Beverly Hills 90210

Remember When?

It was the show that taught us that millionaires have problems too.

Beverly Hills, 90210. The Aaron Spelling brainchild, a trendy, far too long-running drama about glossy kids with rough edges that followed a pack of Gen-Xers from high school to post-collegiate life, while turning the cast into teen idols. It was a shamelessly campy addiction that tackled raw issues, including date rape, gun control, bulimia, steroids and substance abuse of every kind (at least twice).

The series began with the introduction of the Walsh family—Jim, Cindy, Brandon, and Brenda—who had recently moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills as a result of Jim's job promotion. Imagine the culture shock! Or at least what Hollywood tends to believe is culture shock; anything between L.A. and New York is one big farm (see Beverly Hillbillies). Oddly enough, the series became a landmark through its groundbreaking, topical plots and dizzying cast rotation.

90210 introduced us to public insight on behind-the-scenes spats (Shannen Doherty v Spelling), up-and coming unknowns (Hillary Swank, Dean Cain, Matthew Perry), and arguably paved the way for famous-for-no-reason celebutantes (Paris Hilton). It also made a nation of kids believe that Dylan McKay was the original James Dean.

Most of the 90210 generation today have children of their own, kids whose own problems make their now lame parents’ issues seem vanilla by comparison. Somewhere in an alternate world, though, a group of teens are talking sideburns and the student newspaper over a Megaburger at the Peach Pit. We’ll bet that at least two of them are involved in a love triangle that can only be resolved with a quintessential 90’s ballad and a montage.