The fifth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation depicted the 2005-2006 school year. Garnering even more impressive ratings than the previous season, this is the most successful season of the Degrassi Franchise.
It continues to depict the lives of a group of high school sophomores, juniors and seniors as they deal with the some of the challenges and issues teenagers face such as such as teenage pregnancy, self image, drug dealing, loneliness, religion, coming out, sexual identity, anorexia, bulimia, and relationships.
Main Cast
The following 20 actors received star billing:
Seniors (Class of 2006)
- Deanna Casaluce as Alex Nuñez, a rebellious lesbian
- Lauren Collins as Paige Michalchuk, a sexually-confused queen bee
- Jake Epstein as Craig Manning, a ladies' man and bipolar musician
- Stacey Farber as Ellie Nash, an ex-Goth girl who is recovering from many traumatic events
- Aubrey Graham as Jimmy Brooks, a jock, who is paralyzed after being a victim of the school shooting.
- Andrea Lewis as Hazel Aden, a cheerleader and Paige's sidekick
- Adamo Ruggiero as Marco Del Rossi, the beloved gay teenager and Craig and Ellie's best friend
Juniors (Class of 2007)
- Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt, a pregnant overachiever, and student council president.
- Ryan Cooley as J.T. Yorke, Degrassi's infamous class clown, who eventually has some growing up to do after getting Liberty pregnant.
- Jake Goldsbie as Toby Isaacs, a nerdy outcast and J.T.'s best friend
- Miriam McDonald as Emma Nelson, a rebellious, insecure human rights activist
- Cassie Steele as Manny Santos, Emma's attractive best friend, and an aspiring actress who just can't get it right.
- Shane Kippel as Spinner Mason, a born-again Christian who wants to earn forgiveness from his friends and is repeating his junior year
Sophomores (Class of 2008)
- Jamie Johnston as Peter Stone, a manipulative troublemaker (New)
Adults
- Stefan Brogen as Archie Simpson, the Media Immersion teacher and Emma's stepfather
- Melissa DiMarco as Daphne Hatzilakos, Peter's mom and Degrassi's principal
- Pat Mastroianni as Joey Jeremiah, Craig's guardian / stepfather and a used car salesman
- Stacie Mistysyn as Caitlin Ryan, an environmentalist and human rights activist
- Amanda Stepto as Christine Nelson, Emma's mom and Snake's wife
Other
- Mike Lobel as Jay Hogart, a bad boy who was expelled from Degrassi last year.
Recurring Characters
Students
- Dalmar Abuzeid as Danny Van Zandt, a class clown and Liberty's brother (Grade 10)
- Marc Donato as Derek Haig, a basketball player and Danny's best friend. (Grade 10) (New)
- Shenae Grimes as Darcy Edwards, a cute, religious cheerleader. (Grade 10)
- Unseen Actress as Heather Sinclair, a queen bee (Grade 12)
Adults
- Linlyn Lue as Laura Kwan, an English teacher
- Michael Kinney as Darryl Armstrong, a coach and math teacher
- Tom Melissis as Dom Perino, a history teacher
- Jennifer Podemski as Chantel Sauvé, a guidance counselor
Guest Stars
- John Bregar as Dylan Michalchuk, a gay hockey player, Paige's elder brother and Marco's boyfriend- "Total Eclipse Of The Heart"
- Christopher Jacot as Matt Oleander - "Death Of A Disco Dancer"
- Jajube Mandiela as Chantay Black, a cheerleader- "Venus (2)" & "Our Lips Are Sealed (2)" (Grade 9)
- Jason Mewes as Himself - "The Lexicon Of Love"
- Alanis Morissette as Herself - "The Lexicon Of Love (1)"
- Kevin Smith as Himself - "The Lexicon Of Love"
- Alex Steele as Angela Jeremiah, Joey's daughter and Craig's younger half-sister- "Wedding, Parties, Anything" and "Our Lips Are Sealed (1)".
- Cathy Keenan as Liz O'Rourke, a Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High alumna, and Spike's friend. - "I Against I"
Opening Sequence
The theme song begins with a shot of the front entrance of the school. The camera pans to the right and we see Ellie across the street holding a video camera shooting the school. The name "Stacey Farber" zooms in from the left side of the screen. The camera focuses on her and she turns to the right. The camera now takes the perspective of Ellie's camera. It goes by the front entrance where we see a kid skateboarding down the railing. It stops at Emma who is at the bottom of the stairs passing out flyers. The name "Miriam McDonald" fades in and she looks into the camera smiling and sticks her tongue out. Her name zooms off to the right and the camera goes to the right and focuses on Jay who's sitting on the hood of his car in the parking lot. The name "Mike Lobel" fades in on the lower left corner. Alex walks past him and the name "Deanna Casaluce" fades in on the upper right. As she's walking she pushes his head back and laughs as she walks off screen.
The camera then zooms to the right and focuses in the gym where two cheerleaders throw another cheerleader and catch her. The camera zooms down where we see Hazel. The name "Andrea Lewis" fades in. She's smiling as Paige climbs up on her shoulder and grabs her leg to build a pyramid. The camera then focuses on Manny standing on the other side holding onto Paige's leg. The name "Cassie Steele" fades in. She looks up and smiles. The camera zooms up and focuses on Paige. The name "Lauren Collins" appears. She's holding both arms up and smiling. Her name zooms off to the left. The camera zooms to the right and we see the lacrosse team including Kendra looking to their right as J.T. runs in from the left with a lacrosse stick. He stops and smiles as a boy behind him puts on his mascot head for him. During this the name "Ryan Cooley" appears. It then zooms down.
The camera zooms to the right and shows Jimmy and Craig in the music room playing their guitars and smiling. The name "Aubrey Graham" appears on the lower left of the screen below Jimmy and then the name "Jake Epstein" fades in on the upper right below Craig. Aubrey's name fades out and then Jake's zooms off to the left. The camera goes to the right and shows Spinner standing at the door of the music room. The name "Shane Kippel" fades in. He looks at them sadly and then walks off to the right. His name zooms off to the left. The camera zooms to the right showing Toby and Liberty in the science lab. The name "Jake Goldsbie" fades in on the upper left as Toby pours a substance from a tube into a bigger tube. This causes smoke to shoot out from the tube. Toby steps back surprised but Liberty smiles with amazement. The name "Sarah Barrable- Tishauer" fades in on the lower right before Jake's name zooms off to the left. Sarah's name then zooms down. The camera zooms to the right. We see Spike sitting next Snake at a picnic table. The name "Amanda Stepto" fades in on the lower left below Spike and then the name "Stefan Brogren" fades in on the upper right below Snake. Snake has his arm around Spike and kisses her forehead while she smiles. Their names then fade out in the same order they faded in.
The camera zooms to the right and we see Joey and Caitlin sitting across from them. The name "Pat Mastroianni" fades in on the upper left below Joey. Then the name "Stacie Mistysyn" fades in on the lower right below Caitlin. They both look at each other and smile. Pat's name zooms off to the right and then Stacie's name zooms as well. The camera zooms to the right where we see Peter with a camera at the entrance of the school. The name "Jamie Johnston" zooms up. He then focuses his camera on a pretty girl walking up the stairs and takes a picture. He turns back around and looks to his left. His name zooms off to the left and the camera goes to the right where we see Ms. H looking at him angrily. The name Melissa Dimarco fades in. She looks up at the camera and puts her hand in front of the lense. Her name zooms off to the left. The camera then zooms to the right. We are no longer seeing things from Ellie's perspective as the camera shows Marco standing in the hallway with Ellie, with her back to the camera, standing in front of him with her camera. The name "Adamo Ruggiero" fades in. She points to him as he takes his sunglasses off. His name fades out. He then pops the collar of his jacket and turns around. The camera zooms into his back where we see the "Degrassi: The Next Generation" logo pop out.
Episode List
Episode Guide: Episode Guide
| Season # | Series # | Title | Canadian Airdate | U.S. Airdate | Production Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 82 | "Venus (1)" | September 19, 2005 | October 7, 2005 | 501 |
| 2 | 83 | "Venus (2)" | September 26, 2005 | October 7, 2005 | 502 |
| 3 | 84 | "Death Of A Disco Dancer" | October 3, 2005 | October 14, 2005 | 503 |
| 4 | 85 | "Foolin'" | October 10, 2005 | October 21, 2005 | 504 |
| 5 | 86 | "Weddings, Parties, Anything" | October 17, 2005 | November 4, 2005 | 505 |
| 6 | 87 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | October 24, 2005 | November 11, 2005 | 506 |
| 7 | 88 | "Turned Out (1)" | October 31, 2005 | November 18, 2005 | 507 |
| 8 | 89 | "Turned Out (2)" | November 7, 2005 | December 2, 2005 | 508 |
| 9 | 90 | "Tell It To My Heart" | November 14, 2005 | December 9, 2005 | 509 |
| 10 | 91 | "Redemption Song" | November 21, 2005 | December 16, 2005 | 510 |
| 11 | 92 | "The Lexicon of Love (1)" | November 28, 2005 | April 7, 2006 | 511 |
| 12 | 93 | "The Lexicon of Love (2)" | December 5, 2005 | April 7, 2006 | 512 |
| 13 | 94 | "Together Forever" | December 12, 2005 | April 14, 2006 | 513 |
| 14 | 95 | "I Against I" | January 30, 2006 | April 21, 2006 | 514 |
| 15 | 96 | "Our Lips Are Sealed (1)" | February 20, 2006 | May 5, 2006 | 515 |
| 16 | 97 | "Our Lips Are Sealed (2)" | February 27, 2006 | May 12, 2006 | 516 |
| 17 | 98 | "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" | March 6, 2006 | May 19, 2006 | 517 |
| 18 | 99 | "High Fidelity (1)" | March 13, 2006 | June 2, 2006 | 518 |
| 19 | 100 | "High Fidelity (2)" | March 20, 2006 | June 9, 2006 | 519 |
Trivia
- This season marks the final appearances of Liz O'Rourke, Joey Jeremiah, Angela Jeremiah and Hazel Aden.
Extras
| Degrassi: The Next Generation | Degrassi | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |