I’ll be getting my copy sometime today.
Check back later for more details!
UPDATE
I was at Barnes and Noble when it opened its doors at 9am. The sales clerks in the DVD section had no idea what I was talking about but eventually located a copy with a retail price of $59.99.
Unlike the covers for the previous few seasons, this one doesn’t feature a cast shot but rather individual pictures of the characters. Staring out from the center is Hilary Swank (Carly). I’ve been complaining about this ever since the art was first released as Swank was only in 16 episodes. Sure, she was billed as a lead character (and hired to be in the whole season) but with limited cover space, that spot should’ve gone to Vincent Young (Noah), who was not only in every episode of the season but also seasons 9 and 10. I’ve been told the decision to put Swank front and center was a marketing decision designed to capitalized on the Oscar winner’s recognition factor. Apparently that applies to the individual disc covers as well as Swank is also featured prominently on one of those while this time the MIA actor is Brian Austin Green (David), who’s been with the series since Day 1.
The back cover also doesn’t feature Young but manages to include him and everyone else in the description (though in a different order than the opening credits): “The Real World: 90210…School is over and the friends of Beverly Hills 90210 are discovering that life after graduation is not as easy as they thought! Come along with Brandon (Jason Priestley), Kelly (Jennie Garth), Donna (Tori Spelling), David (Brian Austin Green), Steve (Ian Ziering), Val (Tiffani Amber Thiessen), Noah (Vincent Young), and Carly (Hilary Swank) as they explore love and life outside of college in all 30 titillating episodes of Season 8. Experience Kelly’s recovery from a drive-by shooting, Brandon and Kelly’s wedding plans, and Donna’s drug overdose. It doesn’t take long for the gang to discover that the real world can be just as unpredictable as college.”
The set contains 7 discs with descriptions on the back of the individual cases. It’s pretty much a given there’s going to be errors (or, at the very list, vague summaries that miss the key points) but there are some doozies here! (1) “Racial lyrics lead David’s band, After Dark, into problems.” First off, the band wasn’t David’s–he was pseudo-managing them. But more importantly, After Dark is the name of the club that’s been on the show since season 5, not the name of the band (which was actually called Cain Was Able). (2) Continuing with the band name errors, they say “a member of Jasper’s Legend tries to sue Noah after a car accident” but the band was called Jasper’s Law. (3) We’ve got a serious reversal of events when they say “Valerie accuses Noah of date rape when she wakes up without any memory of the night before…and Donna and David get into a car accident.” Considering Donna and David’s interaction is partly the catalyst for Valerie and Noah even sleeping together, the order is crucial. (4) And the biggest error comes in the description for the two-part series finale: “Kelly takes an AIDS test after she comes into contact with the blood of an HIV patient. Trying to calm their new female news achor, Brandon ends up getting her drunk. Mel issues David an ultimatium. Valerie anxiously awaits her HIV test results. Brandon and Kelly have some very big news for their invited guests a few hours before the wedding.” The first half of that (from “Kelly…” to “…ultimatium” is from an episode in season 7! That’s right, folks. How a description for an episode that wasn’t even in this season–and wasn’t even a season finale, for that matter–ended up merged with the description for the actual season finale is beyond me. And, just to be totally accurate, Brandon and Kelly had their “surprise” *at* the wedding, not hours before.
Also worth mentioning is the pamphlet advertising other shows on DVD, including 90210: The First Season. The description reads: “New Drama. Same Zip. There’s a new generation in town, and they’re turning up the heat at West Beverly High. For hook-ups, break-ups, drug busts, and betrayals, 90210 is the place to go for the ultimate in guilty pleasures! Packed with Special Features.”
Unfortunately, this set isn’t “packed with special features.” Just as it was with season 7, my biggest complaint is the absence of special features altogether. I can only hope they are making some kick-ass ones for a complete series release. (And if there’s no complete series release, I’ll be hella pissed.)
Season 9 comes out in February.
Stay tuned!
TeenDramaWhore 