Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)As a huge fan of Beverly Hills, 90210, I have been waiting for season 2 since the day after season 1 was released. Overall this is a good season, although not as good as season 1 or season 3. The show tried to remain true to its roots by tackling tough issues, and although this act is pulled off well, it leaves the viewer feeling like every typical high school cliché is touched upon.
The biggest disappointments for me in this season were in the following areas:
- At times the transfer to DVD appears incredibly grainy and in poor quality.
- On the DVD cases for discs 6 and 7, the episode overviews are not consistent with the actual plots for each episode. I have written them correctly in the list below.
- The soundtrack: This issue makes the show a lot worse off. Music by Seal, R.E.M., Monie Love, Garth Brooks, Chris Isaak, Roxette, Robert Palmer, Janis Joplin, The Bangles, Color Me Badd, The Pretenders, and many other artists has all been replaced by forgetfully bland generic studio tracks. I realize that it's not always possible for all of the original music rights to be obtained for a series, but the omission of every noteworthy song affects the overall quality and experience of the show. The two episodes where this is most evident is in 'Chuckie's Back', when Steve pulls away from the gang on a bus, the song '2000 Miles' from The Pretenders is played, resulting in a heart-tugging ending. The episode of 'The Next Fifty Years' starts out with 'Friends In Low Places' by Garth Brooks and hypes up to 'Work It Out' by Monie Love as the gang teaches Scott how to dance. Those songs all appeared on the original series but were replaced on the DVD version with no-name songs that will surely leave hardcore fans frustrated. To anyone who thinks that music isn't such a big deal, think of Tarantino movies like Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill - without their incredible soundtracks they wouldn't have been nearly as good or memorable. Had the original music for the show remained intact, I'd rate this season a solid 4.5 stars. Instead, I give it a 3.5 out of 5.The episodes are as follows:
DISC 1:
1) Beach Blanket Brandon: Brenda has a pregnancy scare which causes her to re-think her serious relationship with Dylan. Brandon leaves the Peach Pit and gets a job at the Beverly Hills Beach Club.
2) The Party Fish: Brandon's job at the Beach Club leads him to becoming friends with a sports promoter, who wants to make Brandon his gopher boy. Brandon cuts off the relationship when the friendship becomes to complicated.
3) Summer Storm: Dylan is injured while surfing and the Walshes invite him to stay at their home while he recovers from the accident. Jim catches Brenda and Dylan making out and wants him to leave. Kelly falls for a new guy, but is confused by his mixed signals.
4) Anaconda: Dylan and Brandon argue after a late night poker game at the Beach Club ends with a break-in. Dylan is the prime suspect, as it turns out he's been pawning family items to keep afloat.
DISC 2:
5) Play It Again, David: Kelly has a hissy fit when her mother starts dating David's dad. Brandon begins mentoring a boy and learns that there may be more to him than meets the eye.
6) Pass, Not Pass: Andrea and Brenda both have a crush on their drama teacher. Brandon buys his dream car, only to find out he bought a lemon.
7) Camping Trip: The kids take off on a trip to Yosemite and end up with cabin fever as they are stuck inside during a torrential downpour. The honeymooning couple in the cabin next door are already fighting. Dylan saves Brandon's life as Brandon almost falls off a cliff.
8) Wildfire: New student Emily Valentine has the girls in an uproar and the boys in a frenzy.
DISC 3:
9) Ashes to Ashes: An African American family moves in down the street from the Walshes, resulting in a racially motivated attack.
10) Necessity Is a Mother: Dylan's bohemian mother Iris comes back from Hawaii and moves in with him. Dylan resents her parenting, after an 11 year absence from his life.
11) Leading From the Heart: Brandon and Brenda's wheelchair-bound cousin comes to visit. Kelly is interested in him, but Brenda worries that Kelly will end up hurting him. Brandon feels guilty and apologizes to his cousin about the accident that crippled him.
12) Down and Out of District in Beverly Hills: Andrea faces an investigation by the school district due to her living situation. Steve's new girlfriend only likes him for his money and connections.
DISC 4:
13) Halloween: The kids attend a holiday party, and Kelly's skimpy outfit sends the wrong signal to a college boy who tries to rape her. David and Scott spend the night waiting for an egg fight that never occurs. Brandon stays home to hand out candy and meets up with Emily Valentine.
14) The Next 50 Years: David struggles with the growing gap between himself and Scott. Scott's mom throws him a surprise Birthday party and David feels pressured to find "friends" to attend the party. Scott plays with one of his father's guns and accidentally shoots himself at the party. Scott's death causes a wave of interest across the school, and the students' interest in him causes David to angrily confront Brandon (who is writing a story about him for the school paper). The confrontation is accidentally broadcast over the radio to the entire school.
15) U4EA: Emily Valentine invites the gang to an underground club. Andrea and Steve spend the entire evening trying to find them. Donna enjoys the evening with David. While at the club, Emily slips a little something into Brandon's drink. Brandon feels he can no longer trust Emily, and breaks things off with her.
16) My Desperate Valentine: The recently dumped Emily refuses to accept that things are over between her and Brandon. The episode culminates in an emotional breakdown when Emily tries to set fire to the homecoming float that the kids made.
DISC 5:
17) Chuckie's Back: Steve's childhood nemesis, Chuck Wilson starts attending West Beverly High, and immediately starts pushing his buttons (just like old times). Chuck taunts Steve about the fact that he is adopted. Donna admits her true feelings for David and kisses him on the dance floor in front of the entire school. Steve leaves on a bus to New Mexico to find his birth parents.
18) A Walsh Family Christmas: The Walsh house will be empty this year, with Brandon and Brenda and all their friends making alternate plans. Steve searches for his birthmom in Albuquerque. Despite their original plans to the contrary, everyone ends up at the Walsh home for Christmas.
19) Fire and Ice: Brandon meets an up and coming figure skater but is rebuffed by her coach.
DISC 6:
20) A Competitive Edge: Brandon joins the track team and receives negative attention from his teammates for some of the articles he wrote as Sports Editor. Meanwhile, Steve is asked to join "The Program", which causes him to suffer from moodswings. Brenda is involved in a minor fender-bender which turns into a big fiasco when the other driver suddenly claims to have major injuries.
21) Everybody's Talkin' `Bout It: Opposing sides argue over a campaign to raise awareness about AIDS and STDs. The episode ends with Kelly's mom telling her that she is pregnant.
22) Baby Makes Five: Kelly tells her friends that Jackie is pregnant. Mel asks Jackie to marry him. Nat, Brandon, Steve, and Andrea spend some time at the racetrack.
DISC 7:
23) Cardio Funk: Brenda and Dylan's relationship is strained due to his friendship with someone from AA. The new karaoke machine at the Peach Pit brings out the whole gang for some off-key fun.
24) The Pit and The Pendulum: Brandon learns that Jim's latest work endeavor would mean the demolition of the Peach Pit.
25) Meeting Mr. Pony: In anticipation of finals, the kids pull a late night of studying at the Peach Pit, and when Brandon and Dylan go out back, a man enters the restaurant and demands the cash from the register while pointing a gun at Brenda. Brenda must cope with the emotional aftermath of the incident and pretends that she is okay while inside she's filled with fear and panic.
DISC 8:
26) Things To Do On A Rainy Day: The kids hang out at the Bel Age Hotel, hoping to meet Color Me Badd. While at the hotel, Donna witnesses her mother in a compromising situation.
27) Mexican Standoff: Brenda lies to her parents and spends the weekend with Dylan in Mexico, only to get stuck on the other side of the border. Meanwhile, back in LA, Kelly starts up with newcomer Jake Hanson, who was hired to build a canopy for Kelly's mother's wedding ceremony.
28) Wedding Bell Blues: The season wraps up with multiple simultaneous dramas: Brenda's father goes to collect her from the Mexican border, meanwhile Dylan is banned from seeing Brenda. Due to plumbing problems, Jackie's wedding venue is quickly changed to the Walsh home, and Jake shows up at the wedding and tells Kelly how he feels about her.
SPECIAL FEATURES: Meet The Walshes, Our Favorite Valentine, Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills, 90210.
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One of the definitive, landmark shows of the 1990s, 90210 quickly became an important fixture on the FOX and in the popular discourse of adolescents and young adults. The second season’s main characters, Dylan, Kelly, Donna, Steve, David, Andrea and twins Brandon and Brenda all attended West Beverly Hills High School. Brandon and Brenda Walsh and their parents, transplants from Minneapolis were the stable nuclear family with strong values; their home was a safe haven for the whole gang and the center of much of the drama. The show dealt with a steady stream of love triangles and other romantic entanglements and occasionally touched on more serious issues as well.
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