Everything old is new again on prime-time television. Networks are spinning off multiple versions of popular shows such as Law and Order or CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or updating favorite shows from the past. During the 2008-09 season, the CW network introduced an updated version of the classic 1990’s Fox network series Beverly Hills 90210. The new series (now simply titled 90210 after the more popular shorthand title of the original show) maintains some strong ties to the wildly popular original while still relating to today’s young adult audience.
90210’s Premise
The original 90210 followed the Walsh family, particularly twins Brenda and Brandon, as they relocated to Beverly Hills from Minnesota and struggled to adjust to their new surroundings. The premise of the new show is similar, but with some important differences. The Wilson family moves to Beverly Hills from Kansas; however, father Harry grew up in Beverly Hills and is returning to become the principal at West Beverly High and the family has been to Beverly Hills previously to visit Harry’s mother.
In addition to being well-versed in Beverly Hills culture (thus eliminating the “fish out of water” plots that marked much of the first season of the original), the Wilson family also differs from the Walshes in that although kids Annie and Dixon are the same age, they are not twins as Dixon is the family’s African-American adopted son.
Old and New Casts Mingle
The new 90210 maintains a strong connection to the original by featuring Kelly Taylor, who eventually became the main character on the original show, in a recurring capacity as West Beverly’s guidance counselor. The character of Brenda Walsh also returned during the first season, as did the characters Donna Martin and Nat Bussichio, along with some occasional appearances by Kelly’s estranged mother.
While the second season of the new show has not regularly featured characters from the original (save for Kelly Taylor and her mother), an important link between the original and new shows remains in the character of Erin Silver, Kelly’s half-sister. Erin, who was a key player in the original series as an infant and toddler, is now a West Beverly student who goes by “Silver” in the new 90210 and is one of the most prominent members of the new cast.
Teenagers are Teenagers
Although Silver and her classmates would have been toddlers and young children during the years covered by the original 90210, they are finding that they face some of the same issues confronted by their fictional elders. Teen pregnancy, drug abuse, tenuous relationships with parents/family, and relationship infidelity are just a few of the issues covered by the original 90210 that the new incarnation of the show has touched on in its first two seasons.
Multiculturalism and 90210
With Dixon Wilson as a main character, the new 90210 proves itself to be miles ahead of the original with regards to multicultural characters. The original 90210 featured an all-white cast with occasional guest stars of color until the character of Jesse Vasquez became a series regular during Season 4. In addition to Dixon Wilson, the new show also features the character of Navid Shirazi, a further nod to the actual cultural diversity in California that the original show largely ignored with its primary casting choices.
While the new 90210 is exploring the trials and tribulations of a new crop of West Beverly High School students, the show still hews close to the original in terms of premise and the occasional visit from the classic show’s characters. And while the issues covered in the new show demonstrate that teenagers experience some of the same problems regardless of decade, the 90210 update reflects the cultural diversity of modern high schools in a way that its predecessor did not.
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