Monday, February 23, 2009

Living in Beverly Hills

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So I've been putting off this one for quite a while. Not for any good reason, but just because I didn't feel ready.

What do I mean by that? Well, although I had a 90210 (and I'll continue to refer to Beverly Hills, 90210 by the zip code, even though that now refers to a different show) t-shirt as a kid, I never watched the show. Until about this time last year, I could only name the guy stars, and only had a vague idea about the plot of the show. But then I was hooked, and have been watching SOAPNet for two hours each weekday since the summer, trying to catch up on all of the episodes. I've now caught a good chunk of every season except 10 (which starts Thursday, I believe), and have seen all of the episodes in several seasons. I've become a fan of Brenda, then Andrea, then Kelly. I've fake-crushed on David, then Brandon, and finally Steve. I hated Valerie, then Gina. I've been nonchalant about Donna from the beginning, even though she's beloved by many. Same with Dylan, I just couldn't get attached.

Now that I've already given some opinions, I should mention that there were other characters, and in fact there were so many supporting characters over the years that it would be foolish to consume this entry by mentioning all of them.

The show encompassed the 90s, running from 1990 through 2000, with the bulk of the characters being in tenth grade at the beginning, and ending up in that twentysomething phase of life, unsure of what they're doing and where they should be. Many of them had several different plans throughout the years, and nobody really became what one would expect from the beginning, except maybe Dylan (who is introduced as a carefree surfing rich boy, and is an unemployed wealthy man in the end). And maybe Brandon, who was a writer for the high school newspaper, only to later head to NY to work for a major newspaper. The fashion and hairstyles throughout the show span the gamute, and so did the topics covered. Rape was pretty big, taking up at least five episodes, probably closer to ten. Drugs were big, as Kelly, David, Donna, and Dylan all had addictions at one time or another. Steve, Donna, and Dylan outlined the outcomes of drinking. Dating professors, dating married women, abortions, pregnancies, miscarriages, interracial relationships, homosexuality, the mafia, loadnsharks, teen prostitution, murders, AIDS, and vanity were also addressed.

The draw of the show? Well, besides the fact that sex is so casual for these characters (even last-virgin Donna sleeps with both David and Noah by the time the show is up), the fact that they're pretty real does it for me. Sometimes it seems like there's a few too many things that happen to the main characters, but oh well. For example... David starts the series a year younger than everyone else and tries to be cool. He succeeds, leaving a friend behind who ends up committing suicide. He dates Donna on and off, but sleeps with a bunch of different girls (Clare, Valerie, and Gina for starters). He starts off a radio DJ, runs a club, becomes a one-hit wonder, works retail, washes cars, goes back to being a DJ. His mom's schizophrenic and his dad has been married a few times. He lives a bunch of different places, goes broke, loses his half-sister at the park, and considers jumping off a cliff. He got into some big trouble a bunch of times, but tried to right wrongs with parents (like Donna's and a high school kid whose parents disowned him for being gay. oh, and Mrs. Walsh loved him).

From being 15-16 to being 25-26, the show might still interest me because I take a lot out of it. When the gang had their five-year reunion from HS, I decided that I can drop all the grudges I hold against people who did me wrong back then. I certainly don't want to be Steve and getting pranked, or Kelly and end up still upset about a rumor someone spread. This spring will be seven years since my HS graduation, and there's no reason for me to ruminate on crap that I or others did when we were young and immature. I pretty much forgave anyone, and refuse to feel like I'm "not cool enough" to talk to people. Tell ya what, it makes Facebook a lot more fun. I accept all requests from my HS class, and I don't feel stupid friending people who I want to reconnect with.

90210 is up on Hulu, where you can watch most of the first two seasons, although a couple episodes are mis-labeled as to which they are. Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't really mention Brenda, the original female lead of the show... it's because she was pretty lame, and while I wanted her to leave, I also wanted her to return, and she never did. In fact, the clip I chose for below is the gang heading to Vegas for Brenda's "wedding to Stuart," and Brenda's not actually in it.

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