What2Watch: 90210: Same Zip Code, New Pretty People

I don't know that the original Beverly Hills 90210 was a program I particularly missed, but I am sure that at any rate, it hasn't been gone long enough for anyone to miss it. Still, the CW needs eyeballs, and this new version of the 90210 saga is about the only new item on the fifth network's fall schedule that is getting any attention whatsoever. The program comes in pre-sold; all that's needed is to fill the stock roles with pretty people, and hope the ratings reflect more than just first-week curiosity.

Tonight's premiere episodes (CW, 8 PM and 9 PM) have famously not been screened for critics, and it's hard to think of any reason why that would be the case other than terminal awfulness. Still, we know that the pilot introduces us to the show's new central family: the new principal of the high school and his children, played by future gossip column regular Shenae Grimes and Tristan Wilds, who did Emmy-quality work on The Wire but likely won't get a similar chance here. The family is moving to SoCal from Kansas, a setup sure to bring some condescension with it. There's a real opening in this time slot for a show with youth appeal, so if the CW can't make this work, I don't really have any answers for them.

Republican National Convention: There are elephants on the streets of St. Paul! The highlight of the 10 PM hour will be the convention's keynote address, and in an unusual move it will come from someone who ran for president himself: Rudolph Giuliani.

America's Got Talent (NBC, 8 PM): What will end first: this season of America's Got Talent, or the presidential campaign? I've been complaining about that little girl, so in the interest of equal time, I should also say that the old guy doing the Sinatra impression isn't all that either. Yes, I hate both the old and the young, which explains why my own presidential campaign never got off the ground.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager (ABC Family, 8 PM): Adrian's mother encourages her to develop a relationship with her father, and Amy makes a decision about going back to school. I never saw any pregnant teens in my high school, probably because we were all pretty undesirable. And all boys.

Big Brother 10 (CBS, 9 PM): What are the odds that Jerry would become Head of Household at the exact moment he had used up the last of his nine lives? Tonight, Dan and Keesha fight to get themselves out of danger. Why does Dan keep yelling at us? We're not deaf; although when Jerry gets on a roll we sometimes wish we were.

Greek (ABC Family, 9 PM): Casey and Ashleigh are both making a move on the same guy. C'mon girls, it's a big campus. Draw straws -- the loser will come out just fine. Also, Rusty gets some advice on what to do next academically.

Making the Band 4 (MTV, 9 PM): It's Fleet Week in New York, which is good news for the hot-to-trot Aubrey and D. Woods. Maybe it's just me, but Aubrey is starting to look like the result of man-and-mannikin genetic fusion experiment. Also, Brian's voice is just fine, but his dancing needs work.

Million Dollar Listing (Bravo, 10 PM): Josh, facing a crisis of conscience? Don't you need a conscience first? Believe it or not, his latest client is such a pill than Josh wonders if real estate is really for him. Also, Chad tries to wrap up his deal with the NBA guy, and Madison's new client wants something spectacular on the ocean.

Pam: Girl on the Loose (E!, 10 PM): I read something not long ago about how Dubai is beginning to crack down on the ways their tourists have brought European mores to the Arabian peninsula, with behavior such as topless sunbathing. This could be a problem for Pamela, on her way to Abu Dhabi for a charity function. As long as she doesn't make any home movies there.

Secret Lives of Women (WE, 10 PM): Not all models fit the typical profile. This hour covers women who fill specialty niches in the market: a plus-sized model, a woman who is heavily tattooed, a curvy lingerie model, and a conventional model who is posing while pregnant.

The Cleaner (A&E, 10 PM): A school principal asks his friend William to help with a student who is using heroin and prescription drugs, but faces opposition from the boy's father; William comes to suspect that the boy is facing a deeper crisis than simply drug abuse.

The Shield (FX, 10 PM): The keynote series on FX begins its seventh and last season tonight, and one suspects that we're in for thirteen weeks of seeing if the chickens finally come home to roost for Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis). Tonight, Vic continues his face-off with Shane, and learns that some old enemies might be threatening his family. Also, a new federal agent on the scene proves hard to read. The always-high body count on this series figures to explode as we near the end.

Recommend (0)

|  Comments (0)

|  Email

|  Share

Share  Facebook Digg del.icio.us