Ep 36: Beverly Hills 90210

This week on CFX, we put the super popular, landmark TV show, Beverly Hills 90210, under the CFX-o-scope and let’s just say it gets ugly. We talk about the hackneyed, repetitive plots, the often terrible acting, the dubious social commentary, the futile attempts at hipster credibility and just how sleazy this show and really everything got during the ‘90s. We might get too mean, but we don’t care! As the great Dylan McKay once said: “May the bridges I burn light the way!” That said, whether we like the show or not doesn’t mean we don’t think it stands the test of time. You’ll have to listen to the episode to find that out and, along the way, you’ll also learn…

• Which cast member broke Stockard Channing’s record for the oldest actor to play a high school student
• Why Saddam Hussein deserves credit (or blame) for the show’s popularity
• How much pot we must have been smoking when we watched this show back in the ‘90s 
• Why “____ cheating on ____ with ____ and is addicted to ____” is the template for 90% of the plots of the last 5 seasons.
• What very “BADD” boy band once serenaded Donna Martin
• How working on this episode almost ended Slip’s marriage

We should also mention that for all of our satire, we genuinely do wish the best for Shannon Doherty in her battle with cancer. Also, we need to give a huge thanks to authors Tara Ariano and Sarah Bunting for their hilarious and thoroughly researched “A Very Special 90210” Book. We couldn’t have done this episode without it. Read it. It’s fantastic.

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