Obsessions of Right Now

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Fat Shows, the biggest problem since Skinny Shows

This week was the premiere of a new ABC family show called Huge. It's basically an hour each week in which rebellious Will (you know she's a rebel because she's got blue hair) obnoxiously fights against losing weight at fat camp. Oh boy. I cannot wait. The premiere alone was chock a block full of nasty stereotypes, whether it wanted to be or not. At some point someone in Hollywood's gonna realize that being fat doesn't mean you worship food, right? Somebody's got to realize that eventually because if I see one more sequence in which someone describes a chocolate milkshake in such detail that they begins to moan I'm gonna lose it. If I see one more character willing to get kicked out of camp for a chocolate bar I'm gonna scream. And the next time someone says "it's hard being without my favourite foods" I'm going to declare war on this show full of unrealistic fat people invented in the minds of skinny ones.  

Huge is pulling from 2 sides: it wants Will to just give in and try to "change her life" as Gina Torres' fatcamp director character (with secrets!) urges, but it also needs Will there to spout the standard after school special "why should I have to change to meet your standards?... there's more to the world than looks" lines. Neither side is very endearing. Someone thinking fat camp is stupid is not the same thing as, what did Torres' character call it? Oh yeah, "risking your life rather than changing it". But Will doesn't stand for anything. She has no reason to fight against the camp. She's just being rebellious for rebellion's sake. Well that's pretty stupid. Every character in Huge is defined by their body. There are the skinny ones who are obsessed with being skinny. There are the fat ones who are obsessed with being skinny. And then there's Will, who needs her fat because it gives her some sort of outsider edge. She's rebelling against the mainstream by refusing to look like their ideal. Aren't there better ways to rebel against the mainstream? Why would you actively try to gain weight? I understand not actively trying to lose it, that takes a lot of time and energy that could just as easily be spent on more interesting things. But to actively fight against it, that makes you as boring as the people who spend all their time counting calories- you're counting too, just in the other direction.

It seems to me that TV right now is obsessed with weight. Top Chef just did a challenge designed around childhood obesity. The newest in the string of dance shows is called Dance Your Ass Off. Last year they made The Bachelor for Fat People (it's unofficial title). There's a sitcom slated for the fall about people who meet at Overeaters Anonymous. For crying out loud, The Biggest Loser got it's own spinoff!

For awhile there I thought Glee might have the right idea; Mercedes, an overweight teen, was the reigning diva of the school and pretty darn self assured. Then came the episode when a cheerleading uniform managed to unseat every shred of self worth Ms. Divarific had and she had to be set straight by little pregnant angel Quinn. And then they sang Christina Aguilera, because why wouldn't they? After finding that episode personally offensive I pretty much gave up on Glee ever having the right idea.

Drop Dead Diva's on the right track when dealing with the issue of fatness. There's a whole episode about not being afraid of the word fat. About accepting that the average woman in America does not look like a TV character. About treating people equally. That's definitely the right idea, that's how it should go. Don't be afraid of the word fat but don't worship it either. "Fat" to me is about as interesting as "tall" or "blue-eyed" or "brunette", but for some reason it matters more to everyone else. Even the Fat Shows (yes, that's what I'm calling them), Diva aside, which are, in theory, helping to move the nation in the right direction in terms of standards of beauty and treatment of others, are doing nothing more or less than making it a big deal. Again. Even more. How is that helpful?

Gilmore Girls married off Sookie (Melissa McCarthy's overweight character) to a charming, average guy named Jackson. I say average and I don't mean average in the sense of everyone else is a TV hunk and he's an average Joe, I mean average, like standard in the world of Stars Hollow, like what average actually means. Sookie's weight wasn't a big deal, it was about as interesting as her height or her eye colour or (and here's another thing I think should be handled similarly) her race. Why shouldn't Jackson fall in love with Sookie? Sookie's awesome. Last season on 90210 Navid started dating a girl who was a bit larger than average (aka severly chubby by 90210 standards) but very pretty. Absolutely nothing was made of it. She was a real threat to Adriana, a real love interest to Navid and a character with many more interesting things about her than her weight. I know, 90210, who'da thunk, but it showed real progress.

Huge is a step backwards. A big step backwards. Maybe that's what the title means, "we're taking a HUGE step backwards". Otherwise it's pretty much just a tasteless title.  Star Nikki Blonsky (Will) had her big Hollywood breakthrough in Hairspray, a role so anti-huge I can't even believe it. Tracy Turnblad has nothing in common with Will. Will wants to stand on the outside and shout at those on the in, take anything she can get to make her different (read: superior for being different) whether it's her weight or her hair and fly it as a flag that stands for nothing. All Tracy wanted was to get to join the party; she thought everyone should be invited. She wasn't going to lose weight to get in, she wouldn't even change her hairdo when it got her put in detention. She was fine just the way she was, but Tracy also thought everyone else was fine, no matter how skinny, fat, tall, short, black or white they were. She assumed Link would fall in love with her because her weight's not nearly as important as her other qualities, and he did, because those other qualities were pretty great "no matter what [she] weighs". TV needs to get over the fact that the issue of fat is anything huge (forgive the terrible pun). Fat needs to be an adjective that carries about as much weight as all the other ones. I'd like to see TV characters who get to be nouns, not adjectives.

Let's have people who look like people and treat them as such. Let's have tall people AND short people, people with straight hair AND with curls; let's have white people, black people, asian people, hispanic people, people with freckles, people with moles, redheads, brunettes, blonds, skinny people, fat people and all the people in between. Let's have them all, and let that be okay.

Obsessions of March 23, 2010

My Theatre: My TV's new sister site, My Theatre premiered recently with reviews of Toronto's new hit My Mother's Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding, a Conneticut Repertory Theatre Comedy of Errors and the national touring production of The Lion King. You'll also find a link to Jude Law's wonderful Hamlet-themed SNL monologue and a first-hand account of life as an actor charged with villainy from contributing author Jim Melo. Check in regularly for more from the world of theatre as the "My Entertainment World" family grows. www.mytheatreblog.ca


The return of United States of Tara: my second favourite Showtime show is back on the air (second only to the incomparable Dexter). Emmy winner Toni Collette returns in her powerhouse title role with all the wonderful supporting cast that made season one of Diablo Cody's heartfelt dramedy so memorable. This week's premiere episode has already started the season off in a promising direction.

Boston Rob: he was my favourite going in and has only risen in my estimation since the premiere of Heroes vs. Villains. Clearly the leader of his tribe, this Survivor veteran is too in control too early in the game to likely make it to the end but every week that he stays will be another week I love this season of Survivor (a show I have not watched faithfully since Rob's last appearance in the original All-Stars season).

Rowley: I'm not saying you should actually go see Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it's really just an ok movie at best. But if you do and come out of it not loving a kid named Rowley, something's wrong with you. Also, it needs to be said, Greg Heffley might be the worst role model I have ever seen on screen (then again, I've never seen a Miley Cyrus movie). 

The Amazing Race Cowboys: these charismatic sweethearts have proven themselves to be front-runners in an excellent season of the race. Surprisingly smart, daring as hell, cooperative, competitive and determined, Jet and Cord have everything they need to win the race (including the always helpful sibling relationship, a common race-winner).

Drop Dead Diva season one: I've been re-watching the show on my wonderful screener DVDs from Lifetime and am loving it now as much as (if not more than) I did the first time around.  It's even greater when you know the story of the show's creation. Read my interview with creator Josh Berman for the full scoop on the size 16 who carries herself like a supermodel. Season two premieres in June on Lifetime.

The Liam Triangle: Naomi is hands down the most interesting character on the new 90210 (though both Adrianna and Silver are plenty entertaining) and I'm usually rooting for her, but I think I may be on team Ivy in this one. Sure before the whole Jen thing Naomi and the incredibly hot Liam were perfect for one another but lately I really think that what the broody boy needs is a nice low-key surfer chick who just gets him.

The Actor's Shakespeare Project's Othello: Boston's premiere Shakespeare troupe conquered one of the bard's toughest tragedies with ease and artistry. Though Othello was outmatched by his cast mates (though cursed with an unsympathetically stupid character from the get go), Desdemona was breathtaking, Emilia heartrending and Iago thrilling.

Michael Imperioli: as I make my way through my Sopranos box set I find myself liking his character of Christopher more every episode. He quickly became the highlight of the series for me.


Bradley Whitford on The Sarah Silverman Program: I love to see my beloved Josh Lyman anywhere but the absurdity of him as a guest star on one of TV's oddest programs made me giggle delightedly.


Season 4 of Big Love: I know I never actually wrote about it (the fact that I missed the finale playing a definite part there) but I just want you to know that I loved this season every bit as much as its predecessors. Amy Acker is right, Big Love is the best thing out there.

The Battle of the Naomis

I recently caught up on two trashy TV shows: Private Practice and 90210. Both have me hooked so I watch every episode, despite bad writing and outrageous plotting. But while Private Practice inducing little more than eye-rolling, 90210 sometimes makes me care about its characters. So while I didn't care about Addison's struggles with her parents, I invested in Silver's quest to reconnect before her mother died. But the most pronounced difference between these two series, (both of which are about overly dramatic teenagers, including the one with no teenage characters) is the Naomis.

The creative redirection that 90210 took for its second season put the character of Naomi Clark right at the center of the action. Naomi plays into the TV convention of the "bitch with a softside", luckily for her that might just be my favourite archetype. She may not be on new territory, but AnnLynne McCord's character is consistently engaging, funny and interesting. She's also fiercely loyal once she's on your side, my favourite quality in a character. Oh, and her wardrobe can't be matched.

Over at Oceanside Wellness, however, their Naomi is lowpoint of my TV week. Audra McDonald's self-righteous fertility specialist is the preachiest on a preachy show. Naomi's holier-than-thou attitude plus best friend's brother bedding and co-worker abandoning makes her the most hypocritical character I've seen in a long time. She's grating and cautious and irrational and needy. And any fertility specialist who accidentally puts the wrong embryo in the wrong uterus can't be as capable as this show pretends she is.

Ding, ding, ding, this round goes to 90210.

A New 90210

It's obvious that 90210 has had a complete makeover: The credits are new (and much improved); the high school students look more like high school students (with the exception of the new tennis player, who looks like he is at least 20); and everything about the show screams “fresh.”

This makeover has brought us new characters and revamped old ones. Let’s discuss the revamped old characters, because I really enjoy what the writers of the show are doing with Naomi, Adrianna, and Liam.

Naomi, she’s supposed to be the bitch of the town. We aren’t meant to really sympathize with her; but I do. I mean, she has no parents that really care about her; her sister is crazy; and she has the worst luck. Sure, she is aggressive; but she has to be. She has to fend for herself. Sure, she just sent out a mass text that included a naked picture of Annie—but this is understandable when you consider her older sister who manipulates everyone at every turn. Besides all of the aggression, Naomi is a stand up character. She protects her friends, i.e. Silver. She keeps her stride despite all of the people around her who manipulate her into doing what they want. And she' s hilarious; can’t beat that.

I also love Adrianna. Her character has undergone several revisions, and each subsequent revision is better than the last. When we first met her in Season 1, she was a druggie theatre girl. As that season progressed, she went through rehab, softened up, got pregnant, and realized she wanted to be a ‘normal’ teenage girl (when have any of these girls on this show been ‘normal’?). This season, she still has some healing to do after giving her baby up for adoption; she has the typical jealous boyfriend (the always adorable, if tedious Navid); and she's still desperately trying to be normal. I love how level headed she is thus far. However, I hope her need for normalcy doesn't detract from her story arc or her personality. Adrianna is fun, sweet, and caring. She definitely balances out Naomi, which is why they work as best friends. I hope she and Navid are able to work through their differences because they are a cute couple. A little unrealistic for high school, but when is anything realistic on 90210?

As for Liam, his character is a tad predictable. Can we say Ryan Atwood from The O.C.? The outsider who has anger issues who tries to fit into this new environment. Despite this, I can’t wait for him to take down Jen, Naomi’s sister. Yes, he was dumb to sleep with her, but Jen, if anything, is quite persuasive with her words (and her looks). Liam knows he did wrong and is desperately trying to fix his mistake. Hopefully, the Naomi-forgiving-Liam-storyline does not take too long because that means Jen will be around way longer than I think the audience can put up with her. Back to Liam: he also has to overcome the roadblocks put in place by his stepdad. His stepdad is a complete tool who, at moments notice, is ready to kick Liam back to some form of boot camp. Lastly, I can’t wait to see the development of the Liam-Dixon-Teddy trio.

Speaking of Teddy, he’s not my favorite. First of all, he looks way too old to be in high school. Secondly, he’s cocky—I’m not into the cocky characters. I don’t really care that he was the first guy that Adrianna had sex with; that only means that Adrianna and Navid are going to fight now. Big deal. Thirdly, he is an instigator. The fact that he didn’t recognize that in the first episode is absurd. He doesn’t realize, thus far, how his actions affect others. My opinion is not completely formed, but definitely starting to take shape.

Even with the 90210 makeover, there are still some characters that I could care less about. ANNIE!! She complains about almost everything. And now that she is in this self pity bout, aka ‘bad’ Annie, she is even more annoying. She is angry, but all she does to show this is cry. She, for one reason or another, is incapable of using her words to communicate her feelings. I want someone to shake her and tell her to grow a personality. I just can't sympathize with her. Who cares, Annie? The world does not revolve around you and your issues. I’m just saying.

The second character who becomes more and more irritating is Ryan. All I have to say about him is that it is his fault for the eventual burn he is going to receive from Jen. How can he be so dense? Also, he needs a haircut.

Makeover or no makeover, I still have mad love for Dixon and Silver. Together or not together, these two characters are solid.

All and all, I think this season will be stronger than the first. The characters seem to have more direction and purpose and I can foresee some interesting twists and turns. Plus, the lives of these characters are so absurdly outrageous that I have to love it.

Happy Casting News

Gilmore Girls/Samantha Who comedy queen Melissa McCarthy is joining Kelsey Grammar on Hank this fall. That there is enough of a reason to watch (even if there's no love lost between you and the former Frasier Crane)

Summer Glau's guest turn on Dollhouse is no longer rumour and fantasy but reality. Whedonites rejoice!

That guy who played the newest Superman, who looked like a Ken doll (Brandon Routh), he's joined Chuck as the new head of the intersect project.

Kristin Chenoweth will, obviously, appear on Glee this season...but she may not be the same perky sweetheart we know her as.

Kim Dickens will be back as Matt Saracen's mom for at least a couple of his 7 farewell episodes on Friday Night Lights.

and

90210 is currently looking to cast a West Beverly student who is “heavier than [the] girls on the show.”... thank god.

Season Wrap Up: 90210

The spinoff's inaugural season was so unbalanced, so ridiculous and so annoyingly typical that I can barely believe that I watch it. That said, the new 90210 boasts a few characters that are worth returning for, and so I do. 

The most credit has to go to the adorable Tristan Wilds, an actor of a calibre much too high for his current day job. Wilds took a boring character and gave him a sparkle worth watching. Dustin Milligan, similarly, managed to make me not hate Ethan. In fact, I don't hate Ethan to such a surprising extent that I'll really miss his character next season when he disappears (producers announced in April that Milligan would be leaving the show). And the gorgeous Jessica Stroup, as obnoxiously "rebel" Erin Silver, was charming to an extent that I kind of loved her... until they had her go crazy and make Dixon's life difficult, then I promptly abandoned all love of the whiny "non-conformist"/popular girl.

 

And while the central characters of Annie and Naomi are revolting on multiple counts (though Naomi, at least, has her moments of redemption), a pleasant surprise came in the forms of Jessica Lowndes and Michael Steger as Adrianna and Navid. Steger is consistently engaging and somehow manages to convince me that his sweet as sugar character is honestly sincere. And Lowndes, another actress who is clearly slumming it on 90210, proves herself most prominently when she takes on a role within a role when Adrianna slips into thespian mode. 

The "adults" of the show are, perhaps, the biggest departure from the original series. While Cindy and Jim Walsh were dorky, slightly dowdy and believable parental figures, Debbie and Harry Wilson are basically supermodel placeholders with the occasional funny bit of action (the pot brownies in the finale were outrageous yet mildly hilarious). Meanwhile, annoyingly attractive English teacher Mr. Matthews is somewhat delightful (if stereotypical) and I do enjoy the appearances by original 90210 characters Kelly (Jennie Garth), Brenda (Shannon Doherty) and Donna (Tori Spelling). 

Unfortunately, the producers (who are of, at best, questionable intelligence, despite showrunner Rebecca Rand Sinclair's TV resume, which includes writing stints on both Buffy and the Gilmore girls) have decided that, alongside Ethan, recurring cast members from the original series will be notably absent from season 2. Don't they know that there's a reason that the new group gets a tenth of the viewership the old one got?

So, where will the series go from here? Well, even though the finale showed him being carted off the military school, Naomi's torrid love interest Liam is slated to be back as a regular cast member next season. Ethan's departure will come on the heels of his confession of love for Silver (by the way, how random was that?!?!). Adrianna will start to cope with giving up her baby; Navid will be by her side. Dixon and Silver will have to move forward after the Ethan debacle and knowing that they have more drama than they're worth. Naomi has to eventually realize that her sister is a massive bitch, but in the meantime she'll torture Annie a bit more. And as for Annie herself, last we saw of her she was driving drunk and leaving the crime scene after she hit someone- the Annie volcano has erupted, as Liam would say, and it was a joy to finally get to laugh at the expense of the vapid goody-two-shoes who is supposedly the heart of the show. 

FINALE GRADE: C-

SEASON GRADE: C

Crazy

If you sat through this week's episode of 90210, you now understand the definition of "ridiculous". 90210 already has trouble with believability; the main characters on this show are in high school, yet they are able to do as they please; the parent involvement is dismal, at best. However, I've grown accustomed to this altered reality that Silver, Annie, and Naomi live in. I've accepted that these high school students have more money than I ever will; I've accepted that these high school students have more sexual experience than any of my friends; and I've even accepted that these high school students live by a completely different set of laws than any high school student I've ever met. But, I cannot accept drag racing. I cannot accept that Silver would make a film of she and Dixon having sex and think it suitable for an English class. And, I cannot accept Silver's irrational breakdown.

First: Naomi and Liam. Liam is the new bad boy in school (and an exact Dylan McKay carbon copy). She wants him...she fantasizes about him. In this show, this is within the the realm of possibility. Now, as per-usual Naomi fashion, she insists on going with Liam to some place that is "not her scene." That place happens to be somewhere outside of Beverly Hills, where Liam and his nefarious friends drag race. Drag Race! Yes, Drag Racing. She, again, insists on being in the car when Liam decides to race his opponent---and she LOVES it. I have a problem with this story line because, really? How far can the stories on the show really go? At the end of this date, Liam drives Naomi back to the school parking lot, kisses her, and then drives off. This show needs to remember that their characters may not have parents to set boundaries, but the characters are still 16-17. They are still in school! They haven't even begun to start college applications. Let's be real, even if we're playing by Beverly Hills TV rules.

Second and Third: It took a great deal of strength for Silver to open up and tell Dixon she loves him. However, when she decided to let her love flow freely, everything came out. And, I mean everything. All her crazy. Silver is now obsessed with letting Dixon know how much she loves him, beginning with a tattoo. This week was all kinds of new crazy for her; for her poetry assignment she decided to make a movie. For this movie, she thought it was suitable to film Dixon and her having sex; she even thought it was suitable to show this film to everyone at her school. This arc is a complete 180 for Silver. How can a character go from being reserved about her feelings to showing everyone her sex life, without asking her boyfriend? I just don't believe this. The cherry on top of this story is that Silver has decided to blame Mr. Matthews, her English teacher. Somehow, she's convinced herself that Mr. Matthews was getting revenge for the nasty blog she posted about him; and because she thought this was revenge, she broke into his apartment. Broke into his apartment! Again, I acknowledge that Silver doesn't have a consistent parental figure in her life, but when does it become acceptable to break into a teacher's apartment? When does it become okay to assault your teacher? Silver is usually my favorite character because she manages to stand out. She speaks her mind. She critiques the 90210-living style. She is sensible, but fun. But I can't stand this crazy Silver. She has no boundaries (which she thinks is okay, too)...she does not think anything through. I want the old Silver and Dixon back because they were my favorite couple.

This episode really was a drag because it required so much energy to even consider believing these stories, they wouldn't even fly on One Tree Hill (a show that's entire purpose is craziness). There's a thin line between fun/crazy and crazy/crazy and 90210 crossed it this week.

Stealing My Heart on TV This Week

A Chuck hero and a villain, Tara's sweetly understanding husband, a softspoken Dillon Panther, a lovesick West Beverly student and a Tree Hill hottie... time for another picture list!

My Current (and shameful) Obsession

I have no reasonable explanation for this but I've recently taken to watching incredibly bad TV shows on a regular basis. It started with Big Brother and One Tree Hill. I've always watched them (the residual effects of being 14 at exactly the wrong time) and have comforted myself with the reassurance that I'm allowed a couple hours of mindless drivel to break up the intelligent scripted fare I've always been loyal to. 

But, in recent months, it started to get worse. All of a sudden I was back on the Amazing Race bandwagon (not too shameful as far as reality TV goes, but it's a gateway drug!). Then came a renewed interest in 90210, and before I knew it I was hooked on ABC's heinous hidden camera show True Beauty. 

But that's not the worst of it. 

The worst came this week (the week True Beauty ended... Julia, the former Miss Teen Texas, won, by the way, in case you were wondering). First it was High School Reunion, which had me both horrified and transfixed for its entire premiere episode. But I only watched 1, just the one episode, I thought I was still in control of my problem. 

I wasn't.

Yesterday I started The Bachelor. I don't know what made me do it but I watched the entire season in 2 days and now I'm hanging on a thread until Monday when I hope the slightly skeezy single dad from Seattle will choose the sunny former cheerleader from Dallas over the boring girl who I don't care about. It's sexist and materialistic and noticeably scripted and hinged on an out of date value system, but I'm horribly and traumatically hooked on The Bachelor. And just for the record, I am also and have been since week 1, on team Melissa!

Also for the record, I am ashamed of myself and am currently seeking help for my apparent lack of taste in TV. 

OBSESSIONS

What I love this week....

Maria Schneider. Big Band is back people!

Slings & Arrows Season 2. Particularly the Romeo & Juliet stuff. 

Yvonne Strahovski on Chuck. Proving week after week that Buffy was really kind of a lame character afterall on the grand scale of hot blond super crime fighters. 

The fact that it's Oscar week. I love the Oscars. 

"Why I Love Chick Flicks *and why I hate them" by Lisa Schwarzbaum in last week's Entertainment Weekly

The Deathly Hallows Lectures by John Granger (the Hogwarts professor) 

The Amazing Race 14. It's back! and already people are being chased down hills by killer runaway cheese wheels. Also, the guy who wrote "School of Rock" is running with his dad, there's a mother/son team (the son happens to be deaf), THREE sibling teams and a very promising married couple (the ones who don't refer to themselves as "hillbillies")

Tristan Wilds. Not only is he adorable on 90210, but there was a woman across the aisle from me on a plane the other day who was watching The Secret Life of Bees and I couldn't take my eyes off her screen whenever he was in the scene. There's something to be said for being that captivating when sharing the screen with poohbahs like Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifa and Paul Bettany. 

Taking Another Look

If I've learned anything from my experiences with The OC, Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Chuck, it's that sometimes a show that you think you'll never be into can turn into something you really enjoy. I gave all those series a second chance that resulted in serious bandwagon jumping, so it was only appropriate that I give 90210 the same consideration. I liked the original (though Ive only seen the Brenda years) so I tuned in to watch The CW try to remake one of TV's most influential shows. Within 10 minutes of the beginning of the pilot I hated it so much that I turned it off and never watched again. 

But then Tristan Wilds (Dixon) wowed me with his performance in The Secret Life of Bees, and I caught some YouTube videos of the West Beverly production of Spring Awakening that Annie starred in, then I heard that not only was Tori Spelling (Donna Martin) joining the show but that Shannon Doherty (Brenda Walsh) would be back, and I love her. So I came back; and now, after 13 episodes have aired, I've finally caught up on what I missed, and I have to say- I'm kind of shamefully loving it. 

Both Annie and Ethan have that annoyingly perfect thing going on but I somehow don't hate either of them at all. Naomi is less sympathetic than they want her to be but is more sympathetic than I thought she'd be. Dixon is pretty kick ass. Silver is fantastic. I'm completely in love with Navid and Adrianna was a surprising delight as a character, once she got her act together a bit. 

When I first heard that Adrianna was replacing grandma Mills in the principle cast I was skeptical, but as the series has progressed I found myself wanting to see more of her, and especially more of her relationship with Navid. Dixon and Silver's relationship is equally intriguing and delightful. The parents are a little much and I could do without them but Ryan, the teacher, is pretty cool and I always like seeing alum from the original series. 

The show is not nearly as stupid as the pilot would suggest. Also: the theatrical leanings of Annie, Adrianna and Brenda have already led to Spring Awakening and Macbeth references, so I'm sure there's more delightful nerdiness to come. 

The old 90210 was the first of its kind, a benchmark for all the teen shows that followed. The new 90210 has more of an unimportant and indistinct place in the cannon, but it's a fun hour every week. 

On the Big Screen

This weekend I went to see The Secret Life of Bees, which was full of wonderful surprises. Yes, Dakota Fanning's talent did survive puberty. No, apparently singer/actors are not always substandard, Queen Latifa, Alicia Keys and Jennifer Hudson were all wonderful in their roles in the film. Yes, Paul Bettany is so phenomenally talented that he can make even the most tyrannical of characters sympathetic. And some CW actors have, like bees, secret lives; One Tree Hill's Hilarie Burton has a small role in the film, which she fits like a glove. The real wonder, though is Tristan Wilds, who may be a boring character on this season's worst show (90210) but he also has a secret life as a fantastic actor, playing the important role of Zach in the film. So before you write Burton and Wilds off for their day jobs, make sure to go see them shine amongst some brilliant co-stars in The Secret Life of Bees. 

The CW's unimaginative fall

Spot the differences- I dare you. 

After the buzz that last year's premiere of Gossip Girl created, its home network, The CW, is doing all they can to replicate the effect (note that I didn't use the word "success" because on a revenue, ratings, business level Gossip Girl didn't deliver). 

Gossip Girl's second season is off to yet another luxurious, naughty and scandalous start while the new 90210 tries desperately hard to make us care about their uninteresting, bratty characters (even the characters who aren't spoiled are brats). Privileged is making a run at the same demographic too, though the charm of its heroine Megan (Joanna Garcia), her friend Charlie (The OC's Zach) and a handful of likable rich folk may may actually keep  Privileged interesting. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that a show or two about the entertaining elite is a bad thing. I actually really liked the original 90210 and watch Gossip Girl faithfully. What I'm annoyed by is The CW's approach to new programming. The positive response to Gossip Girl should not have spawned a full season of look-alikes, it should have given the network the confidence to go out and find new and original programming in hopes of finding the next thing that will have such an impact. 

The CW's predecessors (The WB and UPN) were responsible for some of the best shows of the past couple decades, and each one was a unique enterprise. Buffy, Dawson's Creek, Roswell, Everwood, Charmed, Felicity, Gilmore Girls, Smallville, Veronica Mars, even 7th Heaven; each was a hit in it's own right, it wasn't a bland copy of last year's fare. 

I complain, but I'll still be watching 2 of these 3 carbon copied shows. Gossip Girl snagged me last year (and I honestly think that it's a well produced show- for what it is) and Privileged convinced me to come back next week in the Pilot episode when Megan undercut her rousing speech about responsibility, with the line "uncle Ben is Spiderman's uncle, not mine. I just wanted to make that clear". 

And as for Dawn Ostroff and her team over at the CW, all I have to say to them about next year is "be brave, little Piglett, be brave". 

The New Bionic Woman

10 minutes in I've decided that I never want to see another episode of the new 90210. I'm tempted to watch until Shannon Doherty shows up because I love her (selfish bitch to the point of self destruction= amazing!) but probably can't stand it that long. Like last year's uber hyped Bionic Woman, 90210 is so badly written and acted that I can't stand to watch it. I'm officially proclaiming it the let down of the year. 

A Look Back at Television Revolution

All my intellectually snobbish friends look down their noses at me when I talk about the show that I watch every afternoon at 3pm. Well, of course I don't actually watch it then (I don't watch anything in its own time slot), I PVR it and watch it when I get home each night. This show is Beverly Hills 90210. Of course I watch the show with a pound of salt and am completely aware of the stereotypes and the unrealistic characters in it. However, my argument against the snide remarks is always the same: a real tv-aholic simply cannot ignore the shows that, though perhaps not of phenomenal artistic merit, made television what it is today.

The adventures of Brenda, Brandon, Kelly, Dylan, Steve, Donna and David are in many ways responsible for hits like Dawson's Creek, The O.C. and One Tree Hill. Even cult shows like Veronica Mars and Buffy the Vampire Slayer owe a little to the gang at the Peach Pit. The first major show to be completely centered on the trials and tribulation of a group of high school kids, 90210 spoke to troubles facing teenagers through their own eyes and didn't talk down to them. The teenagers were intelligent and capable but still made mistakes. The show was about teenagers, they were not simply tools to allow the parent characters to teach their lessons.

Though the writing was contrived, the story lines over dramatic and unbelievable and the characters stereotypical and idealistic, Beverly Hills 90210 laid the ground work for what was later improved upon and became one of the most popular genres in television. 90210 never won a prestigious award, was never critically acclaimed and was never heralded as "good television", however it was the most watched show of its time and ran for 10 seasons. The young stars were catapulted, at least for a while, to extreme stardom.

Its legacy is undeniable. Beverly Hills 90210, if missed the first time around, is worth watching in syndication on TVTropolis, if only to fully understand the evolution of the teenage drama genre. A true TV fan would be amiss if uneducated on the shows that shaped TV.