Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this podcast installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. Click the play button below to listen.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Welcome to this installment of my look at the 1990s twenty-something soap opera Beverly Hills 90210. To give a better sense of the world in which this show was created and why it became so popular, here’s a breakdown of the major cultural and historical events that occurred in 1990.

DISCLAIMER: Some material for this post was derived from various public sources on the Web.

Historic Events

• February 11th: Nelson Mandela is released from prison.

• J.K. Rowling writes Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

• July 26th: George H.W. Bush signs into law the Americans With Disabilities Act.

• Roseanne sings the National Anthem at a Padres game.

• August 7th: Operation Desert Shield begins.

• September 11th: President George H. W. Bush addresses a joint session of Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis.

• October 2nd: David Souter becomes an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

• October 3rd: East and West Germany are unified.

• October 15th: The Apartheid laws of South Africa are repealed.

• November 15: George H. W. Bush signs the Clean Air Act into law.

• November 22nd: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher resigns after an eleven-year term.

• November 29th: Resolution 678 is passed in the United Nations, authorizing the use of “all necessary force” in the Gulf War.

• December 1st: The Channel Tunnel between the U.K. and France is connected.

Major Headlines

• January 31st: The McMartin Preschool Trials take place in Los Angeles.

• Major League Baseball spring training is disrupted due to salary disputes between players and owners.

• February 11th: Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson, claiming the Heavyweight Boxing Champion title.

• February 28th: Exxon and its shipping companies are indicted on multiple counts of criminal charges.

• February 28th: The Upland earthquake hits Los Angeles, causing $12.7 million in damages.

• March 18th: The MLB agrees to a new four-year contract.

• April 2nd: UNLV beats Duke in NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

• April 8th: Twin Peaks TV series begins its run.

• April 24th: Michael Milken pleads guilty to six counts of security and tax violations, agreeing to pay $600 million in fines and restitution.

• April 25th: The Hubble Telescope is launched.

• May 22nd: Microsoft releases Windows 3.0.

• May 24th: The Edmonton Oilers defeat the Boston Bruins, winning the Stanley Cup Finals.

• June 7th: Universal Studios Florida opens to the public, and Nickelodeon Studios is established.

• June 14th: The Detroit Pistons defeat the Portland Trailblazers, winning the NBA Finals.

• July 8th: West Germany beats Argentina to win the World Cup.

• July 12th: Northern Exposure TV series begins its run.

• August 2nd: Iraq invades Kuwait.

• August 18th: Three teenagers are found guilty in the Central Park Five case, receiving a sentence of six years in prison.

• August 26th: The MPAA replaces the X rating with NC-17.

• September 10th: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV series begins its run.

• September 13th: Law and Order TV series begins its run.

• October 20th: The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Oakland Athletics to win the World Series.

• December 8th: The NCCA football National Championship is split between the Colorado Buffaloes and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

• To cap the 1990-91 NFL season, the New York Giants defeat the Buffalo Bills in the 25th Superbowl.

Hit Movies

• March 2nd: The Hunt for Red October releases.

• March 23rd: Pretty Woman releases.

• May 25th: Back to the Future Part III releases.

• June 1st: Total Recall releases.

• June 15th: Dick Tracy releases.

• July 4th: Die Hard 2 releases.

• July 13th: Ghost releases.

• August 24th: The Witches releases.

• September 19th: Goodfellas releases.

• October 19th: Reversal of Fortune releases.

• November 9th: Dances with Wolves releases.

• November 16th: Home Alone and Rocky V release.

• November 22nd: Predator 2 releases.

• November 30th: Misery releases.

• December 7th: Edward Scissorhands releases.

• December 20th: Awakenings releases.

• December 25th: The Godfather Part III releases.

Page Turners

• November 20th: Jurassic Park is published.

• June 1990: L.A. Confidential is published.

• Get Shorty is published.

• The Bourne Ultimatum is published.

• V for Vendetta is published.

• The Sandman series of comics begins its run.

• The Things They Carried is published.

• Oh, The Places You’ll Go! is published.

Chart Toppers

• Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinead O’Connor.

• Vogue – Madonna.

• Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice.

• U Can’t Touch This – MC Hammer.

• It Must Have Been Love – Roxette.