The new "90210" starts with the same premise as its predecessor: Family moves to Southern California.
The show premieres Tuesday.
Re-imaginings of classic television shows rarely work. For every "Battlestar Galactica," there's "The Munsters Today," "The New Leave it to Beaver," "The Bradys," "The New WKRP in Cincinnati," "The New Gidget," and, of course, "What's Happening Now."
With a track record like that, it would seem that the conspicuous absence of the word "new" from the title is this show's only real hope for longevity. But a closer look reveals that the show's producers -- the team behind the much-loved "Freaks and Geeks" -- might actually know what they're doing.
For starters, they're sticking with what works. The premise of the two shows is nearly identical: A Midwestern family, whose last name begins with a W, relocates to Beverly Hills, California. The brother and sister are in the same class, and the family encounters a myriad of fish-out-of-water experiences.
The similarities don't end there. Nostalgic fans of the old show will be glad to know the original theme song is back (with less synthesizer, one would imagine), as is the Peach Pit, the gang's regular hangout, which has evolved from a diner to a trendy coffee shop. Also back: Peach Pit owner Nat, again played by Joe E. Tata.
Tata will be joined on the new series by original cast member Shannen Doherty, reprising her role as Brenda Walsh, who returns to West Beverly Hills High to direct a high school musical. And, in a possible bridge between old and new characters, rumor has it the character of Erin Silver (David and Kelly's infant stepsister) will return as a regular "all grown up" (read: promiscuous) cast member, with a YouTube-like Web series.
Don't Miss
The most perplexing return has to be that of Jennie Garth. During the course of the original show, her character, Kelly Taylor, was raped, shot, kidnapped, addicted to cocaine, became a cult member and nearly burned to death in a fire.
According to early reports, Taylor is now working as a guidance counselor at West Beverly High and the mother of a 4-year-old, which brings up the question: What was she up to in the eight years since the old show ended its run? And why is she still living in the zip after all those trials and tribulations? Even the family from "Jaws" eventually moved away from the beach.
Of course, The CW is not relying solely on fans of the old program. With an eye to attract the all-important teen audience, they have used their marketing materials and very few promos to promise a cooler, sexier and more provocative show, in a zip where everybody's got a secret. What they haven't done is provide screeners to critics, saying it's a "strategic marketing decision." More often, that's the sign of a flop.
But here's hoping the new show maintains as many connections to the old "90210" as possible. The original may be cheesy by today's arguably more sophisticated standards, but it remains immensely popular. Like a favorite musical group from the past, you can't wait to see if they've still got it, and just pray you won't have to sit through too much of their "new material" first.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.
No comments:
Post a Comment