I love “90210.”  I’ve watched every episode so far.  In fact, I’m watching it now on the DVR as I type this. Sure these new girls started off more than a smidge underweight and one of them looks darn near 24, but I can suspend belief a bit for once a week for 60 minutes.

The best thing about “90210″ is that the writers have continued the story lines from the original “Beverly Hills, 90210.”  Folks - women, mostly - my age (mid-20’s to early 30’s) remember watching the original BH90210 as pre/teens, and we’re still young enough to enjoy this new incarnation of the show.

I remember being 8 years old and rocking my nightshirt with Brandon and Dylan’s faces screenprinted on its front.  I had a Brenda doll that came with a Blossom-type hat and a little denim jacket.  I had the Dylan doll, too.  I don’t think I missed a single episode of BH90210 in the 10 years it was on the air.  My VCR was set to record it every week, just in case I should be out when it came on.  And you know what? I love this nostalgic feeling I get while watching the new series.

One thing I’ve wondered: Since they’ve continued the storyline, how did the producers explain casting Rob Estes as a main character in “90210″ when he played Kyle McBride for six years in the BH90210 spin-off “Melrose Place?”  I guess it would be way too weirdly existential for one spin-off to reference another spin-off, huh?  No danger there, I suppose.

My guilty pleasure is reality television shows on VH1.  Flavor of Love, I Love New York, Rock of Love, Charm School, I Love Money, Confessions of a Teen Idol, Scott Baio, and all the various spin-offs… I watch all of it.  (Okay, so I didn’t watch Scream Queens, and I only kinda-sorta watched Miss Rap Supreme but just as background noise while doing other things.)

The latest addition to VH1’s reality show compendium is “Tool Academy.”  The basis of the show is that girlfriends secretly signed their jerk boyfriends up for “relationship camp.”

Here are some of the things the girlfriends have said about their boyfriends in the premiere episode interviews (emphasis is mine):  (more…)