Beverly Hills 90210 was an example of a show that was hit because it had a good concept and great timing, becoming popular at a time when shows of its type were really taking hold in America.
I originally watched it at an age slightly younger than the depicted cast (depicted because the real actors are mostly 5-10 years older than their characters), the target demo of the show, and it worked!
I was glued to my tv wanting to know what was next, who was dating whom. But was it actually that good at the time, or was I seeing this show with "kid eyes"?
After now re-watching the entirety of the series to answer that question myself, I can safely say it's the latter. This show is actually quite bad overall, mostly due to repetitive storylines and inane character actions, but also due to one really horrific casting choice via Mr. Nepotism.
One thing is for sure, 90210 doesn't lend well to streaming. Having a week+ break between episodes must've made them seem more fresh, because watching one after another it becomes painfully obvious they keep reusing the same storylines, slightly different characters or actors involved.
"Who is currently cheating? Who is currently fighting? Who is currently in trouble with the law? Who is currently on drugs? Who is currently trying to woo someone new?" Rinse, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Also, actors leave the show, and yet rather than come up with new plot lines for new people, the writers lazily give the newbies the old actor's stories.
Valerie replaced Brenda, Gina replaced Valerie. Noah replaced Dylan (for a while), Matt replaced Brandon. All were just slotted in with the previous character plots. And so forth.
I also hate how practically every argument or misunderstanding in this series could have been solved instantly if any character literally just said out loud "Wait, that's not what I meant!" Boom, disagreement solved.
But the absolute worst part of this series, and the thing that killed it and made it "less than" it could have otherwise been, has to be none other than "Saint Donna".
It's a fitting nickname, the other characters even refer to her as such at times. But if you watch the show closely as it progresses over time, it becomes more and more obvious Donna / Tori Spelling is controlling the direction of her character, and all must bow to Donna.
First of all, the casting, supposedly to avoid nepotism claims Tori auditioned anonymously, but that's a ridiculous argument because the producers knew who Tori was, she visited her Dad on other sets her ran. And she only got the casting call because of "who" she was to begin with. I mean, if she is such a great actress, please tell me about all the roles she got not involving her Dad or her later association with the show. You can't.
But nepotism happens a lot in Hollywood, her casting wouldn't have sunk the show by itself. No, it was the writers later turning 90210 into "The Donna Martin Show" by season 6-7, thats when it really got bad. With no Brenda to steal lines, Donna was given more lines / a larger role, and the series just buckled under her inability to carry it on her own. Was this really the writer's idea? Or hers?
Whatever you believe about that, the shenanigans on set led to the exits of Brenda, Dylan, and Brandon's actors.
Ultimately, I'm sad to think how good this series could have been had the original actors and plot lines stayed in place. But, Donna needed more lines, so an iconic tv love triangle was forever left unresolved.
I originally watched it at an age slightly younger than the depicted cast (depicted because the real actors are mostly 5-10 years older than their characters), the target demo of the show, and it worked!
I was glued to my tv wanting to know what was next, who was dating whom. But was it actually that good at the time, or was I seeing this show with "kid eyes"?
After now re-watching the entirety of the series to answer that question myself, I can safely say it's the latter. This show is actually quite bad overall, mostly due to repetitive storylines and inane character actions, but also due to one really horrific casting choice via Mr. Nepotism.
One thing is for sure, 90210 doesn't lend well to streaming. Having a week+ break between episodes must've made them seem more fresh, because watching one after another it becomes painfully obvious they keep reusing the same storylines, slightly different characters or actors involved.
"Who is currently cheating? Who is currently fighting? Who is currently in trouble with the law? Who is currently on drugs? Who is currently trying to woo someone new?" Rinse, repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Also, actors leave the show, and yet rather than come up with new plot lines for new people, the writers lazily give the newbies the old actor's stories.
Valerie replaced Brenda, Gina replaced Valerie. Noah replaced Dylan (for a while), Matt replaced Brandon. All were just slotted in with the previous character plots. And so forth.
I also hate how practically every argument or misunderstanding in this series could have been solved instantly if any character literally just said out loud "Wait, that's not what I meant!" Boom, disagreement solved.
But the absolute worst part of this series, and the thing that killed it and made it "less than" it could have otherwise been, has to be none other than "Saint Donna".
It's a fitting nickname, the other characters even refer to her as such at times. But if you watch the show closely as it progresses over time, it becomes more and more obvious Donna / Tori Spelling is controlling the direction of her character, and all must bow to Donna.
First of all, the casting, supposedly to avoid nepotism claims Tori auditioned anonymously, but that's a ridiculous argument because the producers knew who Tori was, she visited her Dad on other sets her ran. And she only got the casting call because of "who" she was to begin with. I mean, if she is such a great actress, please tell me about all the roles she got not involving her Dad or her later association with the show. You can't.
But nepotism happens a lot in Hollywood, her casting wouldn't have sunk the show by itself. No, it was the writers later turning 90210 into "The Donna Martin Show" by season 6-7, thats when it really got bad. With no Brenda to steal lines, Donna was given more lines / a larger role, and the series just buckled under her inability to carry it on her own. Was this really the writer's idea? Or hers?
Whatever you believe about that, the shenanigans on set led to the exits of Brenda, Dylan, and Brandon's actors.
Ultimately, I'm sad to think how good this series could have been had the original actors and plot lines stayed in place. But, Donna needed more lines, so an iconic tv love triangle was forever left unresolved.