Mark here...this episode of 90210 is called "U4EA"...which is an oh so clever way of referencing ecstasy. The gang gets the word of an underground party over the weekend from Emily Valentine. Hijinks ensue as the gang makes there way to this underground rave all the way on Alvarado Street. Anywho, everyone deceives their parents, except for Kelly, whose mom doesn't let her go. Of course, resourceful Kelly decides to fool her mom and go anyway.
At this radical underground party, crazy lights are going on and absolutely no one is drinking. No one except David Silver who was able to score some whiskey. Everyone is disgusted with him for drinking. Meanwhile, Emily secretly slips Brandon some U4EA, which is code for ecstasy. Everything in the episode is fun until we get the "drugs are bad" pay off. Brandon has a great time but of course his car gets trashed by leaving it in the ghetto of Echo Park. I'll let Laurel describe who vandalizes his car... So, we discover that Emily is bad news. It's weird how Laurel and I were talking about Emily Valentine. She obviously made an impression on viewers, but really she showed up once, then was in the background and then she's slipping Brandon drugs. She really wasn't around long as a character.
Basically, the episode was pretty fun to watch, up until the moralizing at the end. There's also a bit of a side plot with Andrea hating Emily, and Brandon being clueless as to why. Subtle, Andrea is not. Also Steve and Andrea are late to meet the gang and spend the night trying to find the crazy party, because of course Andrea has to get the story on underground parties. When they finally find the party and the cops are showing up, everyone is leaving, but Andrea has to run in to get the story!! Uggg!!!
Hey Laurel here. Andrea is the worst. The next morning she goes to the Peach Pit to visit Brandon (how he shows up to work is beyond me) and literally does the "This is your brain on drugs" thing with the egg in the frying pan. UUHHHGG!
Also did you guys know my mom was at the rave last night? I know, not all that surprising. Anyway she's totally the one who trashed Brandon's car! Her and her friend "rude rose". See pic.
We don't really have a style award this episode, but the quote honors go to Kelly. David scores a bottle of whisky at the liquor store and offers the gang a drink at the rave. They all refuse, and Kelly tells him "David you're such a geek, I don't want you barfing all over my beemer, ok?" Which is exactly what ends up happening. Oh, David.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
The Next 50 Years
Hey loyal readers Laurel here...OMG I had no idea this was THAT episode. Spoiler alert...SCOTT DIES!
In my mind somehow I thought that he had committed suicide but watching it again Scott in fact shoots himself by accident, playing with his dad's gun. On his birthday. Poor Scott.
Scott's mom shows up at school (wha?) to talk David into throwing a birthday party for Scott. What she doesn't realize is that Scott doesn't have any friends really, he's not cool like the other kids. In the end the gang shows up for his birthday party that night so they save the day, and they get to feel good about themselves and not guilty forever like his 5th grade girlfriend who couldn't be bothered. Initially David (who witnesses the shooting) is all like "I'm fine, I'm fine" but eventually has a meltdown in the radio booth and loses his shit with the mic on so the whole school can hear. He feels super guilty because he hadn't been as close to Scott lately, preferring to hang with his new cool friends instead. Poor David. I guess we should talk about our real feelings guys. See what happens when you keep them bottled up inside?
Side note...Scott's mom is crazy! She's totally future Andrea. Bossy, annoying, emotionally inappropriate, and constantly disappointed. Speaking of Andrea, she of course uses Scott's death as a platform to write a hard hitting editorial about gun safety. Once again, she wins at being the worst.
Mark here... I agree with Laurel, leave it to Andrea to find a way to be annoying even at a funeral! This episode is THAT episode. One of those episodes everyone remembers from the first run. The irony is I remember the network building it up as "a main character dies!!" and then it being like "oh him? no one cared about him?" which is a bit of the point of the episode.
They do do a good job of showing the awkwardness of becoming a teenager. Scott's birthday party is a mix of the "cool kids" who David gets to come and Scott's parents and about 100 kids running around. Obviously the teenagers are bored and the adults oblivious. Anyway, Donna actually shows some character by supporting David and proving to be pretty nice in general.
I would say the Cocktail Moment is any time Scott's mom is on the scene. Really we're supposed to be grieving for this woman but the actress is chewing scenery like nobody's business. It's impossible to not see the camp!
The quote of note is definitely Dylan.."..Not to be a jerk, but who was Scott again?"
In my mind somehow I thought that he had committed suicide but watching it again Scott in fact shoots himself by accident, playing with his dad's gun. On his birthday. Poor Scott.
Scott's mom shows up at school (wha?) to talk David into throwing a birthday party for Scott. What she doesn't realize is that Scott doesn't have any friends really, he's not cool like the other kids. In the end the gang shows up for his birthday party that night so they save the day, and they get to feel good about themselves and not guilty forever like his 5th grade girlfriend who couldn't be bothered. Initially David (who witnesses the shooting) is all like "I'm fine, I'm fine" but eventually has a meltdown in the radio booth and loses his shit with the mic on so the whole school can hear. He feels super guilty because he hadn't been as close to Scott lately, preferring to hang with his new cool friends instead. Poor David. I guess we should talk about our real feelings guys. See what happens when you keep them bottled up inside?
Side note...Scott's mom is crazy! She's totally future Andrea. Bossy, annoying, emotionally inappropriate, and constantly disappointed. Speaking of Andrea, she of course uses Scott's death as a platform to write a hard hitting editorial about gun safety. Once again, she wins at being the worst.
Mark here... I agree with Laurel, leave it to Andrea to find a way to be annoying even at a funeral! This episode is THAT episode. One of those episodes everyone remembers from the first run. The irony is I remember the network building it up as "a main character dies!!" and then it being like "oh him? no one cared about him?" which is a bit of the point of the episode.
They do do a good job of showing the awkwardness of becoming a teenager. Scott's birthday party is a mix of the "cool kids" who David gets to come and Scott's parents and about 100 kids running around. Obviously the teenagers are bored and the adults oblivious. Anyway, Donna actually shows some character by supporting David and proving to be pretty nice in general.
I would say the Cocktail Moment is any time Scott's mom is on the scene. Really we're supposed to be grieving for this woman but the actress is chewing scenery like nobody's business. It's impossible to not see the camp!
The quote of note is definitely Dylan.."..Not to be a jerk, but who was Scott again?"
Halloween
Mark here...Laurel and I are on to the next episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 season 2. This one is called "Halloween" and you guessed it the theme is Halloween! This is the first "theme" episode and it ends up being ok. Not bad , but not amazing either. Basically the gang has to find costumes to go to the big party. Which happens to be in one of the old victorians that are just a hop, skip and a jump from Beverly Hills, but I digress...
Anyway, the party is a bit of a bore aside from Donna who begins her annual ritual of wearing a ridiculous Halloween costume. It's a subplot but every time we come back to Donna, she is struggling to walk in a mermaid costume. The real joke however is Tori Spelling's acting! For some reason her "struggle" with her costume makes her look like she is picking a wedgie! Her hands and face are just so off the mark!
The real plot lines involve Emily Valentine showing up at the Walshes with her niece and nephew to trick or treat and then ending up on a date with Brandon. Also, Kelly shows up at the party in a revealing outfit and ends up almost getting date raped. It's an odd "lesson"storyline as the writers begin by having Brenda and everyone notice how slutty Kelly is dressed when she first shows up to the party. Later a guy tries to take advantage of her and the gang fortunately busts in. We get a bunch of "no means no" talk as Kelly feels guilty for dressing the way she did. It's still odd writing as the writers seemed to blame her in the beginning as well...
Hey Laurel here...not much to add except for I agree with Mark about the Kelly thing. On the one hand the show totally admonishes kelly for dressing slutty, and the lesson seems to be that if you dress slutty you are inviting guys to mistreat you, but in the end it's all "no means no". Totally a mixed message, especially for teens! Anyway obviously everyone should wear what they want without worrying about being sexually assaulted, especially on Halloween! I always use Halloween as an excuse to dress extra slutty, and I dress pretty slutty already anyway. On a lighter note, I'm sure glad Andrea wasn't in this episode because I can only imagine what her slutty witch costume would look like!? Actually she would probably be something boring like Susan B Anthony.
Also just thought I should mention that for trick or treaters Cindy decides to give out Raisins. Really Cindy? Raisins?
The style award this episode goes to...Donna! For her ridiculous and wacky mermaid outfit. Honorable mention goes Emily Valentine for her extra 90s outfit (not a costume).
Cocktail moment for me is tied between when Brenda pulls a gun out of her garter belt, and when the would be rapist gets thrown out of the party be Dillon and Steve. They are so tough!
Cocktail moment for me is tied between when Brenda pulls a gun out of her garter belt, and when the would be rapist gets thrown out of the party be Dillon and Steve. They are so tough!
Quote for this episode is from David Silver...he asks a real bitchy Cleopatra to dance and she flatly says no and walks away. David calls after her "So I guess a night of hot monkey love is out of the question?" You got that right David.
Down and Out (of district) in Beverly Hills
Hey Laurel here...Me and Mark just sat down to another nine-o brunch, Mark made a duck confit breakfast hash with a poached egg on top. He made a special one for me with sausage instead because I'm not so into the duck. Potatoes, caramelized onions, it's delicious! I brought stuff for Aperol Mist...a beer, aperol, and lemon cocktail but I forgot the lemons. I think we might be onto something, I would totally make it again with the lemon but mark thought the Aperol made the beer too bitter.
So this episode is about Andrea possibly getting kicked out of school because she lives out of district (the valley!). She uses her grandmother's address and takes a bunch of buses to get to school every day.
Brandon enters Andrea into a journalism contest which she wins, so someone from the school wants to write a profile on her, which somehow means coming to her house to interview her parents? When the guy shows up at Andrea's grandmother's house its obvious that she doesn't actually live there so the school launches an investigation, but in the end Andrea decides to actually move in with her Grandmother so then everything's fine.
We both thought this episode was going to be insufferable because it's Andrea centric, but her grandmother saved the day! She was awesome. Funny and no nonsense. Andrea gave a few lectures that were annoying but besides that it was totally fine. Also Steve gets a girlfriend this episode but it turns out she only likes him because he's rich. Poor Steve.
Mark here... Well FINALLY we get a little background on Andrea! I can't tell you how many times Laurel and I have looked at each other and said "What's Andrea's story?" or "I wish we knew more about Andrea!" Well, this episode we finally get some background, and surprise surprise, Andrea's a bore. Laurel is right though, the episode really wasn't as bad as it could have been. Saved mainly by Andrea's grandmother being entertaining.
Otherwise, there's not too much to add about the episode. Steve gets his heart broken by a rich girl who is only interested in him because his mom is a famous actress. Kelly is onto the girl from the beginning but Steve dismisses her.
The drinking moments are anytime Andrea launches into a speech or monologue...
The quote of note is after after one of these monologues where Andrea goes on a tirade about her life, Brenda says, "Andrea, why are you so upset?" like she heard none of it.
No style award this episode, it was pretty much just your usual 90s garb.
So this episode is about Andrea possibly getting kicked out of school because she lives out of district (the valley!). She uses her grandmother's address and takes a bunch of buses to get to school every day.
Brandon enters Andrea into a journalism contest which she wins, so someone from the school wants to write a profile on her, which somehow means coming to her house to interview her parents? When the guy shows up at Andrea's grandmother's house its obvious that she doesn't actually live there so the school launches an investigation, but in the end Andrea decides to actually move in with her Grandmother so then everything's fine.
We both thought this episode was going to be insufferable because it's Andrea centric, but her grandmother saved the day! She was awesome. Funny and no nonsense. Andrea gave a few lectures that were annoying but besides that it was totally fine. Also Steve gets a girlfriend this episode but it turns out she only likes him because he's rich. Poor Steve.
Mark here... Well FINALLY we get a little background on Andrea! I can't tell you how many times Laurel and I have looked at each other and said "What's Andrea's story?" or "I wish we knew more about Andrea!" Well, this episode we finally get some background, and surprise surprise, Andrea's a bore. Laurel is right though, the episode really wasn't as bad as it could have been. Saved mainly by Andrea's grandmother being entertaining.
Otherwise, there's not too much to add about the episode. Steve gets his heart broken by a rich girl who is only interested in him because his mom is a famous actress. Kelly is onto the girl from the beginning but Steve dismisses her.
The drinking moments are anytime Andrea launches into a speech or monologue...
The quote of note is after after one of these monologues where Andrea goes on a tirade about her life, Brenda says, "Andrea, why are you so upset?" like she heard none of it.
No style award this episode, it was pretty much just your usual 90s garb.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Potato Latke Breakfast
Mark here...this recipe started out as Jamie Oliver's Potato Latke Breakfast, but I made several changes...also my latkes could use some work as I'll explain below.
Ingredients (Latkes)
2 large potatoes
1 onion
2 eggs
salt
pepper
flour
vegetable oil
So I actually used 3 eggs as I had doubled the original recipe and this turned out a mistake ultimately.
Anyway, peel and then shred the potatoes in a food processor (shredding disc). Then change blades and peel and insert the onion. I used a blade to get half rings. Salt and let the onions release liquid. This is where recipes can differ as some suggest soaking the potatoes in water to remove the starch. Either way, the hardest part is removing the water. You can wring them out in a towel as I did, but there always seems to be too much liquid! Personally, I still need some practice with this part, as the best latkes come from the driest potatoes.
In any case, mix the potatoes and onions with some salt and pepper, and about 3 tablespoons flour, and 2 eggs. Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan and begin molding latkes, not too big. Place them in the pan and cook each side until golden. Set aside on a cookie sheat and put in a 200 degree oven to stay warm.
Ingredients (The rest)
Arugula
Breakfast sausages
2 eggs
white wine vinegar
salt
For the rest, I found breakfast sausages (they are smaller) and broiled them about 5 minutes a side. I soft poached the eggs in salted water (with about 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar) for 2:30 minutes.
Assembly
Start with a latke on a plate, top with arugula, then 2 sausages and finally the egg (we made enough for 2).
Ingredients (Latkes)
2 large potatoes
1 onion
2 eggs
salt
pepper
flour
vegetable oil
So I actually used 3 eggs as I had doubled the original recipe and this turned out a mistake ultimately.
Anyway, peel and then shred the potatoes in a food processor (shredding disc). Then change blades and peel and insert the onion. I used a blade to get half rings. Salt and let the onions release liquid. This is where recipes can differ as some suggest soaking the potatoes in water to remove the starch. Either way, the hardest part is removing the water. You can wring them out in a towel as I did, but there always seems to be too much liquid! Personally, I still need some practice with this part, as the best latkes come from the driest potatoes.
In any case, mix the potatoes and onions with some salt and pepper, and about 3 tablespoons flour, and 2 eggs. Heat about 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan and begin molding latkes, not too big. Place them in the pan and cook each side until golden. Set aside on a cookie sheat and put in a 200 degree oven to stay warm.
Ingredients (The rest)
Arugula
Breakfast sausages
2 eggs
white wine vinegar
salt
For the rest, I found breakfast sausages (they are smaller) and broiled them about 5 minutes a side. I soft poached the eggs in salted water (with about 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar) for 2:30 minutes.
Assembly
Start with a latke on a plate, top with arugula, then 2 sausages and finally the egg (we made enough for 2).
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