BEVERLY HILLS, 90210: CLASS OF BEVERLY HILLS {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this series of programs about a group of teenagers who attend school in the glamorous, affluent community of Beverly Hills. In this episode, twins Brenda and Brandon Walsh prepare for their first day of West Beverly High after moving to California from Minneapolis. Brenda worries about making a good first impression, and her worries are increased when they get to school and see the glamorous student body. In the parking lot, Steve Sanders banters with his former girlfriend, the popular Kelly Taylor. When the Walshes check in with the principal, he notes their impressive transcripts and warns them that West Beverly High is a competitive school. Brenda is soon befriended by Kelly and her sidekicks, although Brandon has trouble in Spanish, where only the brainy Andrea seems to understand the lesson. When he appeals to Andrea for a spot on the school newspaper, she seems unimpressed with him. At lunch, Brenda learns about the “intense” social pressures of the school, and they all see a plane overhead bearing a message about a back-to-school party at Marianne Moore’s home—no freshman allowed. This disappoints nerdy ninth-graders Scott and David, who vow to attend anyway. The night of the party, Brenda is embarrassed when her mother comes out to the car to meet her new friends and gives her an early curfew, and Brandon heads over with Steve. At Marianne’s enormous house, a band plays and teens frolic in the pool. The girls talk about Kelly’s recent nose job, and when she spots Steve, she mentions that she dumped him, although he tells Brandon otherwise. David is instantly smitten when he sees Kelly and he pursues her. Brandon meets Marianne and discovers she is unhappy with her “popular” status, and they hit it off, as she is impressed with his unpretentious ways. David talks to Steve and learns that his mother is a famous actress. Later, when Steve is too drunk to drive, he ends up asking David to take him home in his Corvette, which makes David nervous, as he does not have a license. He manages to drop him at home safely, but forgets the emergency break and Steve’s car rolls away and is damaged. The next day, Brenda teases Brandon about his romance with Marianne, and everyone makes fun of Steve’s car as he vows to find the freshman responsible, causing David to panic. Kelly shows Brenda her new fake ID and they make plans to go to a club. Brandon finds Marianne at lunch and they continue their flirtation, and Andrea nags him about his article for the paper, saying she herself is too focused on school for parties, seemingly jealous of his interest in Marianne. That night, Brenda dodges questions from her mother and heads out with her friends. Her fake ID passes inspection, although Kelly’s does not, and Brenda is left alone inside the club, where she meets an older man, a lawyer named Jason, and she lies and claims to be a college student. Elsewhere, Brandon and Marianne ride her father’s motorcycle and then share a hot tub, and he is surprised at her forwardness, saying he thought she would play “hard to get.” She admits she is frustrated by pressure from her friends and her parents, and they soon resume kissing. Brenda goes home with Jason, but soon stops his seduction, and he drives her to the college campus, where he believes she lives. She takes a cab home, and, meeting Brandon at the door, swears not to tell their parents. In the morning, she calls Kelly and admits she lied about her age. At school, Steve continues his search for his mystery driver, and Kelly copies off of Brenda’s paper when they have a pop quiz in Chemistry. As he struggles through another Spanish class, Brandon receives a flower delivery, which impresses Steve. Andrea tries to tell Brandon that Marianne is not his type, but he explains the good he sees in her. Brenda happily tells her friends about Jason and calls him at work. Other guys soon ask Brandon about his night with Marianne, assuming something happened between them, and the rumors spread. She soon confronts him angrily, believing he is spreading lies to gain popularity, and refuses to believe his claims of innocence, and Andrea lectures him as well. Elsewhere, the principal nervously asks out the strict Spanish teacher, and she agrees. Steve finally tracks down Scott and David, but David manages to sweet-talk his way out of it, saying Steve can make money on the incident if he handles the insurance company properly. Brenda asks Brandon about the rumors of himself and Marianne, and he tells her nothing happened and he never said they did. She then says she has a date but refuses to reveal details, and Brandon advises her to be careful. When she goes out with Jason and his friends, however, her lie about college proves hard to sustain, and he asks her to “sleep over” next time. Brandon makes an appearance on the school’s radio show and apologizes to Marianne for the misunderstanding, and she seems pleased. In Chemistry, Brenda debates taking things further with Jason and Kelly advises her to tell him the truth, and the teacher soon comes over and scolds them for cheating. Brenda is sent to the principal’s office, where he points out that her grades have gone down lately. Brandon sees Andrea taking a public bus and follows her home, where she reveals that she lives in a poor neighborhood and makes the trip to West Beverly because it is a good school, knowing she could be kicked out if anyone finds out, and they bond. On their date, Brenda admits to Jason that she is sixteen, and he is highly upset at her lie. He drives her home, where her mother comforts her as she apologizes. She and Brandon commiserate over their recent romantic entanglements, and she admits she misses Minneapolis. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: FOX
- DATE: October 4, 1990 8:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:34:12
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:66408
- GENRE: Drama, night-time serial
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, night-time serial
- SERIES RUN: Fox - TV series, 1990-2000
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sigurjon Sighvatsson … Producer
- Jay Roewe … Producer
- Stuart Besser … Associate Producer
- Darren Star … Co-Producer, Writer
- Tim Hunter … Director
- John E. Davis … Music by
- Jason Priestley … Cast, Brandon Walsh
- Shannen Doherty … Cast, Brenda Walsh
- Jennie Garth … Cast, Kelly Taylor
- Ian Ziering … Cast, Steve Sanders
- Gabrielle Carteris … Cast, Andrea Zuckerman
- Brian Austin Green … Cast, David Silver
- Douglas Emerson … Cast, Scott Scanlon
- Carol Potter … Cast, Cindy Walsh
- Tori Spelling … Cast, Donna Martin
- James Eckhouse … Cast, Jim Walsh
- Leslie Bega … Cast, Marianne Moore
- Richard Cummings, Jr. … Cast, Jack Clayton
- Josh Mostel … Cast, Mr. Ridley
- Bel Sandre … Cast, Ms. Montes De La Roca
- Maxwell Caufield … Cast, Jason
- Clint Allen … Cast, Ron
- Pamela Galloway … Cast, Jackie
- Deon Sams … Cast, Flash
- Penny Holland … Cast, Secretary
- Jo Ann Henrich … Cast, Overweight Girl
- Kevin O'Sullivan … Cast, Lunch Boy
- Lisa Ann Cabasa … Cast, Lunch Girl
- Louie Sabatasso … Cast, Jock
- Dulcie Hunt … Cast, Cathy
- Jocelyn Peden … Cast, Michelle
- Glenn Quinn … Cast, Party Jock 1
- Randy Matick … Cast, Party Jock 2
- Jason Luckett … Cast, Kid
- Djimon (See also: Djimon Hounsou) … Cast, Doorman
- Kim Lentz … Cast, Waitress
- Ernesto Hernandez … Cast, Flower Delivery Man
- Brian Evans … Cast, Track Kid 1
- Darrin Dotson … Cast, Track Kid 2
- John Asher … Cast, Guy in Hall
- Maria Christina Vitulli … Cast, Mrs. Dubois
- Brian Straub … Cast, Waiter