One of the long-running conflicts on the show was the animosity between Dylan McKay and his father Jack. Believe it or not, three different actors provided their skills to create Jack McKay. It began with Terence Ford (Harrison Ford’s brother), followed by “Independence Day” actor Arthur Brooks.
They both put their spin on the wealthy businessman with a shady past. Finally, “Days of Our Lives” actor Josh Taylor stepped in until the character was killed off in a car explosion, shortly after Jack and Dylan made up. A car bomb? Really? Man, this show got wild. You could even say that it “jumped the shark.”
Age Is but a Number!
When Gabrielle Carteris won the role of sixteen-year-old Andrea Zuckerman on "Beverly Hills 90210," she hid an important piece of information: she was almost thirty. Still, she was able to land the part and all was well... until Carteris got pregnant. There always seems to be a twist in the tale, right?
The writers decided to simplify things by making her character get pregnant as well. It wasn't the first time writers had to do some tricky thinking to work around a cast member's personal life, and it won't be the last. Carteris isn't even the only member of the cast to lie about age!
90210 Almost Had Drew Barrymore or Alicia Silverstone
Shannen Doherty's diva antics finally reached a breaking point, and she was dropped from the show at the end of season three. In order to fill the hole her character had left, the producers knew they had to cast big.
The new character of Valeria Malone was first offered to Alicia Silverstone, then Drew Barrymore, then Alyssa Milano. However, none of them ended up in the role, which eventually went to Tiffani Amber Thiessen. This didn't exactly please her boyfriend Brian Austin Green, who played David Silver. Austin didn't want Malone to get together with anyone from the male cast.
Writing Scott Out
The geeky Scott Scanlon – at least, geeky by the show's standards – was played by Douglas Emerson. Scott was David Silver's friend and voice of reason when David was working on the many different schemes he attempted in order to rise in popularity. Did it work though?
Producers originally intended for Scott to stay around for the majority of the show, but Emerson had a different plan. He wanted to attend college and then join the US Air Force. The writers gave Scott a dramatic exit, and the character ended up dying in a firearm accident at his own birthday party.
How the Gulf War Helped Ratings
The show may be well-known because of the young antics of its high school characters, but it began as a family drama, mainly about Brandon and Brenda. Soon enough, exterior factors played a part in the show's rise to success - most notably, the Gulf War.
In a strange twist of fate, the first episode to focus more on the high school characters was aired the day the Gulf War began. While most networks covered the conflict, Fox – at the time, of course – had no news shows, and so "Beverly Hills 90210" was one of the few primetime shows on TV. Ratings skyrocketed.