The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story

[Duckie30ca]

My stupid Lifetime feed repeated about 20 minutes (from the "We are up against Cheers" scene to the "Winter Dance get-rid-of-the-old-extra" scene) so it ended after the "Shannen gets into a fight" scene and went straight into Tori Spelling: Lie Detector.

I even made a point of re recording. Harumpf.

Innyway...I thought they struck Garth-gold with her doppelgänger and the girl playing Shannen sold me on her attitude. I pulled a muscle rolling my eyes at the Mullet-less Ziering and his sharknado reference.

I also have to wonder if Dan Castellaneta lost a bet because he couldn't have needed the money??

[CMH1981]

I think Castellaneta likes to stretch out from just being Homer all the time, plus let's face it was just what, 2 days of acting time...i'm sure they shot this movie in a week or less. I think Dan has a wicked sense of humor and thought this would be fun, plus he gets to do the Melrose Place and any future unauthorized films that includes Aaron Spelling on Lifetime, which let's face it there are plenty to choose from...i'm hoping a 7th Heaven one is in the works.

Edited October 4, 2015 by CMH1981

[turbogirlnyc]

I know they didn't get into the majority of the behind the scenes dealings w/ Shannen Doherty, but from this movie it made it look like she was voted off the 90210 island mainly for being late to the set. The almost throw down b/t Shannen and Jennie was laughable b/c you just know Shannen would have mopped the floor w/ Jennie, Shannen plays dirty.

So did Jennie b/c the new top bitch after the Shannen ouster this movie made it seem like was going to happen?

Was this the first time we had post-show updates (no matter how cheesy/stupid these were) on one of these unauthorized movies?

I know Candy comes into play here w/ the amount that Tori and her brother were left, since she seems to be a bitch and probably manipulated Aaron into amending his will near the end all that, but just b/c your parents have an immense wealth doesn't mean they are obligated to give a huge chunk of it to you after their death or even before that. It's their money, or in this case Aaron's money, that he made himself. If Tori wants millions then by god she can try to have her go at it to make something of herself other than a failed reality actress w/ two bad marriages.

Wow, hostile much? Yeah, I realize parents don't owe their kids any of the money they earned. But considering how he put his daughter, who was inexperienced, in his hit TV show, I figured he was close to her. I'll see my way out now. Edited October 4, 2015 by turbogirlnyc

[blueroses]

Thank you guys so much for the recap and podcast. I'm a cable cutter with no access to Lifetime and was severely bummed to miss seeing this.

 

The other thing that makes me think there was an effort to stay on Tori's good side was no mention of the endless cycles of "Tori's latest boy toys" who would get cast. Would have loved to see some Jamie Walters/Ray Pruit (whose momma couldn't afford the last T) snark. Or the guy who played Noah

 

The important takeaway from the podcast is that Tara gets up at 4:30 in the morning. I've always wondered how you guys put out so much content. Note to self: be more like Tara.

[MyAimIsTrue]

I thought the movie bad, really bad, and not in an enjoyable so bad it's good way.  The actor playing Brian Austin Green was too old and the one playing Ian Ziering wasn't physically big enough but what really got me was how pathetic they made Gabrielle Carteris.  Yes, I know Andrea was never a major character but she was my favorite and all these years later I still feel some weird sense of loyalty.

[WhosThatGirl]

I think Castellaneta likes to stretch out from just being Homer all the time, plus let's face it was just what, 2 days of acting time...i'm sure they shot this movie in a week or less. I think Dan has a wicked sense of humor and thought this would be fun, plus he gets to do the Melrose Place and any future unauthorized films that includes Aaron Spelling on Lifetime, which let's face it there are plenty to choose from...i'm hoping a 7th Heaven one is in the works.

 

I've been hilariously wondering what next movie lifetime is going to spin out next. With MP out next week, they must be wondering what to work on now. 7th Heaven would be good, I can't think of any other show. 

 

The Jennie Garth dooplerganger was scary. And I remember her on the 90210 remake and she didn't have any scenes with Jennie and she didn't to me anyway look like JG as much as she did in this movie. It was kind of scary.

Edited October 4, 2015 by WhosThatGirl

[leighdear]

I know Candy comes into play here w/ the amount that Tori and her brother were left, since she seems to be a bitch and probably manipulated Aaron into amending his will near the end all that, but just b/c your parents have an immense wealth doesn't mean they are obligated to give a huge chunk of it to you after their death or even before that.  It's their money, or in this case Aaron's money, that he made himself.  If Tori wants millions then by god she can try to have her go at it to make something of herself other than a failed reality actress w/ two bad marriages.

I pretty much agree.  Aaron died, but Candy didn't.  His money went to her, and when she dies it's presumed her heirs will inherit.  That's Tori, Randy & their families.  I don't understand why people think his money should have immediately gone to his kids.  That's weird to me. 

 

When my dad died, my mother was his sole heir, apart from a few personal things he mentioned in his will that went to family members.  And our mother having the house and assets is only right.  She spent 57 years, working alongside him.  My brothers & I couldn't imagine expecting anything.  

 

 And Tori did get over 3/4 of a million dollars.  As a fairly young woman with a long life ahead, and an acting career, book deals and projects, that money could easily have put to good use to make money.  But wherever it went, it was her own doing. 

[woodscommaelle]

Steve's corvette had at least two different license plates when he and Brenda were driving around. How is shit like that not noticed by the editors?

Something strange about Aaron Spelling's voice (accent). Had to look him up to see if he was born outside of the US.

Edited October 4, 2015 by woodscommaelle

[Narla]

I'm glad you guys did this -- the Canadian feed of the movie screwed up and repeated a good 20 minutes of the movie in the middle, and then started doing terrible mid-scene cuts to commercials, with the whole thing ending in time for Tori Spelling's lie detector show, so we didn't actually get the end.

That's my excuse for WATCHING the Tori Spelling Lie Detector thing, because I was mad about the movie-interuptus... It's as good as any. It was pretty cringe-worthy, but a few things worth noting:

* Tori says that Shannen actually wasn't involved in the red dress fight at all -- it was her and Jenni and she's still embarrassed about it.

* Tori also made it sound like the physical Jenni & Shannen fight was toned down on TV.

* Most hilariously, Tori admitted that she got the role because she was Aaron's daughter and the movie got it right -- she used a fake name, but everyone in casting knew who she was. She's never said this, but she clearly has the same problem Damon Wayans Jr. had when he tried to do stand-up under another name -- she looks exactly like her dad. She's basically Aaron Spelling with Candy's hair.

[swimmyfish]

Much as I appreciate Lifetime giving Dan Castellenetta (sp?) an opportunity to bust out that accent, I do wonder a little bit what was the point of this special? As Tara pointed out, even without the internet, the turmoil and behind the scenes Shannen-igans were very well-documented at the time; anyone who would be interested in this gossip would have learned it 20 years ago, when it was actually happening. I'm certainly happy we had an opportunity for a bonus podcast this week, but, as die-hard fan of the Brenda era, I'm very disappointed at the lack of insider info.

[Bastet]

I'm not sure if anyone watched the Tori interview but man, I'd be pissed if my dad who was worth 50 million, only left me $800,000. Especially since they were close.

 

It's standard procedure in cases like that of Aaron and Candy, where there are no second spouses in the mix, for the estate to pass to the surviving spouse; the kids generally get their inheritance when the second parent dies, not when the first one does.

[Picture It. Sicily]

Am I the only one who can't play the past two podcasts?

It literally just started working. Disregard previous post.

[Racj82]

I know they didn't get into the majority of the behind the scenes dealings w/ Shannen Doherty, but from this movie it made it look like she was voted off the 90210 island mainly for being late to the set. The almost throw down b/t Shannen and Jennie was laughable b/c you just know Shannen would have mopped the floor w/ Jennie, Shannen plays dirty.

So did Jennie b/c the new top bitch after the Shannen ouster this movie made it seem like was going to happen?

Was this the first time we had post-show updates (no matter how cheesy/stupid these were) on one of these unauthorized movies?

 

 

I know Candy comes into play here w/ the amount that Tori and her brother were left, since she seems to be a bitch and probably manipulated Aaron into amending his will near the end all that, but just b/c your parents have an immense wealth doesn't mean they are obligated to give a huge chunk of it to you after their death or even before that.  It's their money, or in this case Aaron's money, that he made himself.  If Tori wants millions then by god she can try to have her go at it to make something of herself other than a failed reality actress w/ two bad marriages.

They've done updates for pretty much all of them while being sort of jokey with it.

[swimmyfish]

At least in the screengrab, that Ronald Reagan looks a lot like Richard Nixon. It's weird.

 

Also, while I mean no disrespect to the fine Canadian actors, none of these dudes are anywhere near as attractive as the actual cast members. Brandon is maybe the most egregious, but Ian Ziering had a cocky charm that this poor guy doesn't come close to.

[Cekrypton1]

I assumed the "cafeteria" set was supposed to be the Peach Pit. It was more diner (stools, counter) than cafeteria.

[Cekrypton1]

Also meant to say, it was weird that whenever the actress playing Shannen had to be mean or snide, she would slip into a Nora Dunn imitation.

[Racj82]

Much as I appreciate Lifetime giving Dan Castellenetta (sp?) an opportunity to bust out that accent, I do wonder a little bit what was the point of this special? As Tara pointed out, even without the internet, the turmoil and behind the scenes Shannen-igans were very well-documented at the time; anyone who would be interested in this gossip would have learned it 20 years ago, when it was actually happening. I'm certainly happy we had an opportunity for a bonus podcast this week, but, as die-hard fan of the Brenda era, I'm very disappointed at the lack of insider info.

Really, what's the point of any pseudo bio pic made for cable or basic TV. They don't have the money or the writers to make money. They making money off of people who love nostalgia, people who enjoy train wreck TV, people who love gossip and people who want to see the scenarios actually played out on screen.

[profreader]

As Sarah said, it would be impossible to find someone with Tori Spelling's particular looks... but at least she was slightly more round-faced than FauxJennie. I am always weirdly obsessed with the casting of these "behind the camera" shows ... seeing how close they can get to the originals. FauxJason looks like a wax version of RealJason that melted in a hot car.

And FauxShannen looks like she's ready to play an assistant DA on Law & Order.

[profreader]

Also meant to say, it was weird that whenever the actress playing Shannen had to be mean or snide, she would slip into a Nora Dunn imitation.

 

And Not-Gabrielle was giving me serious Jan Hooks vibes. We could have had a Sweeney Sisters reunion. 

[Picture It. Sicily]

Never heard that Shannen didn't want Brenda to lose her virginity. Anybody know the back story on that? That is literally the only tidbit that I hadn't known beforehand.

[Racj82]

Never heard that Shannen didn't want Brenda to lose her virginity. Anybody know the back story on that? That is literally the only tidbit that I hadn't known beforehand.

I may be wrong but I don't think we were supposed t believe that. She seemed to be doing it just to give Luke a hard time. Instead of having his back, she hung it out to dry. I also think by that point they were annoyed with each other (example being the quick scene of Shannen not wanting to rehearse.)

[Duckie30ca]

Something strange about Aaron Spelling's voice (accent). Had to look him up to see if he was born outside of the US.

I was expecting him to say, "Vote Quimby!"

[Crs97]

I'm not sure if anyone watched the Tori interview but man, I'd be pissed if my dad who was worth 50 million, only left me $800,000. Especially since they were close.

Not only is it very typical for the surviving spouse to get everything (for tax purposes as much as for convention), Tori had just left her husband of barely a year for a guy she met for two minutes before jumping into bed with him. He was happy to dump his wife and kids pretty quickly as well. I think if the will was changed right before he died, it was because Mom and Dad Spelling could spot a gold digger a mile away. Factor in Randy's drug issues (I don't know whether he got clean before or after Aaron's death), and I think the delay in inheritance makes perfect sense. Randy said he was surprised at the time, but now he is happy it played out the way it did.

[Pogojoco]

I love all the hedging on whether Jason Priestly was actually attractive.

This is what Aaron Spelling sounded like

[Tara Ariano]

When we were talking about the early S2 episodes on the podcasts, someone here -- forgive me, I forget who! -- said she or he remembered Doherty saying at the time she didn't approve of Brenda having sex.

[methodwriter85]

Thank you guys so much for the recap and podcast. I'm a cable cutter with no access to Lifetime and was severely bummed to miss seeing this.

 

The other thing that makes me think there was an effort to stay on Tori's good side was no mention of the endless cycles of "Tori's latest boy toys" who would get cast. Would have loved to see some Jamie Walters/Ray Pruit (whose momma couldn't afford the last T) snark. Or the guy who played Noah.

 

I don't think that would have fit into the timeline of the show, which only covered the first four seasons. But I'm pretty sure they're trying to stay on Tori's good side, regardless.

 

I wish this could have been higher budget and authorized, but eh, I'll take what I can get.

 

I did go out of this wanting a Behind-The-Scenes story on Charmed's first 3 seasons.

[methodwriter85]

When we were talking about the early S2 episodes on the podcasts, someone here -- forgive me, I forget who! -- said she or he remembered Doherty saying at the time she didn't approve of Brenda having sex.

 

Which makes sense, because Shannen's supposed to be a pretty diehard conservative, and I think she came from a Catholic family.

 

Abbie Cobb and Anthony Ingruber should get together as two people who pull off amazing impressions of a particular celebrity.

[screamin]

Anyone who actually saw it - was the faux-Carteris depicted as participating anywhere in the "everyone-makes-out-with-everyone" montage? Because that would surprise me immensely. (If so, with who?)

[methodwriter85]

Has anyone else been following Jason Priestly and Ian Ziering's comments on Twitter? Ian was snarky, while Jason was basically saying how horrible the whole thing is and how he'd never watch it.

[Genius]

I love how they just pretended Douglas Emerson as Scott Scanlon never happened. And hello - Aaron Spelling had absolutely nothing to do with "Knots Landing." How could the writers not know that? No one thought to fact-check that simplest of facts?

[methodwriter85]

Nah, I'm pretty sure she wasn't. Being 30 and all, her sex drive was non-existent and she was just an old maid at that point.

[profreader]

Yes! I was thinking about a Charmed behind the scenes as well ... "How Shannen Always Gets Fired" ...

[Petunia13]

Yea she was probably off baking them cookies or darning their socks.

[Rebecca]

I love how they just pretended Douglas Emerson as Scott Scanlon never happened.

Yeah, I couldn't help wonder if Douglas or his friends/family watched it and what they thought about that. I was hoping to get at least a word or two on why they dropped him.

I thought the girl who played Jennie was perfect. I knew fake Brenda from Degrassi and she was pretty perfect too. Everyone else was a decent facsimile but fake Dylan was much hotter than real Dylan and fake Tori and fake Brian looked nothing like them at all. I "wonder" how Tori got such a flawless depiction, except it's obvious she must've given info and she's in with Lifetime anyway.

I laughed at the Sharknado reference and liked Tiffani coming on at the end like that and that it was the Lifetime SBTB Tiffani actress again, as someone confirmed. All in all I thought it was decent, better than some of the other Lifetime "unauthorized" movies for sure. It seems possible for a "sequel" for the later seasons with how the movie ended but maybe there isn't much to tell in those years?

Edited October 5, 2015 by Rebecca

[StatMom]

When we were talking about the early S2 episodes on the podcasts, someone here -- forgive me, I forget who! -- said she or he remembered Doherty saying at the time she didn't approve of Brenda having sex.

I thought you said on the podcast (?) that when SD heard later that the episode might be encouraging younger girls to have sex she was horrified.

[alexa]

I don't think there must be much to tell of later years, because the Behind the Headlines show after the lie detector show basically said things were pretty calm after Shannen left.  They didn't have much info for the later years either other than the show did pretty well another 6 seasons after Shannen departing.

[Booger666]

Regarding Tori's $800K inheritence, my recollection of the "facts" around the time of his passing is that Tori publicly implied or directly accused her mother of having an affair and not being devoted to Aaron as his health started to fail. Candy said Tori was a bad daughter and hadn't bothered to see her dad in a long time, maybe 2 years. The brother, Randy, got more $$ than Tori, but still not a lot. Randy sided with his mother during her feud with Tori.

I don't remember when Tori married Dean, but I do recall that they had a destination wedding with just the two of them, no family. I think Tori and Candy started to mend fences after Tori had her first son because they both said how much he looked like Aaron. I think it was months afterwards because I remember Tori taking a dig at Candy at some point about her not seeing her only grandchild and Candy responded that she sent many gifts, but hadn't been invited to see the grandbaby. Clearly I was reading too much People and US back then ;)

[GHScorpiosRule]

I can't speak to what the movie showed, because, ha! I didn't watch it. BUT, as for Shannen not wanting to rehearse, I remember from the various E!THS and even Biography, I think it was, how Shannen has a photographic memory and so didn't need to rehearse. Not fair to her cast members, maybe.

 

I admit, I have a soft spot for her as I grew up with her, all the way back to Little House on the Praire days.

 

And based on all the comments I've read here and in the other thread, I saved myself an hour or so of time that was spent watching other shows.

[Hamatron]

It's probably for the best anyway that Tori and Randy didn't inherit more than they did. Randy has had addiction issues, and I don't know how deep into his recovery he was at the time. Coming into a lot of money as an addict can be a really dangerous situation. Meanwhile, Tori sounds like she has hoarding issues (she spends tens of thousands of dollars each month on storage lockers and says she gets overwhelmed at the thought of clearing anything out). She also lives way beyond her financial means. I think it doesn't matter how much she inherited, she probably would have burned through it just as quickly as she burned through $800K.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Hamatron

[Picture It. Sicily]

Anyone who actually saw it - was the faux-Carteris depicted as participating anywhere in the "everyone-makes-out-with-everyone" montage? Because that would surprise me immensely. (If so, with who?)

I think Gabrielle married her husband between seasons 2 and 3. If they were already dating when production started, she wasn't going to be about macking her costars. I'm surprised they didn't have a scene about Shannen being the only cast member not invited to Gabrielle's wedding.

[Picture It. Sicily]

I think it's rich that Tori accuse anyone else of infidelity.

[BoogieBurns]

I love how they just pretended Douglas Emerson as Scott Scanlon never happened.

 

Scott Scanlon is the sole reason I have never gotten close to a handgun. (Okay, not the sole reason. But that story made me think every gun could go off at any minute.) I think that was the first episode I ever saw of this show, my parents probably turned on the episode just so we would learn about gun safety. So many special episodes of TV in the 90's. They all worked on me. 

 

But yeah, they should have mentioned him. He was in the opening credits for 1 or 2 seasons.

[Laurie4H]

I thought it was pretty bad. Fake Jennie Garth did resemble her a lot but not as pretty in my opinion. On the other hand, fake Tori was too pretty to play the part of Tori. It made it seems like Jennie didn't like Tiffany? I thought they were good friends?

[gesundheit]

 All in all I thought it was decent, better than some of the other Lifetime "unauthorized" movies for sure. It seems possible for a "sequel" for the later seasons with how the movie ended but maybe there isn't much to tell in those years?

 

I thought it was pretty bad. Fake Jennie Garth did resemble her a lot but not as pretty in my opinion. On the other hand, fake Tori was too pretty to play the part of Tori. It made it seems like Jennie didn't like Tiffany? I thought they were good friends?

Jennie was, by her own admission, pretty chilly to Tiffani at first, but eventually she course-corrected and the two became really close.

 

I wish they would do a sequel to follow the next six years of the show. Things were calmer, for sure, but something certainly went down with Kathleen Robertson and Vanessa Marcil and I'd love to watch any take on that! Shannen's awful behavior was well-documented (I thought it was kind of the show to ignore her Charmed ouster in the postscript) but everyone has been really tight-lipped about the circumstances behind the other departures.

[Maharincess]

I thought it was pretty bad. Fake Jennie Garth did resemble her a lot but not as pretty in my opinion. On the other hand, fake Tori was too pretty to play the part of Tori. It made it seems like Jennie didn't like Tiffany? I thought they were good friends?

I've heard both Tiffani and Vanessa Marcil say that Jennie treated them both horribly when they first started. I don't know if they all eventually became friends but I hear she was pretty mean to them when they started.

[mspaul]

 

STEVE SANDERS HAS A VANITY PLATE AND IT READS "I8A4RE." EVERYONE KNOWS THAT.

ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH - this!!!!!  I mean, right?!  This and the non-matching dresses at the Non-Spring dance.  These are the details that people remember - if you're not going to get those things right, then why even bother?

[Tara Ariano]

I linked this during the live-tweet, but it's interesting, so here it is again: those "errors" are actually intentional. Lifetime can't hew too closely to the actual sets/wardrobe/dialogue or they'll open themselves up to lawsuits.

[Stephsco]

I saw this come up in the TV menu last night and knew you guys had to recap! Thank you for saving me from having to watch myself. I think the casting is decent except for Tori and Jason.

I would totally watch a Charmed unathorized bio. But only covering the seasons with Cole!

[Halo]

I totally forgot Vanessa Marcil was even on 90210, but of course I knew that she had a kid with BAG. In my mind, I hate watched the show to the bitter end, but I realize now I was relying totally on the Mediarama recaps for at least the last couple of seasons. 

[Halo]

I think Gabrielle married her husband between seasons 2 and 3. If they were already dating when production started, she wasn't going to be about macking her costars. I'm surprised they didn't have a scene about Shannen being the only cast member not invited to Gabrielle's wedding.

That's what I was going to say. I always had the impression she had a fiance/husband the whole time she was on the show. She certainly never made any news or got papped coming out of clubs, like the rest of the cast (Carol and Jim excepted).