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By Angela Lee (Age 21, Australia) “Hi my name is Angela and I’m a TV-holic...” I watch way too much TV for my own liking – I think that’s all you really need to know about me. Since I watch so much TV, I’ve decided to channel it into good use and write a column every month, each focusing on different television shows. I will admit that I have an unhealthy obsession for teenage dramas but my tastes to expand beyond that – so give up on me just yet! I’d also love to hear your thoughts so feel free to leave me a comment! If you wanna live in the zip, you gotta follow the code...
I’ve said it on many occasions that I’m a sucker for teen dramas, whether they are relatable and heartfelt, or simply trashy yet so addictive. 90210 certainly falls into the latter. Let’s just say I wasn’t too impressed when I first began watching the show – I’m old enough to remember the original, so I had pretty high hopes for this contemporary version of the show. Nonetheless, as a result of all the hype, I stuck with it and slowly became addicted as much as I didn’t want to.
For those of you not so familiar with the show, 90210 is a teen drama on The CW. It’s a contemporary version/spin-off/remake – call it what you will, of hit 90s teen drama Beverly Hills: 90210. Before Gossip Girl, The OC, and Dawson’s Creek, Beverly Hills: 90210 was THE teen drama that everyone couldn’t stop talking about, and where the stars of the show shot to stardom in a flash. The premise of this original teen drama was twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh (played by Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestly) moving with their parents from middle class suburbia Minnesota to lifestyles of the rich and famous Beverly Hills. Brenda and Brandon discover that it’s a world beyond what they know as they struggle to fit in with their new wealthy and privileged classmates. For 10 years the show was a hit, tackling confronting life issues that its young adult audience could relate to. The show also produced quite a few big names, a few who are still in the business today such as Jennie Garth, who played Kelly Taylor in the original and continues to play her in 90210), Tori Spelling played Donna Martin, Luke Perry played Dylan McKay, Brian Austin Green played David Silver, Ian Ziering played Steve Sanders, and Gabrielle Carteris played Andrea Zuckerman.
Then last year, 8 years since the original ended, American network The CW started airing a contemporary take of the 90s hit drama. Beverly Hills: 90210 V2.0 became simply 90210 and circled around siblings Annie and Dixon Wilson moving to Beverly Hills from Kansas and adjusting to life in the glitzy and glamourous LA after their father was appointed principal at the local high school – West Beverly Hills High. It’s hard to classify whether 90210 is a spin off or remake of the original when there’s mixing of the new version and its original. As a shout-out to those of the original, there are elements of the new version that viewers may recognize from the original. For example, one of the main characters of 90210 – Erin “Silver” is the half sister of David Silver and Kelly Taylor from the original. In fact Silver being born was a storyline shown in the original. Not to mention original character Kelly Taylor is a recurring guest star on the contemporary version, as the school guidance counsellor. Other main characters from the original who have managed to pop into 90210 include Donna and Brenda. There’s also references to other much loved original characters such as David, Brandon, and Dylan, who is the father of Kelly’s son Sammy in 90210. Additionally, a few of the adults from the original such as Jackie Taylor – Kelly, and Silver’s mother have made an appearance. And let’s not forget the lovable Nat – owner of the Peach Pit cafe where Brendan used to work, which funnily enough where Dixon is now employed at. And of course the main reason for the concept of the show – the Wilsons, also have their ties to the original, where apparently father and now West Beverly Hills High principal Harry Wilson, used to go to school with Kelly and her friends. Interestingly enough, we never actually saw Harry in the original series...
90210 Promo:
UK 90210 Promo: Characters play a big part in whether a show is successful or not, and a big issue I have with 90210 and not being impressed with it yet can’t help but be drawn in by it are the characters.
First off let’s start with small fish in big pond Annie Wilson, played by Shanae Grimes. At the risk of getting my head bitten off by some of you out there, I’m going to come right out and say that I’m not Annie’s biggest fan and that’s been the case from day one. Don’t get me wrong – the small town girl from Kansas has potential and I’m hoping we’ll see that potential this season as she deals with the aftermath of her actions from last season’s finale. But in season one I had major issues with the character’s inconsistencies. In the first episode we saw a small town girl arrive in the big city and struggle to fit in while sticking to what she believed in. Fair enough, I could deal with that and overlook her whining. Yet as the show progressed, she stopped being the girl that fought for what was right and stood up for herself, abandoning what she believed in. She became self-absorbed, insecure, and in my own opinion a bad friend. The problem with watching a show is that if you dislike the main character it tends to have an impact on your own personal judgement of the show.
Moving on to Annie’s adopted brother Dixon played by Tristan Wilds. Dixon’s pretty cool – he’s witty and charming, and whilst he’s a jock, he also sings (on a side note, I’d really love to see Dixon sing again this season! I was a bit disappointed that they introduced that storyline but never went anywhere with it...). I also think it’s great that we were shown his back story with his biological mother, but it was portrayed in a more sensitive way that your stereotypical “troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracks who is jaded because he comes from a broken home”. The writers could have chosen to go down that path but they didn’t, which makes for a refreshing change.
Speaking of sensitive storylines, in a bold move for teen dramas, 90210 tackled the sensitive issue of bi-polar disease when Silver (played by Jessica Stroup) was diagnosed with the condition. And for a show that usually introduces drama and then quickly deals with it in an episode or two (more on that later...), for once writers didn’t just gloss over it but continued to portray it in further episodes and showed the strength of Silver’s already independent and resilient character. Silver and her unique personality had already made her a firm favourite with fans and this storyline enhanced the strength and determination of the character that fans adored.
Then there’s Naomi, who is also a much adored character. Naomi Clark started off as the manipulative queen bee at West Beverly High – the stereotypical pampered princess and daddy’s little rich girl, the type of girl you love to hate. And it would be so easy to hate her, except for the fact that she’s actually pretty hilarious and often has the most hilarious lines on the show. That and the poor thing has some serious messed up family issues! Turning spoilt rich brat into a likable character can be a difficult feat, so kudos goes out to portrayer AnnaLynne McCord for injecting Naomi with just the right amount of comedic element that she actually pulls it off.
While Naomi may have altered the popular girl stereotype, the same can’t really be said for Dustin Milligan’s Ethan Ward – the show’s handsome and charming Mr Popular but really kind of dull character. I have nothing against Dustin Milligan who plays Ethan, I steer my issues with the character of Ethan towards the writers for not really giving Ethan a chance storyline wise. I think there were a few times in the season where the storylines involving Ethan had the potential to develop into something better but instead writers chose to rush it along in the pursuit of other storylines. It’s a shame we won’t see Ethan this season but if his storylines were to be how they were in the first season, perhaps we won’t be missing much.
When it comes to characters not living up to their potential, the same could be said about Navid Shirazi, played by Michael Steger. I actually quite like Navid – I think he’s awkward and funny but the poor guy does not get enough screen time! I don’t know how many episodes I watched of last season wondering “Uh where is Navid? Isn’t he meant to be a main character?” yet we rarely saw him! When we were introduced to him in the first episode, he was established as the resident journalist and kind of the eyes and ears of the school, yet as the season progressed we barely saw him in the school newsroom! And apart from his interaction with Adrianna, unlike the other main characters, Navid didn’t even get much of his own storyline. I really hope that changes this season.
Speaking of Adrianna, whilst Annie may have been projected as the Cinderella of the story of 90210 (small town girl finds happiness and perhaps her Prince Charming in the Big City), in my own opinion, Adrianna Tate-Duncan (played by Jessica Lowndes) is the real Cinderella story of the show. When we first met Adrianna she was a minor character – the resident female thespian best friend of Naomi, and she secretly had a drug problem. She was manipulative, deceitful, high most of the time, and really an awful best friend to Naomi, because after all who steals from their best friend? I actually really hated her! But of course, the writers then had to go and make her sympathetic – she was taking drugs because she felt pressured juggling the school play, her education, and acting auditions. It’s not an excuse for taking drugs but unlike her rich friends, Adrianna wasn’t actually well off and needed to book jobs as an actress to provide for her and her single mother. Okay, fair enough. I still didn’t like her though because I couldn’t understand how you could treat your supposed best friend the way she treated Naomi. But then they made her suffer from a drug overdose and sent her to rehab, and then out of nowhere Navid comes to see her because,
hey it turns out before she was an actress and became popular, Adrianna and Navid used to be childhood friends. Considering that prior to this revelation Adrianna and Navid had never even been in a scene together, I wasn’t buying it! That’s a recurring problem I find with 90210 – they’re always whipping out these storylines often with no proper development or they wrap them up too quickly and so much happens in just one episode that it kind of leaves you wondering by the episode’s end “oookay, what just happened here?”. Anyhow, soon Navid and Adrianna fell in love (although apparently Navid had always been in love with Adrianna) and despite my initial reservations, I too couldn’t help but fall in love with them too. I liked what Navid brought out in Adrianna.
But hey, it wouldn’t be a teen drama if everything was hunky-dory and rainbows and butterflies. As if her life wasn’t enough of a train-wreck already, Adrianna then discovered she was pregnant and that it was fellow thespian Ty Collins (played by Adam Gregory) that was the father. And then that was the end of Adrianna and Navid. At least for a little while, because you can’t fight love and soon the two were back together and as adorable as ever as the following video shows:
Navid stood by Adrianna throughout her pregnancy, even offering to marry her and raise it as his own, but after much deliberation Adrianna realised that she just wasn’t ready to raise a child at 16 and gave the baby girl up for adoption in last season’s finale.
While Adrianna may have done a 180 in character growth, it wouldn’t be a teen drama with at least one teenager living on the edge and being a bit of a wild child. Enter Liam Court, played by Matt Latner and 90210’s own rebel without a cause. Entering the show late in season one, Liam quickly captured our attention with his suave and smart alec ways, before hooking up with Naomi. That may have come to an end in the season finale, but fans will be happy to know that Matt and Liam are now series regulars on the show. Yay!
90210 may be a teen drama, but let’s not forget the adults. We’ve seen appearances from original characters such as Kelly, Brenda, and Donna, each with their own fair share of dramas. Then there’s Annie and Dixon’s parents Harry (played by Rob Estes) and Debbie (played by Lori Loughlin) who seem like pretty hip and cool for parents. They may be in a happy marriage at the moment but whispers in the air say that’s about to change come this season! Uh-oh! Rounding up the adults is the guy everyone wishes was their English teacher, the young, thought-proving, and of course spunky Ryan Matthews, played by Ryan Eggold. And just like the teens of 90210, Ryan also had his fair share of love interests last season including Kelly, Kimberly, and Naomi’s older sister Jen. He started off with some meaty storylines at the show’s start, and once he gets rid of that nasty Jen, we can’t wait to see him have more!
As you can see, as lame as some of the storylines might be, once you get attached to the characters, you do get addicted to the show. My name is Angela and 90210 is my trashy guilty pleasure. So what are your thoughts on the show? Do you agree or disagree? I’d love to hear from you all! You can share your thoughts at: tvholic.portraitmag@gmail.com. You can also follow me on Twitter where I'll be tweeting my thoughts every week on what I thought of my favourite TV shows! Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/PortraitTVHolic
TV-Holics Poll #5 Results – Heroes
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