Wednesday, February 20, 2013

DVD Review - Beverly Hills Teens Volume One

Beverly Hills Teens Volume One
Voices:  Hadley Kay, Michael Beattie, Karen Bernstein, Terri Hawkes
Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
Release Date: February 19, 2013
ASIN: B00AQ590C8
Run Time: 722 minutes
Rated: G

Review:

Anybody who grew up in the 1980s must remember the animation boom on Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons. I have great memories of sitting in the floor eating a bowl of cereal and watching my favorite toons. Mill Creek Entertainment has released volume one of the 1987 series Beverly Hills Teens. The series was similar to the popular Sweet Valley High books as it involved the daily lives of rich teenagers. Yes, the show was aimed for a female audience, but I found myself watching several episodes as I waited for Alvin & the Chipmunks to start.

Beverly Hills Teens had a wide variety of characters such as the scheming Bianca Dupree, the laid-back Blaze Summers, the money crazed Buck Huckster, the 10-year-old freshman Chester McTech, the part-time model Larke Tanner, and the jock Troy Jeffries. 

The 32 episodes on Volume One are:

Disc One: Double-Surfing Double-Cross, The Dog Ate My Homework, The Makeover, My Fair Wilshire, Robot Romance, Casting Call, Down & Out at the Teen Club, Chase of a Lifetime, Downhill Racer, Radley Wipes Out

Bonus Episode: Heathcliff - Going Shopping/ Cat in the Fat

Disc Two: Shipwrecked, Halloween in the Hills, Visit From a Prince, Camp Camping, Dream Date, The Perfect Gift, A Time to Remember, Chester the Matchmaker, Who Wears the Pants?, Open For Business, Operations: Soap Opera

Disc Three: Teenclub Carnival, Potions of Love, The Teen Cup, Ghost Story, Fairy Tale Flake Out, Nothing But the Gossip, Now We're Cooking!, Old At Heart, Death Valley 500, Star Split, Double Your Trouble

Beverly Hills Teens only lasted for 65 episodes, so I'm surprised, but glad that Mill Creek Entertainment has released this forgotten 80s gem to DVD for the first time. The plots are at times outrageous, but not too unbelievable. The teens' wealth is exaggerated a bit as they deal with typical stereotypical teenage problems. From the hairdos, clothes, gadgets, to the slang, all the best and worst of the 1980s are represented here. I had a nostalgic blast watching the Beverly Hills Teens.  

(Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review)



3 comments:

  1. Really? I LOVED this show! It came on weekday afternoons after Double Dare (the original). Bianca was my favorite! I had totally forgotten about this until now. I'm so jealous! Wish I got to review this! I'll just have to buy it I guess.

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  2. I like this cartoon series.
    Terri Hawkes (Bianca and Blaze) and Hadley Kay (Radley) did an AWESOME job voicing their characters. So did all the others of course.

    Nowadays I like this series even more because I like the notion of having so much money that you don't need to worry about paying the rent and everything else that everybody has to deal with, regarding money.

    ALL these fictional characters are interesting. They illicit, to me, a feeling of CARING and like real people undergo changes in their character. For instance, Bianca is scheming and Troy is the object of her affection BUT she isn't outright evil and sometimes has shown affection for Radley, Gig and Wilshire. Despite all she does she is lonely and, although she'd never admit it, is GLAD the other teens are her friends. Just not friends who always think like her.

    I really, really wish there was a Beverly Hills Teens: The Movie that could serve as a bridge between Beverly Hills Teens season 1 1987 and Beverly Hills Teens season 2 2013.

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