I was a die-hard 90210 fan back in the day. Who wasn’t? Brenda, Donna, Kelly, Dylan – we all still know who they are. The nostalgia takes me back, evoking memories of the turmoils of my high school days – friends, crushes, relationship drama. But it’s a new school year at West Beverly High School and the start of a new season of 90210 . The new show is being labeled as an edgier spin off of the 90′s classic with the return of many of the original cast.

The show begins with many similarities to the old series. Siblings Dixon and Annie — think Brendan and Brenda — move from Kansas to Beverly Hills. Their father Harry, from the original show, is now the new principal at West Beverly. Dixon is into sports and quickly joins the school television news team…see the similarities? Meanwhile Annie is quickly thrown into a love triangle between the high school musical heart throb and the school bad boy. The series also follows in the previous 90210 footsteps by introducing new up and coming bands. This week Tilly and the Wall, an indie pop group from Omaha, played at one of the characters Sweet Sixteen party.

While the new season has its similarities, it also has some big differences. Sadly, I think it is going to be these differences that won’t appeal to the previous 90210 fan base. The term producer are calling ‘edgy‘ is what I would more than likely call shocking. If they are trying to reach the teen crowd, they are definitely sending them the wrong messages. In the first episode ‘edgy’ included:

• The sale and use of drugs;

• Underage drinking;

• Eighth graders getting tattoos; and

• (Brace yourself) An incident of oral sex. Which, by the way, happened within the first five minutes of the show.

I was shocked! This is not what I would want my tween/teenager watching on a weekly basis. I should also mention that my eight year old son started watching it with me before I turned it off after the “incident.” It was seven o’clock and that is what they were showing. As a parent, I felt very uncomfortable to say the least. There are definitely no Donnas on this season’s show! The real question remains – will it win the hearts of the viewers of the original sitcom? After watching the first episode I am not so sure.

You can catch up with Kat and the chaos that is boys over at the Sassy Irish Lassie!

(source: CW)