THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 21, 1996 TAG: 9608210404
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
LENGTH: 92 lines
WHEN OUR paths crossed in Los Angeles not long ago, Jason Priestley hinted ever so slightly that Shannen Doherty may return to ``Beverly Hills 90210,'' which begins its seventh season tonight at 9 on Fox.
Not only that.
Priestley mentioned Luke Perry in the same breath with Doherty.
Maybe he'll soon be back at the Peach Pit, too.
Really?
``I'm not exactly sure about that,'' said Priestley. ``Gabrielle Carteris returned briefly for the finale last season. It's great to have people re-visiting their characters.''
When Priestley speaks about the show that made him a TV star on several continents, reporters' ears perk up, because he is one of the show's producers and directors - part of the inner circle of the show's creator, Aaron Spelling.
If anyone knows for sure that talks are under way to bring back Doherty and Perry - their characters, Brenda and Dylan, have been exiled to Europe - it's Priestley. Would Spelling dare bring back Doherty, whom he suggested is a spoiled brat in his newly published biography, ``A Prime Time Life''?
Stammering a bit, as if he brought up a subject he shouldn't have, Priestley said, ``You know, when she left the show it was a tough situation. Possibly, there was some animosity. I wonder if she would want to come back.''
Why not?
Her career hasn't exactly been soaring to the moon since Doherty left the persona of Brenda Walsh behind. Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry. What ever happened to those two?
``Beverly Hills 90210'' is doing nicely without them, maintaining decent ratings and continuing to attract the young viewers that impress advertisers. Also premiering tonight on Fox at 9 is a new season of ``Party of Five'' - a new year of the orphaned Salingers of San Francisco growing up together.
Priestley is at a loss to explain why ``Beverly Hills 90210'' clicked with viewers in its second season and continues to fascinate them deep into the 1990s.
It no longer can be the man's long sideburns that wow the women. He's cut them off.
``I really don't know why viewers have responded to our show as they have. Our success has mystified producers and critics. Maybe the planets were in a favorable alignment when the show was born - Venus was retrograde or something. I'm not sure.''
Maybe it's simply because TV America likes watching these young, attractive people week after week. I've met them all. The cast of ``Beverly Hills 90210'' is a polite, cordial, well-behaved bunch, and nobody is nicer than Jason Priestley of Vancouver.
He's been world-famous for years, and he still has a hard time adjusting to the fact that strangers recognize him everywhere he goes - and don't hesitate to approach him.
``I learned long ago that being a celebrity means you no longer have a normal life. You avoid going out. Your home becomes your sanctuary.''
There will be changes in the series, said star-director-producer Priestley, whose main squeeze still is Christine Elise of the drydocked Fox drama ``L.A. Firefighters.''
The cast will be smaller, he said. ``In the past, we've introduced a lot of new characters, and it's been difficult for most of them to fit in, although they are wonderful actors.''
Two newcomers who did click are Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as Val and Kathleen Robertson as Clare.
``Beverly Hills 90210'' will be less of a soap opera in 1996-97. ``Many of the episodes stand alone,'' said Priestley. ``We'll cut back on the long story arcs that we started in the last few years. And we'll get back to tackling issues and problems that young people face today.''
And what does that mean for the noble Brandon Walsh, played by Priestley? ``Maybe we'll show a darker side of him, make him a little more carefree and less the social conscience of America. We think it might be interesting for him to have an interracial romance.''
Scoop: Brandon becomes news director at the college TV station. Unlucky-in-love Val falls for a married man. Nat still waits tables at the Peach Pit.
Could this be the season Donna (Tori Spelling) loses her virginity? ``She'll be a virgin until she gets married. Will Donna get married this season? You'll have to wait and see,'' said Priestley.
We've watched Brandon, Donna, Kelly, Steve, David and their friends in the Gap wardrobes graduate from high school and make it into their senior years in college while coping with trauma from A to Z. The series signed on Oct. 4, 1990.
How long can this go on?
``Some of us will probably go off to medical school next season,'' he said with a laugh. ``We'll soon be an elite group. How many other casts have stayed together long enough to graduate from high school and then college?''
Patience, Jason. The producers of ``Saved by the Bell'' are still grinding out new episodes for NBC. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
FOX
Jason Priestley is in on the secrets of ``90210.'' by CNB