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When I get back from the gym on the weekends, I often like to stretch/cool down in the living room while half-watching 90210 on SoapNet. I know. A couple of weeks ago, the Smelmooo came in and said, "Who's that guy?" and I identified him as Noah, but that was pretty much all I knew, because it was near the end of the show's run, and I pretty much had stopped watching it by then.
But the early days -- The Brenda Years, if you will -- I watched religiously, often while on the phone with my friend Erin (kids today must IM during shows, which to me would be too much multitasking), and I remember eagerly anticipating the show when I saw the ads for the pilot, where Mrs. Walsh asks Kelly what her curfew is, and Kelly cocks her head and says, "Excuse me?" like Cindy's speaking Greek.
Anyway, I saw that the pilot was going to be aired on SoapNet last weekend, and I taped it, and watched it tonight. And much of it I'd forgotten:
-- There was valet parking at West Beverly, at least in the pilot. Does anyone remember if they kept that up throughout? I sort of think they dropped it.
-- Kelly says "bitch" when she first meets Brenda (about a class, not about Brenda, although that would have been funny), which I didn't realize you could say on TV in 1990.
-- It is so ridiculous to me that the hostess of the party would have a lipstick on her person when she meets Brandon and gives him her phone number. Equally ridiculous: she seems to be wearing a long-sleeved velvet dress at a pool party.
-- Steve said "bitch" too! About Kelly!
-- Kelly is wearing spandex bike shorts over spandex leggings, under slouchy socks.
-- I had totally forgotten about the guy that Brenda meets at the club at the end of the episode. He is such a sleazeball that I can't imagine that even stupid, lonely, abandoned Brenda would fall for him.
-- When I looked up the sleazeball, I discovered that he was on the show Monsters, which people don't believe existed, but which I enjoyed tremendously. I even visited the set once, which was super-cool. And for some unknown reason, my sister and I sometimes quote one episode (which, bless you, IMDB, I just discovered was called "Holly's House") that includes the line, "Maybe Mr. Mike would like a nice piece of bird-day cake!"
-- I kind of can't believe that I continued watching 90210 after the pilot, because it was kind of awful. But I guess I can sort of understand why it might have appealed to my 13-year-old self, even in the pre-Dylan McKay era.
But the early days -- The Brenda Years, if you will -- I watched religiously, often while on the phone with my friend Erin (kids today must IM during shows, which to me would be too much multitasking), and I remember eagerly anticipating the show when I saw the ads for the pilot, where Mrs. Walsh asks Kelly what her curfew is, and Kelly cocks her head and says, "Excuse me?" like Cindy's speaking Greek.
Anyway, I saw that the pilot was going to be aired on SoapNet last weekend, and I taped it, and watched it tonight. And much of it I'd forgotten:
-- There was valet parking at West Beverly, at least in the pilot. Does anyone remember if they kept that up throughout? I sort of think they dropped it.
-- Kelly says "bitch" when she first meets Brenda (about a class, not about Brenda, although that would have been funny), which I didn't realize you could say on TV in 1990.
-- It is so ridiculous to me that the hostess of the party would have a lipstick on her person when she meets Brandon and gives him her phone number. Equally ridiculous: she seems to be wearing a long-sleeved velvet dress at a pool party.
-- Steve said "bitch" too! About Kelly!
-- Kelly is wearing spandex bike shorts over spandex leggings, under slouchy socks.
-- I had totally forgotten about the guy that Brenda meets at the club at the end of the episode. He is such a sleazeball that I can't imagine that even stupid, lonely, abandoned Brenda would fall for him.
-- When I looked up the sleazeball, I discovered that he was on the show Monsters, which people don't believe existed, but which I enjoyed tremendously. I even visited the set once, which was super-cool. And for some unknown reason, my sister and I sometimes quote one episode (which, bless you, IMDB, I just discovered was called "Holly's House") that includes the line, "Maybe Mr. Mike would like a nice piece of bird-day cake!"
-- I kind of can't believe that I continued watching 90210 after the pilot, because it was kind of awful. But I guess I can sort of understand why it might have appealed to my 13-year-old self, even in the pre-Dylan McKay era.
2 Comments:
I'm pretty sure that I watched almost every episode at one point or another. The valet thing definitely did not stick. Also, I made my mom watch the Brenda Breast Cancer scare episode with me. I thought it was good topical television and she could see I was not watching total crap. Looking back, I am really quite horrified at both the show and the irony of the situation.
-Shari
By
Anonymous, at 10:02 AM
Sister, I have numerous comments on this post. Here goes:
1. Noah - I met him a couple of times! His real name is Vince Young and he dated/lived with Kelly Ripa for about 2 years before she started dating her now-husband. In fact, Vince grew up in Delran, NJ!
2. I watched 90210 RELIGIOUSLY in high school. I mean, it was ridiculous. But, when I got to college, I lost all interest. However, I have a very good friend who never did and the last year the show was on, my friend was in the Peace Corps.
Well, not to toot my own horn, but I taped every episode of the last season for my friend while she was living on Kiribati (in the central Pacific), and I'll be damned if I didn't get into it again!
No, the valet thing did not stick. :-)
Thanks for the walk down memory lane!
Lori
By
Anonymous, at 10:47 PM
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