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Beverly Hills, 90210
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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.
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Encyclopedia
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.
Overview
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.
Opening credits
Beverly Hills, 90210s opening credits went through various changes during its ten-year run.
Season 1
The opening credits starts 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 video 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 starts 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 Cateris) and Jesse (Mark Damon Espinoza) left the series, their footage remained in the opening until the next season. 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 & 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 (this was due to the fact that Star had sold all his shares in both Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place). A new logo was introduced (which unlike previous logos, overlayed 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
Seasons 9 & 10
Cast
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 spinoff 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 stopped acting on 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.
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 thru 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.
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. The final episode aired in May 2000. However, even with all the cast changes, the series finale of the show attracted 25 million viewers.
Spin-offs
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
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 Places 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
A third spin-off premiered in 2008, focusing on a family from Kansas who move to Beverly Hills when their grandmother suffers from alcohol addiction. It premiered on the CW Network on September 2, 2008.
In guest appearances, Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty reprised their roles as Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh, respectively. Additionally, Tori Spelling will make a return as Donna Martin in the 19th episode. Joe E. Tata also reprised his role as Nat, owner of the Peach Pit, diner turned Coffee house.
Untitled Melrose Place Spinoff
In October 2008, it was officially announced that The CW Television Network was contemplating a Melrose Place follow-up. Lisa Rinna has claimed to be interested, while Jennie Garth has stated that she does not intend to appear. Kelly Rutherford states there is a possibility of a guest appearance as her character Megan.
The CW entertainment boss Dawn Ostroff has told reporters that unlike the original series, the Melrose remake will try to capture life in the Melrose neighborhood. In regards to casting, Ostroff says the network hasn't spoken to anyone yet. "Heather [Locklear] would be one of the people you talk about because when you think of Melrose," she says, "one of the first people think of is Heather."
On January 19, 2009 Entertainment Weekly reported that The CW had been talking with Smallville show-runners Darren Swimmer and Todd Slavkin about shepherding the update.
On February 6, 2009 Entertainment Weekly confirmed Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer were now officially installed as showrunners of the spin-off. They also revealed the names and descriptions of the characters who'd be featured on the series, including the son of Grant Show's character Jake Hanson, David Patterson.
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.
Ratings
- Season 1 (1990 - 1991) - #30 - 14.8
- Season 2 (1991 - 1992) - #25 - 17.6
- Season 3 (1992 - 1993) - #15 - 18.3
- Season 4 (1993 - 1994) - #12 - 21.1
- Season 5 (1994 - 1995) - #25 - 15.6
- Season 6 (1995 - 1996) - #29 - 14.9
- Season 7 (1996 - 1997) - #37 - 13.5
- Season 8 (1997 - 1998) - #58 - 10.4
- Season 9 (1998 - 1999) - #75 - 9.7 million
- Season 10 (1999 - 2000)- #75 - 8.3 million
Awards and nominations
Episodes
Influences on popular culture
Beverly Hills, 90210 in their song "Hoopes, I Did It Again."The Canadian rock band Boys Night Out named one of their songs from their 2003 full-length debut release Make Yourself Sick "It's Dylan, You Know the Drill" after the message on Dylan's answering machine.Switchfoot refer to "the 90210" in their song "Poparazzi" from the album Learning to Breathe.Post-Hardcore band From Autumn To Ashes has a song entitled "Kansas City 90210".Hard rock band Wednesday 13 refer to 90210 in the title of their album Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death Dying and the Dead.The cast's ages, generally older than their characters' ages, have been a source of ridicule. On Family Guy, when Peter must go without TV for weeks, he constructs a TV out of a box he can look out of and goes to his daughter's high school, thinking it's West Beverly. Seeing Meg Griffin there, he mentions that the producers must be desperate to keep getting guest stars for the 10th season. (This episode aired during 90210s final season). During Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Stewie Griffin mentions the old kid on 90210, and it cuts to a scene of the cast with an elderly, possibly senile old woman named Andrea.In American Dad!, Roger the Alien entertains his Arab husband with tales of "the Land of West Beverly, where all the teenagers are in their 30s."In an episode of Nickelodeon's Doug, upon watching an episode of Teen Heart Street, a 90210 parody, all of Doug's friends start wearing his casual attire, which is referred to as the "Dylan Farhnam look," which was a take on Brandon Walsh and Dylan McKay.The show is referenced briefly by name in a song in A Goofy Movie, created by Disney.The show name is also mentioned in the Salt-N-Pepa Song "It's None of Your Business."In an episode of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air from 1993, where Will and Carlton attempt to join a college fraternity, there is a scene where the pledge leader asks Carlton where he is from and he mentions Bel-Air, right across the street from the producer of 90210. The pledge leader mentions that he doesn't watch it, and then Carlton mentions that he doesn't know what he's missing, as that Dylan is on the verge of getting back with Brenda. Will then tells him to knock it off, as they're in enough trouble as it is, then quickly asks if its true or not.Bill Simmons, in one of his articles in Page 2 on ESPN.com in 2001, characterized the arrival of Tiffani Thiessen to the show, as the greatest upgrade in TV history.In the Pearl Jam music video for Jeremy, 90210 appears as text as a part of the collage effect of the video.In 1994, DC Comics had each annual special published as an Elseworlds story. In the L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual #5, written by Tom Peyer, one of the stories in the annual was a parody of 90210 called L.E.G.I.O.N., 90210, which had the cast of L.E.G.I.O.N. filling the roles of 90210.In My Name Is Earl, the episode airing on October 25, 2007, references 90210: One character describes the afterlife as a place where everyone hangs out and drinks beer, and the other character asks "Like the Peach Pit After Dark?" to an affirmative response. The line about the PPAD was stated by Alyssa Milano, who had major roles in two of Aaron Spelling's shows: Melrose Place and CharmedIn Camp Nowhere, a scene is set up so that it appears the kids are trying to build a fire. Random discouraged comments are heard throughout, and one kid points out that it's almost 8 o'clock. After they "get it started," everyone backs away to reveal a TV playing the opening to 90210. You can then hear one girl say, "If I don't see Dylan, I die!"In an episode of the show Greek, during a protest outside school administration regarding restrictions placed on fraternities and sororities, one of the characters chants "Donna Martin graduates" causing all other protestors to momentarily stop chanting. This chant is a reference to the episode when Donna Martin challenges her suspension from high school after consuming alcohol at the senior prom, where the entire junior and senior class protested in support of Donna's graduation with the rest of her class.In the season 4 episode "The Perfect Date" of What I Like About You, Charlie (played by Jason Priestley) mistakes Val (played by Jennie Garth) for being someone he knew when he was younger, as he asks her if they went to high school together (a nod to Jennie Garth playing Kelly Taylor). When Val replies that she didn't think so, Charlie asks her if she remembered that he was the editor of the school paper.In the season 3 episode "Dangerous Liaisons" of What I Like About You, Val (Jennie Garth) and Todd (Luke Perry) flashed back to high school, where Todd spoke of his girlfriend, Brenda, who was away in Paris. Val also mentions that Brenda was her best friend.In Episode 18 of Cowboy Bebop, "Speak Like A Child," Spike and Jet visit a 20th Century Video Otaku, who is watching an episode of the show, specifically a scene with Brandon and Brenda. (Shannen Doherty and Jason Priestly are erroneously listed as Executive Producers for this episode.)In the 8th season of Full House, D.J. is torn between two boys she likes and has to choose one of them. Stephanie comes in and says, "this is better than 90210".In the 4th season of Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore's boyfriend Jason Stiles sends her flowers with a card that said "from Jason". Jason asks Lorelai if she got his flowers. She jokingly replies that she thought they were from Jason Priestley.In the 1st season of Big Wolf on Campus, Tommy asks Dean for advice and Dean begins to tell a story from 90210 as if he actually were Brandon. Tommy has to remind him that the show is not his real life.In the Nickeloeon movie Jimmy Neutron: Win, Lose and Kaboom, Jimmy's father is watching a alien TV show called Andromida 90210. The show is also revealed to be soap opera.
Production notes
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.
Additionally, Luke Perry was not an original cast member of the show and he was first featured in the show's second episode. His character Dylan McKay 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.
The producers used two locations for the Walsh house. The first location was used only once during the pilot episode and was located in a gated community of Brentwood, CA. After the pilot episode it was moved to Altadena, CA.
Three different locations were used for the exterior of the "The Peach Pit" during the show's 10 year history. The original location was only used in first few episodes of Season 1 and is located on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was changed to a different location for the rest of Season 1. In the second season and throughout the rest of the show's run a Ruby's Diner in Pasadena, CA was used.
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.
The series was actually 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 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.
Aaron Spelling created the character of Gina Kincaid especially for Vanessa Marcil. The character Jim Walsh was ranked #41 in TV Guides list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (June 20, 2004 issue). Terence Ford and Arthur Brooks portrayed Dylan's father, Jack McKay, in two episodes before Josh Taylor assumed the role. While Kelly and Valerie were constant enemies in the show, Jennie Garth and Tiffani Thiessen are close friends.
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 2 she was named Felice Martin and was played by actress Katherine Cannon.
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.
DVD releases
CBS Home Entertainment has released the show on DVD. Due to music licensing most of the original music has been replaced. Deleted songs include "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover", "Losing My Religion" and "In The Mood". Starting with Season 2, some episodes 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. As well, photos of Jamie Walters and Kathleen Robertson appear on Season 5.
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 (Swedish edition) | 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 |
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Soundtrack
Beverly Hills 90210 (soundtrack)
External links
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