90210

Despite the new offspring of Beverly Hills 90210 gaining record ratings of 4.9 million viewers on its debut night, the show does not seem to be liked by all and sundry. Numerous bloggers have declared their disappointment with the new rehash and popular culture website, Gawker dismissed it as completely bland. Well I will throw caution to the wind and say that I liked it - a lot. I thought 90210 was funny, very glam, heart warming and very relevant to today's pop culture. The show kicked off with a two hour special on Tuesday night where we saw the Wilson family moving from Kansas to start a new life in the swishy Beverly Hills. The Wilsons consist of Dad Harry played by Rob Estes (from Melrose Place), Mom Debbie played by Lori Loughlin, daughter, Annie played by Shenae Grimes and adopted son, Dixon played by Tristan Wilds. The family take up residence in a mansion with Harry's mother, Tabitha played by Jessica Walters. Harry who was born and raised in Beverly Hills is now the new principal of West Beverly Hills High and has to juggle his role as father and head of school to Annie and Dixon.

Any teenager will tell you that switching schools is never easy and more so when entering a school as cliquey and snobby as West Beverly Hills High. After a few minor setbacks, Annie and Dixon begin to settle in and make friends and take part in activities. Shenae is very endearing as Annie and the 'Brandon' of the show with her eternal optimism while Tristan turns in a great performance as Dixon. Other notable characters are Queen Bee, Naomi played by AnnaLynne McCord and her on and off boyfriend, Ethan played by Dustin Milligan. Yes ok the interracial adoption with Dixon does seem a bit off key and not at all well developed and the fashion is nowhere as good as Gossip Girl but hey what it loses in these categories it makes up in other areas. For a start the soundtrack is slamming and meshes really well into the scenes. You can tell that the producers have taken a leaf out of The OC creater, Josh Schwartz's book. Also the side kicks are top notch, unlike other shows that throw in unforgettable characters who do not detract from the main protagonist, 90210 gives us the super cool Navid played by Michael Steger and funky boho Silver played by Jessica Stroup; half sister of Kelly Taylor and David Silver for you Beverly Hills 90210 veterans out there. Even the adults get their own story lines with Harry having to deal with a secret from his past. Also with trendy school teacher, Ryan and fellow alumni Brenda and Kelly thrown in to the mix I think this will help to shape the show into a fantastic post modern teen soap.

BTW I am totally loving the knee length socks that are donned by the girls, if I was a decade younger I would be wearing them.

90210 - New Generation

While we are on the topic of icons of pop culture in 1990 a fun TV series took us by storm. It was called Beverly Hills 90210 and was about the lives of the pampered and privileged school kids of West Beverly Hills High. So glam and slick were the production values of the show that you could have been forgiven for getting it mixed up with 80s soap, Dynasty. Beverly Hills 90210 was basically a teen version of Dallas and Dynasty and the first of it's kind. Around that time shows aimed at teens were either comedies or nitty gritty dramas so this was the first time that teenagers had a glossy programme that was just for them. The focus of the show were twins, Brandon and Brenda Walsh, played by Johnny Depp lookalike, Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty, who had moved from small town Minnesota to the lushness of California. The show ran for 10 years making stars out of it's cast. However, in 2000 after a lot of addition and deletion of the characters as well as tackling issues such as date rape, alcoholism, domestic violence, gay rights, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, suicide and AIDS, it bowed out in style.

So you can imagine my delight when I heard that a spin off was being planned. I didn't take much notice at first as there was never any substantial evidence. Unbelievably, the rumours have turned into a reality and 90210 as it will be called will air on The CW Television Network in September. It is basically the same format; new family moves to the area from Kansas and tries to adapt to the new environment. Veterans from the original series, Jennie Garth who played Kelly, Tori Spelling who played Donna and Shannon Doherty are set to return to the show in recurring parts. This is so cool and judging by the trailer will be a show to challenge Gossip Girl and One Tree Hill.

You can catch 90210 on The CW Television Network on 2nd September.