I have got Bill to do something REALLY fantastic. Bear with me here.
I really truly love Beverly Hills 90210. Bill likes to dismiss this. When I watch re-runs on SOAPnet, I watch them alone… I refer to the show often and this is normally followed by a roll of the eyes from him.
Funny thing is, Bill is a big fan of the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. His podcast, The BS Report did a two part special dedicated to Beverly Hills on what was 90210 day – September 9, 2010. Bill and I listed to this all the way to Albany on a Friday night. It was in the car that we decided we had to do a he says/she says on each episode of 90210. A challenge… yes. Will we finish it? Probably not. But we had to give it a try. So to begin, we started with the pilot episode.
The pilot DVD was the first ever 90210 DVD release. If you remember back, the music rights for 90210 were so complex, getting the episodes released on DVD was a major issue. So the production company released this DVD to try and keep us all happy. Bad thing is, 90210 the pilot is basically a totally different show to the ‘real’ 90210 so there isn’t much to really say about the pilot just because it is so different. There is enough to pick on and I am able to do this just because this is just about my most loathed episode of 90210.
The main annoyance that sets the pilot off badly? The opening credits. Of course, we all know the theme song is awesome and in this episode the music itself is great because this is a super-duper-extended-edition. The rest? UGH! For an opening montage, this is BAD. Lucky for us, someone has put this on to You Tube.. check it out.
OK we get it, the kids are going to school. Did you laugh at the girl carrying the surf board in HEELS down Rodeo Drive? Did it really need 2 minutes and 47 seconds of synth music and shots of cars pulling into the car park? No. the only redeeming feature is the vintage Mac laptop at the 1.37 mark. BUT the thing is – this clip ends TOO early. If you watch the clip below, you will see the opening montage and scenes of students just getting to school goes for nearly 4 minutes and 41 seconds! CRAZY!!
So in this episode, Brandon’s hair is quite simply, a disaster. He is sporting a very unkept mullet that needs to be controlled and quite simply, he talks like a ninja turtle. Brenda is at her whiny best… “Everyone here looks like they stepped out of a music video!” Cindy looks SO young. Kelly’s clothes are ridiculous. Andrea acts like she is running a media empire and everything in this episode is over-acted and over-emphasized. Also, what makes it sad is there is no Dylan. But what is even sadder is the situation with Casa Walsh. The Walsh House was one of the things I loved about 90210. The open planned kitchen, cozy lounge, Brenda’s room was GORGEOUS – as well as the Brady Bunch-esque shared bathroom between her and Brandon’s bedrooms. Well, in the pilot the house used isn’t the house that we watched over the 10 seasons of every-single-character living in the house.
Also, in writing this I have realized that we should start a count of just how many times they say “This is Beverly Hills mom/dad/Brandon/Brenda” or even just point out that they are in Beverly Hills. Like what about Bel Air? Or Pacific Palisades? Or Malibu? We get it – you are in Beverly Hills but it does not have to be mentioned every 10 minutes.
Also in this episode is Maryann – the hostess with the mostess who puts on the most rockin’ party in Beverly Hills and manages to seduce Brandon with her plush velvet babydoll dress. She reminds me so much of Jami Gertz’s character in Less Then Zero that it is kind of spooky. Then she goes and ruins her serious moment with Brandon by acting like a party girl and in an ultimate act of rebellion, stands on the diving board and throws one of her high heels into the pool for everyone to dive in after. Um… why?
I feel sorry for the randoms like Maryann who appear in this episode and we never see them again. For example –
– Kathy and Michelle who were hanging around with Donna and Kelly (see below).
– Brenda’s older UCLA dude.
– The random guys who made sure that Steve didn’t drive drunk.
– All the teachers.
Speaking of teaching personnel, both of the main teachers in this episode (Spanish and Biology) were extremely annoying and here below we have the Spanish teacher telling Steve what they need to do with Brandon’s hair.
Also, in this episode Steve’s car gets damaged after rolling into another car. They wayyyyy overstated the damage. Also, the car looks like it is a cardboard car from PlaySchool.
Here is a focus on the fashion highlights of this episode –
One thing I loved about this episode was the name of the nightclub that Brenda got in to – ‘The Blue Iguana’ – they should have stuck with that instead of the Peach Pit!
Quote of the episode – “Hanging out with a bunch of people acting stupid is not going to get me into the Ivy League!” – Andrea Zuckerman.
You can read Bill’s synopsis here.