5 best Beverly Hills, 90210 summer episodes
By Reed Gaudens
The essential summer episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210
Remember when Brenda and Donna traveled to Paris on Beverly Hills, 90210 while back at home, Kelly and Dylan were getting closer? How about when Brandon and Steve hosted late-night poker games at the beach club? Surely you recall Brenda deciding to move back to Minnesota for college as the rest of the gang parties at a beach house in Malibu before attending California University together?
If there’s one thing Beverly Hills, 90210 excelled at more so than any other teen drama series, it’s celebrating summertime. In fact, the pop culture phenomenon premiered its second and third seasons in July, allowing the characters to spend a decent amount of time out of school and at the beach club — or in Paris.
Whether they were working overtime to pay for a new car or jet skiing with a forbidden lover, the Beverly Hills, 90210 crew always made sure to keep the summer months hot and full of drama. It’s rare that a teen drama series devotes more than an episode’s worth of time on events that happen outside of the school year, which make these five nostalgic episodes so special.
Season 2, Episode 4: “Anaconda”
After the Walsh family opts to remain in Beverly Hills in the season 1 finale, Brandon and Brenda finish the school year and spend the summer with their new best friends. Brandon’s job at the Beverly Hills Beach Club has him rubbing elbows with some high rollers, but his and Steve’s after-hours poker game antics, complete with cigars and vintage outfits, lead to Dylan getting pinned for a burglary.
More from Entertainment
- 10 Thanksgiving movies on Disney+ for your holiday watch list
- Strictly spoilers and results 2023: Who is leaving on Strictly Come Dancing Week 9?
- CMT Smashing Glass performers honoring groundbreaking women in music
- Jamie Lynn Spears joins I’m A Celebrity season 23: Who else is set to appear in the British reality series?
- Strictly spoilers and results 2023: Who is leaving on Strictly Come Dancing Week 8?
Although the episode before it (“Summer Storm”) starts kindling the David and Donna flame and finds Dylan crashing with the Walshes, “Anaconda” ranks as one of the most memorable summer episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210 with its foreshadowing of Brandon’s eventual gambling problem and playful side stories, like Brenda’s tanning faux pas and bad sunburn.
Season 2, Episode 7: “Camping Trip”
Before returning to school (for their second junior year), the gang takes a parent-free camping trip together, but it’s not the relaxing getaway any of them were expecting. Their close-quarters cabin leaves much to be desired, and the weather interrupts their fun. But the letdowns of the accommodations are nothing compared to the dirty laundry of their neighbors.
When the gang gets involved in the marital problems of the honeymooners next door, cracks begin to surface within the group, especially with Dylan. Brandon catches Dylan relapsing and takes him on an ill-fated hike, during which Brandon slips over the edge of a cliff and holds on for dear life. Of course, all’s well that ends well, and the camping trip perfectly caps an eventful summer.
Season 3, Episode 3: “Too Little, Too Late/Paris 75001”
Knowing that the summer episodes were a hit, Beverly Hills, 90210 went above and beyond for its summer run in Season 3. While Brenda and Donna jet off to Paris, Kelly, and Dylan spend more time together in Brenda’s absence. Naturally, sparks fly between Brenda’s boyfriend and best friend, igniting one of the most legendary love triangles in television history.
“Too Little, Too Late/Paris 75001” joins Brenda and Donna in Paris with their limited knowledge of the language, giving way to a very funny dinner scene thanks to Tori Spelling’s underrated comic timing. But things heat up between Kelly and Dylan at the beach as they open up to each other and play a literal but also dangerous metaphorical game of tug of war.
Season 3, Episode 5: “Shooting Star/American in Paris”
While Brandon tries to lend a helping hand to the homeless war veteran and Andrea searches for her missing deaf camper at the beach club, the forbidden romance between Kelly and Dylan reaches its fever pitch. The pair spend a romantic afternoon jet skiing and kissing behind Brenda’s back, but she’s not so innocent herself when she hits it off with a fellow American in Paris.
The push and pull between Brenda, Dylan, and Kelly remains one of the highly debated aspects of Beverly Hills, 90210, and “Shooting Star/American in Paris” laid the groundwork for the battles soon to come in Season 3. Before the love triangle divided the ships, this summer episode was quintessential 90210. Besides, who doesn’t wish they were jet skiing with Dylan McKay?
Season 4, Episode 1: “So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye”
For its debut college season, Beverly Hills, 90210 forfeited an extended run of summer episodes in favor of an expedited look at the final two weeks of freedom for the West Bev crew. Brenda bids farewell to her family and friends in Beverly Hills to attend college back home in Minnesota, but once she arrives at her old stomping grounds, she discovers things won’t simply snap back to normal. (Of course, Brenda returns to California before officially leaving at the end of Season 4.)
Perhaps one of their grandest albeit shortest summer celebrations, Brandon and Steven rent a Malibu beach house to ring in their last days before college starts. As per 90210 tradition, their beach escape welcomes its fair share of romantic intrigue — and not just as it pertains to Kelly and Dylan’s fizzled European vacation. “So Long, Farewell” also introduces Kelly and Donna’s iconic beach apartment, marking a new era for 90210 with another memorable summer episode.
Which Beverly Hills, 90210 summer episodes and moments are your favorite? Sound off in the comments!
All 10 seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210 are available to stream on Hulu and CBS All Access, though select episodes are unavailable.