Seasons 4-7: The College Years

[Jax7917]

I agree that season 4, they all looked and acted (kinda) age appropriate . Brandon still had his young boy like look , Kelly’s stick was mostly only up her ass when it came to Dylan , and she still had her nice flowy hair .. Donna was in her pre -ray days and looked cute and wasn’t as annoying as she later gets .. Steve was his usual self with little to no growth, but at least he acted like a college kid despite the fact that he still had his mullet .. Andrea was her usual nerdy self but luckily loosened up a bit and finally got a much needed boyfriend .. David was a typical college kid and Dylan was adorable with the Erica storyline until ... Season 5 they all became duds . What a sanctimonious bunch . 

[ButIAm]

I just watched the first 6 or 7 episodes of S4 recently, so it's fresh in my mind. Love this season.

Focusing on the superficial, yes they girls are spot on. They all look like cute college coeds. I think this is the first time that Andrea got to be contemporary. The fashion is pretty awful and frump once the maternity wear kicks in, but before Gabrielle starts getting bigger I think they finally had a look for Andrea that was youthful and meshed well with the other girls. I think JG looks good with long and short hair, but this was the last of the "classic" Kelly look. I think Donna looks the best in the last 2-3 seasons, but this season she had a wholesome, innocent look to her that works. Brenda is just stunning, though I do like her senior high school year better fashion wise.

I actually think all the ladies look generally younger in S4 than the previous season. Everyone  except David looked inappropriately mature during the final high school year.

I just really love the look and feel of the season, particularly the first half.

I also just love seeing them no longer being the big fishes. Struggling to fit in, rushing sororities/fraternities, figuring out what their real dreams and goals were, partying. It's really the last time the "gang" was intact and the group feels incredibly cohesive during s4.

Edited July 25, 2019 by ButIAm

[GHScorpiosRule]

I can't remember if I mentioned this waay back then or not, but it was realllyyyyyyy weird to see Tiffani as Valerie when right before season five premiered, There was a Saved By the Bell movie, where Zack and Kelly finally got married. And Jessie showed up in the last two minutes for the wedding. Then this show premiered, and there was...Val.

Edited August 14, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[methodwriter85]

20 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Then this show premiered, and there was...Val.

Who smoked pot and was therefore BAAAAAAADDDDDDD. Like a real-life Dylan wouldn't have been a major pothead.

If Saved by the Bell: The College Years hadn't been cancelled,  we wouldn't have gotten TAT as Val. It really was a stroke of luck because I can't see any other actress as her.

It was kind of amazing how good TAT was at playing both the wide-eyed ingenue and the evil scheming sexpot.

[ButIAm]

23 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I can't remember if I mentioned this waay back then or not, but it was realllyyyyyyy weird to see Tiffani as Valerie when right before season five premiered, There was a Saved By the Bell movie, where Zack and Kelly finally got married. And Jessie showed up in the last two minutes for the wedding. Then this show premiered, and there was...Val.

Can’t ever forget. I always assumed the writers did that on purpose. Regardless, they definitely played on the whole Kelly Lapowski angle until the reefer madness reveal. It’s one of the few truly shocking 90210 moments. In the matter of seconds it shifted the whole tone of the show, tossed Brenda replacement assumptions right out the window, and reinvented TAT’s entire image.

By the way, anyone know how old that trope is? I was watching an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents the other night and there’s a scene where we cut back to the overly sweet, wholesome girl now smoking a cigarette, with a total different cadence, talking on the phone with her accomplice and bitching about how she could barely keep up the goody good routine. And that was from the 1950s.

[Jax7917]

Why is Steve such a douche to Celeste ? He was so pissed at the game show that She would want Brandon and not him ., but as soon as she chose him , he seemed like he couldn’t stand to be around her . I feel like Steve was really in love with Brandon more than anyone on the show . He was always in competition with him over everything , especially women . And Celeste was the most down to earth one he dated on the show and one of the prettier ones . 

[ButIAm]

Celeste was amazing.

I liked her with Steve. Really good chemistry. Wish she'd become a part of the gang.

I do think Steve loved her. But he was also barely 18 years old and wasn't ready to settle down. He only stayed with her so long because he did love her, but didn't want to be honest about the fact that he didn't want to be tied down.

If Celeste had come back into his life in say season 8? He prob would've married her in a heartbeat. 

[Jax7917]

1 hour ago, ButIAm said:

Celeste was amazing.

I liked her with Steve. Really good chemistry. Wish she'd become a part of the gang.

I do think Steve loved her. But he was also barely 18 years old and wasn't ready to settle down. He only stayed with her so long because he did love her, but didn't want to be honest about the fact that he didn't want to be tied down.

If Celeste had come back into his life in say season 8? He prob would've married her in a heartbeat. 

But of course the one girl who could tie him down was always Kelly Taylor . She can make anyone commit to her with that oh so lovely personality . 

[ButIAm]

31 minutes ago, Jaclyn88 said:

But of course the one girl who could tie him down was always Kelly Taylor . She can make anyone commit to her with that oh so lovely personality . 

I. Am. Deceased. 

[Scarlett45]

On 8/16/2019 at 11:58 AM, ButIAm said:

Celeste was amazing.

I liked her with Steve. Really good chemistry. Wish she'd become a part of the gang.

I do think Steve loved her. But he was also barely 18 years old and wasn't ready to settle down. He only stayed with her so long because he did love her, but didn't want to be honest about the fact that he didn't want to be tied down.

If Celeste had come back into his life in say season 8? He prob would've married her in a heartbeat. 

I wish Celeste had stuck around a while longer. We didn’t even get her for an entire season! But yes Steve was young, and wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. I am glad she dropped him after he cheated with Laura because she deserved better. 

[Jax7917]

Not that David had any excuse to cheat on Donna , but she really treated David more like a friend than a boyfriend in the early college years . I’m watching the beginning of season 4, and she’s so annoying between constantly screaming his name to wake up and every time he tried to kiss her , she’d pretty much back away and say nope . And he wanted to sleep in the same bed one night and she was like , what do you think you’re doing ? Go to your own room . Like you’ve been dating for a couple of years but he can’t sleep next to you ? Her being a virgin was fine but the writers made it hard for me to sympathize with her because she friend zoned him a lot . But then offered to give it up to abusive Ray and Beaver falls Joe in a heartbeat . And after she finally lost her virginity to David , she dropped him like a hot potato and ran straight to Noah and had sex with him the first night . 

[Hiyo]

Quote

Season 5 they all became duds . What a sanctimonious bunch . 

I dunno, for me, if I had to pick a "golden era" of this show, it would be seasons 3 to 5.

[Jax7917]

What on earth was going on with Brenda’s eyebrows in season 4? She looked so good in season 3 , but this look was just bad . Her face also significantly changed from the first season . I don’t know if it was the partying or that she lost a lot of weight . 

[ilovebeaarthur]

3 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

What on earth was going on with Brenda’s eyebrows in season 4? She looked so good in season 3 , but this look was just bad . Her face also significantly changed from the first season . I don’t know if it was the partying or that she lost a lot of weight . 

I've always wondered this, as well. I think the mid-'90s thin eyebrow trend hit her this season.

[GHScorpiosRule]

3 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

What on earth was going on with Brenda’s eyebrows in season 4? She looked so good in season 3 , but this look was just bad . Her face also significantly changed from the first season . I don’t know if it was the partying or that she lost a lot of weight . 

8 minutes ago, ilovebeaarthur said:

I've always wondered this, as well. I think the mid-'90s thin eyebrow trend hit her this season.

Not only did Shannen lose what looks like a lot of weight, but even the character of Brenda was very muted. I remarked on this up thread, and I believe it had to be (my speculation, of course) because she was leaving that season. I can't remember when the decision was made. Considering that nearly everyone in the cast resented her, had issues with whatever was happening behind the scenes, I imagine the tension and atmosphere took its toll.

Because four years later, she looked AMAZING when Charmed premiered.

[Hiyo]

I thought Shannon looked good in her final season. I guess I'm in the minority on that...she looked so much better without the bangs.

[GHScorpiosRule]

50 minutes ago, Hiyo said:

I thought Shannon looked good in her final season. I guess I'm in the minority on that...she looked so much better without the bangs.

I'm not saying Shannen didn't look good. But it was obvious between the end of season three and beginning of four, that she'd lost weight. I've always envied her hair. The only time I didn't like the style was in the first season with the bangs being so thick and blunt.

There was no passion in Brenda in her final season. That spark was missing. And no one will convince me it wasn't because it was her last season.

[Jax7917]

58 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I'm not saying Shannen didn't look good. But it was obvious between the end of season three and beginning of four, that she'd lost weight. I've always envied her hair. The only time I didn't like the style was in the first season with the bangs being so thick and blunt.

There was no passion in Brenda in her final season. That spark was missing. And no one will convince me it wasn't because it was her last season.

Yeah she looked tired , burnt out , and over it by the 4th season. 

[izabella]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

There was no passion in Brenda in her final season. That spark was missing. And no one will convince me it wasn't because it was her last season.

Maybe it turned into her last season because that spark was missing.  Wasn't there a lot of behind the scenes drama with Shannon at that time?

[Hiyo]

I think I read somewhere the straw that broke the camel's back with the producers was her getting a haircut or new hairstyle without telling them about it beforehand. Supposedly, it was a problem as many scenes were shot out of order...

[Jax7917]

On one episode , Brandon called Emily valentine a psychopath .  Followed by the next episode ,he’s seeking her out as the great love of his life . In fact , he’s called her a psycho many times . 

And Steve got accused of date rape by Laura and she tried ruining his life, but a few episodes later he is dating her and taking her side over Brenda’s as if Laura isn’t capable of lying ? This show makes no sense at times 

Edited August 22, 2019 by Jaclyn88

[Hiyo]

To be fair, this is Steve, who didn’t always think with the head the sun does shine on.

[ButIAm]

Shannen said her slight frame in season 4 was due to her Crohns Disease.

Brandon never sought out Emily as the great love of his life. I just watched that story recently and that’s not at all what happened. 

The Emily/Brandon material has become a really bad game of telephone among the 90210 fandom.

[Jax7917]

16 minutes ago, ButIAm said:

Shannen said her slight frame in season 4 was due to her Crohns Disease.

Brandon never sought out Emily as the great love of his life. I just watched that story recently and that’s not at all what happened. 

The Emily/Brandon material has become a really bad game of telephone among the 90210 fandom.

He saw her picture in his drawer and went to search for her in San Francisco . I just watched that episode . He then professed that she’s the only girl he loved . A couple of episodes prior , Brandon said to Brenda , “ Don’t ask me for advice , my longest relationship was with that psychopath Emily valentine .”

[ButIAm]

4 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

He saw her picture in his drawer and went to search for her in San Francisco . I just watched that episode . He then professed that she’s the only girl he loved . A couple of episodes prior , Brandon said to Brenda , “ Don’t ask me for advice , my longest relationship was with that psychopath Emily valentine .”

Emily Valentine had nothing to do with Brandon’s decision to take the road trip. He took the road trip to escape these Lucinda mess. He literally says that before we ever see Emily.

He found Emily’s picture while he was packing. Again, after he already was leaving.

He’s already on the road, heading nowhere in particular. Then he sees some blonde with a beret from the back. He thinks that’s Emily. It’s obviously not, but now he’s got Emily on his mind.

He goes to her parents house. They moved and he assumed she moved with him. Then he decides to sightsee in San Francisco since he’s in the area.

Where he runs into Emily by accident.

They spend a week together. Both are in different places. She’s healthy, therefor removing the factor that killed them on round one. Brandon jokes about fire starter Emily. Emily says she loved him, but Brandon never said he loved her. Brandon agreed and says maybe he’s never been in love before.

Emily says she loves him.

Then, and only then, does Brandon say he loves Emily. After spending a week together bonding and him finally falling in love. The feelings were there before, but he wasn’t in love.

That is how the story went. Em wasn’t the reason Brandon took the trip, he didn’t go searching for love, and never did he say that he loved Emily all along, or was quietly pining for her.

[Jax7917]

I hateeee Kelly’s baby/sweet voice once season 4 hits . But she only has it when she’s trying to land a new guy . She did it especially with Brandon . Once she gets them and they’re her boyfriend , the voice changes and her resting bitch face comes out . 

[screamin]

I always thought that the problem of what to do with Andrea in college would have been better resolved having Steve be her casual rebound after breaking up with the TA - and having him be her inadvertant baby daddy, leading to all that angst between two key characters, instead of between her and a nonentity we never got any reason to care about.

[Hiyo]

I think she should have just been written out of the show for like half a season. The show would have to bite a bullet and pay her for those episodes anyway, but they could have had Andrea win some prestigious internship of whatever out of town for a few months (unlikely given that it was her freshman year, but not the most unrealistic thing this show has shown us). Have her still be involved with the TA and Jessie (newly sexually liberated Andrea plays the field and sees both guys at the same time), she gets a pregnancy scare, it freaks her out, she takes the internship to get away from all the drama of the pregnancy scare, for a bit, then comes back to the show.

I know Gabrielle and the showrunners wanted to do a "What would it be like to have a kid while in college" story, but that honestly could have waited a few seasons.

Edited September 4, 2019 by Hiyo

[doodlebug]

9 hours ago, Hiyo said:

I think she should have just been written out of the show for like half a season. The show would have to bite a bullet and pay her for those episodes anyway, but they could have had Andrea win some prestigious internship of whatever out of town for a few months (unlikely given that it was her freshman year, but not the most unrealistic thing this show has shown us). Have her still be involved with the TA and Jessie (newly sexually liberated Andrea plays the field and sees both guys at the same time), she gets a pregnancy scare, it freaks her out, she takes the internship to get away from all the drama of the pregnancy scare, for a bit, then comes back to the show.

I know Gabrielle and the showrunners wanted to do a "What would it be like to have a kid while in college" story, but that honestly could have waited a few seasons.

Exactly.  For that matter, she was known to be pregnant early in the season.  Andrea got accepted at Yale.  Have her go off to Yale and end up returning after her first semester because her grandmother was sick or there was some other family crisis.  She could then transfer to CU and the whole pregnancy thing ignored.  Just because Gabriele Carteris wanted her pregnancy written into the show does not mean it was a good idea to do so.

[GHScorpiosRule]

28 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

Exactly.  For that matter, she was known to be pregnant early in the season.  Andrea got accepted at Yale.  Have her go off to Yale and end up returning after her first semester because her grandmother was sick or there was some other family crisis.  She could then transfer to CU and the whole pregnancy thing ignored.  Just because Gabriele Carteris wanted her pregnancy written into the show does not mean it was a good idea to do so.

Exactamundo Squared! Plus, she was hardly seen anyways. Always in her own separate subplots, not part of the gang as she was when they were in high school. And it was only after she had the baby, in her final season, that we saw more of her. But her ditching Journalism for pre-med or whatever was such a 180 for her character. BAH! 

[ButIAm]

I’m actually pretty sure we saw Andrea more in both season 4 and season 5 then we did in season 3. 

She was really only isolated in season 5. In season 4 she was finally written as one of the girls. Had a lot more material with Kelly and Donna, had her own onscreen romances, the baby/early marriage story was the first front burner story she got and it got decent airtime. They threw her a couple short story arcs with Brenda and Steve too. Overall she went from more of a supporting character in high school to a lead who got her own writing. And she seemed to be close to everyone in the gang that season except Brenda and David. She wasn't reliant on Brandon as a connection anymore and was much more integrated.

I think it’s season 5, after having her keep the baby and stay with Jesse, where the writer’s spite and total lack of imagination came out.

Edited September 6, 2019 by ButIAm

[Scarlett45]

Did Gabrielle want to leave the show or did the writers decide Andrea should be OUT just because? They ended on good terms as she did make the most return appearances out of anyone (save Luke Perry and those last two seasons). 

[Hiyo]

I always thought she quit to go do her short-lived talk show?

[alegtostandon]

On 8/16/2019 at 7:08 AM, Jaclyn88 said:

Why is Steve such a douche to Celeste ? He was so pissed at the game show that She would want Brandon and not him ., but as soon as she chose him , he seemed like he couldn’t stand to be around her . I feel like Steve was really in love with Brandon more than anyone on the show . He was always in competition with him over everything , especially women . And Celeste was the most down to earth one he dated on the show and one of the prettier ones . 

I never understood either why Celeste was not kept as a main love interest for Steve.  She seemed more his type than Janet.  I also loved that Jennifer Grant was the  daughter of Cary Grant & Dyan Cannon!

On 9/3/2019 at 9:47 PM, Hiyo said:

I think she should have just been written out of the show for like half a season. The show would have to bite a bullet and pay her for those episodes anyway, but they could have had Andrea win some prestigious internship of whatever out of town for a few months (unlikely given that it was her freshman year, but not the most unrealistic thing this show has shown us). Have her still be involved with the TA and Jessie (newly sexually liberated Andrea plays the field and sees both guys at the same time), she gets a pregnancy scare, it freaks her out, she takes the internship to get away from all the drama of the pregnancy scare, for a bit, then comes back to the show.

I know Gabrielle and the showrunners wanted to do a "What would it be like to have a kid while in college" story, but that honestly could have waited a few seasons.

I just saw the episodes recently when Ahndrea discovered she was pregnant.  I remember even when it originally aired questioning how she knew it was Jessie's baby & not the TA's.  There was no time between them.   

[ButIAm]

10 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Did Gabrielle want to leave the show or did the writers decide Andrea should be OUT just because? They ended on good terms as she did make the most return appearances out of anyone (save Luke Perry and those last two seasons). 

Going by the accounts from both her and the creative team over the years, looks like it was pretty mutual. Writers hated writing around the kid, and Gabrielle was ready to explore other things.

I mean Gabrielle radically changed her look halfway through season 5, in a very unAndrea way, and started booking TV movies totally against the Andrea type.

I read years ago that basically all of them except Tori hated working on the show by season 5.

[meggonzo]

On 9/7/2019 at 3:18 PM, alegtostandon said:

I just saw the episodes recently when Ahndrea discovered she was pregnant.  I remember even when it originally aired questioning how she knew it was Jessie's baby & not the TA's.  There was no time between them.   

I think she said there was one time that she and Jesse did not use a condom, so she assumed that was the time she got pregnant.

[MCMLXXVII]

On 7/24/2019 at 8:58 PM, ButIAm said:

I just watched the first 6 or 7 episodes of S4 recently, so it's fresh in my mind. Love this season.

Focusing on the superficial, yes they girls are spot on. They all look like cute college coeds. I think this is the first time that Andrea got to be contemporary. The fashion is pretty awful and frump once the maternity wear kicks in, but before Gabrielle starts getting bigger I think they finally had a look for Andrea that was youthful and meshed well with the other girls. I think JG looks good with long and short hair, but this was the last of the "classic" Kelly look. I think Donna looks the best in the last 2-3 seasons, but this season she had a wholesome, innocent look to her that works. Brenda is just stunning, though I do like her senior high school year better fashion wise.

I actually think all the ladies look generally younger in S4 than the previous season. Everyone  except David looked inappropriately mature during the final high school year.

I just really love the look and feel of the season, particularly the first half.

Agreed. I think by ‘93, “The ‘90s” culture was in full swing-  Clinton, mainstreaming of grunge, etc. The beginning of the show/ decade was still very “late ‘80s” fashion and culture-wise. I always think of the pilot as John Hughes or “Less than Zero”-lite. Compare to “My So-called Life” which was fall ‘94, and it’s a whole different vibe.

[Jax7917]

Most boring character award on the show has to go to Joe Bradley . Can that guy be any more of a dud ? I guess they needed an anti Ray Pruit 

[nkotb]

Tracy is a close second as the most boring character ever. The most oomph she had was when she wished Brandon ill when they thought Kelly stood him up.

[Jax7917]

10 hours ago, nkotb said:

Tracy is a close second as the most boring character ever. The most oomph she had was when she wished Brandon ill when they thought Kelly stood him up.

Even Brandon didn’t want to get it on with her and he was pretty easygoing with that type of stuff . 
 

im so confused how seasons 6 and 7 Clare was the same person as seasons 4 and 5 Clare . I understand character growth but that’s a different person . 
 

Watching the episode in season 7 with the Hollywood hills fire . Number 1, Steve is making out with another girl , and can’t figure out for the life of him why Clare would be upset about it . Number 2, the firefighters are there and these idiots decide to take on the job of putting out these huge fires themselves .. with no training . Number 3, Donna the saint saving the baby deer is such an eye roll and that brings me to number 4, gorgeous firefighter cliff falls for Donna instantly .k . 

Edited October 3, 2019 by Jaclyn88

[RedbirdNelly]

17 hours ago, Jaclyn88 said:

Even Brandon didn’t want to get it on with her and he was pretty easygoing with that type of stuff . 
 

im so confused how seasons 6 and 7 Clare was the same person as seasons 4 and 5 Clare . I understand character growth but that’s a different person . 
 

Watching the episode in season 7 with the Hollywood hills fire . Number 1, Steve is making out with another girl , and can’t figure out for the life of him why Clare would be upset about it . Number 2, the firefighters are there and these idiots decide to take on the job of putting out these huge fires themselves .. with no training . Number 3, Donna the saint saving the baby deer is such an eye roll and that brings me to number 4, gorgeous firefighter cliff falls for Donna instantly .k . 

that episode is so bad. Who can ever forget the deer.

[Rescue Mama]

On 10/3/2019 at 11:11 AM, RedbirdNelly said:

that episode is so bad. Who can ever forget the deer.

[suev33 3]

On 2/1/2017 at 4:43 PM, Earmuffs Mom said:

The One Wedding and a Funeral episode is so sad.  LP pulled off the angst there in spades.  I'm sure the replacement music will be horrendous, but when they originally played the song about "Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby" and he's holding her wedding dress after she was shot was just heart-wrenching.

Amen.......I cry every time I watch that scene.  Same when his Dads car blows up in front of him..😩.....R.I.P  Luke/Dylan.... you went much too young 😞😢😭😭

[Emilio Jr]

Here are a few moments that support my theory:

- She was the only one who wanted a college far away the rest of the cast, which indeed she did.

- After coming back she was barely seen having fun with her "friends" and brother. They mostly argued or kind of.

- Surprisingly, she was not interested in being part of a sorority, like Kelly and Donna.

- Steve told her she was not considered a friend but only Brandon's sister.

I wonder if they were planning to written her out at one point or a way to prevent what happened at the end of the season. I mean, if viewers started to dislike her character there was no reason to keep her around.

[Scarlett45]

I’m loving this YouTube showCameron Bancroft aka Joe Bradley guest stars!!! It’s such fun. Joe was the best boyfriend Donna ever had. 

[psychoticstate]

So I am rewatching Season 4 now -- don't judge, it's a great stress reliever for me.  I'm just going to focus on Ohhhndrea, since I've gotten up to her wedding episode (halfway through, fell asleep last night before the courthouse nuptials actually happened.)

So whose dog did Gabrielle Carteris run over in the wardrobe department?  Jeebus.  Even before her pregnancy started showing, what wardrobe did to her is just absolutely unforgivable.  If nothing else, give her a big stack of books or a massive notebook or something.  After all, Ohhhndrea is (was?) an annoyingly dedicated student.  Or put her behind a desk, behind a plant, anything.  But the blazers they are putting her in, or the Lumberjill shirs, aren't doing it.  It's laughable to watch an episode where she's bemoaning Dan Rubin and I'm thinking, girl,  you've got bigger problems at hand (mainly the two-year-old in your belly.)  Okay -- GC is very petite and clearly pregnancy started showing on her very quickly.  But they didn't need to dress her like a 50-year-old or in maternity equivalent wear -- come on! 

And all these years later and after God knows how many rewatches, I am still PISSED that Ohhhndrea dropped journalism like David dropped sobriety upon seeing that little wrapper in Howard's desk at the radio station.  Are we supposed to believe that she would fall apart and give up because she had to write a critical review of the Peach Pit?  No way!  Come on, show.  Give us (and Ohhhndrea) some credit.   And then she actually writes the review but has to walk it over to Josh Richland and then deny him the apparently pleasure of reading her hatchet job on the Pit?  Nope.  Uh-uh.  Not happening.  

Never, never, never during her time at West Beverly did Ohhhndrea EVER show interest in anything other than journalism.  Maybe some vaguely political things but it was always journalism; writing and editing.   Why, why, why did the writers decide to move her to pre-med?  Had they already decided to write GC's pregnancy into the plot and thought it was more edgy or tense to have Ohhhdrea and Jesse be pre-med and pre-law and having a baby?  If so, FAIL.   If Ohhhndrea were working at The Condor, she could have written a real accounting of being a freshman, being independent for the first time in her life and finding herself pregnant.  She could have written some kind of expose on the student health services, on the clinic she visited, on discrimination against students who are parents.   She could have written about the decision to give her baby up for adoption (if the show had gone that route).  She could have written about the realities of a teenage marriage and the realities of trying to be a college student while caring for an infant.  I mean, did we once hear Ohhhndrea and Jesse bemoaning a lack of finances?  Ohhhndrea wasn't working until maybe S5? and Jesse is supporting both of them plus a baby while they are both in school and they never once had their lights turned off or forgot a car payment or had a check bounce (remember those?) at Ralphs?  

And speaking of, somewhat, that -- are we honestly supposed to believe that Ohhhndrea still managed to fully keep up with her coursework?  Although I guess if we were supposed to believe that David decided during his junior year at West Beverly he was going to graduate with Donna and did it, well, okay.  

I also noticed that when Brenda got engaged to Stuart and then took off for Vegas, Ohhhndrea was among the group who thought it was incredibly stupid of Brenda.   Okay, so maybe it was but not one single person thought Ohhhndrea had lost her mind in having a baby and getting married when she was 19 at most and still in her freshman year of college?   Everyone acted absolutely thrilled for her - which is okay face to face but you would think privately they'd be commenting on WTF was she doing.  

I just really hate that the pregnancy/marriage put Ohhhndrea into a corner the writers couldn't and wouldn't get her out of.  It would have been great to see her working at The Condor, as well as maybe not being the smartest kid in class a la West Beverly.  The show did her a horrible disservice.  

On 4/11/2020 at 1:42 PM, Emilio Jr said:

Here are a few moments that support my theory:

- She was the only one who wanted a college far away the rest of the cast, which indeed she did.

- After coming back she was barely seen having fun with her "friends" and brother. They mostly argued or kind of.

- Surprisingly, she was not interested in being part of a sorority, like Kelly and Donna.

- Steve told her she was not considered a friend but only Brandon's sister.

I wonder if they were planning to written her out at one point or a way to prevent what happened at the end of the season. I mean, if viewers started to dislike her character there was no reason to keep her around.

I was also surprised that she wasn't interested in the sorority -- as well as Ohhhndrea.    And aren't you actually expected to live in the sorority house?  I was never part of a sorority during my college years but that's always been my assumption.  How are Kelly and Donna part of it when they live in the beach apartment (other than when David is sporting his Beret of Addiction, that is)?  

That comment from Steve was especially harsh.  Was that when she was competing against Laura for the part in the play?  If so, he was clearly biased -- and stupid to date and help a clearly unhinged chick who had accused him of date rape. 

Regarding Shannen, I thought I had heard that the Univ of Minnesota storyline was written for her in case they couldn't come to terms on S4.   

[Scarlett45]

@psychoticstate only a select few in a frat or sorority can live in the house- there just isnt enough space! There are members from every year, so depending on how big your university is you may have 100+ people in the org that are attending school at that time. So no it wasn’t weird Kelly and Donna didn’t live there. 
 

Gabrielle Cartieries was done so wrong- the writing, the wardrobe, they did give her a decent farewell and let her come back at least several times before the end of the series. 

It was clear even as Season 4 was airing something was UP with Shannon Doherty, she was barely a part of the main plots, and they didn’t give her any decent storylines. It reminds me of how in Season 10, Steve and Janet were consistently C plots after Maddie was born and we knew it was the last season.