7 TV Shows That Suddenly Dropped Major Plot Threads

6. Degrassi Tackles HIV/AIDS. Badly.

Everyone's favorite semi-educational Canadian teen drama, Degrassi (formerly Degrassi: The Next Generation) is well-known for its sensitive handling of topics ranging from rape, incest, and domestic abuse to the plight of homosexual and transgender children to teen pregnancy and everything in between. The acting and writing isn't always the best, but they have a solid handle on writing most of the "issue" stories. Unfortunately, they've also had some major misses.

One of the most notorious took place when the older members of the original cast were only appearing occasionally after graduating high school. Paige Michalchuk had some of the best character development, starting as the show's "queen bee" type, but becoming a much more well-rounded person after surviving a rape and seeing her attacker acquitted, dropping out of college when the pressure got to her, and experimenting with her sexuality. As she was trying to build a life for herself as an adult, she started dating her roommate, Griffin. Because Degrassi claims to "go there," they totally had sex, but because it's Degrassi and she wasn't the designated pregnant teen, they used protection. Which didn't keep her from freaking out when she learned Griffin was HIV positive, having contracted the virus in utero from his mother.

The episode ends with Paige awaiting the results of her HIV test. Sure, they were safe, but she was right to be worried, and she both broke up with Griffin and moved out of their house. That was the last we ever saw of Paige, because actress Lauren Collins was done with the show. It's become a running joke among the show's fandom, with Collins even appearing in a fan parody video that addressed the dropped thread.