TV PREMIERE WEEK: "90210" Recap

I've got some good news and some not as good news about the two hour series debut of "90210" on last night.

First the good news: It wasn't nearly as tough to sit through as the other CW shows were from the night before. In fact, if I'm being perfectly honest, I actually kinda got into there for a while (my Girlfriend loved it so I'm sure we will be watching it from time to time from here on out).

- Overall, it just felt a little snappier and sharper than a lot of the other teen drama shows and there is a legit adult-targeted element to the show featuring the grown ups of Beverly Hills (in case you've been living under a rock Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty have reprised their roles as Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh, respectively, from the original "Beverly Hills: 90210"). Maybe I am just that old now, but I was actually more interested in the show when the adults were on the screen. Scary.

- I really liked Annie (Shenae Grimes) as the central "lead" of the show. In complete contrast to what I was saying about "Gossip Girl" yesterday, you knew exactly what was going on; and even though there are so many characters, there was no doubt about who the story kept coming back to. She is nice and sweet and innocently naive without being unrealistic or annoying. Pretty cute too, which always helps.

- Going in, I didn't know how the whole "adopted son" angle was going to work with Annie's African-American brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds) - Please believe, it's not that I'm not for diversity in the show, it's just that plot lines like that (involving race, religion, or sexuality) usually get too forced and feel unnatural - but it actually worked really well and was one of my favorite story lines from the episode. It really opens the series up and gives it some depth and heart.

- It's always good to see Jessica Walter (The matriarch from "Arrested Development") and Lori Loughlin ("Becky" from "Full House").

Now for the not as good news: I was just a little too young to watch the original "90210" series, but from what I'm hearing and reading, there were never that many scenes featuring implied oral sex. That was a little bit much for me; and not just from a moral standpoint. Because it happened in the first 10 minutes of the ep, you KNOW it was there just for the shock value. I guess my point is that if that's the kind of stuff you want to do, then do it throughout; not just as a lame attempt to try and manufacture a "watercooler" moment (I won't watch your show, but at least keep it consistent).

- Did The CW just hand out the same music CDs to every showrunner at the network? We heard the same songs in last night's "90210" ep that we heard in "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill" the night before. Seriously, Coldplay's "Vida La Vida" was the PERFECT way to start "90210" when you think about the context of the show and the lyrics but it just seemed a little silly since we had just heard it the night before on "Gossip Girl".

- I will say it now: "90210" is one comedy-relief character away from me really liking it. No one was really that funny or humorous and there were moments and transitions, where it could have worked and helped. I was hoping it was going to come from the Navid character (he runs the school news) but alas, no dice.

- And, call me crazy, but when I watch these teeny-bopper shows I want the bitchy girls to be bitchy and there just weren't any to be seen. I guess Naomi and Silver are supposed to be the town Mean Girls, but they were actually both kind of likable in their own misguided ways. Totally bizarre.

I could go on, but once again that's waaaaay too much info about something I don't really care about that much anyways. If you like these kind of shows, then this is going to be a good one. If not, then keep moving. I'm not expecting anything revolutionary from it but it does seem a little progressive and ahead of the curve.

P.S. On an unrelated note, If you are a fan, then "The Office: Season Four" DVD is completely worth the purchase for the outtakes and deleted scenes alone. There's not that many bonus features (which I was kind of expecting because of the strike-shortened season) but the deleted scenes make each episode better and fuller and add new dimensions to the characters and story lines.

- Josh Mahler