Beverly Hills, 90210 – The Complete Second Season

Beverly Hills 90210, although I never watched this growing up, I knew a lot of people who did. Often compared as The OC of the 90’s, the show does in fact share a lot of similarities with The OC; two popular primetime soap operas based around the posh lives of rich teens. The main difference between the two shows is the fact this 90210 lasted 9 seasons and 10 years on air, which made for a vast array of storylines and ever developing characters. Some people might not remember the show all …hat much, but I’m pretty sure everyone remembers the teen idols that it produced which include Luke Perry and Jason Priestley. Of course the storylines are at times a little over the top, but also address serious problems that teenagers and young adults might deal with, but in an entertaining manner.

Incase you don’t know, Beverly Hills 90210 takes place in Beverly Hills, California a city known for its exclusivity ranging from shopping to housing. These elite teenagers enjoy a posh lifestyle that is a constant drama fest. From love triangles too serious issues like child abuse, divorce, and teenage pregnancy – this show has it all. In true soap opera fashion these mid to late twenty actors play seventeen year olds, but I can get past that I just thought I’d throw that out there.

Season 2 starts off with the dismissal from the last day of grade 11, and the first quarter of the season shadows the groups summer on the beach. Of course even in Beverly Hills life isn’t all fun and games (although most of it is), there are a lot of serious problems for these good-looking teenagers. Break-ups and make-ups, harsh times, and party times, 90210 is a pretty fun soap opera.

I don’t really think I need to explain what the show is about, that’s pretty self explanatory. As well I’m sure if you’re reading this review of the second season you know all about the characters, so I won’t waste you’re time. Basically the second season continues where the first leaves off and it ends off right where the third season picks up. The characters mostly stay the same, but their situations change. The show is filled with a lot of serious moments, more than I would have anticipated but is still for the most part considered humorous.

If you already own the first season, then by all means buy this second season because it’s the same show that you know and love. If you haven’t seen this show yet and want to watch what all the fuss was about for its 10-year duration then you should start off with the first season so you can learn the characters a bit better. Of course as an alternative to that there is a very impressive and also comical featurette on this disc that will fill you in on not only the season, but also the whole scheme of things 90210.

Video

Presented in its original full screen format, Beverly Hills 90210 doesn’t look too much better than I could have imagined it did sixteen years ago. Although it appears to be a slight improvement over the first season, it is still anything from perfect. Most scenes are extremely soft and grainy, well on the other side of the coin the colors are bright and vivid. Overall this wasn’t the worst transfer but it was far from the best, a good enough transfer for a show as old as it is.

Audio

Paramount provides a 2.0 Dolby Digital presentation for this 28 episode, 8-disc set. The sound is never anything impressive but what can you expect from a TV show, especially one this old. Since the show is all dialogue it wouldn’t have hurt to have a track that wasn’t so front heavy, but what can you do. In the end there were only minimal scenes that had problems with balancing, but overall fell short of anything impressive.

Special Features

• Meet The Walshes – A look into the Walsh family, mainly the parents. Including current day interviews with the actors talking about their roles and how they affected their lives, 7 minutes in duration.
• Our Favorite Valentine – A 5 Minute look at the character of Emily Valentine
• Everything You Need To Know About Beverly Hills 90210 Season 2 – Almost a self-paraody, these guys are actually funnier than any of the episodes. Included in their entertaining look at everything Beverly Hill’s is some of the best clips of the complete season, a good summary. This is one of the better features I have ever seen for a TV-on-DVD set, definitely worth checking out.

Final Thoughts

You love it or you hate it, some people live by this show and others absolutely loath it. Lets face it though this show is corny, but it does have its moments and manages too be pretty entertaining, truly The OC of that generation. The audio and video aren’t really anything to write home about but it’s a sixteen-year-old TV show, so I’m pleased. The extra features are a pretty good watch, and overall a good buy for fans of the show.

Special Features List

• Meet The Walshes
• Our Favorite Valentine
• Everything You Need To Know About Beverly Hills 90210 Season 2