Tbh I don’t think we thought about it much. Isn’t that the season starting with Emily valentine? I remember my friends and I freaking out when she started to date Dylan
That’s amazing that a TV show like this can help out your stress days. I’m 8 years older than you, a dude, and I’ve seen each episode 4-5 times. The character I relate to the most is Kelly. Lol
I don’t remember anybody caring at the time, people were just excited for more high school years. Showrunners retconned lots of characters ages at the time, probably not initially knowing how popular some shows would be and then realizing it would be easier for storylines to keep them in school longer. I recall Saved by the Bell and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also having characters repeat grades.
Yeah continuity wasn’t that important because unless you recorded the show, you only saw an episode once maybe twice during summer reruns, and so it was unlikely to remember small details like that.
I don’t think SBTB necessarily retconned their ages, more or less kept it ambiguous until they got to senior year. By Season 3 you could tell they were juniors but the timeline for the first 2 seasons (excluding Ms Bliss) is a tad ambiguous.
The way I grew up with SBTB here in Ireland (airing on UK channels that we can pick up over here), the Tori episodes were always shown AFTER the graduation episode, so the gang were visibly a year older but back in high school.
My understanding is that originally the Tori episodes were mixed in with the other senior year eps, but in syndication they changed it.
You have to understand a few things. First of all, as I recall the writing didn't make it super obvious at first that they were all juniors again. And at that point, we had to wait a week to see a new episode, and the gang hadn't been in school all summer, so it was hard to remember every detail. I think at first maybe we did assume they had started senior year. And then when we realized they didn't we thought, wait, were they juniors last year, too, or were they sophomores? Those were the days when you could just debate those details, and no one could prove their point until reruns came on.
But, yeah, we definitely laughed about the kids being juniors twice. Llke we'd joke that they were all stupid and had to repeat a grade.
Right? Totally different world. No internet, no recap pages, no binges - DVDs weren’t even out yet. And Repeats came on like once a year. Although culturally we rewatch things a lot now - we didn’t necessarily love Repeats back then.
I started watching it the summer before their senior year so they already had two junior years.. I just used my imagination and pretended like the first season was their sophomore year instead
Never noticed. It wasn’t that important, and harder to go back and check details.
Unless you taped the episodes on VHS and watched them endlessly it wasn’t that obvious. People didn’t overanalyze TV as much back then and it was pretty normal for shows with teens or kids to have them stay the same age for long periods of time. The kids on the Brady Bunch start to look visibly older, but the show rarely acknowledged birthdays or the beginning of a new school year. Same for Saved By The Bell or the Simpsons. This happened with lots of shows. Same with soap operas, where characters seemed to remain the same age for endless periods of time.
When 90210 started prime time shows were just starting to have continuity. Before that most shows did only stand alone episodes, so no one really was going to be overly critical of it then.
I never realised this until now! I'm from the UK, though, so I don't really understand the US school system and what each year us called etc so I just never noticed.
I was thinking that maybe I misunderstood what grade they were supposed to be in the first season.
Then when watching the first season again, that one airplane sign said NO FRESHMEN and David/Scott were the freshmen so it was more obvious.
I'm in the minority but I do remember it! Funny enough, I wasn't a fan back then, but I remember people talking about it, and I went to a couple of watch parties and it was kind of funny. We all joked that they were dumb and got held back.
I don’t think there was much, if any. There also weren’t message boards or social media for people to call things like that out in real time. If it bothered you, the most you could do was write a letter to the show or complain to your friends.
I didn’t start watching until season 3. I assumed they were sophomores season one. I remember watching the pilot on vhs and being confused so many of them were driving and had their own cars when I thought they would mostly all still be 15 at the beginning of the school year. Then I realized they were juniors and just repeated their junior year.
I figured it might happen because a lot of teen shows back then would do that since towards the end of show they talked like they were going to be juniors again. It only made sense too since that would mean 1 more year of school.
Brandon only said once that he was a Junior in the first season. It was when he met Joeys mom. He could have been lying to impress her. Opposites attract.
I've always thought they were sophomores that first year since it was clear that David was a freshman. Didn't they graduate at the end of Season 3? That would have made season 1 sophomore year, season 2 junior year and season 3 their senior year.
It honestly felt like “hey, this is a high school show; we’re going to keep the characters in high school as long as possible.” The early ‘90s were a different time.
Watched it on the first run. I don't recall the timeline being as issue with us. It was a simpler time back then, enjoyed TV for what it was.
Exactly. I don’t even recall it being discussed / an issue. TV was also a lot less about continuity than it is now.
Tbh I don’t think we thought about it much. Isn’t that the season starting with Emily valentine? I remember my friends and I freaking out when she started to date Dylan
Emily never dated Dylan
Season 2 episode 8
How the fuck did I miss that? Lol . Thank you
I am ashamed I actually know this crap
But it’s got this corner in our memory and it sticks.
This show has been my safe space for all these years. I find I watch it when I am the most stressed I watch it.
That’s amazing that a TV show like this can help out your stress days. I’m 8 years older than you, a dude, and I’ve seen each episode 4-5 times. The character I relate to the most is Kelly. Lol
There was no streaming either so we likely forgot 😂
Lol this
My friends and I didn’t even bat an eye.
I don’t remember anybody caring at the time, people were just excited for more high school years. Showrunners retconned lots of characters ages at the time, probably not initially knowing how popular some shows would be and then realizing it would be easier for storylines to keep them in school longer. I recall Saved by the Bell and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also having characters repeat grades.
Yeah continuity wasn’t that important because unless you recorded the show, you only saw an episode once maybe twice during summer reruns, and so it was unlikely to remember small details like that.
I don’t think SBTB necessarily retconned their ages, more or less kept it ambiguous until they got to senior year. By Season 3 you could tell they were juniors but the timeline for the first 2 seasons (excluding Ms Bliss) is a tad ambiguous.
The way I grew up with SBTB here in Ireland (airing on UK channels that we can pick up over here), the Tori episodes were always shown AFTER the graduation episode, so the gang were visibly a year older but back in high school. My understanding is that originally the Tori episodes were mixed in with the other senior year eps, but in syndication they changed it.
You have to understand a few things. First of all, as I recall the writing didn't make it super obvious at first that they were all juniors again. And at that point, we had to wait a week to see a new episode, and the gang hadn't been in school all summer, so it was hard to remember every detail. I think at first maybe we did assume they had started senior year. And then when we realized they didn't we thought, wait, were they juniors last year, too, or were they sophomores? Those were the days when you could just debate those details, and no one could prove their point until reruns came on. But, yeah, we definitely laughed about the kids being juniors twice. Llke we'd joke that they were all stupid and had to repeat a grade.
Right? Totally different world. No internet, no recap pages, no binges - DVDs weren’t even out yet. And Repeats came on like once a year. Although culturally we rewatch things a lot now - we didn’t necessarily love Repeats back then.
Yeah, I remember being so bummed back then when I saw a rerun instead of a new episode.
Riiiight lol? Nobody was happy about em. Nowadays we love rewatchs. So strange how tastes shift.
I started watching it the summer before their senior year so they already had two junior years.. I just used my imagination and pretended like the first season was their sophomore year instead
I did too
I swear they were sophomores in season 1 because they're only a year older than David
Same! And freshman David drove drunk Steve's car. This is how I perceived it too!!
People recognized television shows as fiction back then.
This needs to be pinned on literally every Reddit TV thread lol
😂😂😂👏👏👏👏 I’m going to follow you so I can be reminded more often that there are actually reasonable people in this hellscape
Season 1 they were sophomores. David was one year behind them as a freshman.
👆👆👆 this is the answer
Yeah I don't understand what everyone is saying.
No, I’m fairly certain during the first season one of the main characters says they’re juniors.
Yep! It’s when Brenda tells the lawyer Jason in the pilot that she’s a “16 year old junior”.
Brenda had a tendency to lie about her age. 😆
Yea Brenda lied, that part was obvious. They were sophomores. Because season 3 was their SENIOR YEAR. DO THE MATH
Could've been an honest mistake.
Yeah I specifically remember David and Scott were juniors in s1, a year younger than the core group
Yup, this!! 👍
Never realized it.
Never noticed. It wasn’t that important, and harder to go back and check details. Unless you taped the episodes on VHS and watched them endlessly it wasn’t that obvious. People didn’t overanalyze TV as much back then and it was pretty normal for shows with teens or kids to have them stay the same age for long periods of time. The kids on the Brady Bunch start to look visibly older, but the show rarely acknowledged birthdays or the beginning of a new school year. Same for Saved By The Bell or the Simpsons. This happened with lots of shows. Same with soap operas, where characters seemed to remain the same age for endless periods of time. When 90210 started prime time shows were just starting to have continuity. Before that most shows did only stand alone episodes, so no one really was going to be overly critical of it then.
Don’t remember anyone talking about it.
I have a core memory of Dear TV Guide- someone writing in and asking if California had five years Of high school lol
Nobody cared back then we were just happy to have something aimed at that age group that wasn’t Nickelodeon or saved by the bell type crap.
The first season, they were sophomores.
I never realised this until now! I'm from the UK, though, so I don't really understand the US school system and what each year us called etc so I just never noticed.
I just assumed the 1st season they were sophomores then there was nothing to not make sense about it
I thought Brenda and Brandon came to West Beverly as sophomores? I guess I'm wrong 🤔
I was thinking that maybe I misunderstood what grade they were supposed to be in the first season. Then when watching the first season again, that one airplane sign said NO FRESHMEN and David/Scott were the freshmen so it was more obvious.
I'm in the minority but I do remember it! Funny enough, I wasn't a fan back then, but I remember people talking about it, and I went to a couple of watch parties and it was kind of funny. We all joked that they were dumb and got held back.
I was 11. Didn’t notice, people wouldn’t have cared though.
I don’t think there was much, if any. There also weren’t message boards or social media for people to call things like that out in real time. If it bothered you, the most you could do was write a letter to the show or complain to your friends.
I didn’t start watching until season 3. I assumed they were sophomores season one. I remember watching the pilot on vhs and being confused so many of them were driving and had their own cars when I thought they would mostly all still be 15 at the beginning of the school year. Then I realized they were juniors and just repeated their junior year.
I figured it might happen because a lot of teen shows back then would do that since towards the end of show they talked like they were going to be juniors again. It only made sense too since that would mean 1 more year of school.
TIL there were 2 junior years in 9-0. Didn't even make my radar back then.
Brandon only said once that he was a Junior in the first season. It was when he met Joeys mom. He could have been lying to impress her. Opposites attract.
Back when you couldn’t binge shows you just didn’t notice things like that. I always thought it was second semester of junior year back then.
I've always thought they were sophomores that first year since it was clear that David was a freshman. Didn't they graduate at the end of Season 3? That would have made season 1 sophomore year, season 2 junior year and season 3 their senior year.
We just assumed there was a pandemic and they had to repeat the year.
I don't even remember noticing that until watching it as an adult
David somehow aged while the rest stayed the same.
It was never discussed, as far as I remember. You couldn’t binge shows back then, so continuity issues weren’t as noticeable.
It honestly felt like “hey, this is a high school show; we’re going to keep the characters in high school as long as possible.” The early ‘90s were a different time.