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Watching TV used to be fun - interesting concepts brought to life by innovative producers and able actors. Creativity used to be the best way of building buzz around a new show and spin-offs used to bring a whole new world (and new perspective) to familiar characters. Not so much anymore. If I had a dollar for every crime drama and medical procedural show that comes on the tube nowadays I could probably pay off my student loans.

So what's a self-professed couch potato to do? Well, for starters, why don't you let BOP do most of the work for you? This fall, we'll take a look at every new show from the five broadcast networks. Armed with some strong coffee and our beloved TiVo, we'll slough through the entire slate of freshman dramas and comedies, weeding through the trash to find the new shows that are (surprise, surprise!) actually worth your time and energy.

This week on Watch What We Say: A return to the most famous zip code on the planet.

Let me first come clean: I am clearly not in the demographic target for The CW's remake (or "update") of Beverly Hills, 90210. I fall in that Generational Dead Zone between adults who watched the original series on Fox back in the '90s and teens who aren't even aware that The CW used to be two separate networks. I possess neither nostalgic fondness for the old actors nor eagerness to see the budding new pre-pubescent stars – though I admit, I am wondering whether the actresses on 90210 will have the stereotypical "every girl in Beverly Hills has an eating disorder" thinness about them.

As a 90210 newbie, with my familiarity limited to SNL parodies of Beverly Hills, 90210 and ubiquitous 90210 swimming pool billboards plastered at every intersection in Los Angeles nowadays, I am not sure what to expect as the 8:00 pm hour approaches. Montages of fast cars and palm trees, perhaps? Quick shots of Paris Hilton-wannabes clutching Fendi bags and small dogs? Though my voice might already sound tinged with the faintest traces of cynicism, I promise you, I am trying my best to stay open and objective. Who knows, I might even find that I like 90210!

The show opens with the unmistakable orchestral beats of Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" . . . though how semi-melancholic British rock-pop transports viewers into the world of Beverly Hills, I'm not sure. Shots of fast cars? Check. Palm trees? Check. Paris Hilton-wannabes? Check but without the dogs. The show isn't even a minute old and I already feel like I know where it's going.

Not that the show's writers aren't trying. The dialogue is coming rapid fire, heavy with exposition and stylized California teen-speak. Each character (and there are many) is set up quickly and efficiently, allowing the show to move briskly through a complex character ecosystem during the opening 20 minutes. I'm trying to stay vigilant to the moment when this show becomes tiresome and boring. "Do I care about what's going on?" Not yet, but I'm interested so far.

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