While maintaining essentially the same formula in season four that's driven the previous seasons, things definitely grow up and heat up now that the gang has started college. They're all attending school together (of course), the fictional California University. Andrea decides against Yale and Brenda makes her way back to Beverly Hills quickly after a disastrous attempt at returning "home" to Minnesota. While Brenda's return and Andrea's decision to stay in Beverly Hills seems not only inevitable, but essential, it's interesting to note that season four is the final year featuring all original cast members.
It's also the year the tone of the show most abruptly changes, making way for the much more grown up and sexier seasons to come. For these twentysomethings playing teenagers, the shift from high school to college allows them to relax a bit into their characters and really show off their acting chops. As in the years before, issues rule the storylines here and while we've got some repeat offenders (infidelity, date rape, racism, drug use), there's also plenty of fresh material that these actors clearly have fun with (anti-Semitism, pregnancy, campus scandals, and newly discovered siblings).
Season 4 only comprised two summer episodes, as opposed to the previous two seasons having been prefaced by a summer season during hiatus. This was due to the unavailability of the location for the Beverly Hills Beach Club[2]
Brenda finds that more than the weather is inclement in Minnesota; Brandon learns why Jill (Robia LaMorte) wants to move slowly; Kelly tells Donna about her breakup with Dylan.
File:403brylansea.png College registration is too much for Dylan; David, Donna and Andrea try to continue their media activities; Steve talks up frat life to Brandon.
File:404twins.png Rush week bores Brenda; stereotypes Andrea; reunites Kelly with an old flame; exhausts Donna; and shows Brandon that politics and frat-boy living don't mix.
File:405.png Steve decides that Celeste is detrimental to his social life: Donna wants to dump her radio show to keep up in school; and Dylan doesn't deter Kelly's persistent admirer.
File:408boys.png The 20th-anniversary party for Cindy and Jim includes a big announcement about another romance. Meanwhile, Brandon receives two warnings from Dylan, one regarding Brenda's boyfriend.
Legal matters intrude on Brenda's happiness, and on David and Kelly's relationship; Brandon learns something surprising about Lucinda; guilt finds Steve after he does a favor for a frat brother.
File:411kelly.png Sears insults Kelly when she rejects his advances, but the incident pales in comparison with another student's story - which sounds like date rape. Meanwhile, Brandon is threatened by the hoopster he's tutoring; Brenda and Dylan disagree over a "romantic" poem.
Steve thwarts Sears' libidinous plans at a Thanksgiving charity event; Brandon's wanderlust becomes a quest to find an old friend; Andrea gets a bonus while dining with Dan and his parents; Dylan's change of holiday plans angers Kelly.
Dreams inspire Donna to make David's dream come true; Brandon plays hardball to help Steve, who gets no help from his "brothers"; Jesse makes more of an impression on Andrea.
Memories of Christmases past are recalled as the Walsh family says aloha to L.A. — twice; Dylan is touched by the holiday spirit of two lost souls; Steve seeks paternal advice for his fraternal situation; Andrea frets about attending her first midnight Mass with Jesse.
Friends note his odd behavior after David takes drugs to get through finals; Steve and Sears officially square off over the break-in incident; Dylan offers Suzanne financial aid.
A ski trip offers Donna an alternative to David, who finds an alternative source for drugs and brings about a nightmare for his family; Dylan calls on Cindy when Erica has a crisis; Jim's background check on Suzanne pays off.
Brandon is appointed to an education task force with input to Washington; Dylan uses CPR to save a friend; David comes clean with Donna; Jesse shares his good news, prompting Andrea to keep hers to herself; Cindy enters a masters program at the university.
Jesse disagrees with the choice Andrea makes without him; drugs cost David his roommates and more; Brandon feels left out when Dylan becomes the struggling Peach Pits's white knight, but finds some solace with an old flame.
Jesse meets Andrea's grandmother; Dylan's cool head helps when the heat's on David, who's left holding the bag when his dealer is busted; Brandon keeps his Valentine a secret, while Brenda's is kept secret from her.
A reporter seeks "the truth" about Brandon, who is complemented by Kelly at an important social function; Dylan becomes valuable to Lucinda; a small mistake leads to big complications between Brenda and Stuart.
Kelly accompanies Brandon on a task-force weekend retreat; Brenda and Donna learn why a friendly dog is a stray; Lucinda shows Dylan her film - and her apartment; Steve negotiates to stay in the dorm after breaking Andrea's rules.
Brenda takes radical action after hearing bad news about Rocky; more people learn about Brandon and Lucinda; Kelly's classroom queries to Lucinda take on a personal tone; Steve bears the brunt of it when Dylan and Brandon nearly come to blows.
Barry Bonds plays the golf nemesis of Steve's father, who tees off his son when they tee up in a tournament. Meanwhile, legalities make Brenda an outcast of sorts, and Jim learns that she's not the only twin in trouble; and Kelly picks the wrong time to express feelings of jealousy.
File:425promo.png Brenda sees a lot of herself - and her family and friends - in a diary that tells the story of a complex young woman and her ROTC-member brother who lived in the Walshes' home in the late 1960s.
David's piano teacher arouses jealousy in Donna; Donna and Kelly hustle to find male models for a fund-raising calendar; Steve stumbles upon a frat brother's secret, but fails to keep it to himself.
Brenda hopes to impress a visiting Broadway director, while Steve coaches a competitor for a lead role; an ardent admirer won't take no from Brandon; Suzanne's new boyfriend is cut no slack by her daughter.
Clare finally has a wild night with Brandon; Andrea has a medical emergency while Jesse's away; Kelly's past and Laura's costuming give each an advantage over Brenda in the Maggie-the-Cat competition.
Laura tries to sabotage Brenda's acting career after hearing a rumor about her means of success; Clare plans further fun with Brandon, who speaks to her father about her; Kevin impresses Dylan and Erica when they visit his lab.
File:430.png Brandon's time with Clare may have cost him a chance to meet the President; Andrea is hospitalized; Brenda gets an opening-night gift; Dylan considers investing in Kevin; David sees danger in working with a new band.
File:432davonna.png Andrea and Jesse have some tense moments with their newborn; Brenda is offered a chance to study abroad; Dylan's ill-advised business decision angers Jim; David impresses singer Babyface and others with his keyboard play; Brandon needs -and gets- rescuing in the Capital.
