The show critique portion of this review was written by my colleague Michele Arbir.
Hello from 90210… Revisiting this brought back memories.
In the 1990s there was one show that captivated me while being a mom in my children’s younger years. I even gave birth to two of them in the mid-seasons, that was Beverly Hills 90210. The show helped define the 90s in my opinion. Who wouldn’t love a story of a couple of kids who relocate from Minnesota to the hottest zip code in America? 90201 lasted pretty much all of the decade for a total of 10 seasons. The series was created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television and ran on the Fox Network.
The initial premise of the show was based on the acclimatization and culture shock that twins Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) experienced when they and their parents, Jim (James Eckhouse) and Cindy (Carol Potter), moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Beverly Hills, California. From there we see characters’ friendships and romantic relationships grow. The show even went on to address topical issues such as sex, date rape, homophobia, animal rights, alcoholism, drug abuse, domestic violence, eating disorders, antisemitism, racism, teenage suicide, teenage pregnancy, and AIDS.
After poor ratings during the very first season, the series finally gained popularity during the summer of 1991, when Fox aired a special “summer season” of the show while most other network series were in reruns. The show’s first season focused on the entire family dealing with life in the land of the rich and famous. It quickly became apparent that viewers didn’t care what mom and dad did in the land of the luxurious. We just wanted to see what Brenda and Brandon were up to, the strife with their new friendships and drama that comes with it. Viewership increased dramatically once Fox realized what fans wanted to see. That fall it was Fox’s top show. From there the show became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon throwing cast members Luke Perry and Jason Priestley into instant teen idols. Actresses Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty also became household names in America. Beverly Hills 90210 paved the way for the popularizing of the teen soap genre. So many shows have come since the 90210 show from Vampire Diaries, Glee, One Tree Hill – the list goes on.
Every show has its cast changes including 90210 but Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, and Ian Ziering were the only actors to stick it out the whole series. As much as I loved Luke Perry, and he will always be forever in my heart, after he left I really grew to love Ian and Brian’s characters and them as actors. In addition to sticking it out with the show, the four also appeared on the first episode of the spin-off Melrose Place.
In 2000 the show came to an end. It did remain popular in syndication with the next generation getting hooked and pulled in on the upper-class teen soap opera. Let’s face it, we all loved those sideburns on Dylan and even Brandon. Over the years the show has had such a following that Fox brought the show back in 2019. Here’s the catch, it was a BH90210 six-episode series about getting the cast back together to make a new episode. (chirp, chirp) The actors played fictionalized versions of themselves as they worked on the project. Sorry, but I never tuned in for that. If you are interested all six episodes are included in the boxset so you can see how they’ve grown up. Without Luke, it’s not the same for me so I will say I passed on that part.
Beverly Hills 90210: The Ultimate Collection brought back a lot of memories. Honestly, you could lose yourself in binge-watching all the episodes. I could watch Luke Perry all day and I kind of grew a crush on Ian Ziering. Pop the DVD in and sit back like your hangin out with the gang at the Peach Pit in the 90’s.
Video Quality
Beverly Hills 90210: The Ultimate Collection comes to DVD with a decent 480p transfer that is not beautiful but suits the series as well as can be expected with the format limitations. You can tell that these original episodes have not been significantly cleaned up or remastered, as there is quite a bit of softness and age related wear throughout. Skin tones look pretty good, but the presentation offers up little in the way of fine detail. As might be expected, the presentation gets stronger as the series goes along and has time working less against them. Colors are a bit flat and black levels are subject to some significant crush and compression artifacting. Thankfully, CBS Home Entertainment does not overstuff each disc with too many episodes so they at least have a little room to breathe. These episodes are not always beautiful, but fans of the series will probably appreciate getting to have everything in one collection to watch as they please. If this series was ever remastered and released on Blu-Ray, it would look pretty stunning.
Audio Quality
These DVDs come with a Dolby Digital 2.0 track for the original ten seasons and a Dolby Digital 5.1 track for BH90210 that mostly does everything it needs to do well. Dialogue is pretty clear throughout, with only occasional moments where things sound a bit fuzzy due to the quality of the source material. This is not a persistent issue, but it should be noted that these issues exist. The track does feature some nice instances of environmental sound effects that are pleasant to hear, especially the numerous trips to the beach. Delineation is not as strong as it might be with uncompressed audio, but nothing sounds too harsh or unpleasant. The newest iteration of the series sounds noticeably better than the original series with a comfortably enveloping surround sound track. This presentation is about as good as the source material will allow without a remaster and jump to Blu-Ray.
Special Features
Season One
- Audio Commentary
- Pilot, Part 1 & 2: Darren Star
- Beginnings with Darren Star: A nearly seven-minute discussion with the creator in which he talks about developing the idea for the show, casting, the comic timing of Tori Spelling, writing the scripts, the show’s evolution and more.
- Meet The Class of West Beverly High: A section devoted to the characters on the show with some of their highlights from the seasons, “stats” and the occasional behind-the-scenes piece with the actors. Characters include Brandon, Brenda, Dylan, Kelly, Steve, David, Donna and Andrea.
- 90210 Behind The Scenes: A five-minute promotional piece which takes you through the story and introduces you to the characters with some interviews from the performers.
- Looking Back – Season One – The Recap: This section functions as an episode guide where you can click on the episode name from this season and get a quick text episode description.
Season Two
- Meet The Walshes: A seven-minute featurette in which Carol Potter and James Eckhouse discuss their role on the show and how it continues to impact their lives. The two share some amusing anecdotes from their tenure on set.
- Our Favorite Valentine: A five-minute piece which explores the character of Emily Valentine with actress Christine Elise in which she discusses her role on the show, the recognition she continues to receive, cheesy dialogue, memorable moments on the show and much more.
- Everything You Need To Know About Season 2: An eighteen-minute piece hosted by John Aboud and Michael Colton in which the pair joke around and discuss the characters, the fashion, the Brenda and Dylan dynamic, point out some easter eggs, provide some fun facts and more.
Season Three
- Audio Commentary
-
- Commencement: Executive Producer/Writer Charles Rosin and Writer Karen Rosin
- 7 Minutes In Heaven: A seven-minute piece which provides the highlights from the third season.
- The World According To Nat: A five-minute piece which explores the character of Nat with actor Joe E. Tata in which he discusses his role on the show, his memories of the other performers, his favorite moments on the show and more.
- Everything You Need To Know About Season 3: A seventeen-minute piece hosted by John Aboud and Michael Colton in which the pair joke around and discuss the characters, the poor facsimile of Paris, logic gaps in the season and more – all in a loving manner.
Season Four
- Beverly Hills Moms: A six-minute piece in which the actor “moms” on the show give some of their thoughts on their time on the show, their relationship with the television kids, guest stars, and much more.
- The Loves of Season 4: A seven-minute piece in which some of the “love interest” performers discuss their experiences on the show, their memories of their co-stars, their favorite memories and more.
- A Look Back with Charles Rosin: A thirteen-minute spoiler-filled discussion with Executive Producer Charles Rosin in which he discusses the panic over the transition out of high school, his memories of the show and more.
- Genre Benders
-
- Bad Apples: A minute-long video that makes the show look like a hardened crime drama.
-
- Get The Girl: A two-minute video that likewise upends the aesthetic to something a bit more gritty.
- 7 Minutes In Heaven: A seven-minute piece which provides the highlights from the fourth season.
- Everything You Need To Know About Season 3: A nineteen-minute piece hosted by Chris Romano and Kathryn Fiore in which the pair joke around and discuss the characters and all of the wild developments of the fourth outing.
Season Five
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Six
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Seven
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Eight
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Nine
There are no special features included for this season.
Season Ten
- The Final Goodbye: A 44-minute special that gives the cast and crew a proper moment to say goodbye to the series by allowing them to share their early memories of the show, funny anecdotes about one another, heartfelt thoughts about their time on the show, behind-the scenes moments and much more that fans will absolutely love.
BH90210
- Gag Reel: Four minutes of humorous moments including flubbed and forgotten lines, goofing around, giggle fits and more.
Bonus Disc
- Beverly Hills 90210 – Behind The Scenes (1993): A 23-minute special which features interviews with the young cast members as they discuss their careers, their experiences on the show, their relationship with the fans and much more. These are mostly softball questions, but it is fun to check out as a time capsule of the period including references to the SEGA Genesis.
- Beverly Hills 90210 – The Reunion (2003): A 40-minute reunion special in which the cast members reflect back on the show, their relationship with one another, memorable moments, their relationship with fame, favorite episodes and more.
- Beverly Hills 90210 – A Look Back with Darren Star: A nearly 22-minute piece in which the show’s creator discusses how the journey started, why he felt he needed to make the show, the show’s initial poor ratings, the cast and more.
- Promos: A minute-long collection of promo spots framed as a pop quiz for the audience.
- Entertainment Tonight Segments: A three-minute look at “news” segments including a behind-the-look at the finale.
Final Thoughts
Beverly Hills 90210 is a landmark show worthy of your respect even if you do not personally jive with what it is delivering. This is the granddaddy of the teen soap opera genre, and in many respects it is still one of the most entertaining to have ever aired on television. The cast of characters that were assembled offered viewers a chance to grow attached and evolve along with them over the ten-year journey – even if diversity was severely lacking. CBS Home Entertainment has released a massive boxset that encompasses every piece of Beverly Hills 90210 content that you could possibly want with DVD-quality video and audio. Given the chance of a Blu-Ray set is extremely slim, this seems like the best bet for fans who want to have the show on their shelf.
Beverly Hills 90210: The Ultimate Collection is currently available to purchase on DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: CBS Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.