An Interview With Dan Woods (Mr. Raditch on Degrassi)

Mark: Was DJH really called Vincent Massey School, and why so far away from the real Degrassi street? Was it on 68 Daisy Street?

Dan: Yes, the school was on Daisy Street in the Mimico area of Etobicoke. And it was called Vincent Massey. Although, I think it was also called Daisy Street Public School at some point in its history.

Mark: And was Centennial College the building that filmed Degrassi High? Where was it?

Dan: Yes, the high school was Centenial College's campus on Morden at Pape in East York. It had been closed for renovations while we were there. Often there were construction crews working in other wings while we were on site filming.

Mark: How did Degrassi change its Sunday afternoon schedule to Prime time?

Dan: Degrassi first premiered as a Sunday afternoon "childrens" mini series and not as a prime time series. We originally followed reruns of The Edison Twins and lead into the Disney hour. However, we were often interrupted for Sunday sports programming. This brought many complaints into the CBC on the following Monday. As a result, CBC executives were very impressed with the following and loyalty that was being developed and decided to move the series onto Monday nights at 7:30pm. Then Ivan Fecan took over programming at the CBC and had Degrassi moved from the planned 7:30 to an 8:30pm time slot. This resulted in our bumping Danger Bay into the 7:30 pm slot. So Degrassi premiered in the fall at 8:30 pm with reruns of the winter/spring shows until January when our new shows were ready. The second mini season was tagged on, resulting in a full season that year. The following year we produced 18 shows for premier in the fall.

Mark: Tell me about your filming schedule?

Dan: Most seasons were filmed from April to October. Each episode was shot in six working days over a seven day schedule. There was a week of rehearsal and prep between each filming date to allow the kids to continue with school. Only in July and August did we shoot episodes back to back. However, we also took off two weeks to give the kids a holiday.

Mark: When were the exact dates of production for The Kids of Degrassi Street? Why did PWT only produce 26 episodesin 5 years?

Dan: I am not sure when the exact dates of Kids occured. However I can speculate that the reason for only 26 episodes was probably due to the same contitions we began our first season. That was to supply a short or mini series that could compliment the family programing shown on Sundays and could air when there were no sporting events that conflicted.

Mark: Are you in contact with any of the cast members?

Dan: I am not in active contact with any other cast members. As you know, there are a few years between us. Many went onto University, College or began careers. I went onto work in radio and media sales (primarily), and started a family. In fact my daughter was two months old when I brought her to the set of "Schools Out".

I have a new series begining in February '98 on the Speedvision Network called "Classic Car Restorations. Its sort of a "Home Improvement/ How To" series. I am the series host and co-producer and will be making 13 shows for the Network which is based out of Stamford Conn.

Mark: I recognize that many of the outdoor scenes were fimed in The Beaches (East of Downtown Toronto). It was so far away from Vincent Massey school. Were indoor scenes filmed in the Beaches as well?

Dan: Actually, many indoor scenes were filmed in the beaches tool Only the Junior High was in Etobicoke. The Daisy Street location was chosen because the Etobicoke Board of Education had a vacant school for rent due to low enrollment in that area.

Mark: Thank you for answering my questions.

Dan: I hope that I have been able to answer your questions to your satisfaction. I'm sorry that I don't know much about the Kids Of DeGrassi series. However, if you wanted to contact Epitome Films in Toronto, I am sure they could answer more of your questions. Epitome is owned by Linda Schuyler and many of the staff are former Playing With Time people. Epitome is producing the series "Riverdale" for the CBC.

Dan: I'm very glad that DeGrassi was helpful to you in your high school years. It was extremely well written and produced. It was indeed a fortunate opportunity for me and made going to work a pleasure. I hope that we helped to make a crazy world understandable for you. Now if there were a series that could help us Dads with two kids

Take good care!!

Sincerely, Dan Woods
a.k.a. Mr. Raditch - A+