything up through episode 10, "Love Games (Part Two)." (Previous rank in parentheses.)

9 (3). Alli Bhandari

Alli falls all the way to ninth here because she's done absolutely nothing in this most recent set of five episodes. This, of course, is how Degrassi operates. After sexting and an STI scare, we were due for an Alli lull.* I don't think the show can afford to keep her on the sidelines for too long, however, because they need someone to carry the "niners" to relevance, and she's still their best bet.

*Not that it was a particularly difficult prediction to make, but here's what I wrote last time: "[T]hey've been hitting us fast and furious with Alli episodes lately, so I can't help but feel like we're about to get an Alli break soon."

8 (not ranked). Anya MacPherson

Anya earned her way onto the list by LARPing. Seriously, that's it. This is how the show needs to use its peripheral characters; if they're going to be involved in a storyline, it has to be ridiculous, not dramatic. Peripheral characters can't be the ones to get an STI, pregnant, gay-bashed, or shot. Characters like these have to LARP, which is why Anya is perfect for Sav.

7 (4). Peter Stone

As is the case with Alli, after delivering Peter-centric plots fast and furious in the first batch of episodes, we were due for something of a layoff. Still, Peter stuck around just enough to not fall any further. Here's what I wrote last time about Peter:

"He's basically carrying this show until the newbies like Riley, Fiona, and Dave Turner... are ready to take over, at which point Peter will probably stick around in some Spinner-esque elder statesman capacity."

I'm not saying we're done with episodes that center around Peter (we're not; he's still got one major relationship left in him), but these five episodes saw Peter take another step towards his role as the new "Spinner-esque elder statesman" I was referring to (let's call it a Spinner Statesman). When Riley delivered the biggest (and best) story of the season so far, Peter was along side him the entire way. There's no way that a Season Five Peter would be the first character someone would come out to, and there's absolutely no way he'd be supportive of him. If this were Season Five, Peter would have throw Riley into a dumpster; now, he's just a good friend offering encouragement. Peter is the Degrassi life cycle on full display.

6 (NR). Dave Turner

If I knew any Degrassi writers, here's what I'd be begging them: Please, never, EVER, give this kid a "serious" story arc; I know you may think that he'll need it eventually, but he won't. Please, trust me on this.

As long as Dave ("Formerly known as 'Nobody' and 'It's Sterile!'") keeps saying things like, "It's you, me, a dark theater, and five gallons of sweet buttered corn," he doesn't need to do anything else.

5 (7). Holly Jeanette Sinclair

I was going to have her higher on this list, but then I remembered the Paige theory. This brief period of Holly Jeanette's likability is just the calm before the storm. And yes, if you were wondering, I do intend on using her full middle name as often as possible now that we finally know it.

Impending Paige meltdown aside, Holly J does bring a lot to the table here in Season Nine. She's an alpha-dog, the show's leading lady, President of the Student Council, and probably the most feared character in school. Not to mention, the Declan roller coaster is far from over. There's just too much baggage here for this relationship to progress smoothly* and if it is smooth sailing from here on, quite frankly, that means Degrassi isn't doing its job right.

*One thing that surprised me a bit was the way this season has handled the whole Declan-Jane-Spinner-Holly J thing. It struck me as odd to see Holly J, Declan, and Jane function (albeit briefly) as a seamless unit of friends in the halls of Degrassi. Are we supposed to believe that Declan's attraction to Jane (or hers to him) is gone? And what about Holly J's unrequited affection for Spinner? People just don't move on that quickly. Plus, Jane is NOT getting off that easy for cheating on Spinner. Only Holly J knows about this, so... stay tuned. I understand that the show probably doesn't want to cash in on this inevitable blow-up too soon - it could, after all, be the last gasp for Spinner as a relevant character. Still, it's coming.

Like it or not, Holly J is THE female lead right now and she's only going to continue to blow up. When all is said and done, Season Nine may end up being the season of Holly Jeanette Sinclair.

4 (5). Fiona Coyne

Last time, I wrote that Fiona essentially earned her spot based solely on potential. Not much has changed, but she's continued to give us enough glimmers of that potential that I'm comfortable leaving her in the middle of the rankings. Here are my two favorite flashes of that potential since last time:

Fiona Flash #1: "We don't talk anymore, k?" As much as I liked Fiona during the "Beat It" episodes - she was sweet, caring, and perceptive - what I really loved was that her role in that arc ended with not with Fiona caving to Riley's every demand but rather with her standing up to him, thus affirming her strength.

Fiona Flash #2: When Declan started pining after Holly J, Fiona reminded him of his painful romantic past: "You were a wreck for six months; I can't listen to any more Coldplay." If that's not the best non-Sav line of the season, it's certainly up there.

3 (6). Riley Stavros

Riley finally had the gay-bashing, (semi) coming out star turn that we knew was in him all along. Riley's desperation was played perfectly, culminating in this little exchange:

Fiona: You can't cure homosexuality.

Riley: Yes you can! There's a website and office!

I'm not going to rehash the whole episode here, I just want to say that the "Beat It" two parter was the best of the season, in large part due to Riley.

Now, I have two reservations about Riley. First, what do they do with him now? We knew this episode was coming, now what? Honestly, I have know clue. Second, Riley's not a character who can float effortlessly into the background of other episodes. He's either the central character, or he's likely not in the episode at all. He's only really connected to one other character at Degrassi now (Peter), so his options are fairly limited. He's a great character, but I'm worried that the show won't find enough ways to use him.

2 (1). Declan Coyne

The good news is that Declan is continuing to fulfill that pot-stirring role the show has carved out for him right from the get-go. The bad news is that his sometimes despicable behavior is starting to weigh him down ever so slightly. I'm finally to the point in my Degrassi fandom where I'm comfortable rooting for bad people. If you only wanted to root for pure, morally upright characters, Degrassi would not be your show. That said, Declan is a little too much for me to handle at times. In the same breath he can be both funny but also a little bit insufferable: "Keep in mind, I have access to a helicopter."

Even though I don't always love Declan, I love what he's bringing to the show this year. The show feels fresh again, which isn't to be taken for granted, given how often stories get recycled. Stale characters have some life to them, and we have some vintage Degrassi melodrama on our hands. Thank you, Declan.

The RDTotP!

This week's Random Degrassi Tidbit of the Post: Degrassi goes green! Has anyone done the math to figure out what the carbon savings are for recycling story lines? As I just mentioned above, this year has felt fresh and new, despite rehashing old themes. I don't totally mind this. Some of it even feels like a hat tip to longtime viewers.

"Beat It," which featured gay-bashing, was set in part at the Degrassi carnival and prominently featured a dunking booth. The last time we saw the carnival (and the dunking booth)? During Spinner's ill-advised alliance with gay-bashing Linus. If the Riley-Fiona fake relationship felt familiar, it's because we've been there before, a la Marco and Ellie.

We knew the day was coming when Degrassi would have run out of things to do with the characters. When you've had shootings, pregnancies, abortion, STIs, rape, pedophiles, and Napoleon running a floor hockey team, you're pretty much out of avenues to go down. This is fine. In ten seasons, you're allowed to revisit some of these sites with a new cast. I like the nods to years past, even the oddly creepy ones.

Declan taping a rose to Holly J's locker was the strangest throwback of them all. Is this a hint not to trust Declan? Is Holly J going to end up in a coma? Did the show forget who shot Jimmy? Coincidence? I hope not.

1 (2). Sav Bhandari

The Bhandari Bonanza continues! If you didn't think that Sav listening to his own band's music while looking at pictures of his girlfriend LARPing was one of the funniest moments of this season, then we watch Degrassi for very different reasons.

Few characters have the versatility to drop in on almost every episode, drop the line of the week, and then get out of the way and let the sappy goodness take over. Sav has this role perfected. As is the case with Dave Turner,* my deepest Sav fear is that the writers will give him a turn as a "serious" character. Again: Don't do it, we don't need it.

*The fact that it seems Dave is being groomed for the role of designated punch line makes me worried for Sav's future. The funnier Dave is, the less need there is for Sav to be funny... which would free him up to get stabbed or to get testicular cancer. This would be awful.

Sav has quietly worked his way from a liability to the most consistently funny character in Degrassi's present rotation. It may not seem like much, but the light goof ball moments from characters like Sav are what have always made this show work. It would be too hard to stomach "real" moment after "real" moment without something to keep it, um, less real. The odd thing is, there haven't been a whole lot of characters who have consistently filled this role. Originally we had Spinner and JT. Occasionally Liberty gave us some humor. Now we have Sav. In between? No one, has done it, at least not this well. The fact that so few have been consistently funny in Degrassi history underscores just how important Sav is. Really.

DS9 - "You have health insurance, right?"

So although it's been many months since I've watched my beloved Degrassi, I jumped back in tonight. I'm now technically through ten episodes of the new season, so I feel somewhat obligated to post a new batch of the DS9PR. I won't do that now, and to be honest, the next set of rankings will be dramatically skewed because of the layoff. Oh well. Not like anyone reads them anyways.

Anyways, I do want to get down a few thoughts in case it's another nine months before I catch another episode (tonight's viewing, by the way, were episodes nine and ten: the two-part "Love Games").

• In my initial DS9PR, I wrote that "Holly J is the new Paige." Although it still may hold true, the real test will be whether or not she returns to form after a two episode run as a fairly likable character. Is Holly Jeanette going to be Season Nine's leading lady? We'll see.
• How great would it have been if when Dave was reading through the stats Connor had compiled, the writers had thrown in some advanced Hollinger-esque stats? "This is awesome, points, rebounds, blocks, effective field goal percentage, player efficiency rating!"
• I don't want to rush to judgment too quickly... but Season Nine feels great so far. The first half of this two parter was hilarious, although I always question whether Degrassi is actually intentionally funny. Not that there's anything wrong if it's not; historically speaking, I think that Liberty has been one of the must underrated characters, solely because of her (possibly intentional) unintentional comedic value, if that makes sense.
• Remember when Holly J nearly got together with - heck, when she threw herself at - Toby?