The _Beverly Hills 90210_ thread

without a doubt

THE TIME HAS COME

amazon.com sent me an email reminding me it was on tonight! wtf?!

sunny, i can't wait

me too! and i didn't even sign up for it. or have an amazon account.(?) i'm here i won't moooove

they had a 24hr marathon on Soapnet. Brandon's hair in the pilot A++++++++++. Whole thing is such a great artifact of early 90s cheese. Love when the writers try to force some hip slang into the script.

Brandon's hair in the pilot A++++++++++.

YES. (how much pommade was in that thing?)

I so want to watch it from pilot through the kelly v brenda for dylan saga again

oo..maybe through to junkie dylan driving his 61 Porsche Speedster off a cliff

the kelly v brenda thing is so hard for me though. it's like angela and rayanne i almost can't watch.

fashion wasn't as big of a part of the show, was it? i can't remember at this point, but comparing it to gossip girl, which is basically retail porn, it seems SO different. like, they were all wearing light blue jeans and fleece pullovers in one episode i saw yesterday. part of it is lol 90s fashion, of course, but i don't remember the same frenzy at the time. i could be wrong, but i don't think that any of them appeared in vogue or vanity fair or whatever. tiger beat, more likely.

you should've watched the Soapnet marathon, sunny! i was very disappointed that Brandon's hair had been Beverly Hillified by episode 2. Marathon started at 11pm Sunday, and as I left at 1am, my sister said she was gonna stay up until "that dork shot himself". Wonder if she made it.
Different actress played Kelly's mom in the pilot, and they totally made the right call in replacing her. Ep 2 or 3 was the "40-ish sexpot mom is a total lush you guys" one and Kelly's REAL mom is great in that role. Other one didn't have the chops to pull it off.

xp think you're right, lauren but omg Kelly's outfit in one scene: pink spandex with some striped shorts over them and some other hideousness on top that I can't recall. They show it in a closing credits montage during season 1 ep's.

also the "fashion" at that time wasn't necessarily considered lol... like the light blue jeans and fleece pullovers thing was serious. that actually sounds really comfortable right now

ogod kelly's first mom sucked in comparison!

truth be told, donna wore some of the best outfits. the outfit she had on when she found out her mom was having an affair was particularly omg

oh, i know it was serious. the point is that even at the time, though, it wasn't considered fashion-forward.

fashion wasn't as big of a part of the show, was it?

xxxxposts to lauren about clothes: yeah it wasnt a big thing except that the girls all wore bodyhugging minidresses to events. sort of like less than zero fashion. i think people were more impressed by mansions than clothes back then?

xxxxxposts...surm i was the same with the kelly brenda dylan thing.

Jason Priestley was (briefly) hot in Seasons Two and Three. I'm miffed that the DVD collection could not secure the copyrights to the great period music.

i don't know! i mean, i think you're right in that shows back then weren't necessarily used as runways, but i wouldn't put it past kids watching to idolize that style.

Yes – lotsa girls copied the girls' dresses in the famous prom episode.

GD...i forgot about that kid shooting himself!!

I did flip on to the marathon at some point on monday but i realized dylan and kelly were already together so I didnt bother.

speaking of fashion forward -- obviously, one of the best early episodes is the fashion show, where kelly's mom flips out on coke onstage?

haha i flipped it on yesterday, realized the same thing, didn't bother.
for some reason I thought Donna didn't arrive on scene until at least season 2. her outfits were always pretty wtf, even to me back then. wondered how her dad let her wear some of that.
i missed the 1st 20 minutes of the pilot. how does brenda become friends with Kelly and Donna? i really wished it would've stayed in the afterschool special mode and never evolved to full-fledged teen soap.

xp YES! that was the first ep I ever saw, on some rainy Sunday in 1990. Never had even heard of the show at that point, don't know why they were airing it on a weekend afternoon. apparently it wasn't all that popular until the summer beach episodes aired the following year.

kelly and brenda were sitting together in science i think? or math. and kelly thought brenda looked like fun so she started talking to her

Brenda meets them in class. Donna wasn't originally intended to play such a part; she's a supporting actress in the first season's credits.

To me it's more touching how The Girls accept Andrea.

Some of the great songs I heard for the first time on "90210":

Pet Shop Boys - "So Hard"
Soho - "Hippychick"
R.E.M. - "You Are The Everything"
Sophie B. Hawkins - "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover"

Mrs Walsh is Perfect Mom to a comical degree. Brenda comes home late, arriving in strange man's car (Mrs W peeping out the window sees this). Brenda looks upset, so instead of scolding her, Mrs W is all "aww there there, let's sit on the couch and hug. Oh it's all my fault. I should've been paying more attention to you" or some shit.

ha yes that guy she meets at what is the place? the blue iguana or some bullshit?

lol @ sophie B!

yeah I think it was the Blue Iguana. When they first showed dude eyeing Brenda and sidling up from behind, I was sure it was going to be the Date Rape Episode, but no! she winds up screwing him over. (close to being the Statutory Rape Episode, since before she exits his car she discloses that she had planned to give it up to him that night)(is that actor the guy who played the Famous Singer who comes to the record store for a signing in Empire Records?)

omg and what does she order?

A BANANA DAIQUIRI

thats the only part of the pilot i remember! - kelly grabbing brenda to sit next to her in chemistry because some fat chick was about to and she didnt want to be stuck with a fat chick for a lab partner all year.

hey look:

Brenda and Brandon walk through the hallways, and Brenda asks Brandon to look for her at lunch: she doesn’t want to look like a geek without any friends. Brandon says that together they’ll look like two geeks without any friends. They go to the principal’s office to register, and the principal lists Brandon’s various accomplishments in Minnesota: swim team, sports editor of the paper, cross country and a 3 A average – and Brenda: drama club, school council, and almost a straight A student. “Well, I help her with her homework” Brandon says, his condescending tone setting a precedent for his unctuous, sanctimonious behaviour throughout the show. Can you tell I hate Brandon a little bit? The principal tells them that they’re both achievers, but that West Beverly is tough, which I find hard to believe, and that they should come and talk to him if they have any problems, like that ever has happened in the history of high school.

David Silver says hi to Scott, who can’t find his locker because West Beverly High is so much bigger than junior high. David doesn’t care, though, as the “babes are outrageous”. He’s kind of endearingly loathsome.

Chemistry class, and Mr Ridley announces that they should choose seats carefully, because the person next to them will be their lab partner for the semester. A fat girl walks through the classroom, and people avoid her eye and move their books to avoid being paired with her – because a) fat people are dumb, and b) fat is contagious in Beverly Hills. She comes to Kelly, who babbles that the seat next to her is taken. “By who?” the fat girl demands. Kelly flounders, and points to Brenda, who’s just come in: “by that girl” and beckons her over.

Spanish class, and Brandon takes a seat next to Steve, who is on his gargantuan cell phone. The Spanish teacher introduces herself in Spanish, and announces that the class will be all in Spanish, as everyone stares at her cluelessly, and Steve tells Brandon that it’s bogus that she gets paid to speak her native tongue. The teacher asks in Spanish if anyone understands, and Andrea, in the front row, raises her hand like Lisa Simpson, smiling smugly. She’s the smart one, you see, as if wearing glasses and being slightly less than impeccably-groomed isn’t clue enough.

Brandon enters the newsroom for the school paper and asks for Andrea Zuckerman. “I am she”, Andrea announces ungrammatically, pencil clenched between her teeth, not looking up. “Ola” says Brandon, emphasis on the last syllable, and when Andrea looks exasperated, explains “We’re in Spanish together. I’m Brandon.” “Ola,” says Andrea, looking unimpressed. Brandon tells her that he wants to write for the paper. She asks if he can write, and he says that he was sports editor of his old student newspaper in Minnesota. “Great!” she says unconvincingly, and tells him he can either cover a story on toxic waste disposal in chemistry classes or the girls’ water polo match, and Brandon, predictably, goes for the water polo. Andrea smirks and says he failed her test: she gives all guys who want to work for the paper that choice, and none of them has ever chosen the toxic waste. Brandon was a sports editor, though, so it’s not an entirely fair test. She tells Brandon that she runs the top ranked high school newspaper in the country and she wants to keep it that way, which involves long hours, major deadlines and total commitment. “Wow, you are intense,” he says. He offers to interview the janitor for the toxic waste story, and she tells him it’s the custodial engineer. “And Brandon,” she adds, with a smile that signifies a doomed crush that will last the series, “nice meeting you.”

Lunchtime. Brandon tries to join a few groups of kids sitting at tables, but they all get up and leave, so he settles in to eat lunch alone.

Kelly and Brenda stroll past, as Kelly tells Brenda it’s a good thing she met Kelly when she did: West Beverly isn’t like other schools; the kids are richer, some have famous parents, and so socially it’s intense, you make one false move and you’re history: “if people saw you eating lunch alone like that guy over there…” she says, indicating Brandon, and treacherous Brenda walks faster, changing the subject to her old friend in Minnesota. They sit down next to freakish-looking Tori Spelling – Donna – and Kelly says that she could never deal with the cold in Minnesota: she’d get fat. Brenda tells her it’s great: all winter you can eat whatever you want and hide it under bulky clothes. “That’s definitely not Beverly Hills,” says Kelly, adding that someone’s always throwing a pool party so you never get to pig out. Nonetheless, none of the women around the table look as terrifyingly emaciated as some of the actors in more recent teen soaps – Mischa Barton, I am looking at you – which is pleasantly refreshing.

David and Scott carry their lunch trays and piles of books, complaining about how much homework they’ve got – Scott is worried about his GPA, but David’s more concerned about the effect on his nascent social life. A jock throws something at Scott and he drops his books and tray, while the jocks high-five each other, like the arseholes they are. Suddenly David looks up: there’s a plane is in the sky, which is improbably trailing a banner announcing a back to school party on Friday. David rejoices: “Yes! We are THERE!” Kelly sees the address and tells Brenda that it’s Mary Anne Moore’s house: she’s a very rich party girl, with a house so big you need a map. Brenda can’t believe Mary Anne’s inviting the whole school – 1800 people – and presumably half of Los Angeles as well, given that it’s a plane. I never would have got away with that in high school. They look back up and see another plane trailing a sign saying “no freshman”. But presumably freshmen plural are OK? Or not, as Kelly laughs and says that now it’s only 1500 people. She suggests that she and Brenda go to the party together, and Brenda agrees. Meanwhile, Scott and David look dejected, but David’s still determined to go to the party.

The Walsh twins drive home, and Brenda can’t believe they made it through the first day. Brandon asks what she thought, and she says they’re definitely not in Minnesota any more. Brandon says that it’s weird not knowing anybody, adding helpfully “it’s like I don’t know who they are, they don’t know who I am” – thanks for breaking it down for us like that, Brandon! With a way with words like that, I can see how he’s such an ace reporter. He asks if they’re going to Mary Anne Moore’s party and what time they should get there, adding that it’ll be uncool to show up before ten. Brenda’s face falls, and she says she’s already made plans to go with friends – it’s a girl thing, but he should join them if he wants. Unsurprisingly he refuses such a lacklustre invitation, but tells her to go and have a good time – he’ll see her there.

i LOVE the "babes are outrageous" line

kelly: NO FATTEYS PLEASE

my sister was loling at banana daiquiri, too. good writing though! that's exactly what a naive 16 yr old girl would order.

also i completely forgot they were twins!

OMG MINNESOTA TWINS

ITS ALL STARTING TO MAKE SENSE!!!!!!

oh god the whole plane thing is that pilot recap LOLarious

dude i would've gotten up and left if Mr HockeyHair tried to sit at my lunch table, too.

ugh i guess it was a requirement that they put "looks like we're not in Minnesota anymore, Toto" line in there huh.
mary anne moore was a total fox.

and so COMPLICATED!

This thread needs some YouTube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV8fXDx_2AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qCvp5a2tp4

OMG OMG OMG OMG SO SOON SO OOOOOSOOSOOOOODFJ

I am in the airport but could not bring myself to spend $3.95 on the ew or us weekly with Brenda gracing the covers.

i hope you can watch tonight!

What time is it? 8 or 9?

We have to wait until 10:30 central time, thanks to baseball. But we get two eps in a row!

8pm in NY i think

Crap. I get out of class at 745 so wouldn't get home til 830 or so. Wonder if there's a bar screening it?

that would actually be really fun! i dunno, hopefully they'll replay it sometime this week -- also, i didn't realize it was 2 hours long!

I think they are pairing the first two episodes in one airing. On my DVR recording it lists two different episode titles.

Am I going to be really disappointed for getting excited about this?