Brenda's back
The gang from West Beverly returns
Friday was a very exciting day. Aside from the fact that: (a) it was Friday; (b) it was a designated diet-free day; and (c) um, it was Friday, it was also the day that I pre-ordered my copy of Beverly Hills, 90210: Season four.
In a few weeks, I'll be reunited with the gang from West Beverly: Brenda, Kelly, Brandon, Steve, Donna, David and … Dylan. Sigh. You might also like to refer to Dylan as "My One True Love" or "The Man to Whom I Compare All Others" (that's what I like to do).
I just love 90210. I loved watching it as a kid, idolising Kelly and Brenda and dreaming about Dylan and Brandon. I love re-watching them now, to laugh at the ridiculous hairstyles (Brandon, you seriously needed to reconsider the length of your sideburns; Brenda, cut that fringe ASAP; Kelly, get those roots dyed right now), the ridiculous casting (uh, 31-year-old Gabrielle Carteris playing 17-year-old Andrea Zuckerman) and the ridiculous plotlines (Brandon taking in a homeless man at Thanksgiving; Dylan's father dying in a bomb attack; Kelly's mum marrying David's dad; you get the idea). Which is why I'm both excited and nervous about the new spin-off show.
Here's the wrap: the new show will debut sometime later this year, simply named 90210. The show will focus on the Mills family, in the same way as the old show centred on the Walshes. The story so far? Harry Mills, the family patriarch, moves his family from Kansas to California after he's appointed the new principal at West Beverly High (yep, in the same way that the Walshes moved from Minnesota to California). The new twist? The show will feature three generations of the Mills family, including the daughter and adopted son of Harry, who are students at West Beverly.
So far, so inoffensive. So why am I so ambivalent about the show's reprise? For the same reason that die-hard SATC fans are upset that the producers made a film. For them, the first product was flawless, and they don't want to risk being disappointed by the film.
Nevertheless, I'm certain that most of these fans will check out the film, just like I'll be checking out the new 90210. Sure, it might be disappointing, but I'll never know if I don't take a look.