|
|
|
Beverly Hills, 90210: The Third Season (TV)
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (11th December 2007). |
|
The Show
 Not too long ago, I wrote a review about "Melrose Place: Season 3" (1994-1995). I made references to "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990-2000). As it turns out, this very review is about that season when I first started watching this series. I didn't start watching Season 3 of 90210 until about probably the last third of the season, and then select re-runs over the summer. In this case, I had to fill in the blanks by watching the episodes I never got to see until now. For starters, Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) is at odds with Mr. and Mrs. Walsh (James Eckhouse and Carol Potter). Daughter Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) and girlfriend to Dylan is right in the middle of it. Her fraternal twin brother, Brandon (Jason Priestley) gets a summer job at the Beverly Hills Beach Club. There, he sees Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris) and then there is some tension. Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and her step-brother, David Silver (Brian Austin Greene), are about to have a new member of their family. Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) starts out by accepting a bet with Brandon that he can't get a job and hold it for one whole week. Donna Martin (Tori Spelling) is trying to find somebody to go with her to Paris for six weeks. David would like to go with her. But if he wants to graduate with the rest of the group, then he has to attend summer school since he's a grade level behind the rest of the gang. "Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 3" (1992-1993) is the summer vacation between junior and senior year for this group of West Beverly Hills High School students, then the actual senior year itself. This tightly-knit group is about to be put to the test, starting with Brenda and Dylan's relationship. One of the things I liked about this show was that it touched upon some very important life issues, many of which are still facing youths today. Smoking is one of the best examples here. Teen-age drinking is also touched on. In fact, one of the group comes very close to missing graduation because of it. Even academic high school cheating is touched on. In fact, another of the group has to face the consequences for it, including the possibility of missing graduation. Then there's another import stage in a student's life : higher education. The big question this season is whether the group will still be together after senior year is over with. This is one of the things I didn't like about watching this season, but unfortunately that's how life works. In the beginning, I thought that "Beverly Hills, 90210" was only a passing fad. That's probably why I didn't watch it for the first two-and-a-half seasons. Still, I was glad that I gave this series a chance. Oh, and this part is for you people who have watched the supernatural or sci-fi line-ups on FOX and / or ABC back in the 90's. If you are going to--or have watched--this series, then you might want to look for some things that appeared in this season that have appeared in a few of those shows. Here are a few hints: look for a guest star that would soon be a part of the "Superman" legacy. There's a familiar piece of "The X-files" (1993-2002) that was seen here. There's a BIG piece of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997-2003) legacy here as well. All Season Three episodes are included: - "Misery Loves Company" (45:51) - "The Twins, the Trustee and the Very Big Trip"(45:38) - "Too Little, Too Late / Paris, 75001" (46:06) - "Sex, Lies and Volleyball / Photo Fini" (45:39) - "Shooting Star / American In Paris" (46:01) - "Castles In the Sand" (46:03) - "A Song of Myself" (46:05) - "The Back Story" (46:02) - "Highwire" (46:03) - "Home and Away" (46:04) - "Presumption of Innocence" (46:01) - "Destiny Rides Again" (45:23) - "Rebel With a Cause" (45:34) - "Wild Horses" (45:05) - "The Kindness of Strangers" (46:03) - "It's a Totally Happening Life" (45:34) - "The Game Is Chicken" (46:06) - "Midlife . . . Now What?" (46:00) - "Back In the High Life Again" (44:48) - "Parental Guidance Recommended" (45:45) - "Dead End" (45:49) - "The Child Is the Father to the Man" (45:00) - "Duke's Bad Boy" (45:49) - "Perfectly Perfect" (46:03) - "Senior Poll" (45:48) - "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window" (45:37) - "A Night to Remember" (43:05) - "Something In the Air" (45:50) - "Commencement - Parts 1 & 2" (1:32:50 season finale)
Video
All episodes are presented in their 1.33:1 Fullscreen televised format. I haven't seen all of the original episodes of this series. The shows that I did see, I only saw ONCE when they were originally aired. So it wasn't that big a deal to me when I read the back covers on each of the four cases AND the box itself and saw -- 'Some episodes may be edited from their original network versions.' That aside, the colors are vibrant during the majority of the day scenes. This release has the look and feel just as they did when I first started watching them on FOX. Even the scenes which were shot in the darkness still show major grain.
Audio
Each episode is accompanied by an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround soundtrack, which sounds really great if you got a surround setup. No complaints here. At the beginning of each episode, you see that it is presented as such. There are optional English, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles available, probably because of this title also being Region Code 4. If you were a big fan of "Beverly Hills, 90210" and remember all of the music that was presented in the originally aired episodes, then you may want to check out the back of each of the four cases AND the box itself : 'Music has been changed for this home entertainment version.'
Extras
Paramount have included an audio commentary, three featurettes and bonus trailers as supplements on this set, below is a closer look at them. Some of these features contain spoilers. Do not watch them before finishing the Season 3 episodes. Disc One: The only extras on this disc are bonus trailer for - "Ghost Whisperer: The Second Season" which runs for 52 seconds. - "CBS Dramas" which runs for 1 minute 47 seconds. - "Charmed: The Final Season" which runs for 49 seconds. Disc Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven: There are no extras on these discs. Disc Eight: There's an audio commentary track to be found in this package. On Disc 8 for the episode "Commencement" (the season finale), you get to hear executive producer/writer Charles Rosin and writer Karen Rosin, a husband-and-wife duo who came up with all those different directions where the characters of "Beverly Hills, 90210" ended up going. They seemed very enthusiastic about discussing this final episode of the season and providing other facts about the series itself. Unfortunately for the non-English speakers, there are no subtitles available for the commentary. The first of the three featurettes is "7 Minutes of Heaven: The Best of Season 3". This is 7 minutes 5 seconds of some of the best clips from Season 3. You will find the episode title in the lower-right corner. The second of the three featurettes is "The World According to Nat", which runs 5 minutes 3 seconds. Here you see an interview with Joe E. Tata, who plays 'Nat', the owner of 'The Peach Pit'. He discusses the character and his experiences on the show. There are also clips from the show accompanied by the episode titles in the lower-right corner. The last of the three featurettes is "Everything You Need to Know About Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 3", which runs 17 minutes 11 seconds. Here, Michael Colton and John Aboud will give you their viewpoints about the season while at the Beverly Hills Beach Club. These guys get right to the point when it comes to key points of this season of 90210, with some humor to boot. Seeing what these two did on this featurette and on a "Melrose Place: Season 3" featurette, I only wonder why they don't get to do commentary tracks for episodes. Like the other two featurettes, you get clips from this season's episodes.
Packaging
"Beverly Hills, 90210: Season 3" is an 8-DVD set with 2 discs to a plastic slim-case, all placed into a single cardboard case.
Overall
|
|||||
|