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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: July 15, 1992
PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Beverly Hills, 90210, “Misery Loves Company” (Season 3, Episode 1). [Watch on YouTube.]
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: For all its faults, Beverly Hills, 90210 knew teens. They knew which 30-year-old actors teens would flip out for. They knew which of-the-moment pop stars to cameo (Color Me Badd and Jeremy Jordan, obviously). And they knew that teens wouldn’t stop watching a show they were obsessed with just because it was summer.
Both the second and third seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210 began with short (6- or 7-episode) summer mini-seasons. Brandon got a job at the Beverly Hills beach club. Dylan would surf. Bikinis would be worn. All the classic summer elements. But it was the summer that kicked off season 3 that most significantly affected the 90210 storylines forever. This was the summer that Brenda and Donna went to Paris, while Kelly stayed home to help her mom with her new baby. Kelly probably babysat Erin a grand total of twice all summer, then spent the rest of it surfing with Dylan … and talking to Dylan … and making out with Dylan. All while Brenda was having a perfectly innocent time in Paris, pretending to be French and flirting with Dean Cain!
There were other things that happened this summer. Brandon dated a racist. Steve got some fool idea that he could turn David into an international music superstar in the niche genre of keyboard R&B. David almost cheated on Donna. Andrea … something-something a deaf kid. But it was the Brenda-Dylan-Kelly triangle that blew up and became 90210‘s biggest, buzziest storyline. And it ended up being the vehicle the show used to usher Jennie Garth into the leading-lady slot while beginning to phase out problem-actresss Shannen Doherty. It was quite the summer season!
[Unfortunately, only the first season of Beverly Hills, 90210 is available to stream on Amazon Prime. Buy you can watch “Misery Loves Company” on YouTube.]
Joe Reid (@joereid) is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn. You can find him leaving flowers for Mrs. Landingham at the corner of 18th and Potomac.
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