Beverly Hills, 90210
July 4th, 2009| Beverly Hills, 90210 | |
 |
|
| Format | Teen drama |
|---|---|
| Created by | Darren Star |
| Starring | see Cast |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 296 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 44 mins. (60 including commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | FOX |
| Original run | October 4, 1990 – May 17, 2000 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Melrose Place Models Inc. 90210 Melrose Place (2009) |
Beverly Hills, 90210 is a prime time television drama series that aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on FOX in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. The show followed the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly High School and, subsequently, the fictitious California University after graduation. The show was created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling and Spelling Television. The “90210″ in the title refers to the city’s ZIP code.
The original premise of the show was based on the adjustment and culture shock that twins Brandon (played by Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (played by Shannen Doherty) experienced when they and their parents, Jim and Cindy moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Beverly Hills. In addition to chronicling the friendships and romantic relationships of a group of close-knit teenagers, the show also addressed numerous topical issues including date rape, alcoholism, domestic violence, gay rights, drug abuse, teenage suicide, AIDS, teenage pregnancy, and abortion.
The series gained popularity during the summer of 1991, when FOX aired a special “summer season” of the show while most other series were in reruns. The series became one of FOX’s top shows when it began its next season that fall. Viewership increased dramatically and the cast members, particularly Jason Priestley and Luke Perry, became teen idols, while the series would make actresses Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling household names in the US. The show also had many cast changes, though Garth, Spelling, Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green were regulars during its entire run.
Contents
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Overview
Main article: List of Beverly Hills, 90210 episodes
The series began with the introduction of the Walsh family—Jim, Cindy, Brandon, and Brenda—who’d recently moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills, California as a result of Jim’s job promotion. In the first episode, Brandon and Brenda began attending West Beverly Hills High School, where they were eventually introduced to several friends who composed the remainder of the cast: Kelly Taylor, Steve Sanders, Andrea Zuckerman, Dylan McKay, David Silver, Scott Scanlon, and Donna Martin. The show followed the personal and professional matters of its characters throughout early adulthood, while introducing several additional characters as its seasons progressed.
Cast
Main article: Characters of Beverly Hills, 90210
| Actor | Character | Seasons | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Priestley | Brandon Walsh | 1-9 | 1990-1998 |
| Shannen Doherty | Brenda Walsh | 1-4 | 1990-1994 |
| Jennie Garth | Kelly Taylor | 1-10 | 1990-2000 |
| Ian Ziering | Steve Sanders | 1-10 | 1990-2000 |
| Gabrielle Carteris | Andrea Zuckerman | 1-5 | 1990-1995 |
| Luke Perry | Dylan McKay | 1-6; 9-10 | 1990-1995; 1998-2000 |
| Brian Austin Green | David Silver | 1-10 | 1990-2000 |
| Douglas Emerson | Scott Scanlon | 1-2 | 1990-1991 |
| Tori Spelling | Donna Martin | 1-10 | 1990-2000 |
| Carol Potter | Cindy Walsh | 1-5 | 1990-1995 |
| James Eckhouse | Jim Walsh | 1-5 | 1990-1995 |
| Joe E. Tata | Nat Bussichio | 1-10 | 1990-2000 |
| Mark Damon Espinoza | Jesse Vasquez | 4-5 | 1994-1995 |
| Kathleen Robertson | Clare Arnold | 4-7 | 1994-1997 |
| Tiffani Thiessen | Valerie Malone | 5-9 | 1994-1998 |
| Jamie Walters | Ray Pruit | 5-6 | 1994-1996 |
| Hilary Swank | Carly Reynolds | 8 | 1997-1998 |
| Vincent Young | Noah Hunter | 8-10 | 1997-2000 |
| Lindsay Price | Janet Sosna | 8-10 | 1998-2000 |
| Daniel Cosgrove | Matt Durning | 9-10 | 1998-2000 |
| Vanessa Marcil | Gina Kincaid | 9-10 | 1998-2000 |
Departures
The show’s later years were known for frequent casting changes:
Shannen Doherty
Following reported on-set friction, Shannen Doherty left the show at the end of the fourth season. Doherty’s character, Brenda Walsh, was written off the show as moving to London to attend school at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts. While the character’s absence was originally described as only being for a year, she never actually returned, despite being mentioned from time to time during the show’s remaining seasons. She was replaced with former Saved by the Bell star Tiffani Thiessen, who played bad girl character Valerie. Shannen Doherty has appeared as Brenda Walsh in the 2008 spin-off series, 90210 along with former costars Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling and Joe E. Tata.
James Eckhouse and Carol Potter
Both actors left the show following the fifth season at the end of their original five year contracts. During the high school years of the show, Jim and Cindy Walsh played secondary roles, offering advice to Brenda and Brandon, along with their friends, but were rarely given plotlines of their own. They generally would spend most of their time reacting to various things that Brenda, Brandon and later Valerie did. As the show entered the college years, Jim and Cindy were moved even farther into the background as the show took on a much more soap operatic tone and the characters grew up, reducing their need for parental oversight. Following the fifth season, both characters left Beverly Hills for Hong Kong, making occasional guest appearances in the sixth, seventh and eighth seasons. Even though all the Walshes eventually left the show, the Walsh home continued to play a central role in the series. The show explained this by having Brandon tell Steve his parents had given the green light for Steve to keep living in the house.
Gabrielle Carteris
Gabrielle Carteris left the show following the fifth season. Her character, Andrea Zuckerman, changed radically during the transition from high school to college. In high school, Andrea was the brainy editor of the West Beverly Blaze, who had a crush on Brandon and secretly lived out of district. During the fourth season, the character’s freshman year of college, Andrea drops journalism, becomes pregnant, and gets married to someone she barely knows (Jesse Vasquez) before the year is out. While the pregnancy plotline was written at Carteris’ request, so as to incorporate her real life pregnancy, this was a major shift for the character, and also caused her to become somewhat isolated from the other characters on the show. Andrea Zuckerman eventually left the show during the end of the fifth season because she decided to finally go to Yale. After her original five-year contract ended, Carteris voluntarily left 90210 for her own self-titled talk show, which lasted only one season. Carteris returned to 90210 for guest appearances during the sixth, eighth, and tenth seasons.
Luke Perry
Luke Perry left Beverly Hills, 90210 towards the beginning of the sixth season. Perry’s send-off features his character, Dylan McKay, marrying Antonia Marchette (Rebecca Gayheart), the daughter of the mob boss (Stanley Kamel) who ordered his father’s death during the third season. Before the marriage, Dylan thinks that Toni is a guy but finds out that it’s a girl and attempted to use Antonia to get to her father, but falls in love with her instead. Dylan and Antonia decide to get married but her father, uncomfortable with the marriage, orders Dylan’s death. He hired a hitman to kill Dylan to stop Antonia from getting married but inadvertently kills Antonia instead due to the fact that she is driving Dylan’s car at the time of the planned hit, and is wearing a hooded raincoat, so the hitman cannot see whom he is shooting. Dylan is heartbroken about the death of Antonia and decides to leave town, after his father-in-law reluctantly agrees to a truce in the wake of his daughter’s death. During the seasons where Perry is absent, it is explained that his character Dylan has reconciled with Brenda and is living with her in London. It is revealed later in the series that Dylan’s father was not really murdered and that he had faked his death in order to enter the Witness Protection Program. Perry returned permanently during the ninth season of the show, but was now credited as a “Special Guest Star”—much like Heather Locklear was on Melrose Place. His return was not fully explained, but it is acknowledged that Dylan had broken up with Brenda.
Jason Priestley
Jason Priestley left the show at the beginning of the ninth season. However, he remained credited as an executive producer for 90210 until the end of the series. In the show, Brandon is still recovering from his aborted wedding to Kelly, and is offered a job in Washington, D.C., which he accepts. Brandon was the last Walsh family member to leave Beverly Hills, and his only other appearance on the series following his departure is by video to Donna and David at the time of their wedding.
Tiffani Thiessen
Tiffani Thiessen (credited as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, late of Saved By the Bell) replaced Shannen Doherty after her departure following the fourth season. Thiessen portrayed Valerie Malone, an old Walsh family friend from Buffalo, New York who moves into Brenda’s old room, and smokes pot. While Valerie is meant as a replacement for Brenda, the characters are very different, and Valerie has a rocky relationship with most of the gang during her time on the show. Valerie leaves Beverly Hills soon after Brandon, saying that she is going to return home to Buffalo. Thiessen returned to the show for the series finale for Donna and David’s wedding. Thiessen had discussed the option of leaving with Priestley and left two episodes after Priestley’s departure.
Production
Development
Tentative titles for the show included Class of Beverly Hills (which would end up being the name of the first episode) and Potomac 20854, with Star’s actual high school, Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Montgomery County, Maryland—a school with similar demographics to Beverly Hills High—as an inspiration. The show’s episodes were originally issue-based until the producers decided it should become a teen soap opera.
Jennie Garth had to audition fives times for the role of Kelly Taylor and was the first to be cast on the show. Gabrielle Carteris felt that she was too old to play a high school student. She first audition for Brenda because she thought that being a real life twin would help her chances but the producers felt that she would be better for the part of Andrea. When Tori Spelling auditioned for the show, she used the name Tori Mitchell while she auditioned for the role of Kelly Taylor but she was eventually recognized and was instead cast as Donna Martin. Lyman Ward was originally cast as Jim Walsh in the pilot, but was replaced by James Eckhouse and the scenes were cut and re-shot with Eckhouse. Kristin Dattilo was also up for the role of Brenda Walsh, but turned it down. She would later guest star as Melissa Coolidge in an episode of the first season. Additionally, Luke Perry had auditioned for the role of Steve Sanders, but the role eventually went to Ian Ziering before being cast as Dylan McKay. His character was not an original cast member of the show and he was first featured in the show’s second episode. He was originally intended to only appear in one story arc, for one or two episodes. Fox was initially reluctant to have him included as a regular, but Aaron Spelling felt differently and paid Perry’s salary himself during the first two years until the network was won over. In the first season, when Donna tries out for school D.J., she is referred to as Donna Morgan. Throughout the entire show, her name is Donna Martin. In addition to this, in the first season Donna’s mother was named Nancy Martin and played by actress Jordana Capra. When she was reintroduced in season two she was named Felice Martin and was played by actress Katherine Cannon. In the pilot episode, the role of Jackie Taylor was first played by Pamela Galloway and then by Ann Gillespie for the rest of the series. Terence Ford and Arthur Brooks portrayed Dylan’s father, Jack McKay, in two episodes before Josh Taylor assumed the role. Alicia Silverstone was offered the role of Valerie Malone but turned it down before being given to Tiffani Thiessen. Aaron Spelling then created the character of Gina Kincaid especially for Vanessa Marcil to serve as a replacement to the departure of Valerie Malone.
Filming
Torrance High School was used as a primary filming location for the fictional West Beverly High School.
The series was produced in Van Nuys, California. For the 10 years the series was in production it was filmed in a warehouse complex in Van Nuys, the interiors of the series as well as the exteriors of the Peach Pit parking lot and P.P.A.D. club entrance were all located off the 15000 block of Calvert St in Van Nuys, CA. An unmarked gated studio entrance now stands at this address, but the exterior brick facing of the P.P.A.D. is still visible down the alley on the north side of the building. The studio building complex has since been the home to various projects including the CBS series Jericho, which guest starred James Eckhouse in one episode. Post-production services for the series were provided by LaserPacific for all seasons.
Many changes were made after the pilot episode. The producers first used a location that was used only once during the pilot episode for the Walsh house that was located in a gated community of Brentwood, California. After the pilot episode the Walsh house was moved to Altadena, California. The house used for Dylan’s home in the show, is also located in Altadena, California, in the same neighbourhood of the Walsh Home.
Three different locations were used for the exterior of the “The Peach Pit” during the show’s ten year history. The original location was only used in first few episodes of season one and is located on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was changed to a different location for the rest of season one. When the Peach Pit was fictionally remodeled during season two, the producers used Ruby’s Diner in Pasadena, California to film the exterior of the gang’s hangout and it remained the same throughout the rest of the show’s run. Most of the filming during the second season of the summer season at the The Beverly Hills Beach Club took place in Santa Monica, California. The beach club used in the show was the very same beach club that was used during one summer season of Saved by the Bell.
Beverly Hills High School is actually located in ZIP code 90212. There are three zip codes in Beverly Hills and the most affluent homes lie within the mostly residential 90210, where the High School does not. (Most of the 90210 zone is in fact in Los Angeles City despite the name.) However, the characters attended the completely fictitious West Beverly High School, which could have been located in any ZIP code. The filming location for West Beverly High School was in the middle class community of Torrance, California at Torrance High School located in the 90501 zip code. Torrance High can also be seen in other shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The characters later began attending the then-fictitious California University in the show’s fourth season, and the scenes around campus were actually filmed at Occidental College in Eagle Rock, California. Kelly and Donna’s beach house used in the show is located in Hermosa Beach, California.
Opening Credits
Beverly Hills, 90210′s opening credits went through various changes during its ten-year run.
Season 1
The opening credits start with a postal worker walking up to the Walsh home in Minnesota. The worker then writes “Please forward to 953 Hillcrest Drive Beverly Hills CA, 90210.” The text “Beverly Hills, 90210″ then jumps from the letter onto the screen on top of various videos of Beverly Hills (this was later removed after a couple of episodes). Then, footage from the show of each cast member is shown with their names. The last few scenes in the opening are of the Walsh family together. The theme was composed by John E. Davis and the opening was designed by Kathie Broyles. The cast shown in this version are Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Luke Perry, Brian Austin Green, Douglas Emerson, Tori Spelling, Carol Potter and James Eckhouse.
Seasons 2-4
The opening credits start with the younger cast gathered around a white background (mainly playing around and having what seems to be fun). The opening then flashes white (turning the live action film into a still picture) and then goes to a title card. Footage from the show (and during the summer episodes, footage from a beach photo shoot taken in 1991) is shown with the word “starring”. Then video taken from a photo shoot (from the shows first and fourth seasons respectively) of the cast is shown with each cast members name.
Noticeably missing is Douglas Emerson, whose character Scott Scanlon, was dropped to recurring and later killed off early on in the second season. This caused original footage of the cast that was taken from the photo shoot which Emerson participated in not to be used and replaced with the new footage.
At the end of the opening, the cast is shown shaking hands and then walking away from the camera. In season 4, the footage is replaced with the ending scene from the show’s third season finale, “Commencement”. The opening(s) were designed by Luise Hollowell. The theme used is a remixed version of the Season 1 theme by John E. Davis. The theme is later remixed once again by John E. Davis in Season 4. The cast shown in these versions are Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Luke Perry, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Carol Potter and James Eckhouse.
Season 5
With Shannen Doherty’s Brenda now gone, the opening credits went through some remodeling. The theme song was cut down to 58 seconds instead of 1 minute and 38 seconds. And new cast members Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and Mark Damon Espinoza were added. Also, a new logo and text effect. Jennie Garth also moved up to the lead actress spot in the opening (vacated by Doherty). The opening originally featured scenes from the show, but this was later replaced by more footage from a photo shoot. After Andrea (Gabrielle Carteris) and Jesse (Mark Damon Espinoza) left the series on the second to the last episode of the season, their footage remained in the opening for the next episode which was the season finale. The opening was designed by an unknown person, whose name is not listed in the end credits for this season, though William Brown has been speculated by many as the designer. The cast shown in these versions are Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Luke Perry, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Mark Damon Espinoza, Tiffani Thiessen, Carol Potter and James Eckhouse.
Seasons 6 and 7
With new executive producers, the opening once again went through some major changes. In were Kathleen Robertson (Clare Arnold), Jamie Walters (Ray Pruit), and for the first time Joe E. Tata (Nat Bussichio). Out was Darren Star’s name at the end of the credits (due to Star’s selling of all his shares in both Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place). A new logo was introduced (which unlike previous logos, overlaid on top of a cast shot), as well as another text effect (which was very similar to the one used in Season 5). The opening(s) were designed by William Brown. The cast shown in these versions are Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Luke Perry (Season 6, episodes 1-10 only) Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Tiffani Thiessen, Joe E. Tata, Jamie Walters (Season 6, episodes 1-13 only) and Kathleen Robertson.
Season 8 and 9
With a new executive producer, the departure of Kathleen Robertson, and the cast of characters now out of school, the opening credits were once again revamped. New cast members Hillary Swank (Carly Reynolds) and Vincent Young (Noah Hunter) were added (and later Daniel Cosgrove and Lindsay Price in season 9). And footage of the cast together at a photoshoot received a blue hue, instead of the traditional grainy film look. The opening(s) were designed by Brian Dollenmayer. The cast shown in these versions are Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Tiffani Thiessen, Joe E. Tata, Hilary Swank (season 8, episodes 1-19 only) Vincent Young, Lindsay Price (starting in season 9) and Daniel Cosgrove (season 9).
Season 9 and 10
With the departure of the series leading man Jason Priestley (Season 9, Episode 5), the opening credits were once again revamped. This time featuring more or less the same effects from previous seasons (blue hues, grainy film effects). Season 9 also saw the departure of Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (Season 9, Episode 7). There were also two additions to the cast: Vanessa Marcil and the return of Luke Perry (now being credited as a special guest star). Season 10 saw the departure of Vanessa Marcil (Episode 17) and the on-again/off-again presence of Joe E. Tata in the opening credits. Season 9-10 cast: Jason Priestley (S9, Ep. 1-5), Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Tiffani Amber Thiessen (S9, Ep. 1-7), Vincent Young, Vanessa Marcil (S9-S10, Ep. 1-17), Lindsay Price, Daniel Cosgrove, Joe E. Tata and Luke Perry (Special Guest Star beginning on S9, Ep. 7).
Additional notes
The character Jim Walsh was ranked #41 in TV Guide’s list of the “50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time” (June 20, 2004 issue). While Kelly and Valerie were constant enemies in the show, Jennie Garth and Tiffani Thiessen are close friends.
Torand Productions was a dba used by the production company for several seasons on the show. Torand productions came from the first three letters of Aaron Spelling’s first child, Tori and the first four letters of his second child, Randy’s, name.
Entertainment Weekly named the show #20 on its list of top 100 TV shows in the past 25 years. The magazine also named the theme song #15 on its list of top 25 TV theme songs in the past 25 years, and the “90210 Sideburns” #50 on its list of Pop Culture Moments that Rocked Fashion.
Shannen Doherty’s departure from the show would be the longest the continuity had seen with a lead cast member not making another guest appearance after they had left the show. Spanning for a time of 14 years, Brenda Walsh was not seen in any 90210 incarnation until September 2, 2008 in which she reprised her role in the CW’s spinoff, 90210.
Nicholas Pryor who plays Chancellor Arnold and Clare Arnold’s father also played as the father of Shannen Doherty’s character Jenny Wilder in Little House on the Prairie as Royal Wilder. Pryor is best known as the father of Tom Cruise’s character, Joel Goodson, in the 1983 hit movie Risky Business.
Broadcast
Beverly Hills, 90210 originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on FOX in the United States; SoapNet currently airs reruns seven days a week. Various networks around the world subsequently aired Beverly Hills, 90210. In the United Kingdom, ITV showed the first two seasons until the satellite channel Sky1 acquired the rights for the rest of its run from Seasons 3-9; Season 10 was never shown. Five later acquired the repeat rights of Seasons 1-4 . Australia aired the show on Network Ten, FOX8 and their now ceased Fox Kids. In Canada, the show’s later seasons aired on Global. It was also shown on TVA (in French), and aired in syndication on TVtropolis. It is shown in Denmark on TV2. In Spain, the show was aired on Tele 5 from 1991 to 2005.
In Malaysia the series is now airing through 8TV beginning Jun 14 onwards every Saturday, 11:45pm
In Italy, Rai 4 is now airing again this series every day at 6:45pm and 7:35pm, beginning on November.
In Slovenia, TV3 is now airing all seasons of the show every day at 4:10pm until 9th of April 2009 (when last episode will be shown).
Cancellation
When Beverly Hills, 90210 began, the show was heavily issue-oriented with the Walsh twins facing a different teen issue nearly every week in largely self-contained episodes. As the show progressed, it became more character-driven with the characters entering into various love triangles, while dealing with general adult issues.
Ratings for the tenth season declined to an average of 10 million viewers per episode (according to a May 2000 issue of Us Weekly). The ratings were small compared to previous seasons. The lower ratings, along with the high costs associated with any television show in its later seasons led Fox to cancel the series in January 2000. Though there were many cast changes over 25 million people tuned in to watch the final episode which aired in May 2000.
Spin-offs
Main article: Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise
Melrose Place
Main article: Melrose Place
The series Melrose Place was a spin-off from the show, as actor Grant Show (who played Jake on Melrose Place) appeared for a multi-episode run as Kelly’s love interest, and a friend of Dylan’s. Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering made appearances as their Beverly Hills, 90210 characters in the first few episodes of Melrose Place.
Models Inc
Main article: Models Inc.
Models Inc., a series about the personal and professional struggles of several young models, spun-off from Melrose Place. The series was introduced via the characters Hillary Michaels, the mother of Melrose Place’s Amanda Woodward, and model Sarah Owens—both of whom had appeared in a multi-episode run on MP. Jake Hanson, originally introduced in Beverly Hills, 90210, was the only character to appear in both the first show and the third.
90210
Main article: 90210 (TV series)
A third spin-off premiered in 2008, focusing on a family from Kansas who move to Beverly Hills when the children’s grandmother suffers from alcohol addiction. It premiered on The CW Network on September 2, 2008.
In guest appearances, Jennie Garth, Shannen Doherty and Tori Spelling reprised their roles as Kelly Taylor, Brenda Walsh and Donna Martin, respectively. Joe E. Tata also reprised his role as Nat, owner of the Peach Pit, diner turned Coffee house, for a couple of episodes at the beginning of show’s first season.
Melrose Place (2009)
Main article: Melrose Place (2009 TV series)
A fifth series was officially picked up by The CW on May 21, 2009. The show is a continuation of Melrose Place, featuring a group of young adults living in a West Hollywood apartment complex. Smallville producers Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer are writing the pilot script, and will be the executive producers on the series.
Parodies
The Rap duo, Insane Clown Posse, released an EP titled Beverly Kills 50187, whose title is similar to the show’s title.
Star later produced a series Grosse Pointe, which satirized the production of a high-school soap opera being filmed in Los Angeles. The show was clearly a 90210-style show.
The short-lived The Ben Stiller Show did a parody of this show, The Heights and Melrose Place called Melrose Heights 90210-2420 that portrayed the cast as superficial, self-absorbed, and self-pitying. A typical episode’s “issue” was a character getting a headache, which affected all the other characters. Each episode would end the same upbeat song (resembling The Heights hit single “How Do You Talk To An Angel”) performed by the whole cast with new lyrics for each episode.
Another aspect of the show that was the subject of parody was the fact that a number of the show’s cast members were in their mid-to-late 20s and not teenagers. In particular, Luke Perry and Gabrielle Carteris were singled out for most of the criticism regarding being too old to play teenage characters. Carteris was 29 during filming of the first season, Perry was 23, Jason Priestley turned 21 prior to the show’s premiere, and Ian Ziering was 26. Brian Austin Green (then 17), Shannen Doherty (19), Tori Spelling (17) and Jennie Garth (18) were the only cast members to have started the show as teenagers who grow older later on in the show. This was the premise of the Family Guy parody, where Andrea is portrayed as a senile elderly woman.
Saturday Night Live did their own parody of the show when Jason Priestley hosted in 1992. In the episode, it is announced that the zip code 90210 would be changed to 90218. Several of the kids took offense to it and reacted in different ways (Kelly and Donna go shopping, Dylan gets drunk, Brandon keeps taking everyone’s keys and putting them in a lock box feeling they are not able to drive, etc.). In the end, the zip code reverts to 90210 after protest.
The short-lived Fox Television sketch show The Edge did a parody of 90210 that mocked Tori Spelling. During the sketch, the character of Tori constantly says, “I can do whatever I want because this is my Daddy’s show.” Aaron Spelling took offense to this, and asked for an apology from the producers of the show (he never got one).
The Mickey Mouse Club did a parody sketch called Beverly Hillbillies 90210, combining the characters of both 90210 and The Beverly Hillbillies. In 1999, Christina Aguilera from the Mickey Mouse Club made a cameo performance on Beverly Hills 90210 as herself performing at the PPAD for David Silver’s surprise birthday party, season 10 episode 2: “Let’s Eat Cake”. Music from former MMC members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez of ‘N Sync also was originally used during several opening title sequences during the mid to late seasons of 90210.
MADtv made its own parodies of the show as Beverly Hills, 90210 B.C. set in prehistoric Beverly Hills. When Luke Perry made his high profile return to the series, MADtv did a second parody entitled Beverly Hills 9021-H20 which had the characters being stalked and killed off by Luke Perry, who had rejoined the cast as a masked killer who was a parody of Michael Myers of the Halloween film series.
Czech TV Nova parody show Tele Tele made parody of the show known as “Heverly Debils”. Three mini-episodes (about 10 minutes each) were filmed.
GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan released a song called “Killah Hills 10304″, an ironic reference to the show’s title in a song about crime and a rough neighborhood.
A VH1 promo for I Love the 90s featured Hal Sparks and Michael Ian Black sitting in the Peach Pit, with Beverly Hills, 90210′s theme music playing. Joe E. Tata also appears in the promo as Nat.
In Season 20, The Simpsons had, an episode called Waverly Hills 9021-D’oh, which features Lisa wanting to go to a better school and finding it in the very posh town of Waverly Hills.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-1990 | Young Artist Awards | Nominated | Best New Family Television Comedy Series |
|
| Won | Best Young Actor Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series | Douglas Emerson | ||
| Nominated | Best Young Actor Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series | Brian Austin Green | ||
| Nominated | Best Young Actress Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series | Jennie Garth | ||
| Nominated | Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series | Shannen Doherty | ||
| 1990-1991 | Won | Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series |
|
|
| Nominated | Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series | Shannen Doherty | ||
| Won | Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series | Brian Austin Green | ||
| Won | Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series | Jennie Garth | ||
| Nominated | Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series | Tori Spelling | ||
| 1991-1992 | Won | Favorite Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series |
|
|
| Nominated | Best Young Actor Recurring in a Television Series | Cory Tyler | ||
| Won | Best Young Actress Recurring in a Television Series | Dana Barron | ||
| 1992-1993 | Nominated | Best Youth Actress Guest Starring in a Television Show | Sabrina Wiener | |
| 1998 | Nominated | Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actress | Danielle Keaton | |
| 1992 | Golden Globe Award | Nominated | Best TV-Series - Drama |
|
| 1993 | Nominated | Best TV-Series - Drama |
|
|
| Nominated | Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama | Jason Priestley | ||
| 1995 | Nominated | Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama | Jason Priestley | |
| 1992 | TP de Oro | Won | Best Foreign Series |
|
| 1993 | Won | Best Foreign Series |
|
|
| 1995 | ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards | Won | Top TV Series |
|
| 1995 | Emmy Award | Nominated | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Milton Berle |
| 1996 | BMI Film & TV Awards | Won | BMI TV Music Award |
|
| 1999 | Teen Choice Awards | Nominated | TV - Choice Actress | Jennie Garth |
| 2004 | TV Land Awards | Nominated | Favorite Greasy Spoon |
|
| Nominated | Favorite Teen Dream - Male | Luke Perry | ||
| 2006 | Nominated | Most Happening Greasy Spoon or Hangout |
|
|
| 2007 | Nominated | Break Up That Was So Bad It Was Good | Luke Perry & Shannen Doherty |
DVD releases
CBS Home Entertainment has released the show on DVD up until Season 7, with the rest of the series expected to be released within the next few years. Due to music licensing issues, most of the original music has been replaced on these DVD releases. Deleted songs include “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”, “Losing My Religion”, and “In The Mood”. Starting with Season 2, some episodes are edited from their original broadcast versions.
For reasons that were never made clear, the first three season releases used promotional pictures from their succeeding seasons instead of the actual promotional pictures that were taken while the seasons aired. Due to the group pictures from the fourth season being used on the third season DVD and the absence of Shannen Doherty in later seasons, a collage of still photos was used on the fourth season. Jamie Walters was not featured on the covers of any of the seasons he appeared in (although he did appear in some of the dvd menu still shots for season 5), and Kathleen Robertson was only featured on the cover of the seventh season, even though she had been a regular since season 6, recurring in the entirety of season 5, and made her first appearance at the end of season 4 (her photo was, however, used in one of the inner cases for the season 6 release).
Individual Release
| DVD Name | Ep # | Year | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Additional features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Pilot Episode | 1 | 1990 | June 15, 2004 | None |
Season Sets
| DVD Name | Ep # | Year | Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Additional features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season | 22 | 1990-1991 | November 7, 2006 | November 15, 2006 | November 1, 2006 | Audio Commentaries from Darren Star on select episodes “Beginnings with Daren Star” Featurette Meet the Class of Beverly Hills 90210 Six Degress of 90210 - Who Did What To Whom Season One - The Recap *No special features on Region 2 or Region 4 DVDs. |
| The Second Season | 28 | 1991-1992 | May 1, 2007 | July 27, 2007 | May 3, 2007 | Meet the Walshes - Carol Potter (Cindy Walsh) and James Eckhouse (Jim Walsh) take a reflective look back at their days on the Beverly Hills, 90210 set Our Favorite Valentine - Christine Elise remembers her unforgettable role at the edgy and misunderstood Emily Valentine “Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills, 90210, Season 2″ |
| The Third Season | 29 | 1992-1993 | December 11, 2007 | March 24, 2008 | December 6, 2007 | “7 Minutes in Heaven” featurette “The World According to Nat” featurette “Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills, 90210, Season 3″ Episode guides (menu-based stills) |
| The Fourth Season | 31 | 1993-1994 | April 29, 2008 | May 28, 2008 | June 5, 2008 | A Look Back with Charles Rosin The Loves of Season 4 Beverly Hills Moms Everything You Need to Know about Beverly Hills, 90210, Season 4 90210 Genre Benders 7 Minutes in Heaven |
| The Fifth Season | 31 | 1994-1995 | July 29, 2008 | October 21, 2008 | October 2, 2008 | None |
| The Sixth Season | 31 | 1995-1996 | November 25, 2008 | April 29, 2009 | April 2, 2009 | None |
| The Seventh Season | 31 | 1996-1997 | April 7, 2009 | TBA | TBA | None |
Soundtrack
- Beverly Hills 90210 (soundtrack)
References
- ^ Beverly Hills, 90210 episode summaries tv.com. Retrieved on July 13, 2008
- ^ Stated on “Whatever happened to?”, Episode: 3 drama queens.
- ^ a b c d e f g “Beverly Hills, 90210 Trivia” Internet Movie Database Retrieved on June 12, 2009.
- ^ “Sherelle’s Beverly Hills 90210 Cast Page - Jennie Garth” FortuneCity Retrieved on June 12, 2009.
- ^ Tom Gliatto (May 11, 1992). “The Other Garth”. People (magazine). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20112651,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ “Gabrielle Carteris Trivia” Internet Movie Database Retrieved on June 12, 2009.
- ^ Jessica Shaw (May 19, 2000). “90210: Their Number’s Up”. Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,276155,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ Tom Gliatto (August 24, 1992). “Tori De Force!”. People (magazine). http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20108463,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-12.
- ^ “Luke Perry Trivia” Internet Movie Database Retrieved on June 12, 2009.
- ^ Lindsay (2009-03-05). “The Pilot House”. iamnotastalker.com. http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2009/03/05/the-pilot-house. Retrieved on 2009-03-05.
- ^ Lindsay (2008-11-26). “Casa Walsh”. iamnotastalker.com. http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2008/11/26/casa-walsh. Retrieved on 2009-03-05.
- ^ Lindsay (2008-05-15). “The Peach Pit”. iamnotastalker.com. http://www.iamnotastalker.com/2008/05/15/the-peach-pit. Retrieved on 2009-03-05.
- ^ “TV Locations of the 90s” Retrieved on June 12, 2009.
- ^ “The New Classics: TV”. Entertainment Weekly. 2008-06-27. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207339,00.html.
- ^ “25 Perfect TV Theme Songs”. ew.com. 2008-06-13. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207394_20206750,00.html.
- ^ “50 Pop Culture Moments That Rocked Fashion”. Entertainment Weekly. 2008-06-17. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207369,00.html.
- ^ “Trad Mag Reports That Some Tunes Will Be Replaced”. TVShowsonDVD.com. http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=6373. Retrieved on 2006-09-01.
from a category 
, the profunctor 
denotes the category 
of presheaves over 
is the left Kan extension of the functor 
along the Yoneda functor 
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whenever there exists a morphism 
can be seen as a profunctor 
by postcomposing with the Yoneda functor:
has a right adjoint if and only if 
factors through the Cauchy completion of 
.
