'90210' ZONE
Meta revival of iconic Fox series features original stars
T URNS out that reviving “Beverly Hills, 90210” wasn’t such a bad idea — both in reality and in the fictional world of prime time. The mockumentary reboot “BH90210” is a welcome addition to a stale genre overrun by the ghosts of glories past — particularly since the cast of Fox’s angsty, iconic ’90s teen drama is in on the joke, winning half the battle for this type of meta-driven show to succeed.
The premise of “BH90210” finds the original core cast — Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Gabrielle Carteris and Ian Ziering — playing not-so-exaggerated versions of themselves. They’re reunited for a 30th anniversary panel discussion in Las Vegas (“90210” premiered in October 1990 on Fox), but while their adoring fans can only see their TV heroes through the lens of feelgood nostalgia, real life has intruded into the actors’ lives. Spelling’s cable reality show, “Spelling the Beans” — a nod to her real-life series, “Tori &
Dean” — has been axed and she needs money to support her six kids (a running joke throughout, since her father was mega-rich TV titan Aaron Spelling). A bitter Priestley slugs an actor on the set of a TV series who mocks his “90210” past (“You were a pinup boy for horny teenaged girls”) while Green lives in the shadow of his pop-superstar wife (La La Anthony). Garth is divorcing her third husband and bickering with her teenage daughter, Carteris (at 58 the oldest cast member) is having a rough time as a new grandmother while all Ziering cares about is his “brand” in the form of his new Hollywood workout book.
The actors’ reunion in Vegas sparks old rivalries, jealousies, in-jokes, forgotten support systems and resentments, particularly in the form of co-star Shannen Doherty, who appears at the reunion via an Instagram livestream and whose wild-child behavior during the run of the original series was a constant source of tabloid fodder. An incident at the reunion results in a viral video of the original cast and spurs the financially strapped Spelling into action: why not get the old gang together and pitch a “90210” reboot to Fox? All she has to do is get them all to agree to the idea.
Spelling is clearly the driving force behind “BH90210” in real life. All the cast members are executive producers of this series, but the plot’s epicenter is this meta version of Spelling, and she isn’t shy about poking fun at her public persona and her personal problems. “She lacks basic life skills,” is how Garth describes her best friend Tori, who does not disagree.
The actors’ self-awareness doesn’t grow smug, at least in the first two episodes available for review, nor does the series smack of desperation. What you see is what you get, and each cast member has a turn describing their real-life alter egos. “You know what’s sexy? A middle-aged white rapper,” says Green, describing his career decline, while Garth avoids a topical discussion with these words: “I only went to fake high school.” There are a few extraneous plot points that could have been avoided — no spoilers — but overall this cast seems to be having a nice time reconnecting with each other, both in their real-life and their mockumentary personas.
The big void here, of course, is the absence of original “90210” star Luke Perry, who played brooding bad boy Dylan McKay and who died in March at the age of 52 after suffering a stroke. He’s gone, but not forgotten by his former cast members, who pay homage to him several times throughout — a nice touch that will resonate with fans of the series.