90210: Backlot Prom

90210:

"Zero Tolerance"

I haven't really blogged about 90210 since the infamous bowling montage of '08, but I have been watching every episode and I guess I should be embarrassed to admit that. I wanted, however, to weigh in on the show again now because it has actually turned out to be quite enjoyable lately.

I'd attribute the vast improvement to: more screen time for Adrianna (or "Bangs" as I fondly call her) and Navid, who have been awesome; less screen time for the Annie/Ethan/Naomi love triangle and subsequent fallout, which was insufferable; Silver's bipolar disorder storyline, which made her more sympathetic and less grating and showed that Dixon is one nice fellow; and Ryan Matthews occasionally acting like he doesn't have a stick up his butt. I've even been enjoying Naomi lately, specifically when she moved in with the Wilsons and was terrorizing everybody (especially Dixon).

Also, the dialogue has gotten a lot better. One scene in particular that sticks out in my mind took place a few episodes ago when most of the characters were holding simultaneous phone conversations about Silver making the sex tape and what kind of drugs she must be on. That scene was so well-written, well-acted, and well-edited that it was reminiscent of classic The O.C.

The show's lingering issues are that Ethan's character is still not interesting even when he's having a one-fifth life crisis (which will be remedied when they kick the poor kid to the curb completely next season) and that Annie is still all kinds of annoying. How are we going to remedy the Annie situation, folks? I think Liam might be on to something--if Annie turns into an unapologetic bad girl, she'll be a lot easy to take than she is as an annoying "nice" girl.

Now on to the prom:

• I hope Annie's getting a Chanel dress too for doing that silly anti-post prom party video. (Edit: Upon seeing the dress, I've decided that it was not worth it.)
• Liam is a major jerk, but he sure can draw one nice-looking fish.
• Naomi really wants to go to the prom with Liam? That honestly sounds like a painful experience.
• Silver already looks tanner than usual, I'm not sure she needs more spray tanning.
• This health teacher guy is pretty cool. Maybe Kelly should hook up with him.
• No, Annie, it hasn't occurred to anyone that you're "just a nice person."
• I do like Annie's shirt. That's the nicest thing I've had to say about her in a long time.
• Dixon's grin and then pleading face cracked me up when he and Silver were coaxing Ethan to go to the prom.
• Yeah, the pink poofy dress is not Silver at all. It's very Gwyneth Paltrow at the 1999 Oscars.
• Jen: "Anyway, how hilarious is it to wear couture to the sophomore prom!"
• If Jen was using all of Naomi's money to pay for her stuff, she could have at least bought a little less stuff.
• Jen and B. Sheep Chambers from Greek should start a support group for older siblings who mooch of their younger siblings. Or maybe Naomi and Evan should start one for the younger siblings.
• Silver: "Everyone's going to be staring at me!"
  Adriana: "Not if you walk by me. Hello, eight months pregnant!"
• Why is there paparazzi at the sophomore prom? Who wants to look at those pictures? It's not like you can sell those to US Weekly or something.
• Nice choice of a prom dress by Naomi. Emerald green gowns are awesome.
• Navid: "You know, there's a difference between false labor pains and fake labor pains."
• Annie's date: "[I guess you weren't nominated] because you're new."

  Dixon: "Hey! I'm nominated for prom king!"
• Ha ha, Annie's date told her off. I applaud when anyone tells Annie off.
• Principal Wilson needed to make his post prom party announcement in the middle of a song?
• Jen: "I think academics are terribly sexy. And I don't just mean teachers. When I was at Yale, I briefly dated someone in the registrar's office."
• If Yale took Jen, the "narcissist with no moral compass," they certainly could have taken Blair Waldorf. Apparently stealing term papers is ok, but spreading gossip about teachers is not.
• Wait, can Silver win prom queen even though she doesn't go to this school anymore?
• Does everyone at West Beverly really like Silver? I never got the vibe that she was all that well-liked before the breakdown, what with her mean blog and all.
• Oh, Silver's making friends now--calling people who like the prom "weird, zombie, prom-loving losers."
• That was a weird moment there when Silver made fun of spray-tanning and they cut straight to Annie's reaction. Because few people spray tan as much as Annie...
• Ugh, I hate it when Dixon acts mopey. It's almost as bad as when Annie acts...anyway at all.
• Gasp! Jen's married to someone named Olivier!
• A black orchid corsage? I've never even heard of a black orchid.
• Aww, Liam does actually like Naomi? I did not see that one coming...
• Are they suddenly edging toward a Mr. Wilson/Kelly romance? Because I've got a vibe from the two of them all episode. I'm hoping it was not intentional.
• Whoa, I thought Navid got over wanting to beat up the pretty boy who knocked up Ad since that story line disappeared for 30 minutes, but apparently he did not get over it. Navid and Ad have been kind of MIA during this prom. Booooo. The poor girl had to go into labor to get herself some screen time!
• Who turned on the snow machine over a street set that no one is shooting on? That seems like a waste of money.

(photos: cwtv.com)