90210 – 101
After the old crowd grew up, got married and moved on, life went on in Southern California. With a new cast and new problems the popular zip code is back to attract a new generation to the sex, lies and intrigue that lie in Beverly Hills, 90210.
The newly revamped 90210 seems to be a mixture of ‘Gossip Girl,’ ‘My Super Sweet 16’ and ‘Scrubs.’ It has bratty rich kids with problems and a unique comedic spin that is less witty and pop-culture charged than ‘The OC,’ but still funny.
When the Wilson family moves from Kansas to Beverly Hills, daughter Annie (Shenae Grimes) and adopted son Dixon (Tristan Wilds) get thrown into a crazy, fast-paced world much like the Walshes did 18 years ago.
In its two-hour premiere last Tuesday, the show broke records for The CW. More than 4.9 million viewers tuned in to make 90210 the highest rated premiere on the network. With better acting, and fewer cheesy moments, 90210 will be on its way to becoming the next breakout teen show.
Character Breakdown: New characters and more drama can be confusing, so here’s 90210 characters 101
Annie Wilson: A good girl from Kansas, who has a love for theater. After getting on the bad side of queen bee Naomi and stealing the theater spotlight away from Adrianna it looks like there might be some catfights in the future.
Most like: Brenda Walsh (Shannen Dougerty)/Donna Martin (Tori Spelling)
Similarities: Brenda and Annie love theater and were transplanted from the Midwest to Beverly Hills, which would make them the obvious pair. However, Annie’s sweet personality and innocent na’veté align her right up with the angelic Donna Martin.
Difference: Annie seems a lot nicer than Brenda who was basically known as the sassy hothead throughout her time on the show. Also, when it came to love triangles, Brenda was usually on the losing end, waiting for the guy to choose her.
Dixon Wilson: The athletic, adopted son, who happens to be black (though it doesn’t seem the writers will focus on race). He does, however, get in a fight with the old lacrosse captain after Dixon steals his spot in the lineup.
Most like: Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestly)
Similarities: Both Brandon and Dixon are one half of a sibling duo which move to the glamorous Beverly Hills. Also both the boys seem to be the ‘nice guy,’ do-gooders who usually put morals above all else – not to mention on Brandon’s first day of school, he goes to the ‘West Beverly Blaze’ newspaper and Dixon shows up at ‘The Blaze’ TV station.
Differences: Brandon was hardly an athlete, after trying out for track and failing, he stuck to writing. Dixon however seems to be brains and brawn as the new star lacrosse player for West Beverly. Also, the adoption story draws a huge contrast between the two.
Naomi Clark (AnnaLynne McCord): Classic mean girl with issues. In true snotty fashion, she steps on her former best friend on her way to the top and has mindless parents who defend their little girl to the end. Flashes of insecurity flare up in Naomi when she finds out her boyfriend’s cheating on her and having her mom ‘nicely’ tell her that she simply isn’t a smart person. It’s clear this girl will be the main event in the show.
Most like: Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth)
Similarities: Both the girls are the high profiled princess in school that every guy wants and every girl wants to be. Much like Kelly, Naomi seems to have some lurking family issues that will threaten to destroy her.
Differences: Although both the girls have the perfect exterior, damaged interior problem, Kelly’s character grew tremendously into a caring, loveable character rather quickly. Judging by Naomi’s past, it doesn’t seem like she has a nice bone in her body.
Erin ‘Silver’ Silver (Jessica Stroup): Those who watched the original Beverly Hills, 90210 may remember Kelly and David’s cute kid sister. Well, she’s back and not so cute. As an outcast of the high-profile lifestyle, Silver is known as the girl who makes a vicious blog about her fellow schoolmates.
Most like: Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty)
Similarities: Brenda and Silver seem to be super assertive dark-haired girls looking for revenge. Brenda always got the last word in arguments and never backed out of a fight. Silver looks like she carries her brass knuckles in her pencil pouch. Both the girls also seem to be OK with being out of the in-crowd.
Differences: So far, Silver doesn’t seem to be the type to mourn the break-up with a boyfriend for more than a few episodes. Brenda, on the other hand, mourned the end of her relationship with Dylan for two seasons. In the end, while Brenda was rude, she never caused trouble that wasn’t necessary. Silver loves to stir the pot with her blog.
Ethan Ward (Dustin Milligan): The heartthrob lacrosse player who kicks Naomi to the curb. His sights seem to be set on Annie, but he better watch out for the sensitive Ty.
Most like: Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering)
Similarities: Steve and Ethan are the newly minted exes of the queen bee and seem to be the golden boys with the world at their feet.
Differences: Steve used his position in society to cut corners and get as many girls as he could. While later in the series, he grew into a nicer guy, what made Steve who he was when he was younger: rich kid looking for a party, a trait viewers haven’t yet seen in Ethan.
Published on September 7, 2008 at 12:00 pm
