Expert: Crystal - 12/22/2007

Question
QUESTION: hey, crystal
thanks for the great answers
i have a couple more questions....why does dvddonkey.com say they have seasons 1-10 on dvd, but they say all 227 episodes? one of your experts answered a question about how many episodes their really are, and she said there were 293 "real" episodes, besides the sites that dont include the pilot, and besides the spesials...also, where can i find  a set of all the seasons on dvd that is new, not used? wal-mart only has seasons 1-3..does that mean the others were sold? where'sa place that would have a non-new set of all the dvds, and and the best price? i really wanna buy all 10 seasoons, and on dvd..thanks for ur help. and, where can i find a "real" expert on this subject, and whats an accurate site about details on tv shows? tv.com? anywhere else?

ANSWER: Hello Kayla,

dvddonkey.com is selling BOOTLEG copies of the show, meaning they are not official releases backed by Paramount (who owns the copyright for 90210).

I don't know how they arrived at 227 total episodes. Even if you removed the specials and counted each 2-hour episode as one, there's a total of 283 episodes that way.

Only seasons 1-3 have being OFFICIALLY released by Paramount at this time. That's why you cannot find any other season. You should be able to buy new Seasons 1-3 DVD sets wherever you can buy DVD sets at (Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Amazon.com, etc.)

I do not know where to buy all 10 seasons in any way other than to buy each set as it's officially released.

I don't understand what you mean about a "real" expert. I can't speak for anyone else, but I know 90210 well and have volunteered my time to answer any question fellow fans may have. However, there may be questions I cannot answer, but all questions are answered to the best of my abilities.  

Tv.com is a good site for details about TV shows including 90210. However, there's no way of knowing how accurate it is due to information being user-submitted. IMDB.com is the same way. The information on those two sites are posted in good faith and it's up to the many users of the sites to make sure it's fact checked and as accurate as possible.

Other sources for TV show information are TVGuide.com, EOnline.com. These sites may have more accurate information than IMDB.com and Tv.com due to them having more ties to the entertainment industry itself.

Take care,
Crystal

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey, crystal...what do u mean when u say seasons 1-3 were the only ones officially released by paramount? is there a difference between released and officially released? if so, what is it? what do u mean para mount is in charge of the copyright? does that mean paramount controls when the seasons are made onto dvd and given to stores? i didn't really understand ur definition of bootleg. please go further into detail. what do u mean i have to wait until the other seasons are released? when are they? do u know? how di i find out? oh, and when are there reruns? what channel? i only have regular tv-channels 2, (3 is where i can watch movies-my dvds and vhses), 4, 6, 7, 11, 22, 28, and 34. 22, 28, & 34 for my tv, are 73, 79, and 85...we also have chanel 77....what's that? im sorry for all the questions, but id really like them answered. thanks

ANSWER: Officially released could mean one of two options:
1. A company got permission from the copyright holder to release.
2. The company that holds the copyright released the show itself.  

In the case of 90210, Paramount owns the copyright and has decided to release the show itself. Yes, that would mean Paramount is in charge of when each season will be released on DVD and made available to buy.

Copyright means the legal right granted to an author, composer, playwright, publisher, or distributor to exclusive publication, production, sale, or distribution of a literary, musical, dramatic, or artistic work. (definition courtesy of American Heritage Dictionary)

Bootleg means to produce, distribute, or sell without permission or illegally (definition courtesy of American Heritage Dictionary).

The site you provided did not list which studio had released it, that's the usual tip-off to me that they are bootleg DVDs. They are also selling the DVDs as region free, usually official studio releases (such as Paramount) will have a region code (like US/Canada is Region 1).

The other question to ask when dealing with sites like that is since the studio that owns the copyright has only released a couple of seasons (90210's case: Seasons 1-3) officially in the US/Canada, how would dvddonkey.com have all 10 seasons available? (Another example is the TV show "The Wonder Years", the site you provided has all seasons available to buy. The copyright holder of that show hasn't even released the 1st season officially or hinted at a release date yet.)

I can not give you a date for other seasons of 90210 to be released on DVD because Paramount has not set a date yet. The website tvshowsondvd.com is a great site to sign up with, it's free and they will send you email alerts when the shows you want to know about will be released. That's how I learn about each 90210 release myself.

There are reruns of 90210 that air every day of the week on Soapnet. My apologies, I'm not sure of the exact times. It seems like you have basic cable, you may or may not have Soapnet since it's usually carried on the digital cable tier. You'll need to check with your cable provider to see if you get the channel or how to go about getting it. Through satellite TV, both Dish Network and Direct TV carry Soapnet as well.  


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: om the types of tv u said-direct, satellite, etc., what channel would the reruns be on? my cousics have satellite-is that the one that has disney, nickalodeon, and shows like degrassi:the next generation? cuz if it is, cool..one time i was baby-sitting for them, and there were reruns-is it on channel 126? i have a question-in the first season, are brenda, brandon, dylan, donna, and kelly juniors and david and scott freshmen? how many of the seasons
(or years-is that another name? answer this) are spent for each person (the names above) in high school, how many are in college, and how many are out of college (name the seasons and a little about what's going on with each character). i have a question: in one of the episodes, brenda and donna go to paris, while, at home, dylan and kelly spend time together, and get closer. at the end, u see kely enter her house, and dylan is there, then, its over.....do they have sex? why do they have a relationship behind brenda's back? in the episode, kelly was talling david to be true to donna after she catches him making out with a girl...isn't that kind of hypicritical? i mean, that same concept shpuld go to friends as well..her and dylan are being hypicrites, right? when i saw that episode, at the end, my chest tightened, cuz i was sad for brenda...were you? sorry for the questions-and thx for the answers.

Answer
Hello again,

The 90210 reruns air on Soapnet. DirecTv (was misspelling it before) and Dish Network are the 2 satellite companies. Soapnet is on channel 188 on Dish Network, channel 262 on DirecTv. Those channels are according to the website for each company. Disney and Nickelodeon are two more cable/satellite channels. I think Degrassi airs on Nickelodeon.

During the first season of 90210, Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, Steve, Dylan, Donna, and Andrea were juniors (11th grade). David and Scott were freshman (9th grade). In the second season, David and Scott move up to being sophomores(10th grade), the others remain juniors (11th grade). In the third season, Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, Steve, Dylan, Donna, and Andrea are seniors (12th grade) and graduate at the end of the school year (also happened to be the end of the season). David was a junior (11th grade) and doubled up on his classes to graduate with the others. Scott accidently shot and killed himself in a Season 2 episode where he was celebrating his birthday.

The reason that most of them were juniors (11th grade) TWICE is because the show had them originally in 11th grade but then the show's popularity took off and the network & producers decided they wanted the characters to stay in high school a little longer before moving on to college. Since David was already younger when the show started, he was allowed to age and move through the school grades like normal.

Overall, the first 3 seasons of the show (1-3) are set in high school, the next four seasons (4-7) are set in college (California University), and the last 3 seasons (8-10) are spent in the working world. You can read the 90210 episode guide for all 10 seasons at tv.com for what goes on with each character in each season.  

According to dialogue, Kelly & Dylan DO NOT have sex during the summer at any time. Supposedly, all they do is flirt heavily, spend a lot of time together, and have serious make-out sessions. So supposedly all they did was make out when Kelly entered her cabana (it's not a house) with Dylan waiting after the scene fades to black.

I can't tell you why Kelly & Dylan have a relationship behind Brenda's back other than that's what the writers decided to do for storyline. Yes, it's hypocritical of Kelly to tell David to not cheat on Donna and then proceed to backstab her friend and help Dylan cheat on his girlfriend. I leave it to you to decide if Kelly/Dylan were being hypocrites from there or whatever way you want tos ee them.

I did not like that storyline (Kelly/Dylan have a summer romance while Brenda's away) when it originally aired and still don't like it in reruns. I thought it was sickening.

Take care,
Crystal