Beverly Hills 90210

For Christmas, my older brother bought me the first season of Beverly Hills 90210. I had been a huge fan of the show since its beginnings, although I don't remember much of the first two seasons because I was young and they were so long ago.

So, I've been watching the first season of 90210 whenever I have free time to do so. And I've noticed a great difference between the first season and the last few seasons.

The first season is less of a serial drama, which is a basically a show that is continued week to week following a story line. Instead, the first season jumps from show to show teaching viewers a new life lesson in each episode. For example, one character, Brenda, faces the difficulties of being a new student in Beverly Hills and is tempted to steal expensive clothing so she'll fit in. In other episodes, the students deal with sex, alcohol, and abuse. The later 90210 followed a few main stories week to week like a typical soap opera.

While the first season is a bit dramatic and humorous, I actually like the episode to episode format of a sitcom just as much as I enjoyed the serial format for Beverly Hills 90210. I think it's interesting how the show can jump from one format to the other and still remain successful for nine years.

I can't think of any other shows that have pulled that off except for Friends. Anyone think of any others??