Ah, the one that started it all. As I watched this episode, I often thought to myself, “This is not the show I remember”. It’s so cheesy and focused on family life. But, it does do a great job of introducing the characters and capturing what they’re all about, plus it has some great (and by great, I mean awesomely bad) 1990 fashion.

I’m sure you can figure out that the plot centers around The Walsh family’s move to Beverly Hills and how Brandon and Brenda go into culture shock when they attend their first day of school in their new home city. Sadly missing from this episode is the bad boy Dylan. He doesn’t make his first appearance until the second episode of this season. Also their is limited screen time for Tori Spelling’s character, Donna. The sub-plots feature a rich, popular girl having a party (what a concept in Beverly Hills) and Brenda meeting an older man.

This is longer than most posts will be because it’s an hourlong episode.

Here’s some observations:

• The episode begins with Brandon waking up (he has the most annoying alarm clock ever…this weird gorilla thing that says “wake up” over and over again) and shorly after this, we see Brenda throwing clothes around her room (most of which seem to still be in boxes). She says, “I have nothing to wear”. Which isn’t true as she has plenty of clothes; however, it looks as if her mother’s clothes got moved into her room by accident. Anyhow, she ends up putting on this HORRIBLE monstrosity of a dress. At least, I think it’s a dress. It’s pale orange with dots or flowers and…oh, see for yourself.

• Apparently though, she only puts the dress to go ask Brandon what he thinks she should wear. In typical brother fashion, he tells her to wear a black t-shirt. Why, how original.
• Cindy Walsh seems pretty aggressive to me in this episode (and never, ever again). When Brandon asks her where the toaster is, she takes a box and spills its contents all over the kitchen floor. I guess that’s where the toaster is.
• Yay the theme song! I have such love for the Beverly Hills, 90210 theme song. I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I hear that electric guitar and remember days when I would watch the TV with the sound almost all the way down because my mom didn’t really like me watching this show when I was 8. For the record, I was only 5 when the show started, so I didn’t go back and watch the first 3 seasons until they started showing as re-runs.
• Brandon calls his car Mondale, but this is not the same car here that we see him driving in all later episodes.
• I find this shot very amusing:

• Why would this women be doing this? Walking down the street (in front of Giorgio Armani, I might add) in a little black dress and pumps, carrying shopping bags AND a surf board. I find it hard to believe that she’s hauling a surf board into high-end stores like Cartier. I can just imagine her turning around to look at diamond stud earrings and banging some rich old woman in the head.
• Their high school has valet parking. Is this true? Does this actually happen in Beverly Hills high schools. I’d like to know.
• A guy is shown talking on a cell phone that is as big as his head with an antennae as long as a walking stick. When I saw this, I held up my RAZR to the screen and was awed.
• Here is a lovely example of that 1990 fashion I was talking about. This girl (who is stepping out of her red convertible so that the valet guys can take care of parking it), if she were wearing a green shirt, would make me think she was a girl scout. It even looks like she has pins (although I bet it doesn’t stand for cooking).

• The following is Steve’s front liscense plate. I pretty much love it.

• The outfit Brenda finally decides on is faded jeans, a white mock turtleneck, and a beige cardigan. I guess maybe we’re supposed to assume that all she has are winter clothes since they’re from Minnesota, but why did she have to wear the cardigan?
• Also, their high school has a “radio station”. The DJ’s name is The Flash and he says the station is “The Voice of West Beverly High”. Maybe some high schools actually have radion stations, but all we had at my high school were annoucements made by the principal over the intercom system.
• We’re first introduced to Kelly as she gets impatient while waiting in traffic and then honks at David to get out of her way. Appropriate. In the next scene, Kelly talks to Steve and we find out that she got a nose job over the summer and also that she and Steve used to date. The drama (and plastic surgery) starts! Kelly also honks at David’s friend Scott soon after this. I think she’s a little horn happy.
• Almost Girl Scount Girl returns! I have no idea what is taking place here. I mean, I don’t think it’s normal for people to dance around like weirdos in front of their high school. But at least, we get to see the rest of Almost Girl Scount Girl’s outfit. And it’s not pretty.

• The principal tells Brenda and Brandon that West Beverly High is competitive on the academic front and yet, with the exception of Andrea, the two never seem to meet people who project that smart image. Maybe they just choose to be friends with people like Steve (who cheats to get passing grades) and Kelly (who only cares about shopping and guys).
• I’m sad when I see David in the first couple of seasons. I admit I think he’s pretty sexy in later seasons, but he looks like such a dork for awhile. See exhibit A:

• Why is he wearing that brown, ugly jacket? With pins on it? I guess at least he’s not wearing a shirt that says, “SPAM” on it, like his counterpart here. Scott refers to junior high here and I want to say, “You mean middle school?”.
• A big deal is made about how nobody wants this girl to sit next to them. I don’t really know why, as it can’t be her fashion sense. She looks every bit as 1990 as the rest of them. I can only assume it’s because she’s a bigger girl, to which I say, blech. Beverly Hills, 90210 goes on to have a show about the dangers of eating disorders, so I feel kind of put off that they chose to single this girl out just because she’s overweight. Here she is:

• I can only hope that maybe it’s just because everyone knows she’s a mean person and I somehow missed that being implied. I don’t think that’s the case, but I can hope. This is how Brenda and Kelly meet; Kelly tells the above girl that the seat across from her is taken and points to Brenda when she walks in as the person she’s saving the seat for. Kelly then tells Brenda that she’s “being friendly” by sitting with her. *rolls eyes*
• Here’s Kelly in class with Brenda:

• Oh, the bitch face. I actually like Kelly later on the show and I adore Jennie Garth, but I’m amazed at what a tart Kelly is in the first couple of seasons. This face is followed by her saying, “Are you smart?” to Brenda, leading us to believe that she’s going to use her to get good grades.
• Is this the same school that Bring It On was filmed at? Maybe She’s All That? I keep thinking I’ve seen those halls used somewhere else.
• Look!

• It’s people making out! Now this is real high school!
• Brandon goes to this Spanish class, Spanish II, and is told that the class will be conduted entirely in Spanish. This seems pretty extreme for Spanish II. I had to take speaking tests and our professor sometimes spoke to us in Spanish, but English was mostly used in my Spanish II class and I was in an accelerated class. Maybe Florida’s schools just suck…which is entirely possible.
• When Brandon meets Andrea for the first time, he remembers that they’re in Spanich class together. Points for him. Most guys don’t remember these things in high school unless they think the girl is “hott”. And, at this point, I think Brandon thinks Andrea is crazy.
• Oddly, when Brandon tries to sit down with people at lunch, a couple people from each table will get up and walk away. They just walk away from the people they’re currently talking to just because this guy walks up and kind of looks at them.
• This is where we see Brenda morphing into Bitch Kelly as she ditches Brandon at lunch time. SO cold.
• By the way, here’s the rest of what Kelly is wearing. For some reason, her polka dot half-vest is gone now though.

• Green biker shorts under denim shorts! Turquoise socks! Unidentifed black flats! My eyes, eyes!
• I stand corrected about the “SPAM” comment I made earlier. Scott’s shirt actually says, “SPAIN”. I’m not sure why, but it does.
• Random jocks throw a football at Scott, making him drop his lunch tray and books. This is also very high school. I actually heard that a couple jocks put someone in a trash can once when I was in high school. It just goes to show you that whether it’s 1990 or 2000, bullying is a constant concept.
• The aforementioned sub-plot begins when said rich popular girl announces the party like this:

• Yes, a plane is flown over the school at lunch time, displaying this message. Everyone sees the message and smiles. David and Scott are excited, until another message follows, bearing the words, “No Freshmen”. Bummer for them (although they still go, of course).
• Kelly says the rich popular girl’s name is Mary Anne Moore. Of her, she says, “She’s incredibly rich, but such a party girl”. So basically, Mary Anne Moore is West Beverly High’s Paris Hilton.
• Brandon tells Brenda, “It’s weird not knowing anyone. It’s like I don’t know who they are, they don’t know who I am”. Yep, I guess that’s what happens when you don’t know people…you don’t know each other.
• Brenda goes to the party with Kelly, Donna, and two other girls who we never see again in the whole series (Kathy and Michelle). And she wears THE DRESS!

• But now it’s worse because she has white shorts on underneath it. Brenda is embarrassed because her mom wants to talk to Kelly before she lets Brenda go to the party, but I really think she should be embarrassed about her choice of clothing.
• Here’s a shot of the party:

• That’s a lot of people and a lot of paper lanterns. The biggest high school party I ever went to was comprised of about 50 people and even that seemed like a lot to me!
• David comes in and says, “I bet in another couple of hours girls will be taking their tops off”. Yep, that happened at my party of about 50 people…
• Here’s Miss Mary Anne Moore A.K.A. WBH Paris Hilton.

• She’s giving Brandon her best come hither look. She does tell him in a few seconds that he’s sexy. And oh, the dress. It’s velvet and has a bow…
• Mary Anne and Brandon dance in the gazebo and you can see people playing tennis behind them. Are these her parents or did high school students actually come to a party to play tennis? Weird.
• Mary Anne writes her number on Brandon’s arm so that he can call her. The kicker is that she writes it in lipstick. Where did this girl get trained? Unfortunately, he’s wearing a jacket, so as soon as his sleeves go back down, her number will be nothing more than a dark red smudge.
• As is common during the first couple of seasons, Steve gets drunk and insults Kelly. The other girls tell her she is “so strong” for not letting it get to her. Girl power!!
• This is Steve’s house.

• As someone who grew up in a one story, three bedroom house, I can’t even imagine living in a place that looks like that. It’d probably be considered a shack now-a-days though, in the time of 15 bathrooms mansions with indoor pools, basketball courts, and 3 gourmet kitchens.
• Oh, the sadness…

• I really have nothing to say. A picture is worth a thousand words.
• As is this one:

• Ok, so I do have some words about this. Donna looks like she’s best friends with Almost Girl Scout Girl and borrowed her vest, complete with pins. And Kelly looks like Workout Barbie mixed with Working Girl. Those shorts kill me. Brenda, although boring and wearing pants that are too short, looks the most normal.
• I’m unsure as to why Andrea looks like she has no boobs here:

• However, I also think she looks quite cute and casual. A refreshing antidote to Kelly’s scary biker shorts. This is always where you realize that Andrea has a thing for Brandon to which he is totally oblivious. I relate to this. I was once that girl who crushed on the guy who asked me for advice on dating other girls. So, I think I secretly love anything Andrea does because I feel her pain.
• So, the girls go to a club with fake IDs, but the bouncer only lets Brenda in. After the others can’t get in, they just leave her there without telling her. I mean, I guess maybe there wasn’t anything they could do about it, but jeez. And there’s definitely some interesting dancing that takes place at this club.
• The older guy that Brenda meets the club freaks me out. Here he is:

• I just get a pervert-vibe from him. Maybe it’s because he’s hitting on Brenda and somehow can’t tell that she looks like a teenager.
• I wish I could find a clip of the song that plays while Brandon and Mary Anne ride through town on a motor bike. It’s priceless. It’s all electronic and there’s someone singing, “Closer, let me take your hand” in breathy tones.
• Gotta love the teenage drinking that runs rampant in Beverly Hills, 90210.

• The funny song is continuing throughout the beginning of this scene by the way and the switches to a saxophone number, of course setting up a potential sex scene. Brandon says no like the good boy that he is (for this episode and with this girl anyway). It takes a strong man to say no when the girl who is making out with you suddenly exclaims, “Let’s take off all our clothes!”.
• Ok, what’s up with this?

• A bubble wall? A very small bubble wall? SO 90’s!
• I still don’t get how Jason (older man) doesn’t get suspicious of Brenda. Her stories are all weird and backwards. I mean, she tells him that she lives in a sorority house that moved to UCLA from Minnesota University. The whole house moved.
• This episode features a different woman playing the role of Kelly’s mother. She’s replaced with Ann Gillespie after this episode.
• Mary Anne sends Brandon flowers, which is weird to me. No matter how progressive I am, I still can’t get used to the idea of men getting flowers from women. Maybe it’s because I don’t see men really liking flowers that much.
• Mary Anne gets mad at Brandon because he somehow leads the guys around school to believe that he had sex with her (I really don’t see how this happens). And then the word spreads and the “radio station” ends up announcing that the two are “hot and heavy”. I can’t imagine having a school radio station, much less having a school radio station that spreads gossip.
• This Jason guy pretty much comes out and tells Brenda that he wants to have sex with her, furthering my belief that he is a pervert.
• Mary Anne forgives Brandon and they say that they will keep in touch, but we never see her again (just like all of Brandon’s other girls).
• The Jason guy flips out when Brenda tells him the truth, so at least he didn’t think it was hot that she was 16. *shudder* He says that he should sue her parents, but for what I ask?
• Here is one of the final shots of the episode:

• It’s creepy. Why is she wearing a man’s shirt? It looks like they just had sex and she put on Brandon’s shirt. Not that he would be holding a book if they had just had sex, but still. Ew. Sometimes they are very unbelievable as brother and sister.
• And here is a cap confirming my thoughts on the girl no one wanted to sit next too:

• It says “overweight girl”! Ugh. I was really hoping it was going to say “mean girl” or something, but I guess that would have been confusing. Viewers would have been like, “Do they mean Kelly?”.

And that’s a wrap!

For my first post, I thought I’d provide some show history and cast information. Just a little something to get the ball rolling. Most of the info here is courtesy of www.imdb.com.

SHOW
Beverly Hills, 90210 first centered around The Walsh family who moved to Beverly Hills from Minnesota. The early episodes featured the struggle of the family’s twin children, Brenda and Brandon, to fit in with the rich and sophistated teens who went to West Beverly High School. They became friends with characters such as Kelly, Donna, Steve, and Dylan. It was mostly a show focused on family, high school values, and teen socializing. As the show progressed, it became more of a teen soap opera. The main characters dated each other, had sex with each other, cheated on each other, stabbed each other in the backs, broke up with each other, etc. Eventually, the Walsh parents were cut out of the show completely to focus more on the now college-aged young adults. Beverly Hills, 90210 ran for 10 seasons, starting in 1990.

Cast
Here are some notable cast members.

Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh
Shannon Doherty as Brenda Walsh
Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor
Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders
Luke Perry as Dylan McKay
Tori Spelling as Donna Martin
Brian Austin Green as David Silver
Gabrielle Carteris as Andrea Zuckerman
Douglas Emerson as Scott Scanlon
Tiffani Theissen as Valerie Malone
Kathleen Robertson as Clare Arnold
Lindsay Price as Janet Sosna
Vincent Young as Noah Hunter
Daniel Cosgrove as Matt Durning
Jamie Walters as Ray Pruit
Mark D. Espinoza as Jesse Vasquez
Vanessa Marcil as Gina Kincaid
Jason Wiles as Colin Robbins
Emma Caulfield as Susan Keats
Cameron Bancroft as Joe Bradley
Hilary Swank as Carly Reynolds
Rebecca Gayheart as Toni Marchette