Once we finally got our internet connection stable, I started catching up on all the television I missed. Luckily, 4 On Demand still had the season 4 finale of 90210 available, and I’m now going to officially upgrade it from “guilty pleasure” to just “pleasure”.
Like Desperate Housewives and Nip/Tuck before it, there’s a very deft balance to be struck in comedy-drama TV shows to get the levels of wit and pathos just right. It needs to be fluffy enough to be an escapist treat, but dramatic enough to make you shed the odd tear. The worst thing is when you’re uninvolved with the conflicts, unmoved by the tragedy and untickled by the humour. Luckily, 90210 suffers no such fate.
This little riff on The Graduate was one of the best gasp-cringe-laugh-out-loud moments I’ve seen since American Pie 2.
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Finally, the completely unexpected shock ending left me reeling … and complimenting what was obviously a very expensive set-piece.
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Roll on season five!
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