angelophile | So instead of finishing those comics, this is what he's up to, eh?

One deals forthrightly with issues like teenage sex and violence in schools. One deals forthrightly with the travails of convenience-store workers and sexually frustrated comic book artists.

"Degrassi: The Next Generation," say hello to Kevin Smith.

Smith and his frequent movie sidekick, Jason Mewes, will guest-star in the final three episodes of "Degrassi's" current season. The duo, who have played Jay and Silent Bob in four of Smith's films, will play the characters again on the show, finishing their High School Diplomas in Canada at Degrassi. Also appearing in the episodes is their old friend Alanis Moissette who played GOD in "DOGMA", who will play the principal of the school.

Smith is an avowed "Degrassi" fan who has slipped references to the show into a few of his movies. He named a character in "Clerks" after Caitlin, his favorite character from the show, and had Banky (Jason Lee) say in "Chasing Amy" that he'd prefer an evening of pizza and "Degrassi" to going out clubbing with Holden (Ben Affleck).

"I used to work at this convenience store, and on Sunday mornings the only thing that kept me from gutting the customers in a sleepy rage was 'Degrassi Junior High,'" Smith wrote in a 1996 Details magazine piece. See, I had to put the papers together, and I did it while watching double episodes of 'Degrassi' on PBS."

Smith and "Degrassi: TNG" producer Linda Schuyler tried to arrange for Smith to direct an episode of the show in 2001, but scheduling conflicts prevented that from happening. The guest appearances will make up for that.