90210 Returns

By SuperJediMedia
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Grand Master

SuperJediMedia

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Review - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_en_...F2H2XpBtQSs0NUE

NEW YORK - There weren't a lot of surprises on the premiere of "90210."

Who wanted surprises?

A modern-day reprise of the 1990s Fox phenomenon, "Beverly Hills, 90210," this CW teen drama was kept tightly under wraps before its airing Tuesday night. The network apparently didn't want to spoil any surprises. As if! "90210" felt reassuringly familiar, probably even for viewers too young to have seen the series that inspired it.

What higher praise could "90210" aspire to? It didn't screw up!

All the expected ingredients were there: gorgeous teens, lots of style and extravagance, raging hormones, and always the potential for backstabbing, broken hearts and payback.

Same old, same old at West Beverly Hills High School.

Annie Wilson and her brother Dixon are the teen transplants to WBHHS this time around, moving to Beverly Hills with their parents not from Minnesota (as with the newcomer family on the original series), but from Kansas. Of course, everybody who cared about the new show had already read all about that.

What viewers might not have known ahead of time: that lovely Shenae Grimes, who plays Annie, squeezes her eyes shut every time she speaks or giggles, in the most adorable way.

They might not have guessed ? unless they're teens or the parents of teens ? that texting and video blogs play a vital part in the "90210" narrative. (Wait a minute: Everybody already knew that from "Gossip Girl.")

They might not have dared imagine that "Oh my God!" would be uttered with such numbing frequency, or that "stressed to the max" was said by someone with no evidence of irony.

Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth (who played students on the original series) appeared in the premiere, as expected ? and seemed surprisingly at home in their respective, grown-up recurring roles.

The most delightful moments of the "90210" opener were courtesy of Jessica Walter. But this should have been no surprise to any fan of her bygone comedy "Arrested Development," in which she stole every scene. Here, she plays Tabitha Wilson, the grandmother of Annie and Dixon, a boozy faded actress whose comic outrageousness could put any other character to shame.

"I need to finish my memoirs before my friend Virginia does," she declares at one point. "We slept with all the same people."

Annie, Dixon and their parents are now living with Tabitha in her fabulous mansion, as dad Harry (Rob Estes) begins his new job as principal of WBHHS.

In a private moment, he asks his wife (Lori Loughlin) what she thinks of Beverly Hills.

"There's a lot of temptation," Debbie replies. "I'm just concerned how it's gonna affect the kids."

"You say the word," Harry promises her, "and I will move us back to Kansas."

For a show that comes so marvelously free of surprises, that would really be a surprise.

Grand Master

jerzdawg

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I watched the first 20 minutes or so with the wife... it wasnt terrible.. but seemed to be the typical kids in high school show... had some nice cars in the parking lot... lol... I left to play CoD4... my wife said she liked it... she liked seeing her old 90210 gang along with some of the next generation characters... erin.. kelly's younger sister who was born in the original series is now a high school teenager.... its the WB.. so i do believe it will last a few seasons...

Grand Master

Rappy Veteran

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Whatever the critics say, 90210 did score a ratings win for the CW. It was the highest-rated scripted series premiere in the network's two year history.

It didn't do overwhelming numbers for a network show (it was watched by 4.9 million viewers and had a 2.6 ratings among adults 18 to 40), but it is better than the CW has done before. If the show can continue to do well in the ratings, the CW may actually cancel that "going out of business" sale.

I have to agree with Joel's analysis about the reasoning behind not sending the screeners to critics: it wasn't made for them. Bad reviews from the myriad of old male critics would have only hurt the ratings. Gossip Girl also got a boost in the ratings, so don't count the CW out of the race yet. Now I'm waiting to see if the major changes on Smallville pay off.

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Grand Master

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Full Season Ordered

The Wilson siblings should be happy to hear that they get to finish out the school year at West Beverly.

90210, the CW's 21st-century attempt at 1990s glory, has been given a full-season pickup, the network announced Monday.

"The successful addition of 90210 has taken the CW another step forward in building a cohesive schedule that defines this network as a destination for young women with shows that get our audience talking?and watching,? network president Dawn Ostroff said.

?We?re very excited about the chance to watch this ensemble of newcomers and familiar faces coalesce and grow together as we move forward.?

And if early ratings are any indication, there are plenty of fans?some nostalgic, some too young to know that 90210 had a hipper-than-though predecessor?who will be along for the ride.

Nearly 12.7 million viewers caught one?or both?airings of the series premiere a few weeks ago, and 90210's Sept. 2 debut became the CW's highest-rated premiere ever among women ages 18 to 34.

Otherwise known as the "Bingo!" demographic.

Sure, the critically indifferent teen soap, which stars what we hear are some really petite actresses and the actors who stand up for them, lost more than a million viewers between its first and second week (going from a buzz-induced 5 million for the two-hour premiere to 3.3 million the following Tuesday), but hey, Beverly Hills 90210 was never a top-10 hit for Fox.

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