Uncategorized

90210ver?

Not looking good for week 2 of 90210. No, not very good at all. And ratings aren’t like election poll numbers — well, okay, ratings are like election poll numbers in that they poll people on their preferences and extrapolate from that, but my point is that unlike polls, ratings actually count.

Here’s the thing: I did not dislike the 90210 premiere as much as some; but I thought it had nothing to bring people back next week. Apparently 30% of last week’s viewers agree. As I said after it aired, they seemed to want to start small and build the big storylines later, the way the original did; but the original had the advantage of being new, and not having to compete with itself. The new show faced an audience that wanted it to prove that it could deliver the full-blown melodramatic insanity that the original show was giving us in its prime. Instead it seemed like it was going to start out more or less like the original did, as a show about typical teens who just happen to be rich and beautiful. That probably cost them.

If they had included something really big in the pilot, something like a car crash or an Aaron Spellingesque catfight or something like this:

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP1bI3cQDBc]

…Then I think they might have had a better chance, because we’d know that they were going to give us what we wanted from 90210. The problem that a remake/sequel has is that it just doesn’t have the benefit of being allowed to grow and develop. It has to show that it’s going to do instantly what it took the original series years to accomplish.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
FILED UNDER: