"The clothes might be about fifteen years out of style, but the stories are still pretty darn good."

-Jeffrey Robinson

The First Season

Beverly Hills, 90210 first aired in 1990 and ran for ten seasons. It was a popular series that had a huge influence on pop culture in the 90s and made actors/actresses Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, David Austin Green, and Ian Ziering famous. The series is credited as a soap opera and it is filled to the brink with melodramatic content. However, in the show's first season, it is not nearly as "soapy" as the later seasons. The season one content focuses on the Walsh family getting accustomed to their new lives and friends in Beverly Hills, which include episodes dealing with (somewhat) common teenage issues: drinking, drugs, sex, racism, minority oppression, rape, cheating, and other serious topics.

Headlining the season one cast is Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh and Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh. Brandon and Brenda are paternal twins, who with their parents Jim (James Eckhouse) and Cindy (Carol Potter), have recently relocated from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills. In Beverly Hills, the Walsh family endures culture shock as they find out what life is like for the rich and beautiful. Brandon is a good-natured kid who works hard in school, on the school paper, and at the Peach Pit (local diner) as a waiter. Brenda is of different sorts. While she is good-natured like her brother, academics and responsibility are far from her list of priorities. She comes to Beverly Hills completely taken in by the glamour and tries hard to fit in with everyone else. Their parents Jim and Cindy are loving parents, who want the best for their kids. Jim is usually busy with work, while Cindy is still adjusting to her new life and on one occasion, she becomes a sultry desperate housewife (see episode "Seventeen Year Itch").

Brandon and Brenda's new friends include Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), the bad boy surfer who befriends Brandon and becomes romantically involved with Brenda against her parent's wishes, Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), the rich son of a popular television sitcom actress who has an ego a mile high, Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Brenda's beautiful best friend and love interest for Brandon, Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris), the "geeky" girl who runs the school paper and has a thing for Brandon, and David Silver (Brian Austin Green), a dorky freshman who wants to be part of the in crowd. Other common faces include Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), Brenda and Kelly's best friend who has a small role this season, but takes on a bigger part as the show progresses, Scott Scanlon (Douglas Emerson), David's nerdy friend, and Nat (Joe Tata), the owner of the Pit Peach.

The leading performers, for the most part, are very good in their roles. Priestley makes for a great leading character as a likeable, good-natured kid as he gets used to the Beverly Hills life. Doherty comes off as an immature younger sister, which works in most cases because of the direction her character takes. Both Eckhouse and Potter are great as the parents and they have a terrific dynamic with both Priestley and Doherty making a wholesome family. The remaining cast members offer solid contributions to their roles.

As for the season one content, I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed it. (I was expecting to enjoy it, just not this much!) It has been many years since I have seen Beverly Hills, 90210 and I remember the show being a very soapy drama with lots of over-the-top acting and storylines. And while the season one episodes tend to be soapy and over-the-top, the content felt pretty rich. It does a fine job keeping your attention and developing the characters further.

The initial storylines dealing with the Walsh family, specifically the twins, integrating into their new environments (e.g. high school) and meeting their new friends offer some enjoyable stories. Specifically, the series two-part pilot episode "Pilot" is a great start to the show. It offers a solid introduction to the cast and the format of the season one episodes. Afterwards, the many of the subsequent episodes include bits and pieces of the family's adjustment, which again, includes important plot and character development that I thoroughly enjoyed.

After the series pilot episode, the stories include a "moral of the week" in one form or another. The morals range from sex to drugs to alcohol to cheating to stealing to racism, and include plenty more teenage-oriented topics. A few of these stories get pretty hokey, with overly dramatic acting and moments. For instance, in the episode "Higher Education", Brandon has to choose between ethics and good grades when Steve encourages him to cheat. What makes episodes like these hokey is how serious and melodramatic the characters get about their situations. And the fact of the matter is that it is not as critical and important as they make it out to be.

On the other hand, there are episodes that end with the proper, good-natured message that have hokey aspects, but are still handled pretty well. The episode "B.Y.O.B." is a pristine example. In it, Brandon, who usually stands strong to his convictions about not drinking alcohol, experiments with alcohol and quickly loses control and gets behind the wheel of a car. I will not go as far to say the episode is powerful on any level, but it has a powerful subtext to it. What happens in the episode and the aftermath, in regards to how the various characters respond to it, makes the episode pretty strong and one definitely worth seeing. Bluntly put, the episode is played out pretty well, despite several over-the-top moments.

Overall, the first season of Beverly Hills, 90210 is full of solid content. Perhaps it is the nostalgia talking, but I really enjoyed getting to relive the Walsh's first year in Beverly Hills. The season contained some pretty enjoyable episodes dealing with getting to know the characters and they did a fine job developing them. Sure, there were a few hokey episodes and over-the-top moments, but it works. Part of what I enjoyed so much about it was how un-soapy the season one episodes were in comparison to what I remember about the show, which is mainly the later seasons when Tiffany Amber Thiessen shows up. In the end, Beverly Hills, 90210 is a fun drama and its inaugural season does a fine job with its characters and storylines.

Episode Guide

1. Pilot Parts 1 and 2: Twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh experience a very special kind of culture shock when they move from Minnesota to Beverly Hills and begin their new lives at West Beverly High. We meet their new friends the moment they do, including Donna, Kelly and David.
2. The Green Room: Brandon meets Dylan McKay, a brooding classmate. As they become friends, Brandon learns that Dylan's bad-boy act masks a hidden life that few people ever see.
3. Every Dream Has Its Price: Brenda shops with Kelly and Tiffany and wishes she has their kind of money. But Tiffany's a shoplifter and, when she stashes her stolen clothes with Brenda, the police get involved, forcing Brenda to clear her name.
4. The First Time: Brandon is visited by his ex-girlfriend Sheryl but, when she meets Dylan, she's quickly star-struck by his money and glamour. The tension builds between Brandon and Dylan until it erupts into angry words, hurt feelings and flying punches.
5. One On One: When Brandon tries out for the basketball team, he's angered to learn that his main rival is from another district. Brandon's about to expose the student when he finds out he came there legally and for a good education.
6. Higher Education: An unreasonable teacher makes Brandon's life miserable by giving him no grade higher than a C. Brandon cheats on a quiz, but the stakes get higher when he gets a stolen copy of the midterm before the test.
7. Perfect Mom: "Delusions of glamour" overcome Brenda when she meets Kelly's beautiful mother Jackie, a former model. Jackie's also a recovering addict and, when she falls off the wagon, her dark side comes back for all to see.
8. Seventeen Year Itch: The Walsh parents examine their relationship while Brenda and Brandon examine theirs, as they get involved in a UCLA study on twins.
9. The Gentle Art of Listening: Sympathy and responsibility are at odds when Brenda volunteers for a teen crisis hotline. She violates the rules when she takes an after-hours call from a date-rape victim. Soon, Brenda is desperate to find her and help her.
10. Isn't It Romantic?: The chemistry between Brenda and Dylan starts to heat up when Brenda accidentally catches him the shower, then comforts him after he fights with his father. She's prepared to go all the way, but a speech from an AIDS activist prompts her to slow things down.
11. B.Y.O.B.: Both Walsh twins face the temptation to drink alcohol when their peers are doing it all around them. The issue comes to a head when their parents leave town, and Brenda and Brandon throw a party that quickly gets out of hand.
12. One Man and a Baby: Brandon gets an unexpected taste of fatherhood when he asks his classmate Melissa for a date-then has to baby-sit her infant son while she has a college interview. Other family members get involved when Melissa contemplates giving her son up for adoption.

13. Slumber Party: Pillowtalk threatens to destroy Brenda's sleep-over as all the girls share their deepest secrets, with unexpected results.
14. East Side Story: The Walsh's agree to let their maid's niece, Carla, use their address to enroll at West Beverly. Brandon falls for her, even after she reveals that she's waiting to testify as a witness in a murder trial.
15. Palm Springs Weekend: A weekend in Palm Springs goes awry when David invites Steve, Kelly and Donna to join him at his grandparents' house while they're away on a cruise-but he gets the dates confused, and they're still there.
16. Fame is Where You Find It: Brandon is "discovered" when he's out roller-blading one day, landing a role as an emergency extra on a big TV show. The sexy star wants to give him a reoccurring role, but soon Brandon discovers she has other motives in mind besides his film career.
17. Stand (Up) and Deliver: Brenda's had it with home life and West Beverly, and decides to leave both for the real world. After house-sitting for an older friend, however, she gets a reality check that sends her back with a new appreciation for what she's got.
18. It's Only a Test: The Walsh twins and all their friends are panicked by the upcoming SATs, but then everything gets put in perspective when Brenda finds a lump in her breast and faces a test no one can prepare for.
19. April is the Cruelest Month: Brandon interviews a classmate, Roger, who's an outstanding athlete and student-and haunted by overbearing success of his father. When Brandon reads a script written by Roger, he begins to worry that the grisly ending just might come true.
20. Spring Training: Baseball fever strikes when Brandon is asked to coach a little league team after his dad gets injured. Something that should be a lot of fun gets ruined by pushy parents, however, and Brandon ends up teaching his own team a lesson.
21. Spring Dance: The drama and the stakes rise as the West Beverly High crew gets ready for their Spring Dance. Brenda loses her virginity to Dylan; Kelly confesses her love for Brandon; and David wins the dance contest and the right to dance with the Spring Queen.
22. Home Again: Moving back to Minnesota makes sense for Brenda and Brandon's dad, but for them it's a wrench thrown into their new lives. AS the family gets ready to move back, friends and family make their feelings known and affect the decision to go back.

The DVD

Video:
The video is given in 1.33:1 ratio full frame color. The picture quality is not great and ranges from poor to decent throughout the season episodes. Sometimes, the episodes look fine and other times they do not. In general, there are noticeable visual distortions and some problems with color representation. When the picture is at its worse (usually high motion) it features significant aliasing and a grainy/blocky image that looks like a video that has been compressed too much. I think the problem is a mixture of the video compression and a poor quality source transfer.

In addition to the generally less than average looking picture, there are distinct glitches in the image that are from damaged film, e.g. tears, excessive dirt, etc. For an example, refer to the picture below of Jim's head. Occasionally, defects similar to the one shown below show up in the episodes. It does not occur in all of the episodes, but it happens enough that it is an annoying problem. Overall, I was quite displeased with how the video looked. Film defects withstanding, I would compare the quality to broadcast television presentations when it is at its best. Despite the rather poor picture quality, I would not discount this set for the way it looks. The episodes are still viewable; there are just several portions that just look bad.

Audio:
The audio track included with this release is English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The sound quality is decent with dialogue consistently audible. It is an average TV on DVD audio track, dialogue driven and is pretty flat with little use of the stereo sound. Music is also very flat and bland.

This release does not come with subtitles, but it is closed caption enabled.

The DVD covers have an explicit warning that "some music has been changed in this home entertainment version".

Extras:
Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete First Season comes with a few extras to keep you entertained after you have completed watching the season episodes. There are commentaries, a couple featurettes, and lots of information to read about the characters and select interviews with their respective performers. The audio commentaries cover the episodes "Pilot (Part 1 only)" and "Spring Dance" with creator Darren Star. The remaining extras are located on disc 6. Beginnings With Darren Star (6:31) is an interview featurette with Darren Star. In it, he talks about his idea for the show, casting, actors, Tori Spelling, writing, the show's evolution, teenage issues, "Spring Dance" episode, and relating to 90210.

Meet the Class of West Beverly High is a collection of information about the main characters. The main characters include Brandon Walsh*, Brenda Walsh, Dylan McKay*, Kelly Taylor*, Steve Sanders*, David Silver, Donna Martin, and Andrea Zuckerman*. The information provided includes "stats", facts about the characters, "Voted ...", a brief montage of clips that define the character's key personality, and "Behind the scenes with...", short interviews with the performer. The latter is not supplied for all of the characters. Note the character names with a * represent the characters that have cast interviews available.

90210 Behind the Scenes (5:00) is a featurette that aired on the Fox channel during the series run. The first minute or so is basically an introduction and overview to the series. Afterwards, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Gabrielle Carteris, Aaron Spelling, Charles Rosin, Darren Star, and Ian Ziering offer brief comments. Looking Back - Season One - The Recap is not much of an extra. I was under the impression it would be a featurette of sorts, but it is not. This extra is an episode guide with extended storyline descriptions than those that are printed on the DVD covers.

Overall, the extras are a decent addition to the season episodes. The commentaries are enjoyable and worth sitting through for the fans of the series. However, the rest of the supplementary content is not great. The featurette with Darren Star offers some interesting insights about the series, but the remaining extras are not really worth your time. The interviews with the cast members are of interest, but they are just so short.

Final Thoughts:
Beverly Hills, 90210 is a soapy, melodramatic television series about the daily lives of several young adults in the ultra-rich, ultra-cool Beverly Hills, postal zip code 90210. In the show's inaugural season, the content focuses on the Walsh family, having recently moved from Minneapolis, getting accustomed to life in Beverly Hills. Nothing is the same, whether it is clothes and style or friends and relationships. The season episodes offer a mix of well-written stories and over-the-top content that comes off pretty rich.

One of the things I really enjoyed about this season is that the stories were not nearly as soapy and melodramatic as later seasons. Instead, it felt a lot more intelligent and engaging. In the end, I think this season set is definitely worth looking into. Any fan of a good drama should appreciate getting to know the Walsh family and all of their new friends.

However, while I give this set a Highly Recommended rating, the season set is not without faults. The picture quality is decent at best and has more than one major visual defect. Refer to the video section of the review for more information and an example. The picture quality is something to consider before investing in this set. I personally think it is manageable and does not ruin the viewing experience, but if you cannot stand looking at the occasional distortion as shown in the example, you may just want to rent the set.