After somehow surviving the last 8 TV seasons without a show containing the numbers 90210 in the title, Americans can breathe easy again. In a make or break move that may determine the future of the network, the CW has decided to create yet another teen drama. In hopes of hooking multiple generations of viewers, this one's even tied into the continuity of the original Beverly Hills 90210 going so far as to bring back Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty.
As someone who's only seen a few episodes of the original show, I can't really do much to directly compare the two. That's probably for the best. To my knowledge, the original 90210 (debuting in 1990) was the first primetime show to prominently feature teens. As such, it was able to break a lot of ground and explore topics that were previously taboo. This new show has entered a brave new world where the trail has been continually blazed over the years by shows like My So-Called Life, The OC, and Gossip Girl. Given this environment, what is 90210 adding to the mix?
To be honest, not a whole lot. It feels a bit like the perfect frankenteen drama: a bit of The OC here (it's a teen show, but we have storylines about adults, too), Gossip Girl there (more rich high schoolers, and one of them has a popular dirt-dealing blog), even some Saved By the Bell (the main adult character is the principal). With a pedigree like this, it should be good, if you're into the whole teen drama thing, but it just leaves me flat. The acting by the kids is pretty poor, particularly Shenae Grimes (Degrassi: The Next Generation) as the lead girl, Annie Wilson. There was an especially painful scene in which she won a spot in the chorus for the school musical. I wish I had a screenshot or video I could show you, but the amount of anguished faces and bad dancing she did while singing was enough to make you want to watch a Hilary Duff music video instead. Not incidentally, that's probably where Shenae got most of her pointers.
There are some aspects of the two premiere episodes that I did like. Jessica Walter (Arrested Development) is pretty funny as the Wilson family's alcoholic grandmother. I actually enjoyed most of the adult storylines - Rob Estes (Melrose Place) as the new principal at West Beverly Hills High is particularly good. Although no one else seems to appreciate it, I liked that this series starts off with the exact same premise as the original one: a family with a high school-aged son and daughter moves to Beverly Hills from the middle of nowhere. Last but not least, in a scene early in the first episode you get to watch the most realistic portrayal of lacrosse I've ever seen in a movie or TV. In the end, though, it ends up not really serving anybody what they want.
Fans of the old show tuning in are going to be disappointed because even though some characters have come back, they can't possibly spend a lot of time on them without confusing and alienating their new audience. So although you may find out if Kelly's son belongs to Brandon or Dylan if you watch enough episodes, you'll probably be left wanting more. Fans of modern teen dramas will probably just go somewhere else for their fix once they realize that it doesn't measure up to current or recent shows of the same type that are just flat out better. There just aren't enough sympathetic characters and not enough humor. Sadly, I don't think I'll be coming back to it.
P.S. Apparently, I'm not doing this right. As I learned from watching this show, "Blogs are supposed to cause problems."
3 comments:
I have to admit, I was entertained enough to tune in again. But then, I have a pretty low threshold when it comes to teen dramas and a lot of time in the rocking chair at the moment.
The sad part, I found myself trying to do the math to figure out if Kelly's little sister really should be in high school right now. =) Then I decided that since the actress is probably nearing 40, it doesn't really matter.
I am very concerned for you, Brian. This sacrifice you're making watching these shows for us is commendable, however, some shows just shout "look away!" Perhaps the little voice in your head was whispering, "It is hideous! Yet I can't look away". Some of these shows should go straight to video... oh wait... isn't that what the CW is? :-). Just joking... oh, no wait! That would be the Lions.
This is actually more fun than I've probably made it sound. The project, not this show... it hasn't been all that much TV yet. I definitely don't have time in my life for teen dramas that aren't witty, though. It's not even quite into the so bad it's good category for me.
Did you catch Fringe last night? Seems like something you and Dad would enjoy, and I think I've convinced Meaghan to stick with it.
As for the Lions... oy. They geve me wins in all of my fantasy football leagues, though. I have Michael Turner on all 3 of my teams, and you can't say no to 220 yds and 2 TDs.
Post a Comment