Wednesday, September 3, 2008
90210 (Redux)
I have a few actual Lifetime movie recaps in the works, but I felt compelled to pen a few words on the new “90210” – which was basically 10 years of Lifetime-esque mayhem.
We start on a picturesque Beverly Hills boulevard and zoom in on a beat up minivan and the Walsh family 2.0.
Dad Harry Wilson (Rob Estes of “Melrose Place” and “Sweet Temptation” fame) is the new principal at West Beverly (RIP, Mrs. Teasley) and he and Mom Debbie (Aunt Becky from “Full House”) are trying to convince daughter Annie and their adopted black son Dixon (sadly, Michael from “The Wire”) that moving from Kansas to 90210 will be awesome.
Though the script apparently calls for it, neither child appears that distraught over the move. They’re very breezy about the whole ordeal, and Harry and Debbie are about as far from Jim and Cindy Walsh as you can get. Debbie has apparently lived in Kansas all her life, but the perfectly coiffed, highlighted locks and tight, red tank top say otherwise.
The Wilsons will be shacking up with sassy, alcoholic grandma Tabitha, played by Jessica Walter. She is basically playing a poorly written version of her Lucille Bluth character from “Arrested Development”. It provides some comic relief (“It’s a Mercedes, not a corn thresher”), but overall, I’m disappointed that she’s sharing scenes with Rob Estes and Lori Loughlin instead of Buster and Liza Minnelli.
The rest of the plot involving Annie, Dixon, and their vapid new Beverly Hills friends is barely worth exploring.
The real tidbits lie in cameos from the ghosts of 90210 past.
Kelly Taylor is back as West Beverly’s guidance counselor. For convenience sake, somewhere between Steve Sanders, Brandon Walsh, and Dylan McKay, Kelly managed to sneak in a tryst with Principal Harry Wilson (perhaps during the pre-Walsh slut phase?), which is alluded to via a badly cropped photo.
The Taylor clan is not done with West Beverly, as Erin, Kelly’s toddler sister from the old days, is now a high school student who insists that people call her Silver. I wondered if that was a shout-out to David Silver, but then I remembered that her Dad is Mel Silver, the dental Don Juan, so she is probably Erin Silver, not Erin Taylor.
She has a blog, dark hair, and an attitude. Deal with it.
Meanwhile, Kelly has a 4 ½ year-old kid. Who’s the baby daddy? Brandon! WTF? Didn’t she end up with Dylan at the end? They’re clearly not together given that Kelly goes on a date with the hipster English teacher Ty, but in a later conversation with Brenda (…), Kelly alludes to the fact that Brandon is in Belize.
Oh yes, Brenda. She breezes in to direct West Beverly’s production of “Spring Awakening” and is annoying as ever. It’s just not the same when she’s not wearing a leather jacket, screaming “But I love him, Dad!” or breaking up in a Porsche to “Losing My Religion.”
I suppose we’ll see more of her, but for now, Kelly is the most interesting option. Apparently, her mother is back to being a basketcase after her husband (Mel again?) cheated on her. Previews for next week’s episode show her and Kelly getting into a tiff.
What else?
Andrea Zuckerman’s daughter Hannah is a West Beverly student and anchors the morning news. “What is she, 30?” Ty says as he flips off the TV, referring to the 30-something original cast. No, you know who’s almost 30? Me. When did this show originally air? When I was in fifth grade. Yikes.
Overall, I might give it another shot to squeeze as much dirt about former cast members as possible, but really, a Lifetime movie focusing only on Kelly, Brenda, Dylan, Brandon, Donna, and Steve would have been much more entertaining.
- Callie Cain ¶ 3:40 PM
I have a few actual Lifetime movie recaps in the works, but I felt compelled to pen a few words on the new “90210” – which was basically 10 years of Lifetime-esque mayhem.
We start on a picturesque Beverly Hills boulevard and zoom in on a beat up minivan and the Walsh family 2.0.
Dad Harry Wilson (Rob Estes of “Melrose Place” and “Sweet Temptation” fame) is the new principal at West Beverly (RIP, Mrs. Teasley) and he and Mom Debbie (Aunt Becky from “Full House”) are trying to convince daughter Annie and their adopted black son Dixon (sadly, Michael from “The Wire”) that moving from Kansas to 90210 will be awesome.
Though the script apparently calls for it, neither child appears that distraught over the move. They’re very breezy about the whole ordeal, and Harry and Debbie are about as far from Jim and Cindy Walsh as you can get. Debbie has apparently lived in Kansas all her life, but the perfectly coiffed, highlighted locks and tight, red tank top say otherwise.
The Wilsons will be shacking up with sassy, alcoholic grandma Tabitha, played by Jessica Walter. She is basically playing a poorly written version of her Lucille Bluth character from “Arrested Development”. It provides some comic relief (“It’s a Mercedes, not a corn thresher”), but overall, I’m disappointed that she’s sharing scenes with Rob Estes and Lori Loughlin instead of Buster and Liza Minnelli.
The rest of the plot involving Annie, Dixon, and their vapid new Beverly Hills friends is barely worth exploring.
The real tidbits lie in cameos from the ghosts of 90210 past.
Kelly Taylor is back as West Beverly’s guidance counselor. For convenience sake, somewhere between Steve Sanders, Brandon Walsh, and Dylan McKay, Kelly managed to sneak in a tryst with Principal Harry Wilson (perhaps during the pre-Walsh slut phase?), which is alluded to via a badly cropped photo.
The Taylor clan is not done with West Beverly, as Erin, Kelly’s toddler sister from the old days, is now a high school student who insists that people call her Silver. I wondered if that was a shout-out to David Silver, but then I remembered that her Dad is Mel Silver, the dental Don Juan, so she is probably Erin Silver, not Erin Taylor.
She has a blog, dark hair, and an attitude. Deal with it.
Meanwhile, Kelly has a 4 ½ year-old kid. Who’s the baby daddy? Brandon! WTF? Didn’t she end up with Dylan at the end? They’re clearly not together given that Kelly goes on a date with the hipster English teacher Ty, but in a later conversation with Brenda (…), Kelly alludes to the fact that Brandon is in Belize.
Oh yes, Brenda. She breezes in to direct West Beverly’s production of “Spring Awakening” and is annoying as ever. It’s just not the same when she’s not wearing a leather jacket, screaming “But I love him, Dad!” or breaking up in a Porsche to “Losing My Religion.”
I suppose we’ll see more of her, but for now, Kelly is the most interesting option. Apparently, her mother is back to being a basketcase after her husband (Mel again?) cheated on her. Previews for next week’s episode show her and Kelly getting into a tiff.
What else?
Andrea Zuckerman’s daughter Hannah is a West Beverly student and anchors the morning news. “What is she, 30?” Ty says as he flips off the TV, referring to the 30-something original cast. No, you know who’s almost 30? Me. When did this show originally air? When I was in fifth grade. Yikes.
Overall, I might give it another shot to squeeze as much dirt about former cast members as possible, but really, a Lifetime movie focusing only on Kelly, Brenda, Dylan, Brandon, Donna, and Steve would have been much more entertaining.
- Callie Cain ¶ 3:40 PM