Expert: Mel - 5/19/2009

Question
Hi again mel, I would like to know 2 things, I read that the ratings of the show were good specially in S4 (Shipped more than 20million viewers in the US) I want to know if this information is truth, the general ratings of every season, And which was the highest rated episode of ALL the Beverlly hills 90210 episodes

Answer
Hi Lathasia,

The highest rated episode is a 3-way tie between "Wedding Bell Blues" (2.28), "Commencement" (3.29/3.30), and "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" (5.01), each earning a 14.1 rating.  They are the S2 finale, S3 finale, and S5 premiere, respectively.  The S4 finale (4.31/4.32) came very close, too, at 13.9.  A different number of households equate to a single rating point each year, so ultimately it's the S5 premiere ("What I Did ...", 5.01) which apparently had the most households viewing (13,451,400).  There are a certain number of viewers per household, though.  A 9/23/94 report from Entertainment Weekly confirms that the September 7th premiere of S5 garnered more than 21 million viewers (21.2), thus you are right about the show reaching those numbers.  From the 1991-1992 season up until the 1994-1995 season, "Beverly Hills, 90210" was considered to be a phenomenal, consistent success.  S4 was indeed a strong year within this period.  


Here's the lowest, highest, and average rating for each season:

S1: 4.1 - 9.2   (Avg: 6.35)
S2: 10.0 - 14.1 (Avg: 11.71)
S3: 8.8 - 14.1  (Avg: 11.14)
S4: 9.8 - 13.9  (Avg: 11.29)
S5: 8.4 - 14.1  (Avg: 11.19)
S6: 8.4 - 12.9  (Avg: 9.92)
S7: 6.0 - 9.4   (Avg: 8.31)
S8: 6.8 - 10.0  (Avg: 8.22)
S9: 5.9 - 8.1   (Avg: 6.88)
S10: 4.6 - 9.6  (Avg: 5.70)

According to my source (which is not officially endorsed), a rating point was equal to 931,000, 921,000, 931,000, 942,000, 954,000, 959,000, 970,000, 980,000, 994,000, and 1,008,000 households for each of the ten seasons, respectively.  

What's sometimes considered more important than ratings is "share", or a show's ranking place relative to other programs which aired on the same night.  It values how much people are viewing TV in general less than how many are specifically choosing a given show over another.  To be a teen drama and make the top 10 or top 20 among the broad demographic is pretty incredible.  S4 gave us our best figure for rank (the #9 spot, the night of the finale).

Here's how the lowest-highest rankings break down, along with seasonal averages:

S1:  92-54 (Avg: 77.45)
S2:  58-12 (Avg: 36.28)
S3:  53-11 (Avg: 34.34)
S4:  55-09 (Avg: 37.19)
S5:  62-10 (Avg: 35.38)
S6:  52-19 (Avg: 41.09)
S7:  70-23 (Avg: 46.93)
S8:  66-16 (Avg: 45.40)
S9:  71-25 (Avg: 58.57)
S10: 83-23 (Avg: 67.42)

No matter how you cut it, even with room for error, it's clear that S2 through S5 were the years the show was most alive with media/fan buzz.  And that's certainly how I remember it.  

Thanks for the question!

All the best,

Mel