#1991 bh90210 1x18

[shannendoherty-fans]

1991 - Shannen Doherty and Melinda Culea in promotional stills of "Beverly Hills 90210"'s episode "It's Only a Test", originally aired on March 28, 1991.

[shannendoherty-fans]

The first season of Beverly Hills, 90210, began airing on October 4, 1990 on Fox television network. The season concluded on May 9, 1991 after 22 episodes. The series follows twins Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) during their sophomore year in high school as they deal with everyday teenage issues such as rumors, peer pressure, shoplifting, sex, affirmative action, dysfunctional families, cancer scares, learning disabilities, rape, alcohol use disorder, and AIDS.

The early development of Brenda Walsh was focused on her feelings about moving to a new town, making new friends, and trying to fit in to the new Beverly Hills lifestyle. In the pilot episode, Brenda fantasizes about making big changes in her life, alluding to the idea that she wasn’t very popular at her old school. She meets Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth) and struggles internally with impressing her and the other kids at school. Her desperation to fit in and be counted among the popular is highlighted by her sudden rule breaking and sneaking around. She gets a fake ID and gets entry to a club, where she meets the character Jason, a lawyer in his early 20s. Brenda lies to him and pretends to be a college student, embarking on a relationship that proves to be moving too fast for her.

An example of Brenda’s naivete and idealistic attitude was when she disclosed her real age to Jason believing that he would continue dating her despite her being a 16-year-old high school student. We see Brenda’s youthful heartbreak and the realization that love doesn’t conquer all as Jason angrily declines. It’s in that moment that the audience is most drawn to Brenda, as the direction for the character led us to believe that an honor roll student with the loving family and good looks had it all together and lived a perfect and grown up life even while still in high school. Her vulnerability at this point brought a touch of reality to the character that fans appreciated and helped move the season into the second episode with a larger fan base. Brenda Walsh further displays her desire for popularity with her hot and cold relationship with Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris), the nerdy editor of the West Beverly High newspaper. When in front of her friends, Brenda pretends to dislike Andrea, however, in episodes where Brenda and Andrea are alone together, Brenda treats her with a grudging respect, but they would become good friends later on. This behavior is repeated with other, less popular students as well, shining a light on the magnitude of a teenager’s desire to fit in and be popular. Brenda Walsh is no exception to this common theme.

The main season one arch for the Brenda Walsh character came during a series of episodes involving a surprise romance with Brandon’s solitary friend, Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), who had long been misunderstood as an outsider and bad boy. Brenda and Dylan’s relationship quickly became serious in season one after a frantic dispute with his father on one of their first dates. Dylan was consoled by Brenda and shared a passionate kiss with her. This scene jumpstarted one of the most talked about pairings at West Beverly High. Brenda’s father was initially against the relationship due to the bad reputation of Dylan’s father, however, Brenda continued to date Dylan in secret.

After two months of their relationship, Dylan wanted to have sex, but Brenda was not ready. During a trip to Palm Springs, Brenda went to meet Dylan in a hotel room, but saw him with another girl and jumped to the conclusion that they had made love. Showing her temper, Brenda stormed off, but shortly returned only to throw the girl out of the hotel room and confront Dylan. Brenda and Dylan quickly reconciled, but not before an uncomfortable argument that ended with Brenda essentially demanding that Dylan sleep with her since that was all he was apparently concerned about. As a result, Dylan agreed to wait until Brenda was ready, and the couple left the hotel and went to spend the rest of the holiday with their friends at David Silver (Brian Austin Green)’s grandparents’ house in Palm Springs.

Despite the show’s focus on the relationship between Brenda and Dylan, her character was developed in other areas as well, forming an identity separate from simply being “Dylan’s girlfriend”. In multiple episodes, Brenda proves herself to be a funny, smart and driven young woman who cares about her friends and family and puts them first, along with her own personal goals. The character definitely has a streak of pride that shows that she isn’t perfect and makes plenty of mistakes, but the directors and writers made sure to include Brenda’s vulnerable side to keep the character relatable. Episodes such as “Its Just A Test” show an uncertain girl who is learning about life and the struggles that take place, however episodes like “The Perfect Mom” also show how good friends and a supportive family plays such a strong role in her life. Brenda’s relationships aside from the one she has with Dylan are prioritized in every episode, and she verbalizes this in the episode “Sleepover” when she tells her friend Kelly that she won’t let a stupid boy come between her and her friends.

At the West Beverly High spring dance, Brenda and Dylan make the decision to have sex for the first time. As their relationship is taken to a new level, Brenda has to deal with the news that her family will be moving back to Minneapolis for her father’s promotion in the season finale “Home Again”. It seems as though all the friends that she made will be left behind, and many tears are shed as Brenda says her good-byes to her friends and ends her relationship with Dylan, fearing that long distance dating will cause Dylan to cheat while she’s away. The culmination of the season comes when Brenda’s father decides to stay in Beverly Hills for the sake of his family’s happiness, and Brenda informs Dylan that her period is “late”.

Here are the links of the next 10 episodes of the first season of "Beverly Hills 90210" that I host on google photos. Feel free to join, share, and add yours if you like. xoxo

[shannendoherty-fans]

1991 - Beverly Hills, 90210 - 1x18 - It's Only a Test

Episode aired 28 March 1991 The West Beverly juniors are panicked by the upcoming SATs, but then everything gets put into perspective when Brenda finds a lump in her breast and faces a test no one can prepare for. Meanwhile, Andrea and Steve decide to study for the upcoming test together and as the night continues, they end up kissing.