A New Start (Degrassi High)

"A New Start"
Degrassi High episodes
A CBC promotional poster for A New Start
Episode nos.	Season 1 Episodes 1-2
Directed by	Kit Hood
Written by	Yan Moore
Cinematography by	Phillip Earnshaw
Editing by	Robert de Lint
Production code	101-102
Original air date	November 6, 1989 (1989-11-06)
Episode chronology
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"A New Start" is the two-part premiere episode of the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi High. It aired on CBC in its hour-long form on 6 November 1989, and on PBS in the United States on 13 January 1990.^[1] The episode was written by Yan Moore and directed by Kit Hood. It is the first of three episodes of Degrassi that depict abortion, followed by 2003's "Accidents Will Happen" from Degrassi: The Next Generation and 2017's "#IRegretNothing" from Degrassi: Next Class.

In the episode, which revisits the cast of Degrassi Junior High as they begin high school, Erica Farrell (Angela Deiseach) discovers she is pregnant following a summer romance and contemplates an abortion, and her anti-abortion twin sister Heather (Maureen Deiseach) becomes torn on supporting her. In the sub-plot, Joey Jeremiah (Pat Mastroianni), Archie "Snake" Simpson (Stefan Brogren) and Derek "Wheels" Wheeler (Neil Hope) are hazed one-by-one by Joey's former enemy Dwayne Myers (Darrin Brown) and his cronies. The episode was made in reaction to the abortion debate of the late 1980s. The writers of Degrassi had thought of making an episode on abortion as early as Degrassi Junior High but were unsure about it due to the polarisation around the topic. Angela Deiseach extensively prepared for the episode, including visiting a real abortion clinic where she was heckled and called a "whore".

The episode aired to a largely positive reception for its even-handed and direct portrayal of the abortion debate, and Angela Deiseach's performance as Erica was singled out for praise by some critics. Several newspapers called Degrassi High "gutsy" in tackling the subject matter and not "copping out", and the episode generated commentary in the Canadian media. However, in the United States, PBS removed the final scene in which Erica and Heather fight through a crowd of anti-abortion picketers; a decision which drew pushback from the showrunners and led to Hood's name being removed from the credits at his request.