Well, here we are, several weeks into the new 90210, and I don't think I'm alone in feeling that it could be better. Much better. Don't get me wrong—I want to root for this reboot! It's been a lot of fun seeing Brenda and Kelly together again on my screen, and there are moments every week that make me feel like things are improving.
But it's not happening fast enough — so I thought it through and came up with five ways to fix this puppy. There's so much potential and it's not too late, if the powers that be would just take these simple recommendations:
No. 5: Increase the wardrobe budget. I have a hard time thinking of another instance when the clothing on a TV show was this distracting. This is 90210! Annie and Dixon (and the rest of us) are supposed to be awed by the extravagant threads these rich kids sport each day! As it stands, they look like most people I know who have gone a little nuts at Forever 21. A few of the outfits have been worth noting, but in general, the clothes should be way more envy-inducing. Wardrobe is key to setting the right tone and context for a teen drama, especially one with a fish-out-of-Kansas theme central to its premise.
No. 4: Speaking of which, focus in on that fish-out-of-water stuff. So far, the show lacks a certain urgency that the first 90210 had (and Gossip Girl has in spades). We need to see how high the stakes are for Annie and Dixon to fit in with this uber-wealthy, fast-moving crowd. But Annie doesn't seem to want for anything the others have, and she's had an easy time fitting in and making friends (she and Silver resolved their "issues" in a single episode!). And Dixon's already got the girl, for Pete's sake.
To see my top three, just read more.
No. 3: We need a "queen bee." Naomi is at her best when she's insecurely wreaking havoc on other people's lives. I loved the energy the show got when the writers finally relieved the poor girl of her lame family drama and put her at the table with Silver and Annie to discuss virginity (or the lack thereof). There needs to be much, much more Naomi ruling the school and defending her territory from here on out.
No. 2: And while we're at it, give us a bad boy. Where's the dangerous yet insanely appealing guy who could drag Annie to the dark side? Ethan is a nonentity. This show desperately needs its Dylan, and even a Steve would help. If we're really lucky, maybe the writers could come up with something as deliciously tortured as Chuck Bass.
No. 1: Embrace (or ditch) the school. If West Beverly High is going to be such a big part of things, then give us some actual school-based plot lines — more focus on Navid's news program, say, or actually explaining what Ryan's doing there most of the time. If it's going to be just a backdrop, a la GG, then they should make it less ugly — those locker colors are not good.
Photo courtesy of The CW
on Yahoo! |
I'm with you on almost all of those, although I'd pick "ditch the school" over focus more on it. Mostly because the focus on the school bugged me when it was on back in the day. I live in fear of another Andrea Zuckerman.