Last year the CW remade Beverly Hills 90210. After 90210’s success last season, the CW decided to remake Beverly Hills 90210’s spinoff, Melrose Place. Not having seen the original Melrose Place and not being a huge fan of 90210, I didn’t know what to think of Melrose Place. Well after watching the first two episodes the verdict is in. Melrose Place is best new show on the CW and way better than 90210.
Melrose Place is a reimagining of the 1992 Fox series Melrose Place. Melrose Place follows a group of twenty-somethings that all reside in an apartment complex. These twenty-somethings are all trying to make ends meet while dealing with their own personal lives. When a murder victim ends up in the apartment complex pool everyone becomes a suspect since everyone has a connection and reason to have killed the victim.
For those of you who think Melrose Place is just going to be a new 90210 you are either going to be happy or sad. While there are a couple similarities, Melrose Place is not that similar to 90210. Melrose Place distinguishes itself from 90210 due to the fact that the cast is older. Instead of dealing with rich high schoolers, Melrose Place deals with young adults in their twenties that are trying to just make ends meet as they try and pursue their dreams. This works much better in my opinion and is a big reason why I liked Melrose Place way more than 90210. At this point there doesn’t appear to be any connections to 90210as well so you don’t have to watch 90210 to enjoy Melrose Place.
The other reason I liked Melrose Place was the murder mystery. I won’t reveal who ends up murdered since I don’t want to spoil things for people who want to avoid spoilers but if you don’t already know and want to know, you could easily find out on another site. I will say the murder mystery shows promise. The victim ends up being connected in some ways to all the cast so everyone is a suspect. I am a fan of mysteries so this storyline could be quite interesting. As long as they can keep the mystery interesting and involve the viewers, I think it could be pretty good. While it will mean the loss of a cast member next season, I personally hope that one on the regular cast members are the murderer since fans will be able to guess who it was.
I am a little interested though in what the show is going to do once the murder mystery wraps since it won’t be able to last several seasons. I am guessing the mystery will last the entire season but if the show gets a second season the show probably needs to find a new direction for the show.
As far as the cast, they are pretty solid overall. Some of the characters appear more interesting than others but the show has a pretty well rounded cast. More detailed looks at the cast and characters follow:
Ella Simms: Based on the first two episodes I would have to say that Ella Simms, played by Katie Cassidy (”Harper’s Island”), appears to be the character that will get the most screentime. Ella Simms is an up and coming publicist who is willing to do anything to get what she wants. Overall her character is kind of your typical tough woman that is willing to do anything to get her way. Overall she is probably the second most interesting character on the show.
Jonah Miller and Riley Richmond: I am combining these two characters since they are currently engaged even though I already doubt that it is going to last. Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas, “Cloverfield” “90210″) is an elementary school teacher and Jonah Miller (Michael Rady, “Greek”) is a struggling filmmaker. In the first two episodes I found Jonah to be pretty interesting and the best character since he is kind of a nerd. He is actually quite a bit like Max from Greek (Micahel Rady’s most recent role). Meanwhile Riley was kind of boring in my opinion. Unless she gets more interesting storylines in the future she appears to be a secondary character at this point.
Auggie Kirkpatrick: Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield, “All My Children”) is a chef with a dark past. Auggie is a pretty dark and brooding type of character. While I can see why they made the character a little dark, I am hoping they lighten him up a little over the season. He has a chance to grow as a character throughout the season if they do that.
David Breck: David Breck (Shaun Sipos, “Final Destination 2″) is the estranged son of Michael Mancini (from the original Melrose Place). David Breck appears to be the typical rich estranged son that is trying to get back at his father. I don’t really know what to think of the character till I find out more about what the series is planning on doing with the character. While we are on the topic, his father Michael Mancini, from the original Melrose Place, is back for a recurring role on the show.
Lauren Yung: Lauren Yung is a medical student that is in desperate need for money to pay her tuition. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles fans will be happy that Stephanie Jacobson is back on television in the role of Lauren Yung. Overall her character shows promise. Her character is kind of the “good girl” who also has a dark side.Why don’t I just say she has a non traditional way of paying for her tuition.
Violet Foster: Violet Foster is the newcomer to the apartment complex that is hiding a dark secret. Overall her character is a little reserved and secretive. Viewers can expect to find out her secret at the end of the second episode. A lot of you probably recognize that Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is playing the role. I personally know next to nothing about her except for the lip-synching incident and that she is Jessica Simpson’s sister. Overall she doesn’t do a bad job in her role as Violet Foster but I think she is the weakest cast member on the show.
Sydney Andrews: Sydney Andrews (from the original Melrose Place) returns to Melrose Place and is the building owner. Sydney Andrews was actually killed in the original Melrose Place but it appears that she wasn’t really killed. At this point she is only a recurring character but she does appear in the first two episodes so I think her recurring role will be very close to a regular role. Overall I wouldn’t say her character is likeable but is interesting.
As I have mentioned Melrose Place is not perfect but it is definitely a watchable show. Unless something goes wrong after the second episode I plan on continuing to watch Melrose Place. If you liked the original Melrose Place or like most of CW’s other shows you should like Melrose Place. Fans of murder mysteries and character dramas could also be interested in Melrose Place.
So are you interested in Melrose Place? Leave your thoughts on the show in the comments section.
I really appreciate this wonderful post you supplied for us. We assure this may be beneficial for associated with the.
I needed to substitute my previous Polaris 180. I used it for 10 years and it was already over eight years previous after I bought the house. The 280 cleans the pool very effectively with minimum maintenance. I put a 12 inches nylon sock (6 for $1.00 at the dollar store) over the exit going inside the bag and alter it each three-four weeeks. This manner I do not have to clean the bag. The 280 has a straightforward to handle bag, a wider suction mouth and the again movement system to maneuver it from places to places in the pool every 5 min. help to make an ideal job. Polaris despatched me freed from charge a G-9 coupler to hook it up from my previous .75 inch pool wall return.
Well. Not really what I expected, but you could have created me think about this subject from one more perspective. Wonderful job.
Pronounced jhee-clay, giclee is a sophisticated inkjet printing method
I think this is among the most important info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But should remark on few general things, The website style is wonderful, the articles is really nice : D. Good job, cheers
All your photographs are amazing and have done a stellar word, surely fantastic job!