Press Tour: "90210" in the 90210, and Shannen Doherty returns

Brenda Walsh is coming back!

Peach Jamba Juice and Peach Mimosas for breakfast this morning as CW invokes the "90210" Peach Pit for its "not a remake, but a spinoff" version of the 1990s hit.  And in fact there's still a Peach Pit hangout in the new "90210."

Now "it's a cool coffee place where a lot of kids hang out," said executive producer Jeff Judah. "But it's not going to be like the old show - 'Hey look, it's Color Me Badd, what are you doing here?'"

The joke got a big laugh, but the producers, veterans of shows like "Freaks and Geeks" and "Undeclared"  said that carrying on the franchise is a "huge responsibility." A few of us giggled at that, too. They talked about the adult characters having lots of storylines and parenting issues and so on. But the three-minute trailer CW just showed us made "90210" look pretty much like another frothy CW teen soap. Certainly the characters on "Gossip Girl" could get behind the new show's Darwinian motto: "If you want to live in the zip...you've got to live by the code."

They saved some news for us, anyway: Shannen Doherty has finally signed on for a multi-episode role as Brenda Walsh, her character from Aaron Spelling's  old "90210." Last seen leaving town to study acting in London, Brenda will who'll come back to West Beverly High to direct the student musical. She joins former castmates Jennie Garth (whose Kelly Taylor is now a West Beverly High guidance counselor) and Tori Spelling (whose Donna Martin now owns an upscale boutique). Peach Pit proprietor Nat, aka Joe E. Tata is also back, at least for the pilot.

The cast also includes Spelling veterans Rob Estes and Lori Loughlin as Harry and Debbie Wilson, who move from Kansas back into his mother's Beverly Hills mansion when he becomes the new principal of West Beverly High. They bring with them their two kids - Annie (Shenae Grimes) and Dixon (Tristan Wilds). Tristan is adopted from a hard-knock background, and Wilds, who was previously on "The Wire," brings the cast a touch of what is gingerly referred to as "diversity."

The last member of the family is grandma Tabitha, a big actress in the 1970s now run out of roles, who's trying hard to win a battle with the bottle. She's played by Jessica Walter, last seen as the deranged dipso Lucille Bluth on "Arrested Development." What's the difference between the roles? "Lucille liked vodka and Tabitha likes Scotch," Walter cracked.

"90210" debuts with a two-hour event on Sept. 2 on CW.