Brenda and her “going to acting school in England.” Brandon and his sideburns/journalism career. Token Jew Andrea (pronounced “Ahndrea”) who bused over from another zip code so she could have a better education. The characters were ours, and the issues they faced were also ours, even if they had cooler clothes, a fabu beach house, the ability to get out of bad situations, etc. They were in school and so were we, which is probably where the real comparison ended.
But that doesn’t stop the nostalgia when that opening theme plays, or when Brandon does the double fist pump, or when you have to punch the zip code for Beverly Hills into Mapquest and start making jokes about going to find the Peach Pit and its nightclub scion, After Dark.
If you’re hip to the 90210 news, you know that there’s a new era imminent: The new 90210 that hasn’t been greenlit yet but is being developed by Rob Thomas (“Veronica Mars”), and will undoubtedly employ some of the tropes we’re familiar with from the old days of 90210, in addition to the newer crop of teen/young adult soaps, the most notable heir to this tradition being the trashy and addictive “Gossip Girl.”

None of the regular stars are currently slated to return, but I guess time will tell. Shannen Doherty’s not likely to return. (What’s the point? She’d just get kicked off again.) But one of the characters already in place has the last name of Silver, which may be paving the way for the return of the Notorious B.A.G. (Brian Austin Greene) or his stepsister, Kelly. But B.A.G.’s gone mostly missing, and Kelly (Jennie Garth) had a respectable stint over at “What I Like About You”–so who knows…
In the 90s, the original 90210 hit premarital sex, handgun control, eating disorders, drunk behavior, cheating, etc, and those are just the social issues I remember. Plus, it taught us about social activism, standing up for the important things like making sure Donna Martin graduates. It should be interesting to see what kinds of conflicts and social issues they tackle in the “aughties” (that’s this decade, in case you hadn’t heard), with a GenY/millennials sensibility. From the Variety report, it looks like they’re setting up some religious conflicts, racial unrest, and of course, the mainstay of the teen soap, poor vs. wealthy. But that’s what you get for living in 90210.
More on this story as it develops. But in the interim, what social issues would you like to see tackled on this potential revival of a classic series? And where does this leave “Gossip Girl”?
“XOXO….”