Seasons 1-3: High School Years

[desertflower]

Thought I would start a place for general discussion of the show, and dividing it up into hs/college/beyond seems to make sense.

These are my favorite seasons, I think. High point of the show. I still remember getting so excited for the summer episodes and watching them on the little tv in my bedroom.

Season 1 makes me think of Brandon's endless parade of girlfriends. Who was your favorite? Personally I liked the ice skating girl, and think they should've brought her back at some point. But I guess that actress went on to do movies and they probably couldn't get her back.  The Hispanic girl (Carla?) was cute too, and the scene where she takes Brandon to the cultural activity center and makes him dance is priceless. I'm guessing that's when they discovered Jason/Brandon really should not dance in public.

[GoRunner]

I liked ice skater girl too.

I didn't much care for Carla, although because of Carla we get to meet, "You mean Manuel and Pepe?" Therefore I will appreciate Carla for that. 

I did NOT like teen mom girlfriend, and I'm very glad she never got the part of Brenda, for which I hear she read. 

[carrier76]

Fun fact: Teen Mom Girlfriend is the real life sister of Bryan Dattilo, aka Lucas on Days of Our Lives.

[Moo]

I just watched a speed-run of S1/2 eps last night, and it really is my favourite time of the show. I think it's because they all still seem like friends. S3 kinda starts the end of that, for obvious reasons, and it's never quite as fun to rewatch. I do love the drama and backstabbing later on, but sometimes you just want a fun ep where everyone's relatively nice to each other, and that always sends me to S1/2.

 

I think Camping Trip is one of my favourites. I just love how emo Dylan is, Brandon and Andrea at their dickhead best trying to teach the other how to build a fire, Donna and her feminine hygiene products, Kelly and Brenda still BFFs and enjoying a cute game of Go Fish, David still geeky with his video camera, and of course Steve at his foolhardy best trying to buy booze. It perfectly encapsulates who all their characters are and it does it by chucking them in a soggy room together and watching them talk out their arses. And of course, we've got the ongoing BD angst, and the ultimate testament to the enduring love of Brandon/Dylan and their HoYay! with the cliff climb/fall/hold my hand while I stare into your eyes and save you moment. I really think they should have snogged at least once.

 

One thing that is really hard to take though is the sexism running through all the early episodes. I have no idea if that continued in the later years because I've never seen anything past S5, but it is extremely hard to take on rewatch. I noticed it in another 90s show - Ally McBeal - which I tried to rewatch not that long ago. Was it a period thing? Because it is rampant in both shows. Makes me pine for Buffy even more than usual. 

Edited April 5, 2014 by Moo

[smiley13]

The high school years were magical IMO.  I could watch the repeats of those seasons over and over.    I remember what a big scandal it was when Kelly and Dylan became close while Brenda was away meeting Rick.  I loved those summer episodes.

[Rachael]

I've just finished watching seasons 1-3 of the awful, awful reboot (don't ask me why) and it really made me appreciate how great the high school years were on the original 90210. They did a great job of bringing all of the characters together and making them into a believable group of friends, something that they failed at miserably on the reboot. I think that's why the famous Brenda/Dylan/Kelly storyline worked so well, it was because we were so invested in each of the characters and their relationships with one another, you got the sense that things would never be the same again - which they weren't. I think that's why looking back I'm really glad Brenda was alienated from the group, yes it was a shitty way for them to treat her but sadly it was very realistic because in these situations people don't go back to being best friends afterwards and someone is usually ousted from the group. All of those final senior year moments were made all the more bittersweet by how things had changed from the year before. When it came to things like Prom and Graduation in the reboot I didn't care because I had no emotional investment in the characters but in the original they packed one hell of a punch. I don't think any other show has managed to do their high school years as well as Beverly Hills 90210 - a complete joy to watch!

[Vanessa1214]

Hi, just joining in. I love the first three seasons, too. It's amazing how even though you've seen an episode a hundred times, it can still affect you. Nothing on TV today makes me feel that way. Brenda and Dylan still make me swoon (never liked Dylan with Kelly, personally).

My favorite Brandon girlfriend is Emily. Can't help it. He just loved her so much and never got over her, and I was devastated the second time they got together and then she had to move to France. (Although, I choose to forget about the third time she came back, because her haircut was awful and Brandon was with Kelly by then and I'm not a fan of cheating storylines.)

I also liked the girlfriend Brandon had at the college paper (I forget the character's name, but the actress was later Anya on Buffy?) She was smart and a good match for him, I thought.

ETA: her name was Susan Keats (that took me whole 2 seconds of googling that I couldn't be bothered to do during my original post, apparently).

Edited April 13, 2014 by Vanessa1214

[smiley13]

Emily was the absolute worst of all of Brandon's girlfriends to me.  Having her be this great love for him was a re-write.  When they broke up and she went off the deep end, he was disgusted with her.  I could not stand when they brought her back any of the times.  Brandon should have run away as fast as he could.  What that girl did to him was illegal.

Plus she just was not attractive at all.

[Bastet]

I think Christine Elise is attractive, with a cool attitude, and I liked Emily at first.  But retconning her as the love of Brandon's life just because the two actors had since fallen in love was annoying. 

[desertflower]

The retcon was annoying and I was against it in principle, (oh look, he goes to San Francisco with no specific leads but just happens to run into her on the same cable car! Gag!) But ya know what, I loved them together in San Fran and thought they had nice chemistry. When they have to say goodbye I was genuinely sad. If they were going to rewrite her to be his long lost love, they should've gone all the way and had him end up with her after he moved away from BH. 

[Moo]

Sometimes I wonder if the writers thought they could get away with retcons because back then TV shows weren't really available on video or DVD for people to obsess over. I mean, yeah, I had some of my fav episodes on tape, but it would've been impossible to tape them all. And of course, fans getting together to dissect every little thing was far less possible than it is nowadays. Maybe they just thought we would've forgot that it was Brenda who cleared up Dylan's messes in HS, not Kelly, or that it was No Blanket Webber that Kelly lost her V card to, not Steve. It's either that or they were the laziest writers in all of TV land.

[Bastet]

When past storyline butts up against a plot the writer wants to craft now, many will just follow the credo "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story."

[Moo]

They should've looked up "good" in the dictionary then lol.

 

I have a confession that's mildly embarrassing. Aside from the first two eps of S3, I haven't watched a single episode from the rest of the season since original airing back in 1993. The reason? I'm afraid I'll be just as sad now as I was then watching poor Brenda get humiliated and bruised by DK and their dickhead shenanigans. I can remember clearly what happens, and I can remember being so embarrassed for Brenda at the time. It was like watching someone pore salt in an open wound lol. Maybe some of that is off-screen bleeding into the show, but I can clearly remember getting the feeling that everyone detested Brenda that year. And for an 11 year-old Brenda fan, that stung lol. I've never been able to psyche myself up for watching them since. 

 

But I swear I'm an adult in every other aspect of my life. I pay bills, I have a mortgage, a steady job and I've demonstrated my ability to keep a cat alive for over a year. Just don't ask me to watch Brenda lose over and over and over. I can't do it :(

[Shangrilala]

Sometimes I wonder if the writers thought they could get away with retcons because back then TV shows weren't really available on video or DVD for people to obsess over. I mean, yeah, I had some of my fav episodes on tape, but it would've been impossible to tape them all.

Actually, it wasn't.  I religously taped every episode of 90210 during it's original run.  At least the high school years and first year of college.  Once I got to college myself that habit ended.  Anyway, I taped every episode. I watched them over and over again because I was obsessed with the show as a teenager.  And my friends and I dissected the show, but from a 15 year old perspective as opposed to the perspective of an adult.  It's actually why now I don't enjoy seasons 1-3 so much.  I've seen them each more than a million times.

[CeeBeeGee]

I kind of loved this show. I didn't watch it religiously or anything but I did enjoy it thoroughly--I loved how the girls were unafraid to be complete bitches (I detest the pressure girls and women experience to smile and be nice all the time).

Two of my favorite episodes were:

1) The slumber party ep. Loved it! Loved Kelly's horrible friend who's tripping on diet pills and brought the drama. Loved that monologue out of Kelly about being date raped--unexpectedly well-written for a teen show and beautifully acted by Jennie Garth. "He kept saying 'Come on, Kelly, I know you want it.' And I did--but not on the ground. He didn't even bring a blanket..." LOVED it when Brenda went full-on bitch toward the friend and called her shit OUT.

2) And I loved the one where Brenda, Kelly and Donna are scheming to help Brenda and Dylan get away so she can lose her V-card. My favorite line is when Brenda says something like "You're acting like I'm the only girl in the 10th grade who hasn't had sex yet" and Kelly says "Brenda...you are." Something hilariously bitchy about her delivery, like DUH, girl!

[the living statue]

Love the earlier seasons of 90210 (okay, and all of the later seasons, as well. I find it hard to abandon Aaron Spelling shows, once I've started watching). I like that when Brenda slept with Dylan, it was a totally positive experience. It feels like often, female characters are portrayed as much more conflicted when they decide to "lose their v-card" . Both Brandon, and Brenda had very positive experiences (though, Brandon's girlfriend turned out to be more experienced than he, which led to him throwing a windex-like drink at the club).

 

I have the DVDs for season one, and there's a commentary for the prom episode. I seem to recall that Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry had argued, and were really not happy with each other at all during their intimate "hotel room" scene, which makes it all the more fun to watch.

[Bastet]

Both Brandon, and Brenda had very positive experiences

 

Yet only Brenda's resulted in a letter-writing campaign by pearl-clutching parents.

 

I so loved the episode in which Brenda slept with Dylan for the first time.  Sure, she gushed about a completely generic hotel room and somehow emerged without a single hair out of place, but she was completely confident in her decision and all giggly with her friends afterward -- extremely refreshing for television.  But now I can't watch it without being pre-emptively annoyed by what's to come, in capitulation to the sexist twits who couldn't abide the thought of a teenage girl enjoying a sexual relationship.  Among the main female characters, the show had two virgins and the reputed school slut, but tossing into that mix a girl happily engaged in a monogamous sexual relationship was apparently just too much.

[Shangrilala]

Somebody back on TWOP had posted an article that basically pinpointed the downfall of Brenda Walsh to that moment, basically taking on the theory that the character was being punished for the decision to have sex.  We know that the writers put in the pregnancy scare and breakup with Brenda to appease those pearl-clutching parents.  And from there it was downhill. 

 

I liked Brenda's first time.  It felt real.  She said no before. She waited.  She wanted to know she was in love and that her boyfriend loved her back.  A hotel room and prom night?  Okay, it's a bit of a cliche, but it happens that way.  Not to mention, their talk on the dance floor, her giddiness and affection afterwards, her running up to Kelly, is just oh-so-teenage-girl.  Beverly Hills did good by Brenda in that way.  It's a shame the character had to become the punching bag.

 

I have kids, and I know that one day they will have sex, and I hope that their first time, whether they are 16 or 26, is as positive an experience for them.  It's better than Kelly and No-Blanket-Ross-Weber, Donna giving it up to a guy who cheated on her and had dumped her in the past for NOT having sex with her (what was all that you waited stuff that Donna spouted?  No, he didn't.  He boinked Ariel in the back of a limo.  There was only one man in Donna's life who waited, and that was Joe, who shared the same feelings on pre-marital sex.), or Andrea having sex with her RA who she really didn't know that well. 

 

Bottom line?  Brenda's first time sent a pretty positive message to teenage girls about how sex can and should be. It's a shame the viewing audience parental unit couldn't see that. 

[desertflower]

And what made all that worse was the fact that Brandon had sex in the house way back in season 1 and nobody batted an eye. Cindy fretted for about two minutes and Jim basically told him to be careful and that was about it. 

[Marie Claudine]

I think what I liked about Brenda's first time was that it wasn't such a big deal. She was 16, she wanted to have sex with her boyfriend, she had it, it was good. Fine. But there wasn't such a huge aura around the "first time" as there often was in television in the 90s (and sometimes still today). Basically, the show suggested that sex is just sex, that it won't make you a completely different person, it won't get you pregnant immediately, it won't make the guy run for the next adventure if you have chosen a good one. It also showed that you should wait until you want to, use protection, get tested beforehand, and only do it in a loving, monogamous relationship. I have a hard time understanding how this message apparently scared so many parents that they had to write and put pressure on the network to give Brenda a scare.

 

To me, what the show did actually seems pretty responsible.

Much more responsible than Brandon screwing a girl across the hall from his parents who had run away from home, who might not have been tested, and who suffered from severe problems, and whom he never saw again afterwards and didn't seem to miss. Yet he got to dance in the kitchen and Brenda got a pregnancy scare. Talk about unfair.

[GHScorpiosRule]

My peoples! I have found you!

 

As y'all will recall, the first three seasons are my favorite...I'm a diehard Brenda fan; detested, loathed, HATED that Dylan cheated with Kelly, and felt NOTHING for their supposed guilt over that and Kelly's put upon suffering, when she had the come hither look when she walked into that cabana and then closed the door. Couldn't stand Kelly. Never. In all the 10 seasons. Hated that pouty mouth kittenish whatever she was doing. Brenda/Shannen was more real to me. That could be because of me watching her from her days on Little House, but no one will EVER convince me that stupid Kelly was Dylan's soulmate. That was Brenda.

 

And not to nitpick, but it was the Spring Formal where Brenda lost her viriginity to Dylan. Prom didn't happen until a couple years later, and well, Brenda was single, and we won't get into that.

 

So was Donna not part of the conversation where Brenda said she felt like she was the only virgin in 10th grade? Because we all learned that Donna said she was a virgin for life. Or, well until she got married. But, that didn't take. My mind's fuzzy on anything Donna. Well, except for getting her stupid ass drunk and expecting to graduate.

[Meatball]

After Kelly replied with, "Brenda, you are." Donna piped in with, "Kelly! [To Brenda] No, you're not." This was when Tori Spelling was still limited to a few lines an episode.

[desertflower]

It's on, y'all! As I type this young David Silver is driving drunk Steve home from the party. Oh pilot, how I've missed you. Original Mondale. Brandon's mullet. The wildly inappropriate morning DJ who broadcasts everyone's business to the entire school. Mary Ann eating her sushi in the courtyard. Teachers (and principal) we never see again. The list goes on.

Looks like they are showing episodes until about 4 today. Are they showing that much every day?

[WhoaWhoKnew]

I think its permanent slot is only Tuesdays 9am-4.

Every time I watch the pilot I am just flabbergasted that Kelly and Donna just leave Brenda at that club alone.

Edited September 2, 2014 by WhoaWhoKnew

[desertflower]

I just checked my cable guide and it looks like they are showing a bunch this Friday, too. But you're right, it's not every day. I prefer a little bit every day instead of huge chunks once a week, but I guess I can't complain, at least it's on.

Djimon Huntsou as the bouncer at the club! And I always think it's funny how fast Brenda hightails it into the club without waiting to see if her friends get in.

[desertflower]

Didn't catch any of the marathon yesterday but I'm watching the pilot now....some of the original music is still there (Gene Loves Jezebel in club scene, song while Brandon and Mary Ann ride the motorcycle)....so in the dvds were just some of the songs replaced or all of them?

[desertflower]

Brandon to Mary Ann: "Years from now I'll hate myself for being such an idiot.." Mary Ann: "No you won't, I won't let you." Oh, poor Mary Ann doesn't realize she's never going to make it past the pilot.

[GoRunner]

The only one I watched from yesterday's lineup (because I still have the other ones saved on my DVR from Soapnet) was the season 1 finale, where they thought that they were going to move back to MN. I noticed that the last song, Celebrate Me Home, was actually kept intact. I wonder why some songs here and there, but not others? Must be a copyright (age of song) thing?

[Qoass]

They stripped R.E.M's Losing My Religion from the Brenda/Dylan breakup scene too.  Broke my heart.

 

I had always thought that Brandon became a tool during the college years when Jason Priestley got a producer's credit but lo and behold, he was a tool from the get-go!  I know that Priestley and the actor playing his father were only 14 or so years apart in real life but jeez, if I had talked to my dad like Brandon does, I would've been disowned.  And how did that retiring teacher ever get along without Brandon telling him how to reach his students?  Or Nat-- he became more mentally challenged every season when he got around the big B. 

 

And I won't even go into how he treated the womenfolk...  Except that they all must have had to stand in a ditch during all their beach scenes to make JP look less Lilliputian.

[Bastet]

Different songs have different costs to license, so you can assume the ones replaced when they had to re-license everything for the DVD release were expensive and the ones kept were budget-friendly.

 

The wildly inappropriate morning DJ who broadcasts everyone's business to the entire school.

 

There are a lot of things one must get over in the pilot, but that's something that has really stood out to me all this time.  In what school would such a broadcast not result in some administrator marching down to the booth?!

[GHScorpiosRule]

What I remember when the show first aired was Inside Edition or some show like that, "interviewing" the actual real students who attended the REAL West Beverly High, and how they all were having hissy and conniption fits, yelling and screaming how this show was "sooooo unrealistic." And the ones interviewed looked like they were 12.

 

I loved the anchor saying, after the piece was over, "It's a television show" or that it was fiction.

 

I have to admit, other than when Brenda had her cancer scare, and when she was crying because Dylan stood her up the night she was ready to have sex with him, Brandon was an awful, awful brother. I liked in the beginning...the first few episodes, how it was the Walsh Twins against the world.  That one episode where they saved "Big Bettie"? I think it was, with CPR? How Brenda had the guts to ignore Kelly, after Kelly stood her up for something or other?

 

Once the twins were "accepted" into Kelly and Steve's circle, it went downhill from there.

[Runningwild]

Watching now. It's one I don't remember - Brandon trying out for the basketball team.

Also caught the tail end of Brandon losing his virginity. Jim wanted to talk to him about it and Brandon asks if it can wait until morning. Without waiting to see if it is okay, he heads upstairs. I can't believe his parents let him act like that. Wow.

[desertflower]

I was watching the basketball one too, and Brandon gets an epic smackdown from James, the basketball player we never see again. This show sure wasn't afraid to drop characters with no further explanation.

Another notable moment...Cindy gets a brief respite from her endless supply of frumpy high-waisted denim skirts and wears a nice little black dress. I can't believe I'm now actually older than Jim and Cindy were then.

[WhoaWhoKnew]

The thing that bothers me most about the basketball episode is that despite her earlier protests, which were spot on, Andrea gets herself involved in Brandon's witch hunt. She had no business judging anyone's fitness to attend West Beverly when she didn't even meet the bare minimum requirement herself.

[Runningwild]

I loved James giving Brandon the smack down he deserved.

Now I'm watching the one where Brandon cheats on his history tests. What a douchenozzle. He yells at the teacher because somehow it's the teacher's fault he is cheating. Then he yells at Andrea because she had the nerve to be mad at Brandon for cheating. Ugh. Not sure my TV can survive another episode.

[desertflower]

It's Tuesday, time for more episodes on TVGN. Right now is the mother/daughter fashion show, with Jackie's awesome meltdown. "Oh loosen up, ladies!" Lol. At some point someone probably should've stepped in and relieved her of her hosting duties instead of mumbling to themselves disapprovingly.

And Donna and her mom (NOTFelice) strutting around in their bathing suits is priceless. Could you imagine Felice doing that?

I always thought Andrea looked better at the fashion show than she did at Spring Dance or prom. She still looked youthful, unlike spring dance when she dons her mom's gown with the giant poofy sleeves.

Edited September 9, 2014 by desertflower

[WhoaWhoKnew]

The difference in the way Brandon got treated with his arrest and Brenda's is astounding. Brandon put his life and the life of others in danger and he gets a hug. Brenda got berated for being present when some animals were let out of their cages (which I realize is still wildly illegal). Really Jim and Cindy? REALLY?!

Edited September 9, 2014 by WhoaWhoKnew

[Bastet]

The difference in the way Brandon got treated with his arrest and Brenda's is astounding.

 

Take out "with his arrest" and you've pretty much summed up the show for me.

[GoRunner]

Yeah, or the way Brandon gets treated when it's found out he had sex with Cheryl, Vs. Brenda/Dylan 

Or the way he was treated when they picked him up for drunk driving vs. picking Brenda up from the store for shoplifting, which she wasn't even doing.Although (surprisingly) Jim was more the voice of reason on that one, than Cindy. I've always disliked the way Cindy reacted in that scene. 

Or...About a hundred different instances...

[desertflower]

I had the show on in the background yesterday so I caught bits and pieces of different episodes. Random observations:

It's still jarring to see such a Cindy-centric episode (where she runs into her old flame and has her "mental affair"), considering how they got relegated to the background and eventually written out as the show progressed. Also, I was surprised to see a scene with her in a satiny, nice fitting nightgown. Every once in awhile they let her wear something flattering, but not often.

Kelly had a dog? I don't think we ever saw him again.

Brandon's teen mom girlfriend yells at him for giving little Joey ice cream, then promptly plops him on the couch and turns her back on him to have a long discussion with Brandon. Hee.

I always sort of forget how stinkin' cute season 1 Dylan was. Especially once they got his wardrobe right, with the simple t-shirts and jackets. Jason was no slouch but you can totally see why Luke became a breakout star of the show.

Totally agree with the above remarks about the disparity between how Brandon and Brenda were treated. At least with the sex thing it was acknowledged, with Brenda yelling at her dad: "With Brandon you just wanted him to know about birth control, with me my whole value system is on the line." Preach it, Brenda. But by the time she gets arrested for the animal thing the writers don't even give her that much, she is just treated like crap by everyone and has to be sullen and outcast.

Edited September 10, 2014 by desertflower

[callmebetty]

It's very jarring to watch these episodes without the original music.  So basically it would be like I bought the DVD's and decided to broadcast them?

I love the song "Joey" by Concrete Blonde and was said that wasn't played during the teenage mom episode.

All the generic music and the sound sync seems off when people talk.  I'm glad to be able to watch the show again, but it's definitely not the same.

 

I so love the slumber party episode, but had to leave half way through, so I missed the epic smack down that Brenda gives Amanda.

With it only being played on Tuesdays, at least we get to enjoy the early episodes longer, on the flip side when the later years come on it will be just that much longer.

[desertflower]

Agree it's good to have it airing, but it's not ideal. I've also noticed them trimming scenes and cutting little bits out here and there.

[Jeebus Cripes]

Oh, hell. I thought I noticed something funky going on with the music. That rustles my jimmies.

[ktwo]

Kelly had a dog? I don't think we ever saw him again.

He must have left with Kelly's mom from the pilot.

[Bastet]

Kelly probably talked to the dog in that baby voice of hers and he ran away.

[Marie Claudine]

He must have left with Kelly's mom from the pilot.

I think they are now living in a shared house with Nancy Morgan, Donna's first mom, Val's little siblings Curt and Suzie whom we never met, and the Walsh's cleaning lady who magically disappeared at some point.

[desertflower]

And all of Brandon's one-episode girlfriends. Take your pick...Carla, Teen mom, Vivica A. Fox, Mary Ann from the pilot...they were never seen nor heard from again. Ice skater girl was allowed to return in a flashback, though.

[AndySmith]

I'm mixed on the high school years, possibly becuase for me, the "golden years" of the show were seasons 3 through 5. Season 1 was...kind of meh. Season 2 had it's moments, and while good overall, was never a favorite of mine. But I loved season 3, especially the Brenda/Dylan/Kelly triangle, one of my favorites ever. It might also be becuase I liked Dylan and Kelly as much as I did Dylan and Brenda. And good for the show for doing a daring, game changing story.

[Jeebus Cripes]

The high school years are absolutely my favorite.

 

Also, this music change is horrendous! The more I watch, the more it fans my flames. Did they hire a band to make all of these lame, unoriginal songs? Because they all are starting to sound the same, and I've never heard any of them. I'm currently on the episode where Brenda has the hair dye fiasco. They have yet to reach a moment where the music is absolutely crucial to the scene for me, but when it happens and I'm hearing this generic shite in lieu of the real deal, I will rage out!

Edited September 12, 2014 by Jeebus Cripes

[ElectraStar]

I was so excited when I found out this was coming back to tv but I'm a little disappointed that we are stuck with the replacement music. I could just watch my DVDs for that. Oh well. The Cheryl episode infuriates me just for how smug Jim is during the whole thing. He knows exactly what's going on but because it's Brandon he thinks it's great but Brenda gets caught making out with Dylan and he throws a fit. 

 

I have to say my favorite part of that episode was when Cheryl told Brandon she had already had sex. Take that Bran the Man! And then he gets mad that Dylan didn't leave his name at the door. He didn't even stop to ask, he just barged in like he owned the place. Typical Brandon.

 

One question about that episode, during the scene where Cheryl goes into Brandon's room, is that the original song or a new one? It didn't seem familiar but, as many times as I've watched this show, I don't remember every song.