Post by Deleted on Oct 6, 2015 21:48:35 GMT -5
In "honor" of the show's 25th anniversary, Lifetime gave the Zip Code the same hack-job treatment they had previously given Saved by the Bell and Full House, preying on the nostalgia of hapless Gen Xers and fudging the facts for the sake of entertainment. Which, of course, is the last thing you want to do with a show whose backstory is as sensitive and volatile as 90210's. 
Most of us already know what happened to Shannen Doherty on that show. She was a normal, reckless 20-something who didn't always make the wisest decisions or get along with everybody, but she still took her job seriously and always put in her best performance. As someone who likes both shows, I have to say that her acting was just as good on 90210 as it was on Charmed.
By the time of Season 4, her reckless behavior and behind-the-scenes issues with Jennie Garth had become too much, so she was fired and replaced by Tiffani Thiessen and the character of Valerie Malone. Unlike on Charmed, this firing was properly planned out and happened midway through Shannen's final season, so Brenda wasn't hastily written-off between seasons, and Valerie was even alluded to in late Season 4 episodes.
What few people, remember, however, was how HATED Shannen had become as a person by then. An entire "I Hate Brenda" movement had built up, complete with even its own disgusting, horrible newsletter:
Yes, you saw that right, they were BEATING UP A PINATA THAT LOOKED LIKE SHANNEN!
Her experiences on 90210 may have made Shannen a household name, but they also left a permanent black stain on her record that haunted her for the rest of her career. Charmed gave her a decent shot at a comeback, but as soon as she butted heads with Aaron Spelling and Brad Kern, two men timelocked into an 18th Century mindset, she was fired again, and it was all over for her. Since 2001, her career has been nothing but an endless stream of rubbish TV movies and reality shows, a complete waste of her talent. No director or producer wants to take a chance on her, and she's now "too old" for Hollywood, anyways. Very sad.
So, that brings me back to Lifetime's hack-job biopic. The thing was flawed from the get-go when they couldn't even get the hairstyles, clothes, and sets right, but I could've let that slide if not for the BLATANTLY distorted and biased way in which Shannen was depicted:
The biopic portrays her as a complete monster, some horrible, demonic creature not even deserving of the slightest bit of empathy or decency. (Not even Jennie and Tori ever saw her that way.) There was NOTHING about her talent, her struggles with her father's ill health, her past as a child star, or anything else that would've portrayed her as a complex, multifaceted human being. I know this is some crappy Lifetime movie, but GIVE ME A BREAK!
Shannen hasn't publicly said anything about this, yet, but I can't imagine how she must feel about it, especially at a time when she's fighting breast cancer. She doesn't need this kind of publicity right now.
Most of us already know what happened to Shannen Doherty on that show. She was a normal, reckless 20-something who didn't always make the wisest decisions or get along with everybody, but she still took her job seriously and always put in her best performance. As someone who likes both shows, I have to say that her acting was just as good on 90210 as it was on Charmed.
By the time of Season 4, her reckless behavior and behind-the-scenes issues with Jennie Garth had become too much, so she was fired and replaced by Tiffani Thiessen and the character of Valerie Malone. Unlike on Charmed, this firing was properly planned out and happened midway through Shannen's final season, so Brenda wasn't hastily written-off between seasons, and Valerie was even alluded to in late Season 4 episodes.
What few people, remember, however, was how HATED Shannen had become as a person by then. An entire "I Hate Brenda" movement had built up, complete with even its own disgusting, horrible newsletter:
Yes, you saw that right, they were BEATING UP A PINATA THAT LOOKED LIKE SHANNEN!
Her experiences on 90210 may have made Shannen a household name, but they also left a permanent black stain on her record that haunted her for the rest of her career. Charmed gave her a decent shot at a comeback, but as soon as she butted heads with Aaron Spelling and Brad Kern, two men timelocked into an 18th Century mindset, she was fired again, and it was all over for her. Since 2001, her career has been nothing but an endless stream of rubbish TV movies and reality shows, a complete waste of her talent. No director or producer wants to take a chance on her, and she's now "too old" for Hollywood, anyways. Very sad.
So, that brings me back to Lifetime's hack-job biopic. The thing was flawed from the get-go when they couldn't even get the hairstyles, clothes, and sets right, but I could've let that slide if not for the BLATANTLY distorted and biased way in which Shannen was depicted:
For the Beverly Hills, 90210’s 25th anniversary, Lifetime aired The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210, a film about what went on behind the scenes of the show, played by a younger set of actors and actresses.
And a lot was revealed about Shannen Doherty, who was the reputed bad girl of the show. According to the film, Doherty displayed a lot of bad behavior that her co-stars had difficulty dealing with. Doherty often got herself into fights, some with her co-stars and some with other people. She has been arrested and was always late for filming. At first, Tori Spelling defended her tardiness because she was her friend, but Doherty made her biggest mistake when she dared to threaten Spelling. Doherty allegedly warned Spelling to “watch her back” after arriving late on set again. After that incident, Doherty was never seen again in the series. Also, Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth were shown having a fight in a carpark because of a red dress they both wanted to wear. In the next scene, Doherty was arrested for picking a fight in the club.
The police officer even said to her, “Do I know who you are? Yes. You are a big pain in the behind. Everybody thinks that.”
Ian Ziering also tried to talk some sense into her, “You’re like a shark, you’re like a tornado – you’re like a mixture between a shark and a tornado.”
At the end of the scene, Doherty crashes Ziering’s sports car and Ziering predicts the creation of Sharknado the movie.
And a lot was revealed about Shannen Doherty, who was the reputed bad girl of the show. According to the film, Doherty displayed a lot of bad behavior that her co-stars had difficulty dealing with. Doherty often got herself into fights, some with her co-stars and some with other people. She has been arrested and was always late for filming. At first, Tori Spelling defended her tardiness because she was her friend, but Doherty made her biggest mistake when she dared to threaten Spelling. Doherty allegedly warned Spelling to “watch her back” after arriving late on set again. After that incident, Doherty was never seen again in the series. Also, Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth were shown having a fight in a carpark because of a red dress they both wanted to wear. In the next scene, Doherty was arrested for picking a fight in the club.
The police officer even said to her, “Do I know who you are? Yes. You are a big pain in the behind. Everybody thinks that.”
Ian Ziering also tried to talk some sense into her, “You’re like a shark, you’re like a tornado – you’re like a mixture between a shark and a tornado.”
At the end of the scene, Doherty crashes Ziering’s sports car and Ziering predicts the creation of Sharknado the movie.
The biopic portrays her as a complete monster, some horrible, demonic creature not even deserving of the slightest bit of empathy or decency. (Not even Jennie and Tori ever saw her that way.) There was NOTHING about her talent, her struggles with her father's ill health, her past as a child star, or anything else that would've portrayed her as a complex, multifaceted human being. I know this is some crappy Lifetime movie, but GIVE ME A BREAK!
Shannen hasn't publicly said anything about this, yet, but I can't imagine how she must feel about it, especially at a time when she's fighting breast cancer. She doesn't need this kind of publicity right now.
