The Bubble Bursts on "90210"

Sigh. I'm already growing way too bored of 90210 and we're only a four episodes in now.

Yes, we learned in last night's episode of 90210 ("The Bubble")--after several weeks' worth of Kelly referring to the father of her child as "Him" (though I preferred to secretly call him "He Who Must Not Be Named")--that her baby daddy is none other than Dylan... which leads me to wonder whether CBS Paramount Television and the series' producers were finally able to reach a deal with Luke Perry (thus the reveal).

Yes, Shannen Doherty dropped by again as Brenda for some reminiscing with Jennie Garth's Kelly as they recounted the "Donna Martin Graduates!" storyline from the original series and filled in the blanks on what Donna's been up to... which apparently involves a child of her own. Clearly, the producers are hoping that they'll get around to paving things over with Tori Spelling and making a deal for her to reprise her role as Donna... but I'm getting a little tired of hearing our older characters talk about the former stars of the series. I am sure this will get wrapped up before we have to hear what Valerie is up to these days. Sheesh.

And, yes, Jessica Walter finally appeared on-screen again as Tabitha, the boozy fading actress grandmother to Annie and Dixon, but I couldn't help but feel depressed by what the writers gave her to work with. After the venom she distributed so freely as Lucille, the boozy matriarch of the Bluth clan on Arrested Development, Walter definitely deserves much better material than what she's being served up here on 90210. The scene in which she recalls a former lover was so flat and unfunny (through no fault of Walter's) that I actually felt really bad for Jessica Walter, clearly slumming it here as Tabitha. While the writers tried to give Walter something to do this week, I couldn't believe for a second that the Wilsons would let Tab direct the school play, given her alcoholism and general flighty ways.

For me, the one interesting thing about the series isn't Annie's love triangle with Ethan and Ty or Naomi's philandering father but Jessica Stroup's Silver, who injects the only real cool factor to the series. Her Silver is brash, outspoken, and individualistic and it's a welcome distraction from the aw shucks Mary Sue routine that Shenae Grimes keeps pulling with her Annie or the wounded-bitch-on-wheels poses that AnnaLynne McCord applies every time Naomi appears on screen.

Silver is hands-down the most interesting element of the new 90210 series and the most genuinely three-dimensional character created by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah, and Gabe Sachs. Hopefully, Sachs and Judah notice this and wisely increase Stroup's screen time as the only time the series seems to click into gear is when it focuses on Silver.

All that glitters, as they say...

Next week on 90210 ("Wide Awake and Dreaming"), Ty announces his plans for an after party after the opening night of Annie's musical; Naomi can't come to terms with her parents' divorce; Brenda, Kelly, and Ryan confront Adrianna about her substance abuse; Dixon offers to help Silver backstage at the musical.