TV Talk: 90210 Redux
Well, the first episode of the new 90210 is now television history -- and it's one for the books.
(First episode spoilers after the jump...)
Harry Wilson (Rob Estes of Melrose Place and soft-core detective show Silk Stalkings), a graduate of West Beverly High School and former neighbor of Kelly Taylor, returns to Beverly Hills from Kansas. In tow: his wife (Aunt Becky from Full House), his daughter and adopted son (one of the only black kids at West Beverly). He's taking care of his alcoholic former actress mother (the terrific Jessica Walter of Arrested Development) and taking a job as the new principal at his old high school.
Which would be plenty. But...(deep breath)...
...his daughter becomes a laughing stock when she's mocked on a blog by the little sister of original cast characters Kelly Taylor and David Silver then used by a self-centered socialite girl in a plagiarism scheme, befriends the blog girl and gets a part in the school play, breaks up with her boyfriend, reunites with and busts up the relationship of an old flame and is flown to San Francisco on her first date with the school's richest guy.
Then...(deep breath)....
...his son gets into a fight while trying to join the lacrosse team, is kicked off, re-instated then kicked off and re-instated again after pulling a prank to impress his father.
Also...
...Kelly Taylor's now a guidance counselor at the school where she gives advice to her little sister and fights with her own alcoholic mom when she's not taking care of her own 4-year-old son, Brenda Walsh is in town from London to direct the school play, Nat is still running The Peach Pit and Andrea Zuckerman's daughter is hosting the school TV news show.
And that's...maybe a third of what's going on in the first one-hour show. Clearly a lot going on here -- but that's in fine 90210 tradition.
Things are a little more risque this time around (there's public oral sex in the first fifteen minutes) and just as melodramatic. The blogging thing (a hip, look-how-modern-we-are plot point shared by 90210-descendant Gossip Girl) is a little hilarious to those who actually blog -- the teen gossip blog in the show is said to get a half-million hits. But as I recall the original series was always like teen reality on steroids.
What'd you guys think?
UPDATE:Reviews are not kind this morning.
My favorite so far: 9021-Ewwww.
Comments (1)
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Half a million hits?!?!? Even a site like Facebook gets 150,000 visitors per day. Maybe I need to stop blogging about movies and focus on the high school across the street.
Looks like it's the same 'ol, same 'ol at West Beverly.
BTW, this clip brings back fond memories:
Posted on September 3, 2008 10:22 AM