“90210″ Stars Re-unite for TV Movie

By Mark Ellis

Ladies and gentlemen, the reunion we have all been waiting for is about to happen! That’s right…sit down, brace yourself, grab a tissue if you’re the emotional type…Jason Priestly and Luke Perry are reuniting for a tv movie! That’s right, the engines that powered the “Beverly Hills 90210” series into the hearts of America are teaming up for a film set to air on the Hallmark Channel.

Fitting that my buddy Jackson broke this news to me; as we’ve been friends since before “90210″ hit the air in the early ‘90’s. We watched how the teens at West Beverly navigated the tough road to adulthood, and learned that our own adventure would be paved with triumphs and tragedies. There would be girlfriends, parties, and fast cars; there might also be steroids, car bombs and golfing with Barry Bonds.

I’ve gotten some flak on our various message boards for being an admitted fan of the “Twilight” saga…to me, it fills the void left vacant by shows like “90210”. I love watching teen soap operas that allow you to get as invested as you feel like at the time. More often than not, I will use these entertainment outlets just to get out of my head and enjoy something mindless and occasionally stupid. You’re never in danger of actually caring about any of these people; it’s not the end of the world if Donna Martin doesn’t graduate or Brian Austin Green gets denied trying to meet Color Me Badd. It’s the same thing with “Twilight”; once you accept how inane the whole thing is, you can have fun with Bella having to choose an undead waif or Teen Wolf as her eternal partner.
“Wow, we’re having a great honeymoon, Megan Fox…hey wait…that’s my wallet!!”

“90210” is great for the same reason anyone in my generation can’t change the channel when “Saved by the Bell” comes on…it’s just mindless fun. We don’t actually care about the kids at the Peach Pit; and I doubt any of us laugh uncontrollably when Screech’s voice cracks. But there is a role for these SoCal kids: they take all the pressure of your job, your significant other, being a professional Schmoe, away for a little while. We get an all-access pass to this other world where nothing is life or death, even when a character gets killed off (Scott, Dylan’s dad) or leaves mysteriously for a while (Jessie Spano…and didn’t the Walsh parents go to China for like 2 years? I stopped watching by then).

I probably won’t even watch this Hallmark Channel western starring Luke Perry as a cowboy and Jason Priestly directing. Just writing that sentence I’m confused as to how this movie got green-lit; they really must have heard that they could reunite Brandon and Dylan and said: “Great, whatever they want to do is fine.” A week later there’s a credit card receipt for horseback riding lessons and cowboy boots, and no one has any clue what the hell is going on.

I’m jazzed for this reunion solely for the opportunity to reminisce about “Beverly Hills 90210”; I doubt there’s anyone just waiting for the Western genre to finally get the Hallmark treatment. Since Priestly won’t even be acting in the film (he’s the director…and we all saw how he couldn’t get his lines right in that episode where he booked a soap opera in Season 4), this is probably as much a stunt to sell greeting cards as much as any actual artistic undertaking. In fact, the only way I would watch this movie is if the only other thing on tv is the relaunched “90210” franchise (I made it though about 3 minutes of the pilot before I needed counseling from Joe E. Tata).
Damn right Nat got a full size pic in this blog…or any other blog he wants.

Luckily, that will never be the case, because at all times there are classic episodes of our favorite teen soap airing on multiple cable outlets. Long after “Gossip Girl”, “The Vampire Diaries”, and whatever else the kids are into gets canned, the original “Beverly Hills 90210” will still be airing somewhere (and it will probably get better ratings than this Hallmark Channel flick). Keep working, alum of West Beverly High…it allows us to remember the good times.

ME

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