Degrassi Gone Bad

When I was in middle school I used to watch Degrassi: The Next Generation pretty much every night. It was definitely one of my favorite, if not my favorite, shows. It focused on the lives of several high school students and featured episodes on real issues such as internet dating, cutting, and homosexuality. The characters all started out in middle school (at Degrassi; it is a junior high school and high school combined in Canada) and were followed through their first year of college. The series started out with minor events featuring the headstrong Emma. The issues were mostly dealing with the characters getting a Saturday School, or getting in trouble with the principle for over-the-line protesting. As the characters grew up, their problems did too. It became more exciting as Craig faces mental illness, Liberty finds out that she's pregnant, and Manny considers getting plastic surgery. As you can probably already tell by what i've explained this show was not meant for middle-schoolers anymore. To sum it all up, it was a pretty great show. Recently, however, it has been majorly lacking. The character's that I knew and loved have grown up and have been forgotten. They have been replaced by superficial, two dimensional characters, who just don't grow on you. The problems have escalated to ridiculous heights with sex and drugs in every episode, not to mention the repeat of problems the original cast had. I can't stand to watch what has become of my favorite show. It disgusts me. Yet I still watch it. "Why?" you may ask, well I guess I still have some hope that the show will turn around and match what it once was, but I highly doubt that. One thing that I have come to realize is that all shows tend to lose their appeal after a while, like rotten fruit or moldy bread. Is it that the audience gets bored with the show? Or is it that the writers draw a blank? Maybe it's both. But then again, I would be wrong in saying that all shows lose their popularity. I mean, think of how long Family Guy and The Simpsons have been running. It must be that TV shows with random plots that aren't related from episode to episode are popular for a lot longer because there isn't a set plot to stick to. Anyway, what i'm trying to say is that Degrassi needs to just lay down the script and discontinue the show because it is just not what it used to be.