Season 2

Season 2 of American teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210 aired on FOX.

About

From a pregnancy scare and a troubled girlfriend to a cameo by Color Me Badd, Beverly Hills 90210's sophomore year demonstrates why this was "the greatest TV show in history with a zip code in its title." This is the season that catapulted 90210 from Most Likely to Succeed to BSOF (Best Show on Fox). Certainly, it was must-see viewing for teens who anxiously tuned in each week to vicariously chart the serial adventures of siblings Brenda and older brother Brandon, recent transplants from Minnesota to glitzy Beverly Hills.

Season 2, one of the best in this series' decade-long run, is one for the time capsule, with episodes and story arcs that loom large in the 90210 phenomenon, among them: Brenda's tempestuous on-and-off-again relationship with soulful bad boy Dylan, causing rifts between her and her increasingly disapproving parents; new girl Emily Valentine going all Fatal Attraction on Brandon (no rabbits are boiled but a homecoming float is in jeopardy); Kelly, hooking up with Melrose Place-bound Jake, and Donna in her mermaid Halloween costume.

Starring

Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh

Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh

Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor (27 episodes)

Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders

Gabrielle Carteris as Andrea Zuckerman (27 episodes)

Luke Perry as Dylan McKay

Brian Austin Green as David Silver

Tori Spelling as Donna Martin

Carol Potter as Cindy Walsh

James Eckhouse as Jim Walsh

Special Guest Stars

Richard Roundtree as Robinson Ashe Jr. ("Ashes To Ashes")

Stephanie Beacham as Iris McKay ("Necessity Is A Mother")

Dylan's mother

Lainie Kazan as Rose Zuckerman ("Down And Out Of District In Beverly Hills")

Andrea's paternal grandmother

Gabrielle Anwar as Tricia Kinney ("Fire And Ice")

Color Me Badd as Themselves ("Things To Do On A Rainy Day")

Recurring cast

Joe E. Tata as Nat Bussichio (16 episodes)

Owner of the Peach Pit

Christine Elise as Emily Valentine (8 episodes)

A new transfer student

FAMILY

Ann Gillespie as Jackie Taylor (8 episodes)

Kelly's mother

Matthew Laurance as Mel Silver (7 episodes)

David's father

Arthur Brooks/Josh Taylor as Jack McKay (2 episodes)

Dylan's father

Christine Belford as Samantha Sanders (2 episodes)

Steve's mother

Katherine Cannon as Felice Martin (2 episodes)

Donna's mother

Trivia

• Showrunner Charles Rosin points to this as the toughest season of the series^[1]
  • Rosin mentions that it dumbed the show down that the storyline had the characters be juniors again and had to work hard to convince Aaron Spelling that they should be seniors in Season 3^[1]
• The first season was co-produced by a non-union company called Propaganda, which was cut out for Season 2.^[1]
• The crew protested halfway through the season to become union, which Spelling Inc. had hitherto opposed as it cost less.^[1]

Photos

Season 2/Gallery

Episodes

PHOTO	EPISODE	AIRDATE	WRITTEN BY	#	EP #
	Beach Blanket Brandon	11 JULY 1991	Darren Star	23	1
School's out in the second-season opener, and for Brandon, it's the beginning of a new job. But it also could be the beginning of the end for Brenda and Dylan. Brenda suspects she may be pregnant, and the results of a home pregnancy test are inconclusive. So she visits a gynaecologist - whose good news fails to cheer her up. Being sexually active, she finds, is not all to her liking.
	The Party Fish	18 JULY 1991	Charles Rosin	24	2
At work, Brandon connects with an older co-worker, and with a mover and shaker whose hard-to-refuse offer causes shakiness at home with his dad. Meanwhile at school, Brenda connects with her emotions.
	Summer Storm	25 JULY 1991	Steve Wasserman & Jessica Klein	25	3
Cindy's mothering instinct upsets Jim and Brenda after she brings injured surfer Dylan to recuperate at the Walshes'. Meanwhile, Kelly's instincts are spiked by a handsome volleyball player.
	Anaconda	1 AUGUST 1991	Jonathan Roberts	26	4
Brenda burns naturally, but Brandon and friends are in hot water when their after-hours poker game at the beach club is followed by a burglary.
	Play It Again, David	8 AUGUST 1991	Sherri Ziff	27	5
Acting as a "big brother," Brandon is asked to keep a secret that needs telling; and Kelly fears a familial connection to David when their parents start dating.
	Pass, Not Pass	15 AUGUST 1991	Allison Adler	28	6
Andrea finds more drama when the student-teacher relationship goes outside the classroom; Brandon finds the fruit of his summer labor is sour - as in lemon.
	Camping Trip	29 AUGUST 1991	Karen Rosin	29	7
Rain on the kids' Yosemite parade strands the gang of seven next to newlyweds who teach — and learn — some things about love, marriage, divorce and communication.
	Wildfire	12 SEPTEMBER 1991	Steve Wasserman & Jessica Klein	30	8
Dating others no longer looks good to Brenda when Dylan dates the new girl in school, whose datebook also includes Brandon. Meanwhile, Scott and David find what a difference a summer makes.
	Ashes To Ashes	19 SEPTEMBER 1991	Charles Rosin & Judi Ann Mason	31	9
A new family in the neighbourhood includes a freshman photographer and his older sister, whose boyfriend is roughed up by a security patrol when he tries to visit.
	Necessity Is a Mother	26 SEPTEMBER 1991	Steve Wasserman & Jessica Klein	32	10
Dylan says the full-time presence of his mother is driving him crazy, and although he doesn't say it's driving him to drink, soon he doesn't have to. Meanwhile, class success Donna plays the stock market for real.
	Leading From The Heart	10 OCTOBER 1991	Darren Star	33	11
A mutual attraction between Kelly and the Walshes' visiting cousin Bobby is complicated more by others' assumptions than by Bobby's wheelchair. Meanwhile, Brenda takes another driving test.
	Down and Out of District in Beverly Hills	17 OCTOBER 1991	Karen Rosin Allison Adler (story)	34	12
Brandon's good deed turns into a bad seed for Andrea, as it grows into the possibility of her expulsion from West Beverly. Meanwhile, Steve meets a girl looking for gold.
	Halloween	31 OCTOBER 1991	Jonathan Roberts	35	13
Brenda, Dylan, Steve, Donna and Kelly attend a Halloween party. David blows off the party to spend some time with his oldest friend, relieving their childhood Halloweens. Brandon stays home to hand out candy, when Emily shows up trick-or-treating with her niece and nephew
	The Next Fifty Years	7 NOVEMBER 1991	Karen Rosin & Charles Rosin	36	14
Donna and David save a party from being a social disaster, but they're powerless against an accident that ends the party — and a life.
	U4EA	14 NOVEMBER 1991	Allison Adler	37	15
Emily leads the gang to an underground club, where she leads Brandon against his will on a journey with financial and emotional costs.
	My Desperate Valentine	21 NOVEMBER 1991	Michael Swerdlick	38	16
Hard to do, but it must be done, so Brandon breaks up with Emily, who doesn't take it gracefully. Meanwhile, Brenda and Dylan declare a night be filled with music instead of making out.
	Chuckie's Back	12 DECEMBER 1991	Steve Wasserman Jessica Klein Michael Swerdlick (story)	39	17
Steve is bothered by the appearance of his old nemesis Chuck Wilson, the former child actor who starred in the TV series Hartley House with his mother, Samantha, who is asked to appear in a reunion TV show
	A Walsh Family Christmas	19 DECEMBER 1991	Darren Star	40	18
Steve arrives in New Mexico to begin his search for his long lost biological mother, while his adoptive mother, Samantha, worries at home. As does Kelly while the gang prepares for Christmas
	Fire and Ice	9 JANUARY 1992	Carl Sautter	41	19
Brandon becomes a pleasant distraction for a figure skater with Olympian goals; backstabbing is included in Brenda's tutoring in retail-sales skills
	A Competitive Edge	23 JANUARY 1992	Charles Rosin Jonathan Roberts Douglas Brooks West (story)	42	20
Brandon trades his reporter's pen for track shoes, until he smells a story he can't — and shouldn't — ignore. And Brenda's minor accident turns major when the woman she bumped claims whiplash.
	Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout It	6 FEBRUARY 1992	Karen Rosin & Charles Rosin	43	21
The condom distribution program at school has many talking, some writing and one most adamant — until there's an unkind comment from an unlikely source.
	And Baby Makes Five	13 FEBRUARY 1992	Steve Wasserman & Jessica Klein	44	22
Dylan keeps mum about Valentine plans for Brenda, but no one keeps quiet about Kelly's mom and David's dad, each the last to know what's going on with the other.
	Cardio Funk	27 FEBRUARY 1992	Steve Wasserman & Jessica Klein	45	23
Separate admirers court attention from Brenda and Dylan, neither of whom is fully forthcoming with that news. And Jim gets hooked on Karaoke.
	The Pit and the Pendulum	19 MARCH 1992	Larry Barber & Paul Barber	46	24
Brenda and Brandon take opposite sides after learning Jim's new client plans a multimillion-dollar development that would absorb the Peach Pit.
	Meeting Mr. Pony	2 APRIL 1992	Jonathan Roberts & Maria Semple	47	25
Brenda projects control after facing an armed robber at the Pit, but there's a different woman beneath the surface.
	Things To Do On A Rainy Day	23 APRIL 1992	Jonathan Roberts & Maria Semple	48	26
Donna sees more than she wants to on a pilgrimage to the hotel housing Color Me Badd, while Dylan, Steve and Brandon see less than they want of their in-your-home erotic dancer.
	Mexican Standoff	30 APRIL 1992	Steve Wasserman & Jessica Klein	49	27
Brenda crosses the border with Dylan, against her folks' demands. Kelly finds Dylan's friend Jake eases her new-family fears.
	Wedding Bell Blues	7 MAY 1992	Darren Star	50	28
Conclusion. Mount Jimbo erupts, banning Dylan from the Walsh home, which is suddenly the site for the wedding of Mel and Jackie. Andrea nurses hurt feelings when her wedding invitation fails to arrive. Meanwhile, Kelly mourns the departure of Jake.

Notes and references