90210 or bust?

So, you've been keeping an eye on the development of new 90210. You know that Rob Thomas (of Veronica Mars fame, not the Matchbox 20 guy) worked on the pilot and then ran far, far away. You know that a character called Daphne was retooled as Erin, Kelly's little sister from the original. You know that Jennie Garth is back as Kelly and that OMG! Shannen Doherty is back as Brenda, but only briefly, and amazingly, that their first shoot together went surprisingly smoothly (ie. nobody hit anybody). You know that Luke Perry has basically trashed the concept of coming back but the spoilers aren't seeing him sticking to his word. You know that Aunt Becky is in it. You know that Lucille Bluth is in it. You know that the network didn't send out preview screeners of the pilot - which is generally seen in the industry as a clear statement of crappiness. And you know that, just like in the original, the cast all look waaaaaay too old. 

Or, you should know all of that. But should you bother tuning in? And why are you asking me, aside from the (correct) assumption that I would be all over this and have gotten my hands on the pilot some three hours after it aired in the US last week? 

Well, it depends.

If you're tuning in for total shlock you can laugh at .. maybe no. It's really not that bad. Get yourself a copy of The Secret Life Of The American Teenager instead and snark your little heart out. 

If you're a fan of The OC and/or Gossip Girl and want to tune in for some actually awesome teen drama ... maybe also no. It's really not that good. 

If you grew up on the original there might be a little bit here you can appreciate, even if Shannen Doherty has not aged well. There are a few in-jokes for the die-hard original fans (hands up if the expression 'geographically undesireable' means anything to you at all ... anyone? anyone?) and it's hard to deny it's a little bit fun to go back to the Peach Pit, even if it's now a lame-arse Starbucks wannabe coffee house. Whether that will be enough to sustain interest is still to be seen - as is whether they're going to have to retcon the ending of the original to make this one work, and if so, how pissed off the fans are going to get. 

There's even a Models Inc. shoutout, for the really sad among us. 

And fans of Arrested Development will appreciate Lucille Bluth. Her lines aren't as awesome as you might hope, but she made me giggle every time she appeared on screen, which is definitely a plus. 

But ultimately, two episodes (or a two-hour pilot, depending on your point of view) in - it's hard to put together an argument one way or the other. 90210 sits pretty squarely in the middle of every scale you care to place it on: It's got more humour than One Tree Hill, more realistic Dialogue than Dawsons Creek. It's prettier than Friday Night Lights, less preachy than the original 90210, less snarky and less pretty and less fun than Gossip Girl, less heartfelt and less warm than The OC. It's edgier than The Secret Life Of The American Teenager, but not by as much as it thinks it is. The writing is average. The quality of the acting ranges from wooden to passable. The directing is indistinctive. It's just sort of ... there - and it kind of feels like it's still trying to figure out where that is, which makes it all the harder for anyone else to figure out. 

In short: I give it a C. 3 stars. 6 out of 10. One thumb in each direction. A Shrug. A meh - but a charitable meh. And maybe even that little hand movement where you rock your thumb and forefinger up and down to indicate something is so-so. 

Which I know doesn't help much.

So, back to your original question: should you watch?

Sure, if you have a soft spot for teen drama and have nothing better to do with your Monday night.

I guess.