REACTION: 9021OMG Episode 26

The “9021OMG” podcast kicked off season 2 of “Beverly Hills, 90210” on Monday.

In “Beach Blanket Brandon,” Brandon (Jason Priestley) gets a job at the Beverly Hills Beach Club for the summer. Brenda (Shannen Doherty) has a pregnancy scare and breaks up with Dylan (Luke Perry). The breakup scene, with R.E.M’s “Losing My Religion” playing in the background, is one of the show’s most memorable.

The episode was written by Darren Star, who created the show, and directed by Charles Braverman, who also directed the season 1 finale. With this season 2 premiere, the show started a run of summer episodes that aired in July and August of 1991. While most programs were in repeats and Gulf War coverage dominated the airwaves, “Beverly Hills, 90210” was able to capture some attention and start its ascent to becoming one of television’s most popular shows.

What did Jennie Garth (Kelly) and Tori Spelling (Donna) remember from this time? And what did they think of the episode? Read on to find out.

9021OMG Episode 26, “We’re Back for Season 2”

• Tori welcomed everyone to season 2: “We made it.” Jennie: “I feel this is where things are going to get exciting.” Tori said they broke their streak of “unluckiness,” because “Mystery Girls” and “BH90210” both got only one season, but here they are with season 2 of “9021OMG.” I guess I’m the unlucky one here.

• Jennie: “Sis, you might be our good luck charm.” Sisanie: “I doubt it.” Tori: “You’re gonna have to be in everything we do.” Sisanie credited “the fans” for the podcast’s success, prompting Jennie to say, “Everyone is really loving the podcast. We should just take a minute to appreciate all of our listeners because doing the live show that we did last week for the wrap party, we got to talk to a lot of fans and just hear the effect the show is having on different people in different ways is really cool.” Tori: “The fans, they were so great, it was so nice to hear from them, and a lot of them said we had gotten them through hard times. Then just with this last year, they were really happy to have this warm, fuzzy… spot to come back to and revisit and have us be with them.” Jennie said people are “listening to us all the time” and they’re “very grateful.”

• Tori noted how they were together — she and Jennie — for the live podcast. It was the first time they were together since they shot the promo art for the podcast at some point last year. They went on a tangent about the pandemic, discussing Tori visiting Jennie for her birthday last year and staying six feet apart until they realized no one was around so they hugged. Then Sisanie called Jennie a “trooper” because she got her second vaccine shot the day before this was recorded. Jennie said she had a ton of makeup on (not that we could see, of course) because she didn’t sleep. Tori called her a “great best friend” and confirmed Jennie had a “miserable night” with “horrible reactions” and insisted on still doing the podcast and encouraged Tori to get her second shot after they were done recording.

• Jennie: “I also want to say thank you to our production team for a great first season.” She said they had a lot of challenges and things to learn, but they “made it through,” and they wouldn’t have been able to do that without the iHeart folks. Tori: “You guys know, we are not tech-savvy. We would be writing down the podcast on a piece of paper and having a pigeon carrier take it… We both still have AOL accounts.” Jennie confirmed she cannot quit AOL. Jennie: “And we had a great wrap party, so thank you, everybody, who put so much effort into that.” Tori thanked the Beverly Hilton for hosting them. Uh, how about thanking the fans who shelled out money and bought tickets for the event?

• Tori said “everyone has been asking” where they got their matching pajamas. Jennie said “Beverly Hills” and Tori said “Amazon.” Jennie stressed how they like coordinating their outfits. Tori said they ordered kimonos for the “next one.” (Nothing like cultural appropriation!) Tori said sometimes they accidentally dress alike too. Jennie said they’ve had Zoom meetings — because they’re “creating something very exciting” that they can’t talk about yet — and they’ve showed up to them wearing the same colors.

• Tori said she watched “Beach Blanket Brandon” before she went to bed. She then dreamt they were on set filming, but it was the present day and Jason was excited about booking a commercial. Also in the dream, Tori filmed a scene and then played it back in her dressing room afterward. She then saw she had “five necks” and “rolls” like she was “wearing a rubber suit.” Jennie: “So it was a nightmare… This sounds like conversations we’ve actually had.” (Nothing like fat shaming!) Sisanie: “Well, your necks look great, so it was just a dream.” They started discussing the set and the dressing rooms and Tori said she once painted hers “Pepto Bismol pink.” Jennie: “The difference between you and I: You painted yours pink and I painted mine black.”

• After more than 12 minutes, they finally got to discussing the actual episode. Jennie gave the title and air date and then said, “Hey, July 11! That’s my anniversary, I think. One of my anniversaries.” Tori: “You did get married in July.” Tori read the synopsis that’s on the episode’s wiki page, but not the full thing. Jennie correctly named the writer and director. Jennie said she was excited to get out of school… and then saw the characters in school. Tori: “We should talk a little bit about how this season happened and so rapidly.” Tori claimed it was her dad who suggested they do something with the beach club and premiere during the summer. She then repeated what Darren told them about how the writers didn’t get any time off. Sisanie and Jennie stressed how there weren’t original episodes of other shows at that time. Tori remarked how there was no social media back then either to occupy people’s time. Jennie: “Genius move to put new episodes on for the summer because that’s when the audience was really like, ‘Hey, I kinda like this.’ I love this episode too. I love seeing life at the beach and getting Brandon out of the Peach Pit for a little bit, even though I’m gonna miss Nat.”

• Sisanie said Nat was “hard” on Brandon, but Jennie defended him. Tori pointed out that Douglas was now a guest star for season 2 and that it was clear he wasn’t going to be “part of the gang.” Sisanie wanted to know what that’s like as an actor, to be demoted, and wondered if he was “bummed about it.” Jennie: “I’m sure he was.” Jennie noted how they talked with him and want to have him back on the podcast later this season. She and Tori both praised his attitude.

• Jennie said she noticed that she had lost her voice during this episode (there are a couple episodes actually!) and that they used ADR to give Donna a line referencing it. Jennie said she does lose her voice when she gets sick. Tori said this happened during the first episode of “BH90210” too and Jennie speculated it’s a “stress thing” for her. Sisanie said it happened to her in early 20s when she would “party a lot.” Jennie likened her voice to a “dead frog.” She said she also heard ADR in the scene when Brenda and Dylan are talking on the porch and said these moments “bug” her. 

• Sisanie: “You guys, we need to talk about the intro. I was so excited seeing that new intro… I feel like it pumped me up even more for the season… I was like grinning.” Jennie: “I didn’t even notice it.” Tori asked Jennie if she remembered their beach photo shoot, calling it their “first photo shoot all together.” Tori said she thought they did the shots with the shirts for Teen magazine but wasn’t sure and then the shots with the bathing suits were for the show. Jennie said she had “very little memory of that day,” but thought Tori was right. Tori said she remembered that day because it was the first day they were all “touching.” They discussed how they were on the guys’ shoulders and Jennie self-deprecatingly cracked that Ian was the only one strong enough to hold her. Jennie remembered the tug of war. Tori remembered being excited that boys were touching her. Sisanie called that an “honest reaction.” Tori: “I was living my best life that day.” She then quipped that the guys holding her on a surfboard was her “best moment.” Jennie ribbed her for suggesting it topped her wedding day and the birth of her kids, but said she’ll recreate it for her “next birthday cake.” 

• Jennie said how “tiny” Brandon was when he was trying out to be a lifeguard, calling him a “miniature person.” Tori: “It might’ve been the one and only time we’ve seen Jason without a shirt on. And now we know why.” Wrong. He was shirtless in his very last episode (and pantless too!) and in the sweat lodge in season 5 and in season 1’s “The First Time” and probably another time or two as well. They continued to mock his body, though, saying Jason had “young boy muscles” during this episode. Tori said he’s “very fit” today and “has to be because his wife teaches spin.”

• Jennie liked seeing Henry. Tori said she didn’t remember his name. Jennie: “He was such a great actor. We were lucky to have him.” Tori said she thought “Henry Thomas” is also the name of the actor who played Elliott in E.T. and she’s right. (Funny that E.T. came up here when Josh Schwartz referenced it twice on “The O.C.” podcast last week.) Tori also said she thought they weren’t allowed to name characters a certain name if people with that name existed in real life. Jennie said she recalled they ran into that situation a few times and had to change character names at the last minute. Sisanie pointed out how the actor who plays Henry, James Pickens Jr., went on to do “Grey’s Anatomy.”

• After a break, Jennie said she knows Sisanie wants to talk about the Brenda and Dylan storyline because she’s such a fan of them. Sisanie quipped that it drives Jennie “insane.” Tori said Sisanie is their Brenda because she’s the brunette among them and then said Sisanie was blushing. Sisanie said when Kelly asks Steve if he knows about Brenda and Dylan breaking up, it gave her flashbacks and it was “foreshadowing” for what was to come. Actually… it wasn’t. As I’ve pointed out again and again, they had no intention of breaking up Brenda and Dylan for Kelly at this point. They all thought it was “weird” in hindsight that Kelly was “wrapped up” in Brenda’s pregnancy scare with Dylan, but thought that it made sense at the time that she would be the supportive friend.

• Sisanie: “What people might not realize is FOX complained about Brenda having sex at the end of season 1. I mean, this is a rumor, maybe you guys can confirm, to the point where they forced the writers to have some kind of consequence so that’s why she gets scared and it’s scary for her and then she breaks up with Dylan. Do you guys know if there’s any truth to that?” I love how Sisanie went from stating this as fact (“what people might not realize”) to calling it a “rumor.” It’s not a rumor. Pretty sure they discussed it recently on the podcast (when they covered “Spring Dance” with Darren) and I wrote about it not too long ago in this piece examining teen drama characters losing their virginity, for which executive producer Charles Rosin gave me an exclusive statement.

• Tori said she remembered it being “controversial.” She then said how FOX approves the storylines, but hinted that someone “insisted” on this storyline regardless of how the network felt. Jennie said it was someone they “shall not name.” Tori then said it was her dad, who was a “big deal” and who would insist on doing something regardless of what the network wanted. Jennie liked that they “backtracked” and that Brenda struggled with her feelings about taking her relationship with Dylan to the “sexual level.”

• Sisanie thought the pregnancy test was “very confusing.” They thought the gynecologist was “creepy” and Jennie and Sisanie revealed they will only see women gynecologists. Do we have to know this? Do we care? Tori said hers is a guy, is their age, is a friend of hers, and is the “biggest” fan of the show. Tori: “My legs are in stirrups and he starts asking me Donna questions… He would ask me questions and quiz me.” But apparently they’ve become close friends and he delivered all of her kids.

• Tori didn’t like that Benda started her period at the doctor’s office and Sisanie said she was “confused” and thought Brenda was “lying.” Jennie wanted to know if they ever had a pregnancy scare. Do we have to know this? Do we care? Sisanie said she thought she had scares and revealed that she also took Plan B “at a very young age.” That is way too much information. Sisanie credited the show for teaching her these things and Jennie rightly pointed out that Plan B wasn’t a thing back then.

• Jennie said she hoped her mother and kids weren’t listening, but she remembered going to the doctor to start the pill under the guise of irregular periods or skin issues while telling her mom she “wasn’t sexually active.” She then said she and her mom were told she couldn’t go on the pill because she was pregnant. So then she had to tell her mom she was having sex, “similar to what Brenda had to do,” and the “worst part” was that they then came back in and apologized for giving her the wrong result — she wasn’t pregnant after all. So Jennie confessed to her mom for no reason. Sisanie and Tori were floored. Tori: “This is a good storyline!” Jennie said this “trauma” from when she was circa 16 years old came back to her as she watched this episode. Tori: “That’s a 9021OMG moment. I can’t believe you never told me this before.” Tori said she’s never had a scare, “to the point” where she thought maybe she couldn’t have children… and then went on to have lots of kids. Jennie: “Timing’s everything. They choose us and they come when they’re ready.”

• Jennie said she was “so uncomfortable” that Brenda had to “come clean about the sex with her dad.” Tori: “You just made my heart drop twice in five minutes.” Jennie: “That was a different, very, very special episode. We haven’t gotten to it yet.” Sisanie said she never had to have a conversation like this with her parents. They laughed over Brenda being so “sassy” and Dylan being “squirmy.” Jennie said she’s “quite familiar” with the parent looking at their kid’s significant other “a little bit differently” after you learn they’re doing things. Sisanie and Tori exclaimed that they’re “not ready.” Jennie said the parent has to be “more grown-up about it.”

• Tori said that during one of the virtual meet and greets, they spoke with someone who “used to have the hots for Jim Walsh.” Jennie wanted to know which fan it was and Tori said it was a guy, who told them how it was hard for him to come out, and he wanted to tell people in school how he had a “thing for Dylan” but had to keep it to himself. The fan went on to say how Jennie and Tori make fun of Jim’s hairy chest, but he was “hot for Jim.” I’m sure this fan, even though not named (though Tori did seem to say the name “Matty” at one point) loves that his private conversation with Tori and Jennie is now being shared on the podcast. Jennie called Jim the “OG bear.” Tori: “Who knew Jim Walsh had such a huge gay following? We have to tell James Eckhouse.” Because one fan commented to you that he thought Jim was hot that means Jim had a “huge gay following”? Okay.

• Jennie thought it was “poignant” when Cindy told Jim they have to trust Brenda “when their trust was kind of shaken by this news.” Tori recalled making out with a boy at 16 and her mom telling her afterward, “Just remember, this is always going to apply to boys: Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?” Tori said this wasn’t the advice she wasn’t looking for. Jennie said it was “old-fashioned” and reminiscent of the “generational thinking” where you marry the person you have sex with. Tori said “nowadays you wouldn’t give some old line like that.” They laughed over the idea of Tori using that line on Jennie’s daughters when Tori would really want all the juicy details. I dunno, I think that line is still applicable today.

• They were all surprised that Brenda broke up with Dylan. Sisanie said it was “so abrupt” and also didn’t like Brenda’s reaction to Dylan telling her to go on the pill. Tori thought Dylan was trying to be responsible and didn’t take it the way Brenda and Kelly did. Jennie said guys “don’t consider the sacrifice or the effect taking birth control has on women.” Sisanie saw “both sides.” Jennie: “Everything has two sides, but it was two against one in that moment. He was outnumbered.” Jennie felt the breakup “came out of nowhere in the very first episode” of the season. Tori thought the final scene with Brenda saying goodbye to Dylan in the school hallway would’ve been a great season-ender and Jennie thought it was a “perfect cliffhanger.” Sisanie said it made her want to see the next episode “so bad” and Jennie said how “back in the day,” you had to “wait a whole week, kind of like we’re doing now.” Sisanie and Tori spoke about the stress of taping shows back then. Jennie said her sister still has VHS tapes “of everything I’ve done.”

• Jennie liked the scene of Kelly driving and talking on the phone, but questioned why they had her do that as a teen actress “because they put a lot of responsibility on me in that scene.” Tori wanted to talk about the beach club setting. Tori said while it looked glamorous, it “often” wasn’t warm or sunny when they were filming there. Tori said they’d have to wear “down coats” and Jennie said they would “pray” the cameras didn’t pick up their goosebumps. The they discussed the beach club itself and I’m not sure they were right about where it was located (they said it was in Beverly Hills, I thought it was in Santa Monica), but Tori said they should “go back there.” Sisanie said someone should “fact-check” for them. Ya think?

• After another break, they continued to discuss which beach club they filmed at, but Jennie admitted, “We don’t know. We’re going to figure it out. We have a long season of beach club scenes to figure it out, so we will do that.” They joked about Steve’s beachwear and Tori noted “lots of pops of color this episode.” Jennie complimented Donna’s outfits and Andrea’s romper in the acting monologue scene. Sisanie pointed out Kelly, Brenda, and Donna wearing “matching shoulder pad outfits,” and Jennie revealed she loves a good shoulder pad. Tori joked that they look like “16-year-olds who lunch.” Tori: “There was a lot of teen shows that followed, like ‘The O.C.’ and ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and all that. But ‘Gossip Girl’ was like the fashion one that came later and I feel like look at us — we did that first.”

• As for favorite lines, Jennie was “bugged” when Kelly said to Brenda, “Sounds like it’s that time of the month.” She said women wouldn’t say that to one another today, but liked Brenda saying, “It is and it isn’t if you know what I mean.” Sisanie liked David saying, “An entire season of beaches and babes.” Jennie: “That’s what it is! It’s going to be an entire season of beaches and babes and acting class.” I’m getting the sense they think all of season 2 is set at the beach club. It’s, uh, not.

• Tori said Brandon’s job as a cabana boy is “Dirty Dancing-esque.” Jennie said the acting teacher “looked exactly like Elvis Presley to me.” Tori: “You guys, he played Elvis Presley in a TV movie after this show.” Jennie: “I should be a casting agent!” She also called him “really attractive.” For the record, Michael St. Gerard played Elvis in a TV show before he was on “Beverly Hills, 90210.”

• A fan named Carly wrote in saying, “I always wondered if it was Aaaron Spelling’s idea to keep Donna a virgin for so long because he didn’t want his daughter doing any steamy scenes or did the writers come up with this storyline because Aaron was the boss and Tori was his daughter and they were afraid he’d be upset if they gave her too many romantic scenes?” This has already been discussed quite a bit over the years, between my 2010 interview with executive producer Larry Mollin and Larry and Charles’ comments on the “Beverly Hills 90210 Show” podcast. Plus, Donna still had plenty of romantic scenes, and even some “steamy” ones before she finally lost her virginity. So the question has been answered before and its premise is flawed. But anyway, Tori said she thought it was a “little bit of both,” but primarily her dad’s idea to keep Donna a virgin. But she also said that while she gave her dad a lot of advice and opinions while the show was in development, once she was on it, they didn’t discuss it much anymore because she didn’t want to be “the insider.” She claimed they “never talked Donna again,” except for when she told the writers it was time for Donna to lose her virginity and the writers supposedly said “your dad will kill us.” This, she claimed, prompted her to bring it up to him during a Sunday night dinner “and then it happened.” She called it “super-embarrassing” that Jason directed it, “but we’ll get to that later.”

• A fan named Alicia wanted to know, “If you could play any of the parents on ‘90210,’ who would you choose and why?” Tori called it a “great question.” Jennie said Cindy because “I really appreciate the way she’s such a good homemaker. It looks fun to just garden and cook and clean.” Tori said it’s “hard” to pick “at this point in the program” because they’ve only seen Cindy and a “little bit” of Jackie. That said, she picked Cindy because of her “style.” They then agreed Donna would be the “easiest child” to parent. Sisanie said she’d want to be Kelly’s mom and Jennie told her, “Be careful what you wish for, Sis… I’m gonna call you up in like 15 years.” They agreed that Jackie was a “fun mom,” though. Jennie said she’s a “pretty good mix” of Cindy and Jackie in real life. But Tori didn’t agree that Jackie was “fun,” saying she was just “hands off.” Tori then said she herself is the “fun mom” in real life and Jennie agreed.

• Jennie said she’s “really looking forward” to “The Party Fish” next week. Tori said she has no memory of it. Sisanie said they were “getting some facts right now,” and she read something aloud about how the Beverly Hills Beach Club “no longer exists” after being “badly damaged in the Northridge earthquake and was never repaired.” Jennie and Tori strongly disagreed and insisted it still exists, before Tori conceded she may have reached out to the wrong beach club. Sisanie: “To be continued. Cliffhanger!” Jennie: “Okay, ladies. I have to go lay down.” Sisanie: “We have to say bye. She’s dying.”

I really wonder what Jennie and Tori and Sisanie would think if they listened to last week’s debut episode of “The O.C.” rewatch podcast with Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke. Would they think “9021OMG” is on par with it? Would they think theirs is so much more fun? Or would they think there’s things they could learn from Bilson and Clarke’s style? To be fair, “Welcome to the OC, Bitches” is only one episode in (until tomorrow, anyway), so it could still go up in flames, but I think they had such a strong start and if this trio was smart, they’d learn from what Bilson and Clarke were doing.

They’d also learn from all the feedback fans have given them, but clearly they’re not interested in that. That’s why this week’s installment was just like so many others that barely scratched the surface. And with them insisting “everyone is really loving the podcast,” they’re obviously over the negative feedback from weeks ago and don’t care for constructive criticism. They only care to listen to the praise. So this is what we’re stuck with. The question that remains is for how long? At this rate, it will still take them more than five years to get through all 10 seasons. I still find it hard to believe they will be committed that long… or that iHeart will be. Did they have to be “renewed” to do season 2, like they’ve kind of made it seem? Or do they have a one-year deal that ensures they will get to continue until November, the anniversary of when the podcast premiered? That would take them to the end of season 2. Can’t come soon enough.

It’s also still unclear why they showed off all that memorabilia and merchandise on the live podcast if they weren’t going to give it away to fans. I guess they just want fans to spend money on them and give them nothing in return.

One final note: Melanie, if you’re reading this, please comment below and set everyone straight about the Beverly Hills Beach Club!

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