Beverly Hills, 90210

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Season One (1990-91)

Rate: out of 5
Viewed: 3/26

90210s1
3/26: I didn't have to watch Beverly Hills, 90210, an extremely popular show that transformed Fox Channel in the 90's, to know what it was like to go to a high school with the same atmosphere since I experienced that for real (yeah...no joke).

Years later after it ended for good, I decided to watch the reruns and got caught up in everything. The show is a rarity for having the most unlikeable characters ever. Notwithstanding Brandon Walsh's parents, Nat, and maybe Dylan McKay, Kelly Taylor, and Steve Sanders, I hate everybody, but the quality is still top-notch.

However, make no mistake: Beverly Hills, 90210 would've never survived for so long without Luke Perry. He's the number one star of the cast with a major, major "it" factor written all over his face. Overall, the acting is absolutely impressive given what the ensemble had to work with in the face of the slow-developing chemistry. So popular at their school, Kelly, Donna, and Steve were nearly friendless before the Walshes moved to Beverly Hills? Ha! I don't think so.

Anyway, Season One has been enjoyable. Many of the episodes are compelling and fun to watch, sometimes touching on explosive issues such as AIDS, breast cancer, alcoholism, patricide, and homosexuality. That's why I think this one was much better than every teen show that appeared in the past decade except for 21 Jump Street.

During this season's run, I've been noticing that Brandon Walsh averages a female per episode. That's crazy. Honestly, I dislike him intensely because he is a cheat, a liar, a racist, and a drunk driver who could've killed somebody. Prone to be easily pissed off, Brandon will take somebody's head off with the slightest provocation. Worst of all, he acts like a saint with conscience yet is the biggest hypocrite ever walked on earth.

As a matter of fact, I have a hard time deciding who's worse: Brandon or Brenda. She always has the flair for the melodrama, no matter how small the situation is, and tries to take advantage of every opportunity to make her parents feel worse by creating useless spats. Speaking of Jim and Cindy, I actually feel sorry for them. Because of their ever-flowing leniency, they're so weak in asserting authority.

Here's my analysis for some of the following episodes:

Class of Beverly Hills: It's difficult to explain to anyone who hadn't seen all of the ten seasons before going back to this very first episode because I remember every single relationship the principal characters will have with each other in the long run. How little they knew at the time. Of River's Edge and Tex fame, Tim Hunter is the perfect director to start off Beverly Hills, 90210. The first inkling of who Brandon Walsh really is begins here when he betrayed Marianne's confidence, and that's the hottest girl (the actress is Leslie Bega) he has ever hooked up with. Ditto for Brenda the hypocite who's 16 stringing a 25-year-old guy (played by Maxwell Caulfield of The Boys Next Door) along. Djimon Hounsou plays the bouncer and will famously appear in Amistad seven years later. A different mother is played for Kelly Taylor.

The Green Room: When Luke Perry made his first appearance, it completely changed the arc of Beverly Hills, 90210 despite being slated to appear for one or two episodes. If not for him, there's no way the show would've lasted for ten seasons. Calling Dylan McKay the James Dean of the 90's isn't an overstatement. Funnily, Luke Perry auditioned for Ian Ziering's role, but it's impossible to see him as Steve Sanders. Anyway, I was very surprised when he died of a stroke seven years ago at the age of 52, becoming the first cast member of the high school class to do so. Shannen Doherty would be the second (cancer at 53 in 2024), but it's no big loss, considering how much everybody hated her.

Every Dream Has Its Price (Tag): *laughing* Noelle Parker is certainly fat. Look at the baggy clothes and the huge handbag she keeps hauling around to conceal her body. Anyway, she went on to play Amy Fisher in Amy Fisher: My Story.