Coming this Fall
CW
90210 - Season 1, Episode #1 - "Pilot"
An edgy, contemporary spin-off of the iconic drama, "Beverly Hills, 90210," the new 90210 looks at life through the eyes of Annie Mills and her brother Dixon, whose first day at West Beverly Hills High School leaves no doubt they're not in (Minnesota... err we mean...) Kansas anymore. The Mills Family, including dad Harry and mom, Debbie, has relocated to Beverly Hills to keep an eye on Harry's mother, (Samantha Sanders ... sorry we mean...) Tabitha, a feisty-but-faded former television star and a charter member of the Betty Ford Clinic. For Annie and Dixon, the awkwardness of being the new kids is made worse by the fact that their dad has taken a job as the high school principal. The school is one big culture shock for Annie, a sweet and friendly girl with a passion for the theater, and Dixon, a star athlete and scholar who was adopted by the Mills family after they took him in as a foster child. Annie and Dixon have a close sibling relationship, which they'll need to help them cope with all the cliques and classmate, including Naomi, a hot spoiled rich girl; Ethan, a popular jock whose abilities rival Dixon's; Navid, an aspiring reporter who heads up the school's daily newscast; and Silver, a rebel who produces and stars in a You Tube-type video series. Even the faculty seem hip and sophisticated at WBHHS, such as smart and funny teacher, Ryan Matthews and beautiful guidance counselor Kelly Taylor. The Mills family has just begun to realize how much their lives are about to change. (CWtv.com)
Manatee: CW is now the best network out there - "Gossip Girl" and "90210!" I can't handle it. Are you as excited about this new version of "Beverly Hills 90210" as I am?
Marmot: I am super excited about “90210”.
Manatee: Obviously there are promos out there, but we've had a sneak peek at the rewritten script. What are your thoughts?
Marmot: I think it's a vast improvement over the Rob Thomas script. No offense to him, of course, the guy was writing three pilots at once. I like that there are teachers involved in the new show, too. They kind of got the shaft in the old one. It's still a little ridiculous for high school, but it keeps with the spirit of the old series.
Manatee: The big question for me is, when the original” Beverly Hills 90210” came out, I found it to be super racy... was that a product of the time (early 90s) or because I was still in elementary/middle school when the cast was in high school? I think the new version is pretty edgy but there is a little fluff in there. A blow job in the car at the school parking lots not that big a deal, but a teacher buying drugs from a student is pretty risky. I see a little” Gossip Girl” in the script as well. There is, I feel, a little more of that sense of privilege in this version. Sure Dylan lived alone and drove a Porsche at 17, but this new version has super rich, hot Naomi with a birthday right off of MTV's “Super Sweet 16” show. That was a little fluffy for me.
Marmot: It was a little fluffy, but it was greatly toned down from the original script. I think they just needed a big set piece for the pilot. I honestly think this is more edgy than the original. Blow jobs in cars, other highly sexual scenes, drugs everywhere. Maybe that was in the original and I just don't remember it.
Manatee: Maybe it's more blatant in the new version. But then again, it goes back to my original question - we're older now and have more experience, and maybe not as in awe of these things like we were at 15 years old? But I also think "kids" these days are far more "advanced" than I was in the mid 90s. I remember a lot of sex on the original and a few drug and alcohol issues. But the new one seems more glamorous, more enticing and alluring.
Marmot: That's for sure. It's definitely feeding off of the “Gossip Girl” mantra of glamorizing illicit behavior. It's like the West Coast GG, except that it's a little more grounded in reality. Maybe that's because there's parents in “90210” that aren't 29-year-old Dad.
Manatee: Yeah but it will guest star (?) Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling! I think I'd rather not see either on this show. Tori's not in the pilot, but it's rumored she'll appear. Though, I wonder about Luke Perry since he was supposed to be married to the Kelly character in the series finale.
Marmot: I'm curious to see what Donna Martin (Tori Spelling's character) has been up to for the last 8 or 9 years. Maybe she's burned through her inheritance and needs to get a job as a lunch lady at West Beverly. One can only hope, at least. And maybe this will open the door for Luke Perry to join the series? Imagine if Dylan Walsh came back....
Manatee: That'd be weird, since I don't think Dylan's last name is Walsh, unless of course he married Brandon and then yes, I can imagine and it would be bizarre.
Marmot: Oh. Who is Dylan Walsh? ...He's an actor on “Nip/Tuck.”
Manatee: Oh - haha. Again, that would be weird as well - from “Nip/Tuck” to “90210.” Then again, maybe not weird, I'm sure at least 1 episode will deal with a nose job.
Marmot: Which brings up another possibility...now that” Nip/Tuck” has relocated to Hollywood, what are the chances of a “90210/NipTuck” crossover?
Manatee: OMG! They totally should. Naomi (actress AnnaLynne McCord) goes to get new boobs, or better yet, her weird mom goes to get new boobs. Which brings up another question from the script for me, I felt that for a pilot there were a lot of story lines. I know pilots try to jam in background and new things to come... but that part where Naomi's mom used to date the dad (Harry played by Rob Estes) and then she reveals they have a kid together! That was a little too much for me. Maybe that could have been saved for another episode, like #5 or 11. Set up their relationship and the wife's (actress Lori Loughlin) jealousy more. Let the new kids (played by Shenae Grimes& Tristan Wilds) get adjusted at WBHHS before you drop that bomb.
Marmot: I thought about that. It IS a lot for the pilot, but I was also thinking: if you had someone's baby and then didn't see or talk to them for 20 years or so, how long would you wait to tell them you have a kid together?
Manatee: My question is, why wouldn’t you call them and tell them? They have phones and probably email (thought I'm not 100% sure on that) in Kansas. I also hope that the kid turns out to be Chuck from” Gossip Girl,” who was adopted by the Bass family and is posing as a 16 year old high school rich kid. Then there would be a crossover.
Marmot: My guess is that she (Naomi's mother) probably thought he (Principal Mills) was out of her life forever, and didn't see any reason to tell him, especially since she didn't have the abortion that she said she was going to. So once he showed back up in her life, she just blurted this little factoid out. Now if that kid turned out to be Chuck Bass...I think there would be a tear in the space-time continuum.
Manatee: Then you could cross over with “Lost” as well. The more the merrier.
Marmot: What did you think of the now-homeless Silver (played by Jessica Stroup)?
Manatee: I'm still a little unclear as to who she is? Is she David Silver's little sister from the original? The half sister he shares with Kelly? Or I believe in Rob Thomas' script she was the niece of David Silver, either way - I like her character. She gives WBHHS some spunk, and she has the You Tube/My Space generation written all over her. A nice nemesis to Naomi and friend to Annie who must straddle the line between popular and not cool. But my concern is how does a homeless child (nice touch with the homeless, a little edge, a new concern for the rich kids) make You Tube Type videos lounging at a pool or wherever she's supposed to be while staying at a shelter? But I do like the homeless part - the concern of how to stay hip and fashionable and attend school with rich kids so they don't find out you have no home. Guess there are no sleepovers at Silver's in Annie's future.
Marmot: I like her character too, but I was wondering the same thing. Maybe she just borrows a computer? Or maybe there's a pool at the shelter? Although, that seems a little extravagant. They should have probably spent that money on something worthwhile.
Manatee: Like food? How do you feel about the Ryan Matthews (Ryan Eggold) teacher character? Believable?
Marmot: Believable, but it's very similar to Ryan Gosling's character in Half Nelson. Especially since they refer to him as a "Ryan Gosling-type" in the script.
Manatee: Is that ok since this is TV? Or do you view it as a rip-off?
Marmot: I don't know if it's a rip-off, but its not really an original idea. But it wasn't like that was the first drug addicted teacher in screen history. What about Mr. Kotter?
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