FOX | Release Date: October 4, 1990
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
5
Mixed:
5
Negative:
3
80
Chicago TribuneRick KoganJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: Given Fox's proclivity for outrageousness, Beverly Hills, 90210 (the number refers to the California city's ZIP code) is like totally tame, dudes. Though its premiere does include a teenage champagne-fueled romp in a hot tub, a near loss of virginity, and much conversation about sex, it treats the subject with uncommon sensitivity and understanding. [4 Oct 1990, p.C19]
63
Miami HeraldHal BoedekerJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: A stylish but familiar high school story, one that's considerably easier to take than two of this TV season's other back-to-school efforts: "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" and "Ferris Bueller". And, it's less frenetic than "Hull High". The show's greatest assets are Priestley and Doherty, who are appealing even when the storylines aren't. [4 Oct 1990, p.G1]
60
USA TodayMatt RoushJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: In a season where all high schools look the same, with sun-drenched campuses trolled by smart-alecky know-it-alls, Beverly Hills, 90210 looks like yet another tired breath of smoggy, sunny California air...But beyond its stock characters - the freshman dweebs, the rich deb with a new nose job, the peripheral parents, the mousy scribe - there's a sweet sister-brother bond here, on a par with the better John Hughes youth- pandering flicks. [4 Oct 1990, p.3D]
60
Orlando SentinelGreg DawsonJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: The result, to borrow a phrase from that generation, is totally bogus. But not totally without merit, due to a cast, headed by Shannen Doherty, that's generally better than the material. [4 Oct 1990, p.E1]
50
San Diego Union-TribuneRobert P. LaurenceJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: It is based on the assumption, so common among show-biz people who meet each other for lunch at the Beverly Hills Hotel, that they are not only the cultural center of the Western world, but the envy of everybody who is not part of their glittery ZIP code. The whole production just reeks of L.A. smugness. [4 Oct 1990, p.C-11]
30
Los Angeles TimesHoward RosenbergJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: A ZIP code for stereotypes and stock characters, Beverly Hills, 92010 is nothing if not predictable, with the twins each facing moral choices and ultimately doing the right thing, presumably because they're from Minneapolis. [4 Oct 1990, p.F11]
30
Boston GlobeEd SiegelJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's less surprising that it's so dull...So let's have a round of applause for these kids. And then change the station, because there's absolutely no drama here. [4 Oct 1990, p.68]
10
Washington PostTom ShalesJun 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: It's apparently part of a new experiment in comatose television -- a show where things almost happen but never quite do. You keep checking your pulse to make sure you haven't died. (...) They've created a vacuum, a perfect void, a black hole in the already vast and empty TV schedule. Not so much a black hole actually as a beige one. [4 Oct 1990, p.D12]