A decade in Beverly Hills

A family moves from Minnesota to California after the dad gets a job transfer. The Walsh family relocates to Beverly Hills where they have to adjust to a completely different life-style. Teenage twins Brandon and Brenda are in high school where they will learn much more than just algebra.

That was how "Beverly Hills, 90210" started. It was great to tune in every week to find out the hot topic for the day, whether it was safe sex, underage drinking, cheating, or child abuse, and how the Walshes would handle the situation.

Brandon and Brenda tried their hardest to fit in and eventually became a part of the "in crowd." Brenda found a cool boyfriend with a Porsche and major sideburns. Brandon had some nice burns of his own and he had a new love interest every week.

"90210" should have ended with the gang's high school years. During college, the Walsh parents moved to Asia and Brenda went to Europe to pursue an acting career. So the only Walsh left was Brandon. But then he got a job in Washington D.C. The only remnant of the Minnesota family that made it in Beverly Hills was their house, which was occupied by various members of the gang.

The show that once had a moral for every episode became a cheesy soap opera with shoddy writing. Either they got new writers who did not research past episodes or their original writers were burnt out, because the same issues were tackled again and again.

Dylan was an alcoholic. Then Noah was an alcoholic. David was on drugs, Kelly was on drugs, Donna was on drugs. Then there was the succession of brunette bitches: Brenda, Valerie, and Gina (Okay, maybe they weren't bitches. Maybe they were just misunderstood). The show became tired and outlandish.

After ten years "90210" comes to an end on May 17. True fans of the show most likely will never get their questions answered. Where's Willie the cook? Is Roger Azarian still alive? Is "The Peach Pit" really the only place to eat in L.A.? The list is endless, but there is only one all-important question that hope will be answered: We what ever happened to the Walshes? Isn't that who the show was supposed to be about anyway?

Jennifer Umana is a staff writer for the Daily Forty-Niner.