“I Choose Me”

Yesterday, fellow stalker Mike, from MovieShotsLA, and I took a little stalking adventure to the studio where the original 90210 series was filmed. Mike has been there several times and he was dying to show me the studio in person. I must say that being there and seeing the studio with my own two eyes brought out the high school girl in me – standing there looking at that familiar set, I truly felt like I had stepped back in time to my teenage years. 🙂 From the street outside of the studio, you can actually see the exterior of the former Peach Pit After Dark and it is still completely recognizable all these years later. While Mike and I were standing outside freaking out over seeing the Peach Pit in person, a security guard came over to us and asked if he could help us. We told him we were HUGE fans of 90210 and he said “Oh, the new series isn’t actually being filmed here.” LOL We had to explain that we were fans of the OLD 90210.

After getting the OK from his boss, the security guard was nice enough to LET US ON THE PROPERTY and take us on a mini-tour of the studio!!!!! I just about DIED! Although nothing really remains from the old days of 90210, it was still very exciting for me to be there. Just thinking that I was standing in the exact spot where Shannen, Luke, Jennie and Jason reported to work everyday was enough for this stalker! I think the security guards were quite amused at our excitement over being there because they kept saying “That show was filmed soooo long ago.” And yes, while 90210 went off the air almost a decade ago and while most people today could probably care less – LOL – for me the show is so embedded in my memories that it is like a piece of my childhood. So being there yesterday was like stepping back in time, returning to some familiar place, and I was just as excited to be there as I would have been if the show was still filming today. 🙂

Anyway, the security guards walked us through one of the soundstages where the sets for West Beverly High, the Peach Pit, and the Peach Pit After Dark used to be located. Right now the studio is being used for the TV show Swingtown, so those sets are currently set up on the former 90210 stages. BUT they still had some of the old lockers in the prop room left over from the 90210 days and the security guard took us to see those. They have been painted over and used for other productions, but I was still freaking out all the same. 🙂

A full-on back lot is now set up in what was formerly the parking lot for the stars of 90210. This exterior set was built for the TV series Jericho and is now being used in Swingtown. I have never seen either show, but it was still pretty fun to walk through the backlot.

The most exciting thing for both Mike and me to see was the exterior door to the Peach Pit After Dark, which is still standing at the studio today. It is currently covered up by the exterior of a church set that was used in Jericho, so you can no longer see the door from the street. But the security guards took us behind the church set to show us the door up close and personal. 🙂

I really wanted to get some screen captures of 90210 to put with today’s post, but would you believe that Target was completely sold out of Season 2 of the series??? Looks like I am going to have to order the DVDs on Amazon and post the screen captures later. 🙁 For those who remember the series well, the brick wall pictured in many of the above pictures was used throughout the ten year run of the series. It was used as the back of the Peach Pit in the Season 2 episode when Brenda is robbed while studying for finals at the Pit. In that episode, Brandon and Dylan go outside to take out the trash and it is that scene which features the brick wall. During the Emily Valentine Era, the brick wall was used as the both the location of the rave that the gang attends and also the location of the warehouse where Dylan takes Brandon to pick up his totaled Mustang the following morning. The brick wall was also the location of one of my favorite 90210 scenes ever – the scene when Kelly Taylor tells both Brandon and Dylan “I choose me.” LOL If you keep your eyes peeled during re-runs, you will notice the brick wall popping up repeatedly in Seasons 1 through 10.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: The former 90210 studios is located at 15001 Calvert Street in Van Nuys. As always, exercise caution and use common sense. I would not recommend asking for a tour of the studio unless you are with a group of people, as you can just never be too careful.