There's not a lot I miss about being a teen -- the zits, the homework, the torturous first dates -- but the TV is one thing I wish I'd never outgrown. There's very little of that verisimilitude that grown-up dramas suffer from. From the highly unlikely guardianship of Charlie Salinger to the seriously misguided dating rules of Joyce Summers, teen shows always have some elements of wish fulfillment. Parents are young, attractive or entirely absent. TV teen drama can't be dismissed as silly, the way real life teen drama can be -- its usually an apocalypse, a tragic accident or a mysterious disease, or sometimes all of the above.

'Teen Wolf,' the MTV series that only vaguely resembles the '80s Michael J. Fox movie of the same name, has all the hallmarks of a high school classic.

OK, here we go again with a SPOILER WARNING. Do not, do not, do not read on or scroll down if you don't want to find out what happens on tonight's episode of Degrassi: The Next Generation.

I remember watching the original Degrassi, back in the 50s or whenever it was originally broadcast (I feel old). I was never a regular viewer, but I remember thinking that the show was better than most teen shows, better written, with a realistic cast. And then tackled some serious topics: sex, drugs, violence, relationships. But I don't think they ever had anything like what happens on tonight's show.