Beverly Hills 90210: Complete Second Season DVD Review

Posted by Bryan Kristopowitz on 01.04.2008

For fans only.

"Beverly Hills 90210: Complete Second Season" DVD Review

Jason Priestly- Brandon Walsh
Shannen Dougherty- Brenda Walsh
Luke Perry- Dylan McKay
Jennie Garth- Kelly Taylor
Ian Ziering- Steve Sanders
Tori Spelling- Donna Martin
Brian Austin Green- David Silver
Gabrielle Carteris- Andrea Zuckerman
James Eckhouse- Jim Walsh
Carol Potter- Cindy Walsh
Directed by various
Written by various
Created by Aaron Spelling
DVD Release Company- CBS DVD
DVD Release Date: 05/01/2007
Website: none


Ah, yes, "Beverly Hills 90210," the show that was the biggest thing back during my teen years. Dang near everyone I knew watched the Fox network show religiously. I didn't. I couldn't stand the show at all. The actors, the stories, the inevitable "issues" that the show dealt with (because you couldn't have a show about hip and edgy teenagers without dealing with issues), it all just felt so stupid. So, while everyone else was watching "90210" and MTV, I was doing something else. I don't remember exactly what I was doing (I was either doing homework, bowling, or watching low budget movies), all I know is I wasn't watching "90210."

Well, here it is, many years later, and "90210" has essentially passed on into the 1990's pop culture pantheon and lucrative syndication (I think the show is on the Soap cable channel now. At least it was earlier in 2007). And here I am, older and wiser and watching the second season of show that made Luke Perry a household name, perhaps coming away with a different opinion of the Walsh family and company saga.

Nope.

I still don't like the show.

I can't stand Jason Priestly as Brandon Walsh or Shannen Dougherty as his twin sister Brenda, the kids of the family from Minnesota who moved to West Beverly Hills for whatever reason they moved there. Luke Perry, doing a great impersonation of James Dean and whispering almost all of his dialogue as Dylan McKay, the rich hip and edgy loner guy (hey, kind of like James Dean). He's Brenda's boyfriend and a raging drunk. There's Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor, who can best be described as "the blonde chick." Ian Ziering does the preppy athlete thing as Steve, Kelly's boyfriend (he ends up using steroids, which is a big to do this season). Tori Spelling is the hot blonde virgin with the learning disability and the slutty clothes, Donna. Brian Austin Green shows up as David, Donna's boyfriend of sorts (he was probably the most annoying character on the show). Gabrielle Carteris is the nerdy high achiever Andrea Zuckman (she's got a crush on Brandon). And, of course, there's the Walsh parents, Jim and Cindy, as played by James Eckhouse and Carol Potter. I'm going to assume that they pretty much do their jobs here as expected by the fans of the show because none of them really left a favorable impression on me. They all just sort of exist there on the screen.

But then this DVD set wasn't made for me, a non-fan of the show. This set was made for the diehard fans, and perhaps anyone somewhat interested in the show because they saw Garth and Ziering on "Dancing with the Stars." And even then I'd imagine that most fans would be annoyed by the total lack of cast and crew commentaries or even cast interviews becuase there are probably all kinds of "neat" inside stories from the making of the show that fans would eat up. It seems as though that more and more older TV show boxed sets are sans commentary tracks and "looking back" documentaries, which I think is a glaring mistake on the part of the DVD set producers. This was a major show from back in the day and I'm sure that Priestly and Garth and Carteris wouldn't mind waxing nostalgic about their days on set and whatnot. So where the heck are they? Did this happen on the first season set, too?

Now, right on the DVD case it states "Music has been changed for the home entertainment version" and "Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions." I can't tell just how the music is altered, nor do I know which episodes have been edited or changed from their original broadcast versions, but, again, with a set of commentary tracks from actors or directors or writers or producers people not in the know would know what has been left out and would know why stuff has been left out. What happened to the original versions of edited episodes? Is this a rights thing or something? Does it have something to do with the fact that CBS DVD produced the set and not Fox? And just how annoyed are the diehard fans when it comes to these edits and changes? Is it that big a deal?

DVD Specifics

"Beverly Hills 90210: The Complete Second Season" is an eight disc set featuring all 28 episodes of the second season. Each episode is presented in full screen format (no stinking letterbox hooha here) with Dolby Digital English Stereo sound. The first four discs have four episodes each, with the final four discs containing three episodes each. The full frame picture looks fairly decent, as it looks like I remember it. The sound is pretty decent, too.

Special Features

All special features appear on the eighth disc.

- "Meet the Walshes" featurette: This is a mini documentary/interview thing with both James Eckhouse and Carol Potter. Neither has aged gracefully, especially Potter (I didn't recognize her at first) and Eckhouse looks like he's been in federal prison for the last few years. It's a fairly standard interview thing with Eckhouse and Potter cut in with clips from the show. It's not that bad, as it does provide some insight into the show.

- "Our Favorite Valentine" featurette: This is another mini documentary/interview with Christine Elise, who played "cult" character Emily Valentine, a sort of proto Goth alternative hip and edgy girl who shows up for the first time in episode eight and makes a date with both Brandon and Dylan. Elise, obviously much older now, appears in her interview dressed in the same kind of clothes she wore during her tenure on the show. It's freaking creepy. It's funny how she thought that her acting was, and this is her word, "corny."

- "Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills 90210 Season 2" featurette: This is perhaps the greatest DVD feature of all time. It's basically two comedians, John Aboud and Michael Colton, sitting in a Peach Pit esque set riffing on the characters and the issues that appear throughout the season. Both Aboud and Colton are merciless in their skewering of the show, which is somewhat snarky but is never mean. They've both obviously thought about this show as much as any diehard fan would. The two best bits are their parody of the show's opening titles sequence and the bit where they make fun of Brian Austin Green's dancing. A definite must see.

Conclusion

I'd imagine that most fans would want this set, even with the edits and music changes and the general lack of special features. Then again, if you're a diehard fan of the show I'd imagine that the most important thing is the episodes themselves. They're all there as far as I can tell.

Fans, have fun. Non-fans, or people just curious, give it a shot and see if you like it.

Show rating: 6.0 (add another 3 or more points for diehard fans).
DVD Set: 7.0 (1/3 of this rating is solely for the "Everything" featurette).

The 411: "Beverly Hills 90210" is a show that continues to endure for whatever reason. My second go around with the show leaves me in the same state as my first go around: indifference and general lack of interest. But fans are fans, and I'm sure they'll love going back to the show's second season. It's not a great set, but then it's not that bad, either.

Final Score:  7.0   [ Good ]