'90210': Same zip different vibe
I rushed home last night to catch the two-hour premiere of "90210" the strange re-make of the now-classic 90s hit "Beverly Hills 90210".
I'm not ashamed of it.
OK I'm a little ashamed of it. My fiance, who was (and let's face it, still is) Brandon Walsh's No. 1 fan got me hooked to the original a couple years ago, when it was finally released on DVD (sans the original music, which probably made the show even more likeable).
I've since looked forward to each new season. And while I can't relate to the likes of Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, Dylan and the rest of the gang, the reliably over-dramatic plotlines keep me coming back to the teen soap opera.
While the CW's re-make contains the ghosts of the West Beverly gang, I'm just not sold on it.
The two hour premiere -- which were really just two separate episodes run consecutively -- was zippy for sure. We bounced around from character to character and plotline to plotline, the same way, I guess, today's high schoolers juggle texting while driving and adjusting their iPod.
It was dizzying. And nobody showed the sad confusion more than Joe E. Tata back as Nat (you know Nat, from the Peach Pit), who still works at the Peach Pit, only this version is an uber-hip coffee joint, devoid of the charm and grunginess of the diner from the original.
As he served up posh drinks to the bratty teenie boppers of the modern West Beverly, he just looked out-of-place.
The show brought back a couple more old faces. Jennie Garth returns as Kelly Taylor and for Shannon Doherty reprises her role as the ever-dramatic Brenda Walsh. And with them come stories that dangle the promise of old "90210" drama. Kelly is a single mom and we don't yet know who the dad is (could it be Brandon or maybe Dylan?).
Kelly's little sister, Erin, is as a smart-aleck and no-doubt "edgy" student nicknamed Silver. We even got a glimpse of the famous Andrea Zuckerman-Jesse Valazquez offspring, who, of course, works in the media.
As for the kids the show centers around, they're beautiful and rich. If you've seen the "O.C." you've met them before. They're all drinking and flying around in private jets, throwing MTV's "Super Sweet 16"-style birthday parties.
You know, stuff that most normal teens can't and won't relate to at all.
The fish-out-of water schtick is back, this time with the Annie and Dixon Wilson two transplanted Kansan's whose father (played by Rob Estes) hailed from Beverly Hills and is now the principal of West Beverly. Maybe we'll have sympathy for these kids because the show is selling them as sweet, charming and naive. But they're no Walsh's.
And their relationship with their parents just isn't as sweet and charming as the Walsh twins was with Cindy and Jim.
What stuck out the most about this version of the show was how raunchy it was. Sure the original show was not angelic by any means, but they didn't dive into to drug use and sex with the same gusto. And they didn't make it seem like it was recreational activity that was as natural as breathing.
I didn't watch the show to see the new kids on the block, anyway. And I'm not sure they'll keep me coming back.
