Beverly Hills 90210: The Second Season

From a pregnancy scare and a psycho girlfriend to a cameo by Color Me Badd, Beverly Hills 90210's sophomore year demonstrates why this was "the greatest TV show in history with a zip code in its title." That's what comedians John Aboud and Michael Colton (VH1's Best Week Ever) call it in a very entertaining bonus feature that affectionately roasts the show from its so-the-drama melodramatics to its stuck-in-the-'90s fashion sense. This is the season that catapulted Beverly Hills 90210 from Most Likely to Succeed to BSOF (Best Show on Fox). Certainly it was must-see viewing for teens who anxiously tuned in each week to vicariously chart the serial adventures of siblings Brenda (Shannon Doherty) and Brandon (Jason Priestley), recent transplants from Minnesota to glitzy Beverly Hills. The second season, one of the best in this series' decade-long run, features episodes and story arcs that loom large in the show's history, including: Brenda's tempestuous, on-and-off-again relationship with soulful bad boy Dylan (Luke Perry in his instantly iconic role); new girl Emily Valentine (Christine Elise) going all Fatal Attraction on Brandon (no rabbits are boiled, but a homecoming float is in jeopardy); Kelly (Jennie Garth) hooking up with Melrose Place-bound Jake (Grant Show), and Donna (Tori Spelling) in her mermaid Halloween costume. Degrassi Jr. High had nothing on Beverly Hills 90210 when it came to issues-oriented episodes. Not four minutes into the season opener, Brenda announces she is five days "late." "I love Dylan, and I thought I knew what we were doing" she tells BFFs Kelly and Donna, "but I'm beginning to get the feeling that it wasn't worth it." Other episodes address abstinence, child abuse, the physically challenged, sexual orientation, racism, rape, and steroids. A heartbreaking story arc concerns David shunning his former best friend, Scott, who returns from an Oklahoma vacation all urban cowboy, making him even more of an outcast with the popular kids. "Cool it with the guns," David cautions, foreshadowing tragic events to come in the episode "The Next Fifty Years." Throwing something of a wet blanket on precious memories of the show is the substitution of generic songs for originally killer soundtracks of alternative and classic rock and golden oldies (one would think that the Peach Pit hangout has the lamest jukebox on Earth). In addition to the aforementioned fun-poking featurette, DVD extras on this eight-disc boxed set compiling all 28 episodes from the 1991-92 second season include two character profile featurettes. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)