If you missed Monday’s highly anticipated debut of “90210,” no worries. The CW is re-airing the two-hour pilot tonight (8 p.m., Channels 31 and 44).

The show, which benefitted from an avalanche of hype — including cover stories in “Entertainment Weekly” and “TV Guide” — set ratings records for The CW, becoming the highest-rated telecast of any scripted show EVER for The CW in key demographics.

That’s all well and good, but what we really want to know is: Who’s the daddy of Kelly’s (Jennie Garth) kid?

The new kids on the “Beverly Hills” block.

Now we really know why The CW didn’t send out advance screeners of “90210″ to critics. The show is turgid, listless and pretty much DOA.

And it gives me no great joy to say that. I was looking forward to two hours of frothy fun and nostalgic vibes. Instead, the remake of Aaron Spelling’s escapist teen fantasy gave us meandering storylines containing soapy plot points we’ve all seen before and lots of young actors who looked good but failed to pop. Even the relentlessly hyped reunion of Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth — which took 90 minutes to arrive — felt flat and feeble.

Good lord, this show wasn’t even lousy enough to be fun. Read the rest of this entry »

So, are you ready? “90210,” the most talked-about new show of the fall, debuts tonight (8 p.m. Channels 31 and 44) on The CW and the question is: Can it match the original “Beverly Hills 90210″ in terms of sustained buzz and cover-girl (boy) appeal?

But maybe that’s not the question, since a lot of CW viewers have probably never seen the original, which premiered in 1990. It’s a dynamic that lends some ratings intrigue to this show, which figures to draw (at least initially) a lot of young fans, as well as plenty of Gen-Xers who will be more interested in the return of veterans Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth.

Speaking of the latter, we rounded up several local fans of the original for today’s story on “Beverly Hills 90210″ in the newspapers. In the piece, they reminisce about the classic teen soap and talk about what it was that made it so special for them. They also speculate about what the characters might be up to today. Read the rest of this entry »

So I just get back from Hawaii and already the serene, hang-loose vibes of the islands are being replaced by tenseness and agitation. Case in point: The CW has notified TV critics that it will not be sending out advance preview copies of its much anticipated update of “Beverly Hills 90210.”

Here’s the B.S. the network spews in its official statement:

The CW and our studio partner CBS Paramount Network Television have made the strategic marketing decision not to screen “90210″ for any media in advance of its premiere. We’re not hiding anything . . . simply keeping a lid on 90210 until 9.02, riding the curiosity and anticipation into premiere night, and letting all our constituents see it at the same time.

It’s another slap in the face to TV critics, who, unlike previous seasons, have seen only a small fraction of the new fall programming. But more than that, it’s a case of blatant media manipulation by The CW. Funny, they have no problem contacting us when they release a handful of still photos from the production (ooh, aah) — hoping they end up in our bologs or in the newspapers. Or urging us to attend their TCA press conferences when they put their shiny new “90210″ stars on display. Or hoping we drop tidbits into our columns about any casting news. But allow us to see the actual show? Oh, lord no.

Almost makes you want to not write another word about the thing.

Of course, this could also mean the show really blows and The CW doesn’t want you to know that in advance. That’s what usually happens when a movie is lame. The studios avoid advance screenings, fearing bad publicity will keep the masses away.

Who knows? Maybe “90210″ will be an amazing production — God’s gift to television. But, from the look of things, probably not.

Brenda Walsh is back!

In a major “get,” The CW announced this morning that Shannen Doherty will, indeed, be joining the new “Beverly Hills 90210″ spin-off (Don’t you dare call it a remake!).

That brings to three the number of castmembers from the iconic original series who have agreed to reprise their roles. As previously announced, Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling will also participate. Read the rest of this entry »