Beverly Hills 90210 - Feisty (Bren/Shay) #24: Doing 90210 without her is like doing Hamlet without Hamlet.

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 07:13 AM

credit to :Inside of Love

credit to: playgroundDiaries

credit to: Caris_leogirl

On paper 90210 was an ensemble show; in practice, not so much. Never mind the stridently self-serious if dreamy Brandon, the button-nosed little-rich-girl-next-door Kelly, and the rehabbed rebel Dylan, with his amazing washboard Forehead of Angst. Forget spear carriers Donna, Steve, and David. And that uptight editor chick with the glasses who was, like, 46 in real life? Banish her from your mind. Brenda was the heart and soul of 90210. Brenda was the one we tuned in for, the one we couldn't quite figure out, the one who somehow always just demanded attention. Shark-jump plot machinations aside, many of the best episodes were carried along on the blustery jet stream of her moods, which tended to start out chirpy and sarcastic before building to a fit of pique and climaxing in a punishing emotional ****storm, which then inevitably gave way at the last possible moment—and here was the key point—to warm Brenda sunshine and smiles and hugs all around. Sure, the show ran six seasons after she was packed off to study in London, but the party, for all intents and purposes, was over

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35.) little_angel
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40.) -- J Erlotier L --
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42.) *Brenda*
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47.) *Lucie*
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It’s true that a 90210 reprise without Brenda was unthinkable for longtime enthusiasts. “If you have a show called 90210 and you’re bringing characters back, you can’t not bring Shannen Doherty back,” says Kevin Smith, a noted Dohertyolgist since their Mallrats days. “That’s like putting on Hamlet and leaving out Hamlet.” [

1. Because she is the original 90210 lead, female character, and actress.
2. Because she's the original brunette.
3. Because she's the original bad girl.
4. Because they're feisty.
5. Because they're strong and guarded.
6. Because Brenda's giving.
7. Because Shannen seems like such a sweet, and down to earth person.
8. Because Brenda was incredibly selfless.
9. Because Brenda was incredibly forgiving.
10. Because Brenda was brave enough to talk Emily out of setting fire to the float, and Laura, the psychopath that tried to destroy her, out of commiting suicide.
11. Because Shannen's an amazing actress.
12. Because Brenda was the most beautiful, and distinguished girl the first 4 seasons with her black hair, and green-grey eyes.
13. Because even though Brenda lived in a stifling, controlling enviroment with her parents, and overshadowing brother she still wanted to be a part of their family.
14. Because Brenda was incredibly loyal.
15. Because Brenda was stronger than ever when she left despite all the bad things she went through during her 4 years on the show.
16. Because the show was never the same after she left.
17. Because Shannen rocked Prue on Charmed as well as she rocked Brenda.
18. Because despite her bad reputation, bad mistakes, and bad rumors; we love her.
19. Because we love her friendship with Holly Marie Combs and Sarah Michelle Gellar.
20. Because Brenda was humble enough to accept her mistakes, but brave enough to stand up for herself.
21. Because she was not H as hypocrite, but H as honest.
22. Because Shannen gives the best of her strong personality to her characters, and makes them unforgettable.
23. Because she's smart and sweet and sassy!
24. Because Donna said it: Brenda can make the best of every situation.
25. Because she's like a cat, always lands on her feet. Ask Dylan
26. Because even Jim agrees that in the end, she always does right thing.
27. Because Kelly said she was less of a bitch since Brenda had come.
28. Because she volunteered at rape line, and helped raped girl.
20. Because, as after that Andrea said, Brenda knows how to listen.
21. Because she is the best dancer.
22. Because she helped abused Sue Scanlon.
23. Because she was great senior buddy.
24. Because Erica wanted her to be her big sister, and her brother's girlfriend.
25. Because Brenda loves theater, and theater loves her.
26. Because reviews for her Maggie in "Cat on the Hot Tin Roof" said that Brenda showed maturity beyond her years.
27. Because she won scholarship for RADA!
28. Because that way, she was the first character who won financial and complete independence from her parents.
29. Because she's our Heather Duke!
30. Because Kevin Smith took her for his movie.
31. Because she worked with Ben Afleck, Jason Lee, London brothers, Claire Forlani, Helen Hunt, Sarah Jessica Parker, Winona Ryder, Christian Slater... not to mention Kevin Smith!
32. Because she's funny, able to joke about her bad rep and use it as great marketing strategy.
33. Because she's among Top 100 tv icons!
34. Because she's #5 on list of Top 100 teen stars!
35. Because she's a queen of confrontation!
36. Because Aron Spelling said, she won't lie to you.
37. Because she's a queen of unconventional beauty... and behavior.
38. Because maybe she was a drama queen, but a queen anyway
39. Because we love her either as an angel or as a witch.
40. Because Shannen has the best pre- and post 90210 carreer.
41. Because when she leaves the show, ratings fall down!
42. Because Brenda's departure is voted as moment when 90210 jumped the shark.
43. Becuse she starred in Slaughter's video "Real Love".
44. Because Brenda spent a day in Paris searching for Balsac's house.
45. Because Brenda loves literature, and can discuss it.
46. Because she certainly knows how to move on!
47. Because this girl can sing!
48. Because this cat is a doglover.
49. Because she's irreplaceable.
50. Because she dated Julian McMahon.
51. Because Yahoo! Buzz released the 'Top 20 Why' searches and a search about Shannen was in at number 18!
52. Because she has the best hair!
53. Because even her bangs are iconic!
54. Because she rocks Asia look!
55. Because wonky eyes are lovely!
56. Because Brenda's sophisticated educated girl.
57. Because she's a fighter.
58. Because Brenda graduated with honors!
59. Because she never made a big deal of her intelligence, grades and SAT results, though they were awesome!
60. Because Brenda defines supportive.
61. Because even her witchy/bitchy moments are unforgetable.
62. Because Val wanted to be Brenda. Good choice, Val.
63. Because she dared to stand up to all untouchables: Jim, Queen Bee Kelly, "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know" Dylan and Always Right Brandon.
64. Because Joe E. Tata (Nat) said it: "Nobody can replace Shannen!"
65. Because we're not almost over her, and we'll never be.
66. Because she's our Christmas Caper.
67. Because she turned her scars into garments.

credit to: charmingbrenda

"The best young actress I've seen in a long time, she is a very honest person who wears her emotion on her sleeve, if you'll ask her direct question, she'll give you direct answer"-Aaron Spelling

"All of the stories about Shannen are so blown out of proportion" he says "she's a very intelligent young woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind. I really enjoy working with her. We have a good relationship on and off screen"-Jason Priestley

"There's one thing I have to say about Shannen," Green says thoughtfully. "Everybody calls her a b*tch, but from day one of 90210 it's always been about the work for her. If she doesn't think something's good, she's gonna insist that it's changed and made better. Not because she's this control freak, but... How bad is it that your lead actress wants the show to be better? I'm not saying she's always used the best tactics, but if people would step outside their egos and try to understand that she's aggressive because she's passionate, it would be better. But they want to jump to a quick conclusion and just say she's 'difficult'."- Brian Austin Green

"I miss working with SHANNEN DOHERTY from time to time. You know, Shannen and I mixed it up pretty good -- both on-camera and off. She was always very lively. It was always very real with us. I thought that early on we did some really strong work on the show"- Luke Perry

"Out of all my friends Shannen is the really honest one"- Tori Spelling[

Quote:

Shannen Doherty is a Little Sweetie. Just Ask her Mommy.

She pouted, tantrum’d, and prima donna’d herself out of the Hollywood spotlight. Now the original mean girl is returning to a familiar zip code—and role.

Not long ago, Shannen Doherty, the once and future Brenda Walsh, took a day off from shooting the short-lived TV show North Shore in Hawaii and went on a shark-diving trip with a couple of friends. Hundreds of yards offshore, Doherty descended into the water in a protective cage. Members of the boat’s crew chummed the water, sharks gathered—and Doherty freaked.

“I couldn’t breathe, I started having an anxiety attack, I couldn’t stay out of their reach,” Doherty says, shuddering. Her Irish brow crinkles into slight worry lines that make her look her age, which is 37. “They were slamming into the cage—they looked so frickin’ mean! My leg slipped a little through the bars, and a shark swam up against me and rubbed off a layer of my skin.”

Doherty is telling the story in a restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway, in Malibu, a few hundred yards from the beach. She still owns nine or ten surfboards but hasn’t been on one—or even swum in the ocean—since the shark encounter. “I tell myself the least I can do is give the ocean back to the sharks,” Doherty says. And then she giggles. “No, that’s just a bull**** rationalization—I’m just terrified now.”

Doherty, who’s reprising the role of Brenda on the CW’s revival of 90210, could look at her shark-cage experience as an apt metaphor for her twenties—not-so-tender years marked by catfights, nude photo spreads, a turn leading the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1992 Republican National Convention, and a slew of ill-chosen male companions. Her eyes widen when she’s presented with the parallel. “I never thought of that before,” she says. “And now I’m playing Brenda again. Wow.”

Doherty lets the concept sit a moment before elaborating: “Well, I’ll go to the beach and I’ll wade up to my knees. But I’m not going to start swimming again.”

Shannen Doherty may not have been a nice girl, but she is a sweet woman. Then again, there is nowhere to go but up after you’ve singlehandedly defined the modern American mean girl.

The journey began with her performance in 1989’s Heathers, as the quiet yet lethal member of the troika of button-nosed title characters. But Doherty went hard-core after she was cast on Beverly Hills, 90210, which made its debut in 1990. As Brenda Walsh, she played a virginal daughter of Minnesota relocated to the zip code of the entitled and wealthy. Brenda was initially a likable, naïve beauty, but her equanimity didn’t last long: she soon morphed into Elizabeth I in Guess jeans, adopting a kill-or-be-killed attitude toward all of teendom. Kurt Cobain’s refrain “Here we are now, entertain us” might have captured the nineties Zeitgeist, but so did Brenda’s Season 2 bon mot, “To be a bitch or not to be a bitch—that is the question.”

“I don’t think Brenda was a complete brat,” Doherty says. “She was fueled by her insecurities: not being from Beverly Hills, not feeling safe in that environment. And then the love of her life was stolen from her. That can really injure a young girl’s esteem.”
Alas, poor Doherty was playing the role of a lifetime as her TV and real-life personae began to merge. There was boy trouble and more boy trouble. Doherty’s relationship with Dean Factor, heir to the Max Factor makeup fortune, ended when a restraining order was filed against her after she allegedly tried to run him down with her car. (Her memorable line: “If I really wanted to run him over, I wouldn’t have missed.”) Then there was a teen-angst-worlds-colliding liaison with Judd Nelson. Next Doherty met George Hamilton’s son, Ashley. They married after two weeks; the union lasted all of seven months.

Her chaotic personal life exacted a professional toll. Amid rumors that she was consistently showing up late to the set, Doherty left Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1994, after the fourth season. She lay low for a while, except for a winning turn in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats in 1995 and an appearance in Playboy. Then, in 1998, Aaron Spelling cast her in Charmed—as an actual witch—opposite Alyssa Milano. Just as the “Shannen is back” story line began to gel, she quit, reportedly because she was at odds with Milano.

But that was seven years ago. Since then Doherty has, much to her relief, fallen off the tabloid radar. “I have a great life now,” Doherty says. She owns three horses and rides them obsessively, and her parents live a five-minute drive away. “If you could see me with my horse Picasso, how I call his name and he sticks his head out of his stall and then licks me from the neck up—that’s what my life is like now,” she says. “It’s really kind of boring.”

An obvious question arises: If Shannen Doherty is so happy with her placid life, why is she raising Brenda Walsh from the dead?

Doherty is greeted like an old friend at the Greek restaurant where we meet. She orders a salad, subtracting four ingredients and adding five, punctuating her request with pleases and thank-yous. She has been acting since the age of 7, and, perhaps because of this, she teeters between charmingly innocent and girl-in-a-bubble oblivious.

“I don’t spend any time on the Internet,” Doherty says. “I used to, but then I’d cry myself to sleep, thinking everyone in the world hates me. So I stopped. But when the news came that they were bringing back 90210, friends started e-mailing me stuff from fan sites that said Brenda had to be on the show. I can pay my mortgage and ride my horses because of those fans. This is how I can repay them.”

It’s true that a 90210 reprise without Brenda was unthinkable for longtime enthusiasts. “If you have a show called 90210 and you’re bringing characters back, you can’t not bring Shannen Doherty back,” says Kevin Smith, a noted Dohertyolgist since their Mallrats days. “That’s like putting on Hamlet and leaving out Hamlet.”
But Doherty has returned for another reason: She’s looking to rewrite the personal history of her alter ego, and maybe her own. Doherty wouldn’t commit to 90210 until she was given assurances that Brenda wouldn’t wear an arrested pout. Ms. Walsh implausibly returns to West Beverly High from Broadway, as a drama teacher.

“I wouldn’t have done it if she was stuck in the same spot,” Doherty says. “There were moments when I hated Brenda, but there were other moments when I saw vulnerability and greatness in her, and believed her passion for life would make her a great actor—but not someone you would necessarily want to hang out with.”

Doherty’s view of her own past is Rumsfeldian “stuff happens” with a sprinkle of “life’s a journey” pixie dust. “I wouldn’t be the person I am now if I had not had those experiences,” Doherty says. “Do I say ‘Ooh, I wish I hadn’t done that?’ Sure. But I don’t regret anything, because I think I’ve turned out to be a pretty good person.”

Doherty was born in Memphis to Tom and Rosa Doherty, devout Southern Baptists who’ve now been married for 40 years. (The family relocated to Southern California when Shannen was 7.) “Try dating when you have ridiculous expectations,” Doherty says. “My father is a gentleman. When you’re used to that, it’s a culture shock.”

Confronted with the observation that none of her paramours have been exactly genteel, she lets out a giant laugh. “Um, I think I’ve admitted I haven’t made the best choices in men,” she says.

Perhaps her biggest personal blunder was marrying Rick Salomon in Las Vegas in 2002. The marriage was later annulled, but it still made Doherty the answer to an unwanted trivia question: Who was Rick Salomon involved with before he made the Paris Hilton sex tape?

Nevertheless, Doherty is sticking to her “no regrets” line. “There was something that Rick provided that was amazing to me,” the currently single actress says. “I look at what he did [with Hilton] and think, God, that’s disgusting. But when we were married, I never had someone make me laugh so much. I was madly in love. It was a really hard marriage. When it ended, it was a heart-crushing thing.”

Doherty is slated to appear in just a handful of 90210 episodes. “We all agreed we’d see how it goes,” she says. Her first day on set was marked by knocks on her trailer door as the new kids shyly paid their respects to the veteran. “They’re so much better prepared for this than we were,” Doherty says. “We were on a new network and had no idea what was about to happen. It just happened so quickly.”

While resuscitating a long-dead TV series hardly guarantees success, the new 90210 has generated buzz, resulting in a push from the CW. The old faces are counted on to bring in the post-Clearasil crowd. Hence, the cast also includes Jennie Garth, Doherty’s old on- and offscreen nemesis. “Every reporter rubs his hands together and goes, ‘So, you and Jennie, how’s that going to work out?’” Doherty says, rolling her eyes. “I hadn’t seen her for years, but we get along fine.”
Her phone rings. “It’s my mom,” she says apologetically. “Hey, Mommy, I have some wardrobe choices. Come help me choose.”

Doherty explains that for much of her adult life, her father has been seriously ill, and that she left 90210 to help take care of him. “He’s had six heart attacks, and now he’s been taken off the transplant list because it’s too much of a risk,” she says. “I’m sure some of my mistakes have been acting out against that fear I was going to lose him.”

Doherty drifts into a pensive silence. But then she spies a waitress and requests a plastic container for the remnants of her salad. “I probably shouldn’t do this in front of a reporter,” she says. “But I’m going to be hungry in a few hours and I’m not going to want to go back out.”

Just then Rosa Doherty appears in the restaurant lobby, flashing an incandescent smile. Shannen explains, “Mommy!” As the two hug and walk arm-in-arm into the Malibu sun, for a moment the ocean—and all the sharks in it—seems miles away.

source

Feisty Thread #23 One look, and that's it. She nails it.
Feisty Thread #22 B/c She'd still baby sit for Kelly, despite eveything.
Feisty Thread #21 Miss me? Damn Right We Do!!
Feisty Thread #20 Because This Fall The Grand Duchess Of Prime Time TV Returns
Feisty Thread #19 B/c "She was 90210" - Tori Spelling
Feisty Thread #18 Because Brenda Walsh is Officially Back to the Zip!!!
Feisty Thread #17 Because She's Brenda Walsh!! Pay Shannen!! It's Worth it.
Fetsy Thread #16 She-s-very-intelligent-young-woman-who-isn-t-afraid-speak-her-mind-62843085/
Feisty Thread #15 Because She's The Best Young Actress I've Seen In A Long Time
Feisty Thread #14 Because "How bad is that your lead actress wants the show to be better?
Feisty Thread #13 Because Even Perez Hilton Wants Her Back!
Feisty Thread #12 Happy Birthday Shannen We're Partying All Month Long!!
Feisty Thread #11 Because Shannen is Listed One of the 100 Greatest TV Icons.
Feisty Thread #10 Because She Turned Her Scars Into Garments
Feisty Thread #9 She's Like a Cat: Always Landing on Her Feet. Ask Dylan.
Feisty Thread #8 Brenda Could MAke the Best in Every Situation
Feisty Thread #7I Belong to Me, I Don't Belong to You
Feisty Thread #6 Sometimes Angel, Sometimes Witch, Always Loved
Feisty Thread #5 Maybe She's a Drama Queen, But Queen Anyway
Feisty Thread #4 I'm a Little Bit of Everything Rolled Into One
Feisty Thread #3 It's my Life, Don't you Forget
Feisty Thread #2 Just Trust the Voice Within
Feisty Thread #1 Brenda Walsh and Shannen Doherty Appreciation Thread

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 07:14 AM

credit to: she.is.not.you

credit to: thineownself

credit to: Xelanoops

credit to: sarah01

credit to: charmingbrenda

credit to: lil_deeske

credit to: She.is.not.ou

credit to: charmingbrenda

~Unfaithful~ · 10-06-2008, 07:15 AM

TFTNT!!!!! I love the title

thineownself · 10-06-2008, 07:17 AM

Thanks for the new thread!

I don't think you need to capitalize "Her" though. Unless that's how it is in the quote...

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 07:19 AM

no problem... im working on the quote and latest buzz...

im reposting my last art...

ETA:

aww..ok S....

Scarlet's Walk · 10-06-2008, 07:29 AM

Thanks for the new thread M! This title rocks

Your banner is so great hon

Oh, and just one thing: there is no space for Bren/Shay in the title?

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 07:36 AM

i have a problem.... it's not a direct quote

here it is...

Quote:

It’s true that a 90210 reprise without Brenda was unthinkable for longtime enthusiasts. “If you have a show called 90210 and you’re bringing characters back, you can’t not bring Shannen Doherty back,” says Kevin Smith, a noted Dohertyolgist since their Mallrats days. “That’s like putting on Hamlet and leaving out Hamlet.”

should it stay like that? i guess i dont have to put ""??

thineownself · 10-06-2008, 07:39 AM

Yeah, just take out the quotation marks (""). Add Bren/Shay or whatever fits just so people will be able to identify the thread. And you can make the "Her" lowercase--"her."

Sorry I'm so bossy.

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 07:42 AM

yeha im trying to edit it... but i think my pc's down or something im able to erase H but i cant add h...

i'll try to edit it again...

Scarlet's Walk · 10-06-2008, 07:42 AM

Yeah, quotation marks are not needed then

I guess the Kevin Smith name should be out too since we're just rephrasing what he said. And then there would be space for Brenda/Shannen

ETA: Oh, you're already doing it! Sorry, M

Ruby_Slippers · 10-06-2008, 08:09 AM

Thanks for the new thread!

I tweaked the title a bit much.

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 08:25 AM

hey girls...

i restarted my PC..

so what about that? is that better??

thineownself · 10-06-2008, 08:27 AM

It's excellent!

Could you just fix "Feisty"? It's misspelled. And add a period (.) at the end?

Ruby_Slippers · 10-06-2008, 08:31 AM

I thought it was fine before. But this version fits more in.

But should we call her Shay in the title? Does everyone know that thats her nickname.

charmingbrenda · 10-06-2008, 08:42 AM

im sorry... im so used to put bren/shay....

what will put then? i'll remove feisty then put brenda/shannen??

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Fan Forum > TV Shows - Past > Beverly Hills 90210 > Feisty (Bren/Shay) #24: Doing 90210 without her is like doing Hamlet without Hamlet.