Brenda had back

My friend Amanda just returned from her honeymoon in Greece where, she said, the absolute only U.S. show in English to grace her hotel TV was Beverly Hills, 90210. (Not that she spent her ‘moon vegging in front of the tele, but you know how it’s just nice to have the TV on while you get dolled up for the night.) This unexpected chance to refresh her memory of all things Secret Diet Pills (ooooh!) and Gelled Pompadour (Oh! Brandon!) sparked her memories of how unbelievably moral the show was. All I remember is Donna lighting a bazillion candles and dressing up in white lingerie and “giving” her virginity to David – AS LONG AS HE USED A CONDOM! (Her daddy was the show’s creator. Ew.)

Anyhow, this got me thinking about the hormone-soaked frenzy currently taking place amongst my friends when it comes to the new 90210. I’ve been seeing the ads and it’s Just. Not. The. Same. What jumps out at me the most: How glaringly different the girls’ bodies are. I know the times, they-are-a-changing’, and everyone on TV looks all Gossip Girl now (Hi, Serena! Love you!) but do you remember what Brenda, Kelly, Donna and Andrea looked like?

Here’s a reminder:

Two, four, six, eight, Donna Martin's Mom jeans are GREAT!

Sure, Donna was twiggy with big boobs (often framed by faux suspenders) but the other girls had some meat. Yesterday, I watched the episode where Brenda and Kelly go skydiving just to spend time with Hot Don The Instructor and Bren was wearing tight, high-waisted, belted jeans with a red tee shirt tucked in (SO Midwestern!)that (a) showed she had thighs and a butt and (b) unfortunately revealed a slight camel toe issue.

The thing is, back when I watched this show with the kind of religious fervor typically reserved for Christian rock concerts or Miller High Life brewery tours, I never, ever thought Brenda was “fat” or even slightly big. She was pretty and sexy and fighting her way from the naivete of the Midwest to the intensely cliquish ways of Southern California.

But now, compared with the new gals (like AnnaLynne McCord, who I actually loathe, character-wise, because she played a horrible person on Nip/Tuck, one of my favie shows, and despite my above-average intellect, I am unable to separate the actress from the role), Brenda looks like she could eat one of them as a 100-calorie snack. The new cast, in their full, thin glory:

I totally wore strappy, dominatrix-esque stilettos, booty shorts and a head scarf in high school! Well, OK, I did wear booty shorts.

Does this bother you? Make you yearn for the blissful ignorance of yester-high school? Do you not even have a clue what I'm talking about because you have more important things to watch like, say, the Democratic National Convention or Rock of Love Part 3 (it's coming!!!)

Wax philosophical below. Fave 90210 memories? Were you a Steve or a Dylan kinda gal? Did you wish you could work on the newspaper with Brandon, but only if Ahhndrea would let up a bit with her iron fist? And who secretly wanted to sleep with Mr. Walsh??

PS Funny Dan story alert! We were just waking up this morning, lying in our warm bed and talking about the day. He was half in and half out of sleep but, as always, he was calling me by my various nicknames - Lolly, Lolo, Lollster, Lala, and then just random stuff like Peanut Butter Jelly Time or Nakesters Bear or...you get the point. Anyway, he was almost asleep, kind of awake, and he goes, "What are you doing today, Fitarella?"

!!!

I shook him and said, "Wait - you know I have a blogger friend named that, right?" And he said, "I know, I go to your blog, I've seen her name." Isn't that hysterical? Also, once when I was PMSsy he called me Crabby McSlacker.

Too funny! Had to share

PPS: My iVillage editor, Valerie, was on the Today Show this morning, honing in on my turf promoting our new walking weight loss program with expert Leslie Sansone, coach of our Step Up to Slim Down Walking Community Challenge.

Anyways, if you're interested in learning more about the six-week challenge, here's the link.

Comments

I was reading an article on this last night online and thinking about the same things you wrote. I never thought any of those girls were 'big' - they were either normal or thin for that time. It's amazing how perceptions of thin have changed.

I used to love the show - I would stay up late to watch it. I loved Brandon - the geek that I was!

Does your husband ever call you "Ashley"? I know that's a crazy one!

I was never a huge 90210-er. I watched, but not religiously, and only a couple seasons. I sometimes wish I had that piece of pop culture to share with people.

But this is really fascinating, noticing the differences. How long since the first one debuted? (Going to Wikipedia) 18 years. What a difference such a short time has made.

And I'm so glad you mentioned the Mom jeans, because the first thing I thought when I saw that picture was "WOW! Look how high-waisted those jeans are! I wouldn't dream of wearing those NOW!" How long has it been since I've tucked a t-shirt in either?

Jason Priestly is WAY hot, and Jennie Garth is still beautiful. But I knew things were never going to work out with an ex-boyfriend when he confessed his dream girl was Tori Spelling. That's just weird.

O
M
G.

Now Im all kinds of wonderin' what Renaissance Man is going to call me in the throes of passion?! FatGuyInALittleCoat?
that's so funny.

and this:
Does this bother you? Make you yearn for the blissful ignorance of yester-high school?

YESYESYES.
I love how back then (before the internet when we wrote using one long shiv of stone to carve upon another) we thought TORI SPELLING WAS SKINNY.

lordy I long for those days.
and not just because I miss my boyfriends with those longasssideburns.
M.

Loved me some 90210 back in the day. I actually dressed as Val once for a sorority skit.

But it is funny how their body shapes/types were really non-issue, especially in comparison today. Perhaps some fo that is because of the fashion, which allowed you to be normal. My guy friends still lament the fact that when they went to college the flannel and men's jeans look of grunge was all the rage compared to the postage-stamp-as-dress look that is all the rage.

Er, uh, Dan and I have never ever met, I swear! ;)

I was a DIE HARD 90210 fan and would have given it up to Dylan in his Porsche in a heartbeat.

I always think about how Kelly and the rest of the gals would be considered chubby on TV these days.

Dylan + Kelly 4-eva.

Heather

I have a confession to make: I have never seen 90210. It was banned in my home growing up and for some reason, while I would sneak out to watch MTV at friends' homes, I never made the effort for that one. I do remember wearing baggy tees tucked into my high-waisted pants like that tho. Good times.

We live in a weird world if Tori Spelling is schilling for Nutrislim and the new cast of 90210 look like the mutant children of a plastic surgeon and a Bratzz doll...

First of all, another die hard 90210 fan here. I even watched until the last season, when there were only 4 original characters left...

Does anyone remember when Valerie replaced Brenda? She needed a dress to wear, and Cindy said to borrow one of Brenda's. And Valerie says, "A size 2? I wish."

Kind of reminds me of J-Love a few months ago. "A size 2 isn't fat." Why do people have to lie? If you're a size 6 or 8, who cares??????

Just me and my 5 am thoughts. I'm off to go running now. :)

Gotta admit, I was never a fan. I watched lackadaisically the first couple of seasons but after that I lost interest. Partly because I didn't identify much with the whole crew, being a single mom by then and working about 60 hours a week...so I was more the Murphy Brown set. (Everybody repeat after me, "Dan Quayle SUCKS!") Yeah, guess I was an overthinker even then...

But I'd have done Brandon in a heartbeat. Heck, I'd still do Brandon in a heartbeat. :-)

And I'd echo Nikki - even the "fat" girls on TV are unnaturally thin, then and now. Which isn't news, I guess, but it still makes me cranky.

V.

Seriously? There's a new 90210??? I did not know! But what about this Rock of Love 3? I thought he found his true loves in 1 & 2 already??? (yes, my husband and I watch it...)

Interesting to compare and contrast the two shows and how they're being sold. In the first photo I looked more at the faces and less at the clothes.

Damn it, you're making me think, and it's too early in the morning for that kind of thing!

*snicker* Crabby on PMS? *snicker*

It is amazing how much the perception of what the ideal body is has changed in such a short period of time. I remember thinking that Kelly and Brenda had the "perfect" figures and that Donna was (gasp)"too skinny"! Now Donna would be the heaviest if she was on the new show. What will interest me is to see if Kelly and Brenda, who will be returning to the show, come back skinnier or lose weight as the show goes on....I hope not):

I take this opportunity to ask for clarification: what exactly ARE "Mom Jeans"? I hear that phrase all the time, but I'm not sure what specific characteristics qualify jeans as "Moms". (As I sit here probably WEARING them...crap!) Somebody, just give it to me straight. I can take it.

Charlotte, I'm so glad I'm not the only one who's family banned that show! I also couldn't watch filth like "Dirty Dancing," "Married with Children," and "The Simpsons." I actually agree with my mom on "Married with Children," but I think she was just going on gut instinct for the other two! LOL! And to think, I can say cuss words in front of my mom and she just laughs now!

Oh, and Kim, Mom jeans are the jeans that are high-waisted, emphasizing your hips and waist. They can be accompanied by elastic in the waist band and the best are those with no pockets in the back. They are also tapered leg style. Very 80's! But 80's is back in style, so who knows!

DAMMIT LESLIE!

Anytime i find an article, you are right here on this blog already writing about it.

you steal my sunshine.

PS did she touch Matt Lauer? because then you know i will have to hunt her down...

www.groundedfitness.com

Huge Nip/Tuck here fan and I totally get the McCord hate LOL. She played an equally obnoxious chick on a CSI episode too. I think she's typecast.

I don't remember anyone from 90210 being fat, but I do remember thinking Tori Spelling was way too thin. It is so hard for me to compare though because those clothes are so outdated. They probably add 10 pounds to each girl.

The standard of thin has definitely changed for the worst though. The only "regular-sized" person I can think of on TV is the Arquette lady from Medium (Patricia/Rosanna?). She's probably a size 6 in real life but because we're so accustomed to the size 0 chicks she looks almost plump.

This is just another reason why the new 90210 will not live up to my expectations for it.

This is so true! Back when this show was on, nobody was pointing at these girls and saying they were overweight. But look at them compared to the new crew! That's why I refuse to watch these shows.

Was riveted to 90210 back in the day. Also wore faded levis and baggy t-shirts all the time.
Don't even go near TV these days and my hubby would kill me if I attempted to watch that today. Don't have the time, energy or inclination and they look like a bunch of skinny, bony asses w/ no muscle. What is interesting about that?

I was all for the bad boys and was totally in love with Dylan. In the end he was a bad boy with a conscience which is what I have now anyways.

I agree that I never would have thought of them as fat. But then again look at the super models of the day. Claudia, Cindy, these women where not stick thin like the models of today. As our society gets bigger and bigger our models get thinner and thinner. Now isn't that a conundrum?

I personally have no intention of watching the new one and am frankly annoyed that they made a new one. It can never live up to the old gang at West Beverly Hills High.

Jenn

P.S. I have just recently discovered you and have totally been reading a lot of your old stuff this weekend. I will be using some of your stuff as convo in my own blog and I hope you don't mind.

The sad thing is that I'm guessing the new cast is super-skinny because most women WANT to see teeny tiny women as role models. I don't get this AT ALL! Why don't audiences find "real" looking women easier to identify with? I know I do, but I guess I'm in the minority.

(And too funny about your husband calling you Crabby McSlacker!)

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