Beverly Hills, 90210

Beverly Hills, 90210
File:Beverly Hills, 90210.jpg This Beverly Hills, 90210 logo was seen from 1991 to 1994.
Created by	Darren Star
Starring	see Cast
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	296
Production
Running time	44 minutes (60 including commercials)
Original release
Network	FOX
Release	October 41990 – May 172000

Beverly Hills, 90210 is a primetime television soap opera that aired from October 41990, to May 172000, on FOX in the United States and subsequently on various networks around the world. The show followed the lives of a group of teenagers living in the posh, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School and then-fictitious California University. The show was created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling. The "90210" in the title refers to one of the suburb's postal zip codes.

Originally the central characters were twins Brandon (played by Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (played by Shannen Doherty), who moved with their parents, Jim and Cindy, from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills. However, during the show's run, the focus shifted as characters came and went. The show addressed many topical issues like date rape, alcoholism, domestic violence, gay rights, drug abuse, teenage suicide, AIDS, and teenage pregnancy.

The show gained popularity during the summer of 1991, when FOX aired a special "summer season" of the show while most other series were in reruns. The series became one of FOX's top shows when it began its season that fall. Viewership increased dramatically and the cast members, particularly Jason Priestley and Luke Perry, became teen idols, while the series would make actresses Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling household names.

Cast

Main cast

Actor	Character	Seasons
Jason Priestley	Brandon Walsh	1990-1998
Shannen Doherty	Brenda Walsh	1990-1994
Jennie Garth	Kelly Taylor	1990-2000
Ian Ziering	Steve Sanders	1990-2000
Gabrielle Carteris	Andrea Zuckerman	1990-1995
Luke Perry	Dylan McKay	1990-1995 and 1998-2000
Brian Austin Green	David Silver	1990-2000
Douglas Emerson	Scott Scanlon	1990-1991
Tori Spelling	Donna Martin	1990-2000
Carol Potter	Cindy Walsh	1990-1995
James Eckhouse	Jim Walsh	1990-1995
Mark Damon Espinoza	Jesse Vasquez	1993-1995
Tiffani-Amber Thiessen	Valerie Malone	1994-1998
Joe E. Tata	Nat Bussichio	1990-2000
Jamie Walters	Ray Pruit	1994-1995
Kathleen Robertson	Clare Arnold	1994-1997
Hilary Swank	Carly Reynolds	1997-1998
Vincent Young	Noah Hunter	1997-2000
Vanessa Marcil	Gina Kincaid	1998-2000
Lindsay Price	Janet Sosna	1998-2000
Daniel Cosgrove	Matt Durning	1998-2000

Characters

Main article: Characters of Beverly Hills, 90210

• Brandon Walsh: Brandon and Brenda were born November 1974. Consistent protagonist of 90210; twin-brother of Brenda; aspiring journalist; sympathetic good guy; had a problem with sports gambling; Student Body President and TV station correspondent at CU; romantically involved with Kelly, Nikki, Emily, Lucinda (secretly as she was a married university professor), Susan and Tracy; nearly marries Kelly, but they decide not to go through with it at the altar. Moved to Washington D.C. a year after college graduation, when he accepted an offer from a New York-based paper to join its Washington bureau.

• Brenda Walsh: Twin sister of Brandon; one-time girlfriend of Dylan; generally a good girl, but is known as the rebellious twin; was held up at gunpoint by an armed robber; had both breast cancer and pregnancy scares; fell-out with best friend Kelly over Dylan; arrested for breaking and entering an animal laboratory at the university in protest of animal rights, but was not charged; moved to London after first year of college to pursue an acting career. She would never appear in another episode after moving to London. While the character is mentioned as getting back together with Dylan after he leaves the show to the point of Brandon and Kelly planning to vacation with Brenda and Dylan as part of their honeymoon (which never took place due to Kelly and Brandon deciding not to get married), this continuity is forgotten as Dylan claims to have left Brenda two years prior to his return to Beverly Hills in the ninth season.

• Kelly Taylor: Kelly Marlene Taylor was born September 1974. Brenda and Donna's best friend; romantically linked to Steve, Dylan, Brandon, Colin and Matt. Reunited with Dylan at the end of series after breaking up years earlier. Mother suffered from cocaine and alcohol abuse; became David's stepsister and has had two half sisters: Erin by her mother and Joy by her father; was the victim of rumors and gossip during high school, Seventeen Magazine covergirl; burned during an electrical fire that broke out at a house rave party, was brainwashed and joined a cult under the direction of a rogue university professor; had problems with diet pills and later became addicted to cocaine; went to rehab and recovered with help of her friends. Kelly was later stalked and held at gunpoint by her roommate from rehab, only escaping after pretending to join the roommate in a suicide pact and then overpowering her and saving both of their lives. Became pregnant by Brandon, but had a miscarriage due to endometriosis, was shot in a robbery gone-bad at LAX and subsequently had a brief bout of amnesia; volunteered at AIDS hospice and later worked at a free clinic where she faced sexual harassment by a doctor but was able to overcome it with the support of Brandon. Found out Brandon had cheated on her, broke up with him but later reconciled, and nearly married Brandon but they both changed their minds right before walking down the aisle. Was raped in an alley when attempting to locate Dylan, shot and killed her rapist, but murder charges were never filed against her, and she's forgiven by his parents for her actions. Was on show for all ten seasons.

• Dylan McKay: Born: Dylan Michael McKay in October 1974. Rich, motorcycling, surfing school rebel; lived by himself in the BelAge Hotel and then in his own house and when he returned in the ninth season he was back to living at the hotel again. Romantically linked to Brenda, Kelly, Valerie, Antonia, and Gina; wife, Antonia, murdered; always had a soulmate connection with Kelly but couldn't commit to domestic life; father in prison for white-collar crimes and later, supposedly killed in a car explosion in 1993 but Dylan finds out in 2000 that he is alive and well and in the Witness Protection Program. They reunite briefly before Dylan decides to let his father go because the criminals his father put away will find and kill him otherwise. Hippie mother in Hawaii; they had a strained relationship but apparently reconciled. Found out he had a half-sister who was later found to have become a prostitute in LA by Kelly and Brandon. During the early run of the series, Dylan reveals he is an alcoholic and regularly attends AA meetings. However, when Dylan returns in the ninth season, his character is now a heroin addict rather than an alcoholic, and no one ever says anything during the many scenes that show Dylan drinking in spite of the large inconsistency with character development; Dylan is no longer seen attending AA meetings. Dylan is also part-owner of the Peach Pit, which caused Brandon to be jealous, during the fourth season. He later buys Peach Pit After Dark to save it from being bought by a greedy restaurateur. Dylan had an up-and-down relationship with Gina Kincaid and nearly left town with her before finally telling her the truth about him being in love with someone else. He and Kelly apparently got back together in the final episode after breaking up years before.

• David Silver: Becomes the West Beverly High School D.J.; On-again-off again boyfriend of Donna but married her in the final episode of the series; dated Ariel (who he cheated on Donna with), Claire, Valerie, Sophie, Camille and Gina. Aspiring music video director and musician; initially he is a year younger and thought of a geek by the others, but eventually became their friend and thus part of the in-crowd. Took extra courses in high school to graduate on time with his friends; once took crystal meth; later in the show, his friends became worried about him when he was diagnosed with manic depression, but he overcame that problem. Character is Jewish but not observant though he has been shown standing up against anti-Semites and talking about facets of Judiasm. On the show for all ten seasons.

• Donna Martin: Born: December 25, 1974. Best friend of Kelly and Brenda; dated David; longtime virgin; suffered abuse at hands of boyfriend Ray; almost failed to graduate high school due to alcohol consumption at Senior Prom. Had a learning disability of partial dyslexia. Was almost raped by Garrett Slan, a campus rapist and later stalked and taken hostage at the college TV station by the obsessed cameraman, Evan. Romantically involved with David, Griffin Stone, Ray Pruit, C.U. quarterback Joe Bradley and Noah Hunter. Finally had sexual intercourse for the first time with David on the night they graduated from college. Briefly abused prescription drugs before opening her own clothing store. Married David in the final episode. Like Kelly, Steve, and David remained with show for entire 10-year run.

• Andrea Zuckerman: Class Valedictorian; school newspaper editor; secretly commuting to Beverly Hills from Van Nuys; Brandon's best friend while harboring a not so secret crush on him; teen hotline volunteer worker; almost had sex with Brandon at the end of the first season and at the senior prom. Romantically linked to Jay, Dan, Jesse and Peter, with whom she later had an extramarital affair. Jewish and more religious than David Silver, became concerned when she became involved with a Catholic man. Married Jesse, they had a baby girl named Hannah, and left Beverly Hills and California University to attend Yale while Jesse pursued his law career, they would later divorce. She was the show's conscience. Wore glasses for the first three seasons, then switched to contact lenses.

• Scott Scanlon: Nerdy and socially awkward best friend of David; grew apart from David when David started to become close with the school's core group; accidentally killed himself in front of David while playing with a gun at his birthday party. David and his friends buried a time capsule in his memory. Scott was a main character during the first season of the show, but his role was reduced to recurring just prior to the character's death in the second season, due to the actor playing him deciding he no longer wanted to be an actor at all.

Departures

The show's later years were known for frequent casting changes:

Shannen Doherty

Following reported on-set friction, Shannen Doherty left the show at the end of the fourth season after reportedly meeting with the show's producers in December 1993, at which point all parties agreed that Shannen should leave the show. Doherty's character, Brenda Walsh, was written off the show as moving to London to attend school at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts. While the character's absence was originally described as only being for a year, she never actually returned, despite being mentioned from time to time during the show's remaining seasons. She was replaced with former Saved by the Bell star Tiffani Thiessen, who played bad girl character Valerie.

Luke Perry

Luke Perry left 90210 voluntarily towards the beginning of the sixth season to pursue other interests. Perry's controversial send-off features his character, Dylan McKay, marrying Antonia Marchette (Rebecca Gayheart), the daughter of the mob boss who ordered his father's death during the third season. Before the marriage, Dylan attempted to use Antonia to get to her father, but falls in love with her instead. Her father, uncomfortable with the marriage, orders Dylan's death. The hired hitman inadvertently kills Antonia instead due to the fact that she is driving Dylan's car at the time of the planned hit, and is wearing a hooded raincoat, so the hitman cannot see who he is shooting. Dylan leaves town heartbroken, after his father-in-law reluctantly agrees to a truce in the wake of his daughter's death. It is revealed later in the series that Dylan's father was not really murdered and that he had faked his death in order to enter the Witness Protection Program. Perry returned permanently during the ninth season of the show, but was now credited as a "Special Guest Star" -- much like Heather Locklear was on Melrose Place.

Gabrielle Carteris

Gabrielle Carteris left the show following the fifth season. Her character, Andrea Zuckerman, changed radically during the transition from high school to college. In high school, Andrea was the brainy editor of the West Beverly Blaze, who had a crush on Brandon and secretly lived out of district. During the fourth season, the character's freshman year of college, Andrea drops journalism, becomes pregnant, and gets married to someone she barely knows (Jesse Vasquez) before the year is out. While the pregnancy plotline was written at Carteris' request, so as to incorporate her real life pregnancy, this was a major shift for the character, and also caused her to become somewhat isolated from the other characters on the show. At the end of her original five year contract, Carteris voluntarily left 90210 for her own self-titled talk show, which lasted only one season. Carteris returned to 90210 for guest appearances during the sixth, eighth, and tenth seasons.

James Eckhouse and Carol Potter

Both actors left the show following the fifth season at the end of their original five year contracts. During the high school years of the show, Jim and Cindy Walsh played a secondary role on the show, offering advice to Brenda and Brandon, along with their friends, but were rarely given plotlines of their own. They generally would spend most of their time reacting to various things that Brenda, Brandon and later Valerie did. As the show entered the college years, Jim and Cindy were moved even farther into the background as the show took on a much more soap operatic tone and the characters grew up, reducing their need for parental oversight. Following the fifth season, both characters left Beverly Hills for Hong Kong, making occasional guest appearances in the sixth, seventh and eighth seasons. Strangely enough, even though all the Walshes eventually left the show, the Walsh home continued to play a central role in the series. The show explained this by having Brandon tell Steve his parents had given the green light for Steve to keep living in the house.

Jason Priestley

Jason Priestley stopped acting on the show at the beginning of the ninth season. However, he remained an executive producer for 90210 until the end of the series. In the show, Brandon is still reeling from his aborted marriage to Kelly, and is offered a job in Washington, D.C., which he accepts. Brandon was the last Walsh family member to leave Beverly Hills, and his only other appearance on the series following his departure is by video to Donna and David at the time of their wedding.

Tiffani Thiessen

Tiffani Thiessen (credited as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) was called to fill the void left after Shannen Doherty's departure, portraying Valerie Malone, an old Walsh family friend from Buffalo, New York who moves into Brenda's old room. While Valerie is meant as a replacement for Brenda, the characters are very different, and Valerie has a rocky relationship with most of the gang during her time on the show. Valerie leaves Beverly Hills soon after Brandon, saying that she is going to return home to Buffalo. Thiessen returned to the show for the series finale.

Decline and cancellation

When Beverly Hills, 90210 began, the show was heavily issue-oriented with Brenda and Brandon facing a different teen issue nearly every week in largely self-contained episodes. As the show progressed, it became more character-driven with the characters entering into various love triangles, while dealing with general high school issues. As the show moved into the characters' college years, the writing changed and episodes were now largely plot-driven and much more soap operatic than they previously had been.

Due to the various cast changes and changes behind the scenes, ratings for the tenth season declined to an average of 10 million viewers per episode (according to the May 2000 issue of Us Weekly). The ratings were small compared to the millions who had watched previous seasons. The lower ratings, along with the high costs associated with any television show in its later seasons led Fox to cancel the series in January 2000. The final episode aired in May 2000. However, even with all the cast changes, the series finale of the show attracted a large amount of viewership. In fact, the finale placed in the top 15 for the week it aired with over 25 million viewers.

Melrose Place connection

The series Melrose Place was initially a spinoff from the show, as actor Grant Show (who played Jake on Melrose Place) appeared for a multi-episode run as Kelly's love interest, and a friend of Dylan's. Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling and Brian Austin Green also made appearances as their 90210 characters in the first few episodes of Melrose Place. In later seasons, the development of Melrose Place' into an ultra-sensationalistic soap opera influenced its predecessor, which headed off into the same direction.

However, the initial failure of Melrose Place during its first season created a ban on future 90210 spinoffs; plans to split 90210 into two shows (one focusing on the main cast and another focusing on a new group of high school students) upon the graduation of the main cast from high school were aborted, and the characters brought in during 90210's third season for this purpose (the freshman students at West Beverly who were mentored by the 90210 cast during their senior year) were dropped.

Parodies

The Rap duo, Insane Clown Posse, released an EP titled, Beverly Kills 50187, obviously regarding the show

Star later produced a series Grosse Pointe, which satirized the production of a high-school soap opera being filmed in Los Angeles. The show was clearly a 90210-style show.

The short-lived The Ben Stiller Show did a parody of this show, The Heights and Melrose Place called Melrose Heights 90210-2420 that portrayed the cast as superficial, self-absorbed, and self-pitying. A typical episode's "issue" was a character getting a headache, which affected all the other characters. Each episode would end the same upbeat song (resembling The Heights hit single "How Do You Talk To An Angel") performed by the whole cast with new lyrics for each episode.

Another aspect of the show that was the subject of parody was the fact that many of the show's cast members were in their mid-to-late 20s and not teenagers. In particular, Luke Perry and Gabrielle Carteris were singled out for most of the criticism regarding being too old to play teenage characters.

Saturday Night Live did their own parody of the show when Jason Priestley hosted in 1992. In the episode, it is announced that the zip code 90210 would be changed to 90218. Several of the kids took offense to it and reacted in different ways (Kelly and Donna go shopping, Dylan gets drunk, Brandon keeps taking everyone's keys and putting them in a lock box feeling they are not able to drive, etc.). In the end, the zip code reverts back to 90210 after protest.

The Short-lived Fox Television sketch show The Edge did a parody of 90210 that mocked Tori Spelling. During the sketch, the character of Tori constantly says, "I can do whatever I want because this is my daddy's show." Aaron Spelling took offense to this, and asked for an apology from the producers of the show (he never got one).

The Mickey Mouse Club did a parody sketch called Beverly Hillbillies 90210, combining the characters of both 90210 & The Beverly Hillbillies.

MADtv made its own parodies of the show as Beverly Hills, 90210 B.C. set in prehistoric Beverly Hills. When Luke Perry made his high profile return to the series, MADtv did a second parody entitled Beverly Hills 9021-H20 which had the characters being stalked and killed off by Luke Perry, who had rejoined the cast as a masked killer who was a parody of Michael Myers of the Halloween film series.

Czech TV Nova parody show Tele Tele made parody of the show known as "Heverly Debils". Three miniepisodes (about 10 minutes each) were filmed.

GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan released a song called Killah Hills 10304, an ironic reference to the show's title in a song about crime and a rough neighborhood.

Ratings

• Season 1 (1990 - 1991) - #115
• Season 2 (1991 - 1992) - #49
• Season 3 (1992 - 1993) - #44
• Season 4 (1993 - 1994) - #37
• Season 5 (1994 - 1995) - #58
• Season 6 (1995 - 1996) - #62
• Season 7 (1996 - 1997) - #70
• Season 8 (1997 - 1998) - #68
• Season 9 (1998 - 1999) - #82
• Season 10 (1999 - 2000)- #89

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards

• 1995 - Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series - Milton Berle (nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

• 1992 - Best TV-Series - Drama (nominated)
• 1993 - Best TV-Series - Drama (nominated)
• 1993 - Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama - Jason Priestley (nominated)
• 1995 - Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series - Drama - Jason Priestley (nominated)

ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards

• 1995 - Top TV Series (awarded)

BMI Film & TV Awards

• 1996 - BMI TV Music Award (awarded)

TP de Oro, Spain

• 1992 - Best Foreign Series (Mejor Serie Extranjera) (awarded)
• 1993 - Best Foreign Series (Mejor Serie Extranjera) (awarded)

TV Land Awards

• 2004 - Favorite Greasy Spoon (nominated)
• 2004 - Favorite Teen Dream - Male - Luke Perry (nominated)
• 2006 - Most Happening Greasy Spoon or Hangout (nominated)
• 2007 - Break Up That Was So Bad It Was Good - Luke Perry, Shannen Doherty (nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

• 1999 - TV - Choice Actress - Jennie Garth (nominated)

Young Artist Awards

• 1990 - Best New Family Television Comedy Series (nominated)
• 1990 - Best Young Actor Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series - Douglas Emerson (awarded)
• 1990 - Best Young Actor Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series - Brian Austin Green (nominated)
• 1990 - Best Young Actress Supporting or Re-Occurring Role for a TV Series - Jennie Garth (nominated)
• 1990 - Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series - Shannen Doherty (nominated)
• 1991 - Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series (awarded)
• 1991 - Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series - Shannen Doherty (nominated)
• 1991 - Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Television Series - Brian Austin Green (awarded)
• 1991 - Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series - Jennie Garth (awarded)
• 1991 - Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series - Tori Spelling (nominated)
• 1992 - Favorite Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series (awarded)
• 1992 - Best Young Actor Recurring in a Television Series - Cory Tyler (nominated)
• 1992 - Best Young Actress Recurring in a Television Series - Dana Barron (awarded)
• 1993 - Best Youth Actress Guest Starring in a Television Show - Sabrina Wiener (nominated)
• 1998 - Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actress - Danielle Keaton (nominated)

Episodes

Main article: List of Beverly Hills, 90210 episodes

Influences on popular culture

• The punk rock band Relient K refers to 90210 in their song "Hoopes, I Did It Again."
• The Canadian rock band Boys Night Out named one of their songs from their 2003 full-length debut release Make Yourself Sick "It's Dylan, You Know the Drill" after the message on Dylan's answering machine.
• Switchfoot refer to "the 90210" in their song "Poparazzi" from the album Learning to Breathe.
• As a result of the show, 90210 is the most familiar ZIP code for people who live outside the United States. It is often used to sign up for services intended only for U.S. residents.
• Hard rock band Wednesday 13 refer to 90210 in the title of their album Transylvania 90210: Songs of Death Dying and the Dead.
• In Sweden, the names Dylan and Brandon suddenly became popular in 1992 through 1994. Both names are awkward to pronounce for the average Swede and were almost completely unknown before the show started airing in the country.
• The cast's ages, generally older than their characters' ages, have been a source of ridicule. On Family Guy, when Peter must go without TV for weeks, he constructs a TV out of a box he can look out of and goes to his daughter's high school, thinking it's West Beverly. Seeing Meg Griffin there, he mentions that the producers must be desperate to keep getting guest stars for the 10th season. (This episode aired during 90210's final season). During Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story, Stewie Griffin mentions the old kid on 90210, and it cuts to a scene of the cast with an elderly, possibly senile old woman named Andrea.
• In American Dad!, Roger the Alien entertains his Arab husband with tales of "the Land of West Beverly, where all the teenagers are in their 30s."
• In an episode of Nickelodeon's Doug, upon watching an episode of Teen Heart Street, a 90210 parody, all of Doug's friends start wearing his casual attire, which is referred to as the "Dylan Farhnam look," which was a take on Brandon Walsh and Dylan McKay.
• In its initial broadcast in the Philippines in 1991, the local TV network ABS-CBN mistakenly pronounced the series title as Beverly Hills NINETY-TWO-TEN (instead of the normal "Nine-Oh-Two-One-Oh"). To this day, many Filipinos recall the series as "Ninety-two-ten", even though the error was corrected.
• The show is referenced briefly by name in a song in A Goofy Movie, created by Disney.
• The show name is also mentioned in the Salt-N-Pepa Song "It's None of Your Business."
• Sideburns were widely grown after about 1991 as a result of this television show.
• In an episode of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air from 1993, where Will and Carlton attempt to join a college fraternity, there is a scene where the pledge leader asks Carlton where he is from and he mentions Bel-Air, right across the street from the producer of 90210. The pledge leader mentions that he doesn't watch it, and then Carlton mentions that he doesn't know what he's missing, as that Dylan is on the verge of getting back with Brenda. Will then tells him to knock it off, as they're in enough trouble as it is, then quickly asks if its true or not.
• In the Pearl Jam music video for Jeremy, 90210 appears as text as a part of the collage effect of the video.
• In 1994, DC Comics had each annual special published as an Elseworlds story. In the L.E.G.I.O.N. Annual #5, written by Tom Peyer, one of the stories in the annual was a parody of 90210 called L.E.G.I.O.N., 90210, which had the cast of L.E.G.I.O.N. filling the roles of 90210.
• In My Name Is Earl, the episode airing on October 25, 2007, references 90210: One character describes the afterlife as a place where everyone hangs out and drinks beer, and the other character asks "Like the Peach Pit After Dark?" to an affirmative response. The line about the PPAD was stated by Alyssa Milano, who had major roles in two of Aaron Spelling's shows: Melrose Place and Charmed

Mistakes

• In Season 6, Episode 24, Joe Bradley says that he doesn't have a scar from the insertion of his pacemaker, just an insertion point from a catheter. However, currently, there is no way to insert a pacemaker without surgery.

Trivia

• There was not a single character that appeared in all 296 episodes of the show, however, Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth are the cast members with the most appearances with 292 episodes followed by Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green both with 291. Kelly Taylor is the character who has appeared in most episodes, 295 in total, counting her Melrose Place appearances.
• Talks about 90210: The New Class began towards the end of the show in 2000, but the project was eventually cancelled.
• Late in the 10th season, rumors surfaced on the internet that the show would not only return for an 11th season but would have original summer episodes like the 2nd and 3rd years. These rumors were quickly shot down and the show's end-of-season cancellation announced.
• Beverly Hills High School is actually located in ZIP code 90212. There are three zip codes in Beverly Hills and the most affluent homes lie within the mostly residential 90210, where the High School does not. (Most of the 90210 zone is in fact in Los Angeles City despite the name.) However, the characters attended the completely fictitious West Beverly High School, which could have been located in any ZIP code. The filming location for West Beverly High School was in the middle class community of Torrance, California at Torrance High School located in the 90501 zip code. Torrance High can also be seen in other shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• The characters later began attending the then-fictitious California University in the show's fourth season, and the scenes around campus were actually filmed at Occidental College.
• Tentative titles for the show included Class of Beverly Hills (which would end up being the name of the first episode) and Potomac 20854, with Star's actual high school, Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, Montgomery County, Maryland—a school with similar demographics to Beverly Hills High—as an inspiration.
• Tori Spelling was not originally given a significant role in the show. In the pilot episode, she is not listed as part of the main cast, and during much of the first season she is simply another member of the supporting cast.
• Luke Perry was not an original cast member of the show and he was first featured in the show's second episode. His character Dylan McKay was originally intended to only appear in one story arc, for one or two episodes. Fox was initially reluctant to have him included as a regular, but Aaron Spelling felt differently and paid Perry's salary himself during the first two years until the network was won over.
• Lyman Ward was originally cast as Jim Walsh and played him in the original pilot but his scenes were reshot with James Eckhouse.
• The main characters were juniors in high school during the first and second season. The Fox Network specifically asked that the characters be kept in high school as long as possible.
• In the first season, the Walshes hire a Hispanic maid named Ana. She is never seen in any other seasons nor is it mentioned what happens to her.
• Tori Spelling and Kathleen Robertson reunited in the film Scary Movie 2 in 2001 in film.
• Although Brandon and Brenda moved to Beverly Hills from Wayzata, Minnesota, Brenda pronounced it incorrectly when explaining where she was from. She pronounced it as WAY-z-ah-ta as opposed to WHY-zeh-ta.
• Shannen Doherty's role in 90210 was referenced during both her appearances in movies by Kevin Smith. In both Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, she is greeted by a character who exclaims "Brenda?!" to which she angrily answers "Dick!".
• In an episode of What I Like About You, Jennie Garth and Jason Priestley re-unite. When they first see each other, Jason's character asks Jennie's character, "Didn't we go to high school together?"
• Ian Ziering and Jennie Garth were both featured on Dancing with the Stars. Ian Ziering was on the fourth season on that show while Garth, Brian Austin Green, Gabrielle Carteris and Jason Priestley all apppeared in the audience at different points to support him during his successful turn on the show. Jennie Garth was a competitor of that show's fifth season later. Tori Spelling was mentioned as a prospective competitor but did not join Garth on the 5th season. Both Ziering and Garth were eliminated in fourth place.
• Ian Ziering has had a recurring guest role on the Lifetime series "Side Order of Life", where Jason Priestley is a regular character.
• While Kelly and Valerie were constant enemies in the show, Jennie Garth and Tiffani Thiessen are close friends.
• Brandon Walsh was also the name of Josh Brolin's character in The Goonies.
• After the pilot episode, the Walsh house changes to a different building (which explains the odd scenery behind James Eckhouse in the re-shot pilot scenes... it matches the Walsh house used in the remaining 10 years of the series, not the house used only in the pilot.) The building for "The Peach Pit" was also changed after a few episodes in season 1.
• The role of Valerie Malone was given to Tiffani Thiessen after Alicia Silverstone had already turned it down.
• Aaron Spelling created the character of Gina Kincaid especially for Vanessa Marcil.
• The character Jim Walsh was ranked #41 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (20 June 2004 issue).
• Terence Ford and Arthur Brooks portrayed Dylan's father, Jack McKay, in two episodes before Josh Taylor assumed the role.
• In the first season, when Donna tries out for school DJ, she is referred to as Donna Morgan. Throughout the entire show, her name is Donna Martin. In addition to this, in the first season Donna's mother was named Nancy Martin and played by actress Jordana Capra. When she was reintroduced in season 2 she was named Felice Martin and was played by actress Katherine Cannon.
• Brandon is four minutes older than Brenda.
• Kristin Dattilo was up for the role of Brenda Walsh, but turned it down. She would later guest star as Melissa Coolidge in an episode (One Man and a Baby) of the first season.
• Bill Simmons, in one of his articles in Page 2 on ESPN.com in 2001, characterized the arrival of Tiffani Thiessen to the show, as the greatest upgrade in TV history.
• Jennie Garth and Tiffani Thiessen both played characters named Kelly and Valerie.

DVD Releases

Single release

DVD Name	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Additional features
The Pilot Episode	1	June 152004			None

Season releases

DVD Name	Ep #	Region 1	Region 2	Region 4	Additional features
The Complete First Season	21	November 72006	November 132006	November 12006	"Beginnings With Darren Star" "Meet the Class of West Beverly High" "90210 Behind the Scenes" "Looking Back: Season One - The Recap" Darren Star audio commentaries. *No special features on region 4 DVDs.
The Complete Second Season	28	May 12007	May 282007	May 32007	"Our Favourite Valentine" "Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills, 90210 Season 2" "Meet the Walshes"
The Complete Third Season	30	December 112007	March 242008	December 62007	"7 Minutes in Heaven" "The World According to Nat" "Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills, 90210 Season 3" Episode guides (menu-based).
The Complete Fourth Season	31	April 292008			TBA

• Some of the original music has been changed for the DVD releases, as well as (starting with Season 2) some episodes edited from their original broadcast versions.

Deleted Songs include: "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" "Losing My Religion" "In The Mood" "Doo Wa Diddy Dum"

International

• In Australia, the show was shown on Network Ten and reruns on cable channel, FOX 8 and their now ceased Fox Kids.
• In Austria, the show was shown on ORF1.
• In Flanders (Belgium), the show was broadcasted in 1991 on the nation's first commercial channel VTM
• In Brazil, the show was shown on Globo under the name "Barrados No Baile" and repeated on Sony Entertainment Television .
• In Bulgaria, the show was shown on Nova TV. Now, the seventh season is being shown on Diema TV since September 2007.
• In Canada, the show aired on GlobalTV, with a simsub airing on FOX affiliats. It was also shown on TVA (in French).
• In the Czech Republic, the show was shown on TV Nova and TV Prima.
• In Croatia, the show was shown on HRT.
• In Denmark, the show is in repeats on TV 2 (Denmark) every weekday.
• In Finland, the show was shown on MTV3.
• In France, the show was shown on TF1.
• In Germany, the show was shown on RTL every Saturday.
• In Greece, the show was shown on Mega Channel.
• In Hungary, the show was shown on TV2 every weekday.
• In Iceland, the show was shown on Stöð 2. It is currently shown on Skjár Einn
• In India, the show was shown on STAR TV (now renamed Star World)
• In Indonesia, the show was shown on RCTI and became one of the most popular shows during the 90s, beside MacGyver.
• In Ireland, the show was shown on RTÉ.
• In Israel, the show was shown on Channel 3 and Kids Channel.
• In Italy, the show was shown on Italia 1.
• In Japan, the show was shown on NHK.
• In Mauritius, the show was shown on MBC1 on Sunday Nights at 8:00pm during the mid-late 90s in French. Named "Show of the Year", four straight years 95-99.
• In New Zealand, the show was shown on TV2 and is currently being re-run weekday afternoons on Prime.
• In the Netherlands, the show was shown on Veronica, currently called RTL 7.
• In Norway, TV3 Viasat had and still owns the right to broadcast the show. It's been in reruns twice 2005-2006.
• In the Philippines, it was shown on ABS-CBN Channel 2's Primetime Block in 1991.
• In Poland, the show was shown for the first time on TVP2 (Seasons 1-4 only). Afterwards all seasons were shown on TVN. Now, the first season is being shown on TV4 (Poland).
• In Portugal, the show was shown on RTP1 and the final season on RTP2.
• In the Republic of Macedonia, the show was shown on Makedonska Televizija (MTV).
• In Romania, the show was shown on TVR 1.
• In Russia, the show was shown on STS.
• In Serbia, the first season of the show was shown on RTS in the 1991-92 TV season. The subsequent seasons were shown on RTV Pink, but with several years of delay due to UN economic sanctions that banned all imports.
• In Slovakia, first the show was shown on STV but later episodes were aired on TV Markiza.
• In Slovenia, the show was shown for the first time on Kanal A.
• In South Africa, the show was first shown on the SABC channel called "1" on Monday nights. The rights were purchases my M-Net in the mid 90's & was first shown on Saturday nights & later on Wednesday nights. Nowadays the show is repeated on DSTV channel "M-Net Series".
• In Spain, the show was shown in Spanish on Tele5 and was called "Sensación de Vivir" and on TV3 in Catalonia. Nowadays the emission is repeated on channel 33 in Catalonia.
• In Sri Lanka, it was shown on Independent Television Network (Sri Lanka).
• In Sweden, it was TV4 (Sweden)'s first big hit in 1991, it has later been shown on TV3 (Sweden).
• In Taiwan, the show was shown on Chinese Television System.
• In Turkey, the show was shown for the first time on TRT 1 (1991-1992), Star TV (1992-1995), 5th and 6th Season episodes of Show TV and Kanal D.
• In the United Kingdom, ITV showed the first two seasons in an early Saturday evening slot before the satellite channel Sky One acquired the rights for the rest of its run from Seasons 3-9 with repeats of Seasons 1 & 2. Season 10 was never shown. During the time they were screening the show, ITV never broadcast the series in strict order and also missed out a number of episodes. The show was originally scheduled for BBC1.
• In Venezuela it was first aired on VTV in 1992 and then on RCTV since 1993 under the name "Sueños de Juventud". Currently airs on Televen Monday to Friday at 11:00am.

Repeats/Syndication

• In Brazil, the show was shown on Globo TV in the 1990s. Now, it is shown on Sony Entertainment Television.
• In Canada, in syndication on TVtropolis, everyday at 4pm E/P (different season on the weekends and each weekday episode repeated the following day at 3am E/P, Tuesday - Friday).
• In Denmark it is shown at 16:15 every weekday on TV 2. The show is currently on its 9th rerun.
• In France, it now replays on TF1, Monday-Friday at 10:15am.
• In Germany, it airs at 6:10pm on Das Vierte.
• In Iceland, it airs at 4:45pm, every weekday on Skjár 1.
• In Italy it airs Monday-Friday at 3:00pm on Italia 1 (July 2007).
• In Latin America, it is also being shown on Sony Entertainment Television.
• In Mexico, it was transmitted in Canal 5 of the Televisa Network, once a week at 9:00 pm.
• In Norway on TV3
• In Poland, it airs on TV 4, Monday-Thursday at 3:50pm.
• In Slovenia, it airs on TV3 Slovenia weekdays at 5:00pm.
• In Sweden it airs on TV3 (Sweden).
• In Ukraine was shown on 1+1 national TV channel in 1998-1999 TV season.
• In the United Kingdom occasional repeats are shown on Sky One (Seasons 1-9). Upon its launch in 1997, Five acquired the repeat rights to the show and have screened Seasons 1-4 (which would also be the first time that seasons 3 & 4 had been broadcast on a terrestrial channel in the UK).
• In the United States, in syndication on SoapNet, Monday-Friday from 5:00pm-7:00pm ET and Saturday from 8:00am-10:00am ET.
• In Venezuela it airs on Televen Monday to Friday at 11:00am. It airs on Sony Channel, at 5:00am and 7:00am (two different episodes).

External links

• Template:Tv.com show
• Beverly Hills, 90210 at IMDb
• The Beverly Hills 90210 Directory
• SOAPnet 90210 Page.
• Official DVD Release Home page.