I was watching this week’s 90210, with all of the drama about Donna and David’s relationship, Kelly finding her “six-pack,” and Harry being forced to part with his Big Mouth Billy Bass, and I was really getting into it (Harry just wants a fish to sing “Take Me To the River.” Is that too much to ask? Really?) until something hit me: Isn’t this show supposed to be about high school kids?
When the new iteration of 90210 was set to premiere, I was excited at the prospect of some of the original castmembers making appearances. I wasn’t even a big fan of the original, but I so wanted to see Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty in the same room together. Who wouldn’t? Plus, there was Aunt Becky! Then to top it all off, Jessica Walter was on, and she’s pretty much who I want to be when I grow up.
90210 had the potential to be a great show. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more clear that the teenage “stars” of the show are being completely overshadowed by their more interesting adult counterparts.
The producers, and of course, the new showrunner, Rebecca Rand Kirshner, have been aware of this and have tried to make changes. First they exiled Jessica Walter, and for a while, got rid of Brenda, Kelly, and even Ryan, in an attempt to focus more on the kids. It worked for a while, but with Donna’s return, the kids have slowly been fading into the background.
I can’t be the only one who, when Annie, Naomi and the gang showed up to Donna’s opening, thought it was really weird. I had completely forgotten that they were on the same show. This episode was really three shows in one. It was a married life sitcom with Harry and Debbie, it was 90210: The Later Years with Kelly and Donna, and then there was a weird teen drama going on in the background with everybody else.
I remember that Liam was a jerk, Naomi was sad, and Silver didn’t want to go back to school. What I really took away from this episode though, is that Donna is moving back to L.A., her and David’s marriage is falling apart, and she’s capable of finding a retail space and having a catered opening twenty-four hours later. Also, Kelly is the kind of awesome single mom who leaves her kid at the sitter so she can go and have sex with a co-worker.
As much as I am hesitant to say this, 90210 needs to get back to the basics. It needs to get rid of the clutter of “the olds” and make itself into the teen soap it’s supposed to be. The CW isn’t exactly jammed packed with programming right now (at least it won’t be next season), so if they really want to focus on Harry and Debbie and/or the 90210 alums, they should give them their own shows. Otherwise, 90210 is destined to become a hodgepodged mess that will quickly fall by the wayside.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Apr 23, 2009 @ 12:04 EST5EDT
Honestly, I cannot even remember the storyline with the teens. I dimly recall Naomi getting dissed by Liam and Silver saying she’s going to a girls school. Oh – gag. Now I remember the big one. The pregnant chick and the porn son deciding to get married – how many times do they have to play that crap out on teen shows??
Anyhoodle…the Donna storyline was the most fun for me, and I never even liked her on the original show. Kelly jumping Ryan’s bones was also fun. Yep – they definitely need two shows. Melrose Place will be an in between show…not teens, but not 30s, either. They just need to take your advice for the old gang and we’ll have three age groups well represented! LOL
I think they need to get a better balance. Gossip Girl I think marries the stories of the adult characters and the kids very well. I didn’t watch the OC, but I heard it also managed it well.
90210 hasn’t figured that out yet. I like what Rebecca Rand Kirshner Sinclair (and I wrote it all out because, really… four names?) has said about having old cast members back IF they have a story for them that makes sense, and not just for shock value (See: Kelly vs. Donna). If she takes things in the right direction, I think the show could get good.