S05.E01: What I Did On My Summer Vacation And Other Stories

[WhosThatGirl]

I was way too young to watch 90210 when it aired but I had watched SBTB  and like I said earlier there was a tv guide with TAT being the new Brenda and then I watched 90210 and realized she wouldn't be Kelly from SBTB, so like I've said many times, most of my 90210 memories come from rewatching on soapnet- which I miss terribly. I didn't really watch in real time. 

I agree with Sarah and Tara on Kelly this episode- it really is like they got all new writers or realized they had to rewrite Kelly to match Brandon and be all judgy  this season. Like, her fight with Donna..really didn't make sense? Kelly never would have said those things like, "I understand why David felt he had to cheat on you" like, what..? That makes no sense.

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Donna praying that episode will always haunt my dreams. 

Was this the episode where all the girls went on that roadtrip? And then they all had V.O's about their feelings?

[Nanna]

Can't help it, still loving Val's 90s-bob, it is so perfect! I just love Val, she's a brearh of fresh air and she brings some sexiness to the show (I think it's in the next episode that she shows up in Brandon's room in her underwear and she is SO hot. Yes, I have a girlcrush on her.) I seem to recall that it was a bit of a surprise that she wasn't as sweet as she seemed at first, for once it was well played and directed. In direct opposition to Kelly-Donna fight, Andrea's boring husband etc. Kelly-Brandon makes sense, they seem to be in love and as smug as only people who are newly in love and fucking all the time can be. For most couples, the smugness wears off, but those two keep be annoying for many reasons.

[CurlyATX]

Kelly's sympathy towards David was really OOC.  In the season ender, she says something to Donna that it wouldn't have been right to sleep with David just to keep him.  The "fight" was ridiculous.  It would have made more sense just to say that their summer schedules kept them apart.  I remember not seeing my roommates for the summer because we'd each go home, hang out with our friends back there, etc.  Coming back in late August was a recap of what we did, new gossip, etc. It's different only because this group does everything together anyhow. 

And wouldn't David have moved out right away anyhow?

12 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I don't know how much that matters.  It's such a deeply personal thing to blab about that Kelly should have known enough to keep her mouth shut.

After finally listening to it, it seems that Kelly wanted to make sure Donna knew that Val wasn't the perfect girl she seemed to be.  I think Val would have been even more Amanda Woodward-ish if Kelly weren't such a bitch to her from the start.  I would have liked Kelly to be more like a simpering dope like Allison.

[Uncle JUICE]

Why the hell is it so hard to make kids on TV look like they've smoked pot before? It always looks like something out of Reefer Madness. And did teens think pot smoking was THIS big a deal?

[Earmuffs Mom]

1 hour ago, Uncle JUICE said:

And did teens think pot smoking was THIS big a deal?

I think the scandalous part was Val's audacity to do it in the Walshes' house on her first night there. 

[Uncle JUICE]

12 minutes ago, Earmuffs Mom said:

I think the scandalous part was Val's audacity to do it in the Walshes' house on her first night there. 

Fair enough, which begs the question, why not just go for a walk. Answer because kids are dumb, I did the same thing.

[penguinnj]

I just have to note this bit of continuity- which is so very very rare on they show.  I loved that it was Kelly who asked how many calories where in the carrot cake.  It not only calls back to her eating disorder, but her self-esteem and weight issues that are wrapped around her upcoming modeling storyline.  90210 does this so rarely I have to give a shout out.

[FozzyBear]

10 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

Fair enough, which begs the question, why not just go for a walk. Answer because kids are dumb, I did the same thing.

Jesus Christ, right?  I had the same thought way back during the Brenda Pregnancy Scare Episode when she threw the pregnancy test in the bathroom trash and Cindy found it. Seriously? I was about as square as they come in High School and even I knew how to smuggle incriminating evidence out of the house in my book bag and then throw it in the trash at the bus stop around the corner. Why are TV teenagers always shown doing dumb shit no teenager would do instead of all the dumb shit teenagers actually do?

[Uncle JUICE]

That pregnancy test box would have been torn into a million pieces and flushed, and the test itself would have been in the driveway garbage can, not the one in her room. As a parent now, I keep telling and demonstrating to my ten year old daughter and eight year old son that Batman don't got shit on Detective Dad. I did so many dumb ass things when I was younger that I see even the tiniest shreds of evidence, and absolutely will tear your second rate story to bits, so you better get it right when you're trying to get away with something.

though I do look forward to confiscating their pot someday. "Where the hell did you get this??? And give me their number."  :)

[AndySmith]

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though I do look forward to confiscating their pot someday. "Where the hell did you get this??? And give me their number."  :)

Keep your ears primed in case you hear "avocado head" being muttered under their breath when you're walking out of their room ;)

[Uncle JUICE]

Now I'm looking forward to that episode where Steve's friend overdoses on drugs, and they have some makeshift memorial for him at the PPAD, (cool nightclub when you can call is the Pee Pad, dummies) because he overdosed in the bathroom, and someone leaves a bong there. Sanders is all outraged, "WHO LEFT THIS MARIJUANA PIPE HERE!?" Marijuana pipe? What the hell kind of writers room did they have here, the Saved By The Bell guys? Has it ever been called a marijuana pipe? How come no one on set was like "It's called a bong, let's just say that."

[AndySmith]

Oh yeah, Steve's friend that he knew for 5 minutes and cried over like he had been there from season 1.

[benteen]

28 minutes ago, Uncle JUICE said:

Now I'm looking forward to that episode where Steve's friend overdoses on drugs, and they have some makeshift memorial for him at the PPAD, (cool nightclub when you can call is the Pee Pad, dummies) because he overdosed in the bathroom, and someone leaves a bong there. Sanders is all outraged, "WHO LEFT THIS MARIJUANA PIPE HERE!?" Marijuana pipe? What the hell kind of writers room did they have here, the Saved By The Bell guys? Has it ever been called a marijuana pipe? How come no one on set was like "It's called a bong, let's just say that."

Heheh.  You just made my day reading about how silly that line was. 

Oh yes, Steve's five minute friend that he deeply mourned for an entire episode.  I admit, it wasn't as epic as Brandon and Matthew Perry's characters epic one-episode friendship back in Season 1.

[benteen]

I liked TAT from Saved by the Bell so that's why I first started watching 90210 during this season.  I'm not proud of any of it...

[Uncle JUICE]

Let it shine, it's the only way to feel good about it. You're among friends here. I'm the exact same. It's like how I feel unburdened after admiting to all the mix tapes I made for girls when I was in like 8 / 9 /10th grade, thinking :Yeah, this is REALLY going to get me touching those boobs, surely Berlin's Take My Breath Away will make her NEED to touch my peen."

2 minutes ago, benteen said:

I liked TAT from Saved by the Bell so that's why I first started watching 90210 during this season.  I'm not proud of any of it...

[TeeVee329]

21 hours ago, Uncle JUICE said:

Why the hell is it so hard to make kids on TV look like they've smoked pot before? It always looks like something out of Reefer Madness. And did teens think pot smoking was THIS big a deal?

It's crazy given what you can get away with showing on TV now, but middle school me was pretty scandalized by even seeing the joint, and then hearing the lighter click as it cut to the executive producers card.

Meanwhile, the series premiere of "Gossip Girl" has Nate and Chuck puffing away in, like, a public park or something.

Edited September 1, 2016 by TeeVee329

[kell710]

As much as I love the Brenda years, and when I do a rewatch, usually stop there, I'm cool with Val. She was a breath of fresh air, she rejuvenated the show in some ways and also made it sort of more like Melrose/soapy. Plus they got to go the full on bad girl route with her and fighting with Kelly vs. Val.

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I love Val - what I hated was that Val was drop dead gorgeous (and as was stated earlier - best boob job in Hollywood especially when you compared it to Donna's Boobs of Doom) and they always made it seem like she (Val) was some hag compared to the supposedly oh-so-beautiful Kelly and Donna. It was just ridiculous. I know when we watch these shows we're supposed to suspend belief about what constitutes true beauty in service of the egos of the leading ladies, but c'mon. There was never any competition.

I agree. They do this again when Vanessa Marcil's Gina joins the show. An actress who I consider one of the most gorgeous to grace my screen.

[SoupThrower]

On 8/31/2016 at 11:07 PM, CurlyATX said:

Kelly's sympathy towards David was really OOC.  In the season ender, she says something to Donna that it wouldn't have been right to sleep with David just to keep him.  The "fight" was ridiculous.  It would have made more sense just to say that their summer schedules kept them apart.  

Show drama. Idk. 

Kelly really doesn't have a reason to support David except brother but they aren't even blood related. Whatever. 

[Uncle JUICE]

1 hour ago, TeeVee329 said:

It's crazy given what you can get away with showing on TV now, but middle school me was pretty scandalized by even seeing the joint, and then hearing the lighter click as it cut to the executive producers card.

Meanwhile, the series premiere of "Gossip Girl" has Nate and Chuck puffing away in, like, a public park or something.

I think we're both part of the DARE generation then. I remember thinking IS SHE CRAZY! THEY COULD CONFISCATE THE WALSH HOUSE FOR HAVING DRUGS IN IT! And eventually there's a joint that falls out of her car's sunshade, and another  character, Brandon I think, gets in trouble for it, which leads to a whole "We have to talk about your destructive pot habit!" speech. I like to imagine Cindy then telling Brandon (maybe they'd moved to Tokyo by then) "No, we are absolutely NOT having another intervention here, let someone else get a six foot sub for that shit, I did three of those already."

[pavlovcat]

Yeah, totally thought it was Dave in the background, belching to inject some life into the scene. Coming, Eudora!

So I guess we now know why David's been so...ahem...crabby lately. (Not sorry.)

I guess I felt like Val was a good addition at first, but there was no normalcy to Val. Nothing was relatable, it was all too over the top. Even in her supposed "vulnerable" moments, she doesn't play it off well. I don't know which of her buddies I dislike more...Jonesy or Ginger. I never thought of myself as a big Brenda fan, but after trying (and failing) to watch the complete series this time around, I guess...Brenda 2016?

Edited September 2, 2016 by pavlovcat

[atlanticslide]

The thing I had trouble with when it came to Val is that she was so up and down. I do feel like some of her vulnerable moments were well done, but there's no consistency to her or to them, so I never had any idea what she was really supposed to be going for. Did she want to be in with the 90210 crowd, or did she think they were lame avocado-heads? Did she want to be part of the Walsh family, or did she not really give a shit other than how much money she could grub from them? Some days she seemed like deep down she really did want to have this normal, perfect family life (isn't there a scene when Dylan accuses her of wanting to have a perfect little life and she tearfully replies "what's wrong with that?") and fit into Brenda's life, or that she really wanted to be friends with these people - she even went so far as to pay Ginger to help her gain their friendship - but then she does stuff like sleeping with Ray for no real reason other than the fact that she could.

[twenangst]

I'm reluctantly forced to stick up for RADA, which is after all one of the most prestigious drama schools in the world. first of all, and I recognise this doesn't reflect well on them, their "prestigious" summer programme is nothing but. it has two functions - and I'm quoting a former vice-principal, who expressed this to me almost as follows (almost verbatim). first of all, it's meant to subsidise the flagship main three-year course, which is why they stuff it full of wealthy starstruck anglophile Americans willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to spend a couple of months at RADA with their second-tier staff, not realising they're just cash cows (this is not intended as a side comment on American girls' physique, by the way). the second function of the course is - and again I quote - is to give the guys on their flagship course who are hanging round RADA during the summer working in the bar or at reception "something to fuck". so this is what Brenda was enrolled in. nobody would be offered a place on their main course based on that. those places would have been offered months and months earlier, the audition process - involving four or five rounds - would have started the previous September and concluded in the spring. I adore Brenda and miss her ridiculously (in fact, even though i kept watching BH 90210 for a few seasons after her departure, unlike with the first four seasons listening to the podcast I realised I couldn't remember a SINGLE plotline, whereas I have such clear memories of the four seasons, even though I haven't watched any of it since), but a full scholarship to RADA (which, as an overseas student she wouldn't get anyway)? come on!

[twenangst]

i had David's hair. i wanted to be David when I grew up. I got my ears pierced and imitated his hair style, dress sense and dance moves. i know. please forgive me, I knew not what I was doing.

[AndySmith]

Don't underestimate the power Roy and his sweater-vests have at RADA.

[ivygirl]

On August 29, 2016 at 10:06 AM, gemini22 said:

Okay, I've been waiting for Val to show up to post. I came across an interview one of the former producer/writers did with a fan site.

 

This was an awesome interview! My favorite part (not germane to this ep) was when he shared his feelings about Jesse. Oof.

On August 30, 2016 at 8:41 AM, Stowaway said:

Woah, I was expecting it to be an interview in which Tiffani is bitchy. Oh, no, it's an interview where the writer is bitchy. Like, insanely so. Is that what Sassy magazine was like?

Some writers were. In their attempt to distance themselves from normal sugary PR driven mags, they often struck a very snarky (and sometimes sour) tone that was VERY different from most mainstream media (snark was very rare on tv/in mags back then). They would slam people they thought weren't cool and act like someone put a gun to their head to feature these people. (They had a particular contempt for Milla Jovovich, and they didn't like Shannen, either.) I totally remember this article and feeling conflicted. I didn't really care for Tiffani (well... Really, her characters on both SBTB and 90210), usually loved Sassy's outsider stance, and even at that I felt it was too much. I would venture to guess that some of the ill treatment stemmed from her time as a YM model--and Sassy was definitely the opposite of YM at the time. This was also a magazine that issued a "Cute Band Alert" for Guided by Voices, so there's that.

Anyway I think this episode was the beginning of the end for me. In "real time" I was a year ahead of the 90210 gang in school--i.e. I'd been in college for a year longer than them--and all my friends who watched the show had gone to different schools, so there was no one to fuel my continued interest. I didn't read the Teen Beat type stuff so I didn't know all that much about Brenda leaving, so at the time it just seemed like a weird choice--especially because Saved by the Bell's own (ripoff) prime time college show flopped so hard. The change in *Tiffani's* character type was a surprise, though. 

Seeing her now on her cooking show, she definitely seems like a nice person, so she probably had a lot of fun playing Val.

Edited September 4, 2016 by ivygirl

[Petunia13]

Steve's friend who OD'd at the PPAD was a great episode. He was played by the romantic male lead from the movie Teen Witch and was later Kevin in OLTL. 

"They call it chasing the dragon ?" 

[Stowaway]

11 hours ago, ivygirl said:

Some writers were. In their attempt to distance themselves from normal sugary PR driven mags, they often struck a very snarky (and sometimes sour) tone that was VERY different from most mainstream media (snark was very rare on tv/in mags back then). They would slam people they thought weren't cool and act like someone put a gun to their head to feature these people.

Snarky and edgy are fine. This interviewer came off as bitter and unprofessional. The "who's your favorite English writer" bit rankles particularly. I would have been beginning my "career" as an English major around the time this interview came out (at the school that rejected Dylan McKay, go Bears!), and if someone had asked me "Who's your favorite English writer?" in that spirit, I would have made them feel very foolish for thinking that ranking English writers was what the major was about. I can hardly blame Tiffani Thiessen for not having my pretentiousness at that age.

11 hours ago, ivygirl said:

Anyway I think this episode was the beginning of the end for me.

Again With This has already gone way past the point where I stopped watching 90210. If anything, it makes it a more fascinating listen. If you'd asked me in 1999 if 90210 was still on the air, I would have said, "No, that must have been canceled years ago!" I admire Tara and Sarah's fortitude. I hope the project doesn't drive them insane.

[Scarlett45]

On August 29, 2016 at 0:02 PM, Klaw said:

Still miss Brenda (even after 20+ years). The wrong twin was written off the show. ShanDo may have been a holy terror on set, but she brought it onscreen, as compared to that whiny, nasty, condescending little bitch boy Brandon. God, he really only has one tone doesn't he? Dick. 

Rancho Brok-O *dead*

Also, if Creeper Dylan standing in the light staring at Kelly so hard she can feel it and turns in the direction (presumably) of the lifeguard station, can she not SEE that there's some creeper staring at her from said lifeguard station???? so. many. questions. 

I love Val - what I hated was that Val was drop dead gorgeous (and as was stated earlier - best boob job in Hollywood especially when you compared it to Donna's Boobs of Doom) and they always made it seem like she (Val) was some hag compared to the supposedly oh-so-beautiful Kelly and Donna. It was just ridiculous. I know when we watch these shows we're supposed to suspend belief about what constitutes true beauty in service of the egos of the leading ladies, but c'mon. There was never any competition. 

I give Donna (the character) some slack about being pained about David. He's terrible, but he was her first love so I always kind of got why she stayed so hung up on him. Plus since she was the golden virgin, she could never employ the "get over him by getting under someone else" tactic to cure her heartbreak, so yea, as an advanced aged virginity loser myself (19 - YIKES!) I can relate.

I will say nothing about Andrea and Jesse and that damn baby storyline. The only time she gets a slight redemption IMHO when she 

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starts stepping out on Jesse by boning that cheesy Dr. Peter. Ha!

Jennie Garth is/was a pretty woman, and Tori was never bad looking, but not a great beauty. Tiffany is was gorgeous with a voluptuous body (not a euphemism for plus sized).

However is a part of the focus on them over Val is that if you're white, being skinny and blonde automatically means you're the most attractive thing walking? It reminds me of that quote from OINB where "a white woman just needs to be skinny to be attractive". Danielle Fishel (Topanga from Boy Meets World) often said she got flack for being too "ethnic looking" but still White and too large by Hollywood standards, I always thought she was gorgeous. 

[AndySmith]

Was Val ever compared negatively to Kelly? I always thought Donna was the one who was promoted as the fairest one of them ALL. I mean, even the guy who wanted to rape Claire mentioned he was happy that he was going to rape Donna instead, which...ok then.

[Scarlett45]

On September 4, 2016 at 3:31 PM, AndySmith said:

Was Val ever compared negatively to Kelly? I always thought Donna was the one who was promoted as the fairest one of them ALL. I mean, even the guy who wanted to rape Claire mentioned he was happy that he was going to rape Donna instead, which...ok then.

I don't recall Val being compared negatively to Kelly, but Kelly always did have guys fawning over her. I could see that about HS Kelly, she was thin, blonde, pretty and FUN, college Kelly could have such a sanctimonious attitude that it was off putting. The one time I thought it was right on the money was when that Mark guy was badgering her for sex to "seal the deal", she said "you want to be come a millionaire? Every time the phone rings bet someone it's not me!"(paraphrasing), I was like DAYUM. 

[pavlovcat]

On 9/2/2016 at 7:09 PM, atlanticslide said:

The thing I had trouble with when it came to Val is that she was so up and down. I do feel like some of her vulnerable moments were well done, but there's no consistency to her or to them, so I never had any idea what she was really supposed to be going for. Did she want to be in with the 90210 crowd, or did she think they were lame avocado-heads? Did she want to be part of the Walsh family, or did she not really give a shit other than how much money she could grub from them? Some days she seemed like deep down she really did want to have this normal, perfect family life (isn't there a scene when Dylan accuses her of wanting to have a perfect little life and she tearfully replies "what's wrong with that?") and fit into Brenda's life, or that she really wanted to be friends with these people - she even went so far as to pay Ginger to help her gain their friendship - but then she does stuff like sleeping with Ray for no real reason other than the fact that she could.

You said it better than I did. The vulnerable moments were believable...but only for a few minutes, until she showed up again acting like an asshole. And the gang just...kept welcoming her back with open arms? Why? 

[benteen]

That haircut Kelly had looked awful.  I thought she looked much better in later seasons when she let it grow out again.  I actually felt the same way about another actress on another Fox show at the time, Christina Applegate.  Though she looked much better when she cut her hair and gave herself a haircut that made her look far better.

[CurlyATX]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

I don't recall Val being compared negatively to Kelly, but Kelly always did have guys fawning over her. I could see that about HS Kelly, she was thin, blonde, pretty and FUN, college Kelly could have such a sanctimonious attitude that it was off putting. The one time I thought it was right on the money was when that Mark guy was badgering her for sex to "seal the deal", she said "you want to be come a millionaire? Every time the phone rings bet someone it's not me!"(paraphrasing), I was like DAYUM. 

I would agree with this statement. I think Kelly suddenly had the "Golden Vajayjay".  It seemed that now anyone who had every looked at her wanted her and was willing to take whatever sloppy seconds/thirds available.  In particular I was thinking of Val's good friend/deep love Tom.  She was going through more crap and Tom wanted to date Val and when she said no, he immediately went to Kelly.  Even after Val said she hated Kelly, Tom didn't seem to care.  It was like the possibility of the Golden V was worth ruining Val/Tom's relationship.

[CurlyATX]

I think the hardest parts for Val for me were understanding her various motivations.  She vacillated a lot.   One second she's having enjoyable no-strings sex with the married man, next second, she wants a commitment and is trying to blackmail him.  She works so hard in her business and is willing to liquidate it all to give to Corky in order to meet and possibly have it managed by Bill Taylor. She already has the gang mad at her for various issues, but is willing to risk her boyfriend for an indecent proposal with Ginger.

I wish she would just be amazing in terms of seeing through bullshit, reading people, and just have moved way past The Gang.

[benteen]

Her wanting to do business with Bill Taylor just to stick it to Kelly was pathetic and I was glad it backfired so badly for her.

[nkotb]

4 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

The one time I thought it was right on the money was when that Mark guy was badgering her for sex to "seal the deal", she said "you want to be come a millionaire? Every time the phone rings bet someone it's not me!"(paraphrasing), I was like DAYUM. 

Best quote of the entire series! I actually saved that episode, and that quote in particular, and showed them to my husband, who was not obsessed with our show like I was. He's actually even dropped it a few times. 

I'll admit, I loved Kelly from the beginning to the end. However, I think when Dylan chose her over Brenda, whom he obviously loved, then CU-President, Brandon, chose her as his first lady, then she got a modeling contract, I sort of saw that as her stock rising. Honestly, I had no trouble believing that men looked at her differently after all of that (I know the next guy in line is Collin, who wouldn't have known about Dylan & Brandon, but she was a legit model when they met). 

Still, though, I'd think most guys would prefer Val, initially. She is breathtakingly beautiful, and she doesn't have stereotypical looks. Plus, many guys like a little bit of a bad girl. 

[TeeVee329]

On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 11:02 AM, Petunia13 said:

Steve's friend who OD'd at the PPAD was a great episode. He was played by the romantic male lead from the movie Teen Witch and was later Kevin in OLTL. 

"They call it chasing the dragon ?" 

Holy shit, THAT was Dan Gauthier?!?!  I loved him as Kevin on OLTL!

[TeeVee329]

On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 0:18 PM, Stowaway said:

Again With This has already gone way past the point where I stopped watching 90210. If anything, it makes it a more fascinating listen. If you'd asked me in 1999 if 90210 was still on the air, I would have said, "No, that must have been canceled years ago!" I admire Tara and Sarah's fortitude. I hope the project doesn't drive them insane.

I'm dreading what's in store for all of us when we hit the Gina Years.

[benteen]

I'll give Tara and Sarah a lot of credit if they actually torture themselves to watch the last 5-6 years of 90210.  Not amount of hate watching could get me through that.

[twenangst]

Don't underestimate the power Roy and his sweater-vests have at RADA.

why, of course. how could I not realise?...

on a nice side note, I looked up the actor playing Roy and he trained LAMDA, which is the other longstanding drama school in the UK and has been RADA's arch rival for 100 years or more (in fact, they famously have a two-way football tournament where RADA and LAMDA take their legendary grievances out on the pitch). that nice bit of real-life information tickled me (i'm easily pleased).

[FozzyBear]

10 hours ago, CurlyATX said:

I think the hardest parts for Val for me were understanding her various motivations.  She vacillated a lot.   One second she's having enjoyable no-strings sex with the married man, next second, she wants a commitment and is trying to blackmail him.  She works so hard in her business and is willing to liquidate it all to give to Corky in order to meet and possibly have it managed by Bill Taylor. She already has the gang mad at her for various issues, but is willing to risk her boyfriend for an indecent proposal with Ginger.

I wish she would just be amazing in terms of seeing through bullshit, reading people, and just have moved way past The Gang.

So I say this as a die-hard Val fan who is loving that we've hit the TAT years (is there anyone she doesn't have chesmistry with? God, she's such a breath of fresh air), but I think the problem is that the writers tried to explain her presence in the Walsh house without locking themselves in too much to anything and you get this insanely complicated moving target of a backstory that doesn't actually explain anything. Her dad commits suicide and she packs up for California a month later to live with some family friends and go to a competitive school that I guess she applied to? Huh? Was she always planning to go to CU? If not, how was she able to transfer? Why is she living with anybody instead of a dorm? Is it supposed to be a money thing? Are we supposed to believe her mom wanted her out of buffalo for some reason, but wanted her supervised? Is she running from something in Buffalo (I mean we find out stuff later, but it still doesn't make sense) If the Walshes are from Minnesota and she's from Buffalo how well does she even know them? Why is she from Buffalo? Seriously, why pick that city? Why not make her from Minneapolis or at least something closer that would make it believable she grew up with the Walshes. It's just so complicated without actually explaining why the hell a collage student from Buffalo is living in the Walsh house in California. I get that they wanted to make her a villian, but still be sympathetic. Unfortunately it's just bad writing. It would have made more sense to invent some exchange program where they're putting up an English girl in exchange for housing for Brenda with a London family. But I don't care because we get Val!

 

PS the other thing they could have done is just write Jim and Cindy out already! They mental gymnastics the show does to explain why the hell they're still there are ridiculous.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

...hee, Kelly's modeling contract. Garth is lovely, but this was particularly hilarious in the era of Evangelista. Guys: we've seen her in pale jeans. We know it ain't happening. And she's shorter than Brandon. Come on man.

[CurlyATX]

13 hours ago, FozzyBear said:

Her dad commits suicide and she packs up for California a month later to live with some family friends and go to a competitive school that I guess she applied to? Huh? Was she always planning to go to CU? If not, how was she able to transfer? Why is she living with anybody instead of a dorm? Is it supposed to be a money thing? Are we supposed to believe her mom wanted her out of buffalo for some reason, but wanted her supervised? Is she running from something in Buffalo (I mean we find out stuff later, but it still doesn't make sense) If the Walshes are from Minnesota and she's from Buffalo how well does she even know them? Why is she from Buffalo? Seriously, why pick that city? Why not make her from Minneapolis or at least something closer that would make it believable she grew up with the Walshes. It's just so complicated without actually explaining why the hell a collage student from Buffalo is living in the Walsh house in California. I get that they wanted to make her a villian, but still be sympathetic. Unfortunately it's just bad writing. It would have made more sense to invent some exchange program where they're putting up an English girl in exchange for housing for Brenda with a London family. But I don't care because we get Val!

 

PS the other thing they could have done is just write Jim and Cindy out already! They mental gymnastics the show does to explain why the hell they're still there are ridiculous.

Val should have been from Minnesota and go to the local junior college in this situation.  An exchange student would have been amazing! She could have been scheming and have had her eye on every guy in the show. 

As for Val and chemistry- she has chemistry with EVERYONE, including some of the girls if the show would have gone there. ;)

[benteen]

I agree Val should have just been from Minnesota like the Walshs, an old neighborhood friend.  I don't get the Buffalo thing, unless it was just them saying "Hey, she's from Buffalo.  That's even less cool of a place than Minnesota" and then fooling everyone by revealing what she was really like.

I did always like Val popping up in the final episode and hanging with Dylan, Steve and David because she always got along better with the guys.  If I recall, she and Kelly don't exchange a word and Kelly keeps giving her a bitchface (excuse the expression) whenever she looks at her.

[TeeVee329]

I've always been curious how much Valerie was supposed to have been in touch with Brenda.  I mean, she refers to Dylan as "Brenda's Dylan" at the debutante ball, which indicates they were at least talking during the high school years.

But at the end of the day, who cares because Val's awesome.

[Lisin]

Val was from Minnesota though right? I think her family moved to Buffalo around the time the Walsh fam moved to CA, later there's videos they watch of Val/Brandon/Brenda at one of their birthday parties when they're little kids (I think it's in the beginning of S5) and they talk about growing up together. I think the implication is that they all grew up together in Minnesota and then both families moved but kept in touch. Now, WHY they had Val's family be in Buffalo is completely beyond me since they could just have stayed in Minnesota... but I guess then we'd wonder why Val wasn't hanging out with Brenda when she was in school there for a week? Or something? That part does make no sense. 

[scarynikki12]

They do have Val say something about being from Minnesota before moving to Buffalo but I don't remember the episode. 

[CurlyATX]

3 hours ago, TeeVee329 said:

I've always been curious how much Valerie was supposed to have been in touch with Brenda.  I mean, she refers to Dylan as "Brenda's Dylan" at the debutante ball, which indicates they were at least talking during the high school years.

But at the end of the day, who cares because Val's awesome.

In some later episode, Val gets in an argument with Kelly (who is slut shaming Val).  Val does mention that she knows what really happened that summer from Brenda.  Kelly blows it off but has a voice over that Val is correct.

I just had a flashback on David's bachelor party-- didn't they write a disgusting poem of all the girls he boned (TM Tara)?  I do like that Val hung out with the guys.  I do think she went to the lame bachelorette party- I think the vice principal was there!  I thought there was a scene were Val comments on Steve in bed and she, Kelly and Janet all commiserate.  Ewww... I don't think I could ever do that.

[TeeVee329]

2 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

I just had a flashback on David's bachelor party-- didn't they write a disgusting poem of all the girls he boned (TM Tara)?  I do like that Val hung out with the guys.  I do think she went to the lame bachelorette party- I think the vice principal was there!  I thought there was a scene were Val comments on Steve in bed and she, Kelly and Janet all commiserate.  Ewww... I don't think I could ever do that.

This reminds me that I like the friendship that develops between Val and Steve, and that they turn to each other a few times for strings-free sex.

[carrier76]

On August 31, 2016 at 0:37 PM, Uncle JUICE said:

Why the hell is it so hard to make kids on TV look like they've smoked pot before? It always looks like something out of Reefer Madness. And did teens think pot smoking was THIS big a deal?

I was SUPER square, so this would have been a Big Deal to my 18 year old self at the time. Just Say No REALLY worked on me.