'90210': Adrianna goes down for the count

...but hopefully not for good!

Last night's episode ended with shots of the drugged out drama queen splayed on the floor, eyes unblinking, paramedics shoving a needle into her chest, accompanied by Naomi's oh-so-ironic words: "You are dead to me!"

Let's rewind. Naomi had taken the fall for her friend, snatching Adrianna's lipstick locket of coke at the very moment the school was hit with a drug bust. (Yes, cops, drug-sniffing dogs, locker searches -- the works.) Talk about your bad timing, huh? So Naomi goes down expecting Daddy, a rich lawyer, to bail her out. Of course, he bursts that bubble and Naomi tells Adrianna to be a good friend and fess up. She did give Adrianna her lucky necklace earlier. And it did help her score that role in the horror movie. (Also a big help: Annie's painful audition. Does Annie really have to stick with the whole aspiring actress thing? It doesn't do Shenae Grimes any favors.) But Adrianna's mama hits her with a little too many thanks -- thanks for landing a job that saved their house -- and boom! She's back on the stuff, going into arrest and leaving Naomi no choice but to leave that ill-timed message.

That was the good part. Sure, I need to see Naomi do a lot more than get screwed over week after week -- crying isn't her best look -- but that portion of last night's episode proved that maybe, just maybe, the new "90210" class can carry the show. And without resting on the old familiar faces. It was just the right amount of over-the-top craziness I'd expect from "Gossip Girl's" network neighbor. Make Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) a regular already!

Also good: Tabitha. Even when she has to say lines like: "I want to swim naked. I like how it feels when the water glides off my ass.... I'm letting my freak flag fly and there's nothing you can do about it."

Less successful, however, was new "classmate" Kim (Jessica Lucas)...

She's from Las Vegas, wears a size 8 shoe, has three piercings and likes tacos. She's unreasonably foul to Mr. Matthews, and clearly older than the other kids. That's because she's a cop! (Oy.) Could her drug investigations involve a messy romance with Mr. Matthews? I could possibly get behind that. He needs to get over Kelly. And speaking of Mr. Matthews, was it just me or was it weird to anyone else that Silver invited her teacher to her half-birthday party? He is dating her step-sister and all, but she's not even in town.

His online date was very bad, very unfunny, very unnecessary. I'll leave it at that.

Elsewhere, Naomi's mom, Tracy, decided to go ahead and hire a PI to search for the son she had with Annie's dad, Harry, who she still has a crush on after these many post-high school years. She kissed him. I'll start caring when they that kid of hers arrives and really causes a ruckus.

That leaves Annie was Ethan, who, well ... there's no reason to root for or against them, I suppose. But here's what we know about them: She fell for a boy in the school musical, she's wholesome, and, er, she's Silver's friend. He surfs, cheats and had to wait until his girlfriend ended their relationship instead of doing it himself. In other words, they both need more to do before I can weigh in.

What did everyone else think? Is Adrianna dead? Will Mr. Matthews fall for Kim while Kelly's away? Can Annie and Ethan make us care about their mutual attraction?

-- Denise Martin

Comments

[mambo]

this show needs to find characters from the original that haven't been played out. Maybe they could have Ray Pruit come back. Or Ariel Hunter. Or Emily Valentine. Anyone to help this horrible cast of overage newbies.

or else just pull the plug on it and run the old show in prime time again. it will get better ratings , fer sure.

[Marisa]

annalynne mcsuckyactress annoys the hell out of me, but at least they got her hair looking better in this episode. haha i loved the moment when adrianna's mom told her it looked better straight - perhaps the writers are trying to tell the hairstylists something? other than that, i'm glad that annie and ethan are finally moving ahead. i mean, they're boring, but even more boring were the "obstacles" keeping them apart (i.e. crying naomi/blank-face ty).

[Liz]

I can't STAND Adrianna! Her bangs annoy me. And her consistently pouty face. I keep waiting for her to stomp her foot after one of her outbursts.
I love the Garthster but Shannon Do needs to GO. Agree on the uncomfortable and unnecessary bad date with Teach and the slightly stalkerish newbie. I also wondered why Silver would invite him to her birthday party but hey, she also invited the principal so I guess it was just one giant frightfest all around.
As a woman with curly hair, Adrianna's mom just reiterated what all men tell me: straight is better... but the look on her face afterward was hilarious to me.

[Mark]

Worst episode yet.

Come on! How is it that the entire cast would up at an outdoor screening of "Psycho?!" Completely unreal. And are we really supposed to believe that Mr. Matthews has so much trouble finding a date that he has to seek one online ... and that her idiocy wasn't apparent the first time they talked on the phone?

The drug bust bit was absurd. Aren't there laws against that kind of thing? Even if there are not, how is it that no one actually puts a lock on their lockers? And when did Harry turn into such a raging right-wingnut, approving of such a tactic?

Jessica Walter is utterly wasted on this show. I hope she is being well-paid to suffer the ignominy of delivering such lame, faux-"shocking" dialogue.

Shenae Grimes non-stop mugging would make her excellent as the love interest on "Blue's Clues" ... how did she ever get a job "acting" on primetime television. I know, I know, it's the CW. But those facial tics have got to go.

I nearly forgot the show was on last night. If it remains this bad ... and one fears it will... the first original that I miss will likely mean that I have also seen my last episode.

As for the dead(?) girl. Who cares? Though killing her off would show that the writers have some stones, and aren't being completely predictable.

[Bob]

please let her die, and then Naomi can have a break down and die as well, With all of that going on Navid can die from a paper cut and no one will notice and maybe they can bring is some new cast members that can act and hopefully better story lines. I still feel that Silver is worth watching and hope that Annie gets better from the writers. I think most would agree that the show is better when it is dealing with the adults except for Shannon who should never work again.

[Denise]

mambo: yes! emily valentine! nice call.

Mark: they actually do hold public screenings at the forever hollywood cemetery (http://www.cinespia.org). but i totally agree with mr. matthews -- he's unbelievable as this lovelorn loser. also agree with jessica walter (but i'll take whatever i can get) and shanae grimes (who annoys every single second she's on-screen).

i take issue with the drug bust -- it should have been even worse! more over the top and absurd! that's what the show needs! more excess!

[jennifer]

fyi.............kelly and silver are HALF sisters, not stepsisters