Tori Spelling’s return to 90210 (Tuesdays, 9 pm/ET, CW) gave the fledgling teen drama a nice uptick in the ratings. But it also gave the fans an unexpected epilogue to the romantic storyline of Donna and David: They live in Japan, have a baby girl, Ruby, and — gasp! — they’re separated! In this week’s episode, Spelling returned to paint the town red with Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth)! Spelling tells us how she and the producers devised the storyline, what her late father would think of the new series, and whether we’ll see a Brenda-Kelly-Donna reunion in future episodes. – Mickey O’Connor

TVGuide.com: So when the producers contacted you, did they present you with a story idea? Did you present it to them? Or was it collaborative?

Tori Spelling: It was completely collaborative. They had ideas. We kind of swapped back and forth. I told them it was important to me that Donna was still in fashion. Last we left her, she had a boutique, and now where is she? Has she gone further in her career? They had an idea for her to be in Europe, like London, being a fashion designer. I was like, “That’s cool, but what if we mix it up a bit and make it Japan?” So they said, “Great.”

TVGuide.com: How did you learn the Japanese in the script?

Spelling: I studied it, and there was someone on the set who was fluent who helped me do it justice. At one point, I was, like, they suggested London and I had to say, “Oh, let’s do Japan,” and now I’m paying for it by having to speak in Japanese — ha-ha. (more…)

The 90210 zip code just got a little bit more exciting.

Beverly Hills’ resident drama-queen, Brenda Walsh, will be making a return for the season finale of the CW’s 90210, E! Online reports.

“It is the finale, so you can probably expect a lot of drama,” Shannen Doherty tells E!.

Brenda was last seen fighting with former BFF Kelly (Jennie Garth), after she hooked up with Kelly’s love interest, Ryan.

Question: Do you hate 90210 or something? Give us some good scoop! — Sam
Ausiello: Hate it? The show is awesome! Just kidding, I haven’t seen an episode in months. But several trusty sources tell me it’s about to get really good, so I’ll probably start watching again next week — if for no other reason then to prep for Tori Spelling’s arrival in March. Speaking of which, I hear Tori’s bestest frenemy, Shannen Doherty, is returning for one more episode in May. Could this be the Brenda-Donna reunion we’ve been waiting for?! Sure couldn’t! I’m told the two won’t be sharing any scenes. Bum-mer.

Toronto’s Shenae Grimes said she turned to Shannen Doherty for advice on how to handle the gossip mags.

And the conversation came up, not coincidentally, after a story appeared in which it was alleged that Grimes, the star of the new 90210, had dissed Doherty, one of the stars of the original Beverly Hills 90210.

“The first tabloid story I ever heard about had me talking badly about Shannen, who is someone I admire so much and was one of my favourite people on set,” said Grimes, recalling Doherty’s multi-episode guest-starring role on 90210.

“(Doherty) was on set when I found out, so I ran over to her trailer. I was almost in tears, and I was just like, ‘Shannen, they’re saying blah blah blah.’ But Shannen was amazing.

“She was like, ‘Oh my God, obviously it’s not true, and I know that, so don’t worry about it. So this is how you have to handle it. You have to shake it off and not pay attention, because it’s not what matters. Focus on your work, focus on what you’re here to do.’ ”

Back in the days of the original Beverly Hills 90210, there often were rumours of strife on the set. The new 90210, which airs Tuesdays on Global and CW, has proven to be no different in that regard, with Grimes having been accused of everything from selfish behaviour to being too skinny.

“There are pros and cons to everything,” said Grimes, formerly one of the stars of CTV’s Degrassi: The Next Generation. “I don’t necessarily love all of it. I’ve worked really hard to be the person I am at 19. I am very self-aware. So for someone to come in and randomly be able to take that all away, and put that out there to the entire world, it’s so hard.

“Hopefully in my off-season I’ll get a movie to show some more range and gain more fans. And hopefully the fans will understand what’s important and will be able to see who I am by listening to me speak and by meeting me.”

One of the biggest adjustments for Grimes this season simply has been the physical move from Toronto to Los Angeles. She said she constantly has friends and family visiting from Canada.

“It was very hard for my parents, but they know this is what I want to do,” Grimes said. “They trust me, I have a good head on my shoulders, I haven’t gotten into any trouble, I’m a hard-working girl. I’ve actually gotten rid of a lot of bad vices and gained some good ones (such as working out more regularly).”

As much as Grimes said she misses Toronto, there’s at least one significant advantage to being in L.A.

“Waking up in the sunshine every day,” Grimes said enthusiastically. “It is so snowy back in Toronto right now. I really feel that waking up in the sun motivates people.”

Brenda Walsh is alive and kicking, thank you very much.

Stars of the new 90210 are putting to rest the recent rumors that Shannen Doherty’s iconic character will kick the bucket when she makes another appearance on the revived prime-time soap.

“They’re not killing off her character,” Shenae Grimes, who plays Annie Wilson, said Saturday at KIIS-FM’s Jingle Ball concert outside of L.A.

Of course, it’s not like the original 90210 didn’t deal with death from time to time…

The series’ dearly departed included, among others, Dylan McKay’s father, who was murdered in a car explosion (but then reappeared seasons later), and Dylan’s wife, Toni Marchette (Rebecca Gayheart), who was gunned down by a hit man who was actually trying to kill him (Luke Perry).

But Dustin Milligan, who plays Ethan Ward, said he doubts network brass would go for similar scenarios this time around. “I don’t think the CW would wanna kill anybody,” Milligan said. “[Brenda’s] definitely not going like that.”

Added Grimes, “Do you understand the havoc that would wreak among the people? It would be horrible.”

There’s been plenty of talk of what ailment Brenda played by 90210 original Shannen Doherty – who returns for the show’s midseason finale tonight – will suffer from when she’s back in the halls of West Beverly Hills High. Is she lying in that hospital bed dying? Not quite.

The TV Fanatic has learned it’s much worse. Sources close the series have revealed to me that Brenda has fertility issues and won’t be able to have kids, though the official CW comment is that fans will have to wait until the show returns Jan. 6 to find out.

Well, if anything, Kelly can take comfort in the knowledge that there’s no way Brenda, who confessed she slept with hot-for-teacher Ryan Matthews in last week’s episode teaser, can be pregnant with his baby. That’s got to be mildly reassuring.

Not really.

Catch 90210 Tuesday at 8 p.m. on The CW.

Source

Former bad girl Shannen Doherty has a new outlook on old pals, thanks to her turn on the CW’s revamped 90210.

The 37-year-old actress, who recently crashed at the W hotel’s $4,000-a-night Extreme WOW Suite in NYC while hunting for apartments, revealed to OK! what she loves most
about reprising her role as Brenda Walsh on the TV hit

“Working with Jennie [Garth] this time around has been unbelievable,” Shannen tells
OK!. “I regard her as a true friend.”

Shannen admits that unlike in the past when the pair was rumored to have fought, she now looks forward to acting with Jennie, aka Kelly Taylor.

“Our scenes are always really good. We work really well together, and we just like each other,” she says. “People come to different places in their lives, and you meet up,” she says of her change of heart. “Suddenly, it’s like, ‘Oh, my god. I like you!’ ”

Jason Priestley has signed on to direct at least one episode of 90210.

While the exact date of it, along with the story lines it will focus on, are unknown, the actor recently reacted to a 90210 rumor making the rounds; namely, that Brenda will be given a terminal illness.

Oh, Brandon. Didn’t your mama teach you not to sound too excited when someone mentions your sister might be sick?

Apparently not, because Jason Priestley said this when asked today about the unconfirmed (and possibly totally untrue!) rumors that his former onscreen sister Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) might have a serious and possibly fatal health issue on the CW’s 90210:

“Oh my goodness! This is all news to me, but that’s fantastic. Wow, that [would be] awesome. No, they haven’t given me anything yet. I don’t even know if the episode is written yet! But I love those rumors. That’s juicy stuff.”

After hearing Jason’s reaction to that potential plot twist, I sort of hope Brenda is dying! He makes it sound so exciting!

Still, no telling whether it’s true. CW sources tell me that Brenda does have a secret—we don’t yet know what—and it will be revealed very soon.
(more…)

Then: Shannen Doherty had a bad reputation while playing transplanted Minnesota twin Brenda Walsh on 90210, though Shannen insisted that she wasn’t difficult to work with. In an interview with Liz Smith, Shannen said, “There’s not one cast member of 90210 who didn’t throw a tantrum to two themselves.” Anti-Shannen sentiment turned into anti-Brenda sentiment: there was even an “I Hate Brenda” magazine put out.

Now: Shannen played good witch Prue on Charmed for three years before leaving the show in 2001.In 2006, playing on her nasty image, Shannen hosted Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty, where she helped regular people end relationships or tell friends what they really thought of them.

Source OK MAGAZINE

BACK in the ’90s, hit TV series Beverly Hills 90210 was all about the problematic lives of its high school-going characters.

But the drama also spilled into the actors’ lives – one of the most famous being Shannen Doherty, who played leading lady Brenda Walsh on the teen drama.

Tabloids were rife with reports of Doherty’s apparently diva-esque demeanour – mirroring that of bratty Brenda. The popular actress eventually left the show after four seasons.

Now it seems newbie starlet Shenae Grimes is following in her controversial predecessor’s footsteps.

Grimes plays Annie Wilson in 90210, a new spin-off of the original series.

It premieres at Star World (StarHub Ch 18) on Tuesday at 9pm.

Like Brenda, Annie finds herself grappling with life at West Beverly Hills High after her family relocates to the glitzy Los Angeles zipcode from Kansas.

Recently, Grimes – who hails from Toronto in Canada and grew up watching Beverly Hills 90210 – has been dogged by the same diva rumours as Doherty, who reprises her role in the spin-off.

According to the New York Post, the 19-year-old was ‘tormenting everyone on set’ and ‘rude to the cast, crew and extras’.

She also allegedly commented: ‘This is my show – everyone else is riding my coat-tails.’

But speaking to The News Paper over the phone from Los Angeles, Grimes said she was not about to get caught up in the drama.

Instead, she is taking a leaf out of Doherty’s book.

Grimes said: ‘Shannen’s been through everything the young cast is experiencing now. She told me to focus on work because that’s what I came to America for. Like Annie, I’m not swayed by the material world.
(more…)