TV Review | Same formula, zip code return to television, but fail to captivate audience

    What could make for better TV than snobby teenagers, gigantic mansions and drama-filled lives of sex, drugs and designer clothes? No, this article is not about "Gossip Girl." Last Tuesday, The CW unveiled the first two episodes of its revamped version of the '90s phenomenon "Beverly Hills, 90210," now shortened to simply "90210."
    The producers got the ingredients for a successful TV show right the first time, so it will come as no surprise that the premise of its new incarnation does not differ greatly from the original. Annie Wilson, born and bred in Kansas and played by cute newcomer Shenae Grimes, moves with her family to chic Beverly Hills to live with her grandmother; drama ensues as she and her adopted brother Dixon (played by Tristan Wilds) attend their new high school. Annie's father Harry (Rob Estes) is the school's new principal, and her mother Debbie, played by Lori Loughlin of "Full House," brings home the bacon as a set director.
    A slew of supporting characters have gotten some early screen time, including Ethan (Dustin Milligan), Annie's summer love interest; his girlfriend Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord), the princess of the school and owner of the Brattiest Teenager Alive award; and Silver (Jessica Stroup), a strange, embittered girl who befriends Annie.         Rounding out the cast are Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty reprising their old roles as Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh, respectively.
                    Taylor is now the guidance counselor at her old school and has a four-year-old fatherless son. Old fans can only hope to eventually see a return of Luke Perry's old character, Dylan, traditionally the key instigator of on-screen catfights between Taylor and Walsh. Walsh, on the other hand, has come back to Beverly Hills for a short time to direct a play at the school and catch up with Taylor at their old haunt, the Peach Pit.
    The temptations of the rich and fabulous world of Beverly Hills quickly prove to be too much for both Annie and Dixon, who begin jetting off to San Francisco without permission, picking fights at school, cheating in class and pranking rival schools. The formulaic subplots, if you haven't guessed already, include Silver's blog war against Naomi, Ethan's crush on Annie and subsequent breakup with Naomi, Naomi's inconsequential friend's drug problem, and Kelly's relationship with the hottie English teacher.
    While the script is quite witty, the acting solid and the plot packed full of drama, the question remains whether "90210" relates to its audience the way the original did. While the old "Beverly Hills" tried to deal with issues (cliques, sex, first love, pregnancy, etc.) that actually affect teenagers, the new "90210" seems to concern itself only with creating juicy, dramatic sequences between the main characters.
    This tactic might have worked for a new TV show geared towards the 18-24 age group — if the East Coast version of "90210," namely the deliciously controversial "Gossip Girl" hadn't already aired last year, shaking up the teenage TV world with its blatant disregard for parental standards and its love for handing 15-year-old girls a different designer wardrobe each episode.
    So far, "90210" fails to live up to the scandal "Gossip Girl" causes on a regular basis; the show opts for a PG-13 approach, showing only kissing and a brief, veiled implication of oral sex.
    Another problem with "90210" lies in the fact that today's average young adult is more active in his or her community than his 90's counterpart. With rising college attendance rates, the number of those who regularly watch programs such as "90210" diminishes, and those who do watch these intellectually vacant shows do so simply as a guilty pleasure or indulgence.
    But, since the show is new, and the actors seem to be fresh-faced enough to produce at least a couple of new stars, "90210" may find its niche as a sort of West Coast companion piece to its challenger "Gossip Girl," riding the coattails of its success until producers decide it's time to think of an original idea for a change.