90210

Annie and Ethan are still not doing it.

Silver and Dixon are fighting.

Navid dumped Adrianna for being pregnant.

Naomi still has Daddy issues.

The costumer on this show is still far less superior to the on on Gossip Girl.

I'm starting not to care.

I want to like it. I know now that it can never be as well-written as Gossip Girl. Not as contemporary as The O.C. Not even as touching and mildly though provoking as the original. But hey, I watched the post-Brendan AND Dylan AND Brandon years of that show and was still entertained, can't I even get that???

I think it's because I hate Annie. Shenae Grimes was annoying on Degrassi where her overacting and inability to connect with co-stars emotionally blended in with the rest of the Canadian teen stars. But against Tristan Wilds (Dixon), who is arguably the best young actor on the show, Dustin Milligan (Ethan), whose passable teenage heartthrob is at least unjarring if not groundbreaking, and the trio of adult family members, all with years of acting experience, she seems high school theater. No, she seems like that girl that got cast in high school theater because her parents were boosters and she was good at memorizing but made you want to save your pee break for her big scenes. It's bad. Real bad.

The writers must have responded to some kind of fan calling because secondary character Adrianna has suddenly taken a front seat with her pregnancy storyline. And good for her. From the looks of the CW website, Adrianna was never intended to be a major player, but writing in touch storyline---the kind that affect real teenagers, the kind that the original show tackled with zest in the wake of political and cultural non-discourse---is a great move for this sinking ship.

As is exploring the relationship between Dixon and Silver, a couple who I've always liked separately but never together. Silver, the smart, sassy (read:bitchy) blogger aptly played by a surely anorexic or drugged out Jessica Stroup, was originally posited as the anti-Valley girl. Kelly's sister and indeed, what Kelly would have been if she were as affected by her coked-out mother as she ought to have been. But this ying to the Beverly Hills yang has become cartoonish at best, annoying at worst. Loosen up. Stop yelling at everyone. Be nice to the nicest guy at West Beverley who, just so happens, to be your boyfriend. And, as if some kind people decided to watch the show and let the second rate writers know what was wrong with their plot-lines and character development, the storylines are beginning to tackle some of these problems. Dixon's through with her behavior. Mr. Matthews momentarily presented her with a consequence for her often slanderous blog. Things look on the upswing. At least I hope.

So please, make this new storyline with Annie-Theater Guy-Ethan disappear. Give me more Adrianna. Write Jessica Walters into every scene for no reason. Feed these girls some sandwiches. Thank you.