Beverly Hills, 90210
Disappearing Act
TV Flash files “Disappearing Act” as hour 180 of 293 in the TV Flash guide — Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–2000) on Fox, season 7, episode 4, aired 1996-09-11, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S07E04: listed hour 180 of 293 in the Beverly Hills, 90210 guide, hour 4 of 32 in season 7. It aired 1996-09-11 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “A Mate for Life” (S07E03). Next is “Pledging My Love” (S07E05).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Kelly helps Jimmy treat a bleeding cut, and panics after getting some of the blood on her hand. The doctor assures her that she cannot contract HIV this way, but she decides to take an AIDS test because of her long history of unprotected sex. The test is negative, and Kelly apologizes for shunning Jimmy. The gang watches Jimmy perform a magic show; later that evening, he tells Kelly that he has just a few days to live. Meanwhile, David refuses to tell his father that he has dropped out of school, so Donna breaks the news to Mel. Mel issues David an ultimatum: he must finish college or lose all financial support. Brandon and Mark hire a confident young woman, named Tracy Gaylian, as their news anchor. She suffers a panic attack just before the first broadcast. Mark and Brandon try to calm her with a drink, and she ends up getting plastered. Also, Kenny declares his love for Valerie and does not want their secret romance to end.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Disappearing Act sit in the Beverly Hills, 90210 guide?
S07E04 is listed hour 180 of 293 — hour 4 of 32 in season 7, season 7 episode 4.
When did Beverly Hills, 90210 S07E04 air?
Disappearing Act aired 1996-09-11 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
The original 1990–2000 run, from high school into adult career and family arcs — later 90210 reboot attempts are a separate brand lap.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Minnesota twins drop into Beverly Hills High and teach Fox that teens will show up weekly. Darren Star and Aaron Spelling built zip-code soap from peach-pit romance, Luke Perry heartthrob mythology, and Very Special Topics — then aged the courtyard into adulthood without ever leaving the brand. The teen-drama industrial complex starts here, spinoffs included.
So about the ZIP code. Minnesota twins Brandon and Brenda Walsh land at Beverly Hills High and Fox learns, in public, that teens will show up every week for peach-pit romance, pool-party lighting, and a curriculum of Very Special Topics. Darren Star created it; Aaron Spelling produced it (1990–2000). Luke Perry's Dylan, Shannen Doherty's Brenda, Jason Priestley's Brandon, Jennie Garth's Kelly, Tori Spelling's Donna — the original ensemble that made appointment TV out of adolescent melodrama. (I said spoiler-free.…
Filed against
- Jason Priestley as Brandon Walsh
Jason Priestley’s Brandon Walsh dropped Minnesota morals into Beverly Hills, 90210 and taught Fox that teens would show up weekly — peach-pit romance, zip-code soap, Very Special Topics, a courtyard that aged into adulthood without…
- Shannen Doherty as Brenda Walsh
Shannen Doherty’s Brenda Walsh dropped Minnesota twins into Beverly Hills, 90210 and taught Fox that teens would show up weekly — peach-pit romance, Luke Perry mythology, Very Special Topics — then spelled sisterhood as Prue on Charmed.…
- Luke Perry as Dylan McKay
Luke Perry taught Fox a zip code as Dylan McKay on Beverly Hills, 90210 — peach-pit romance, Minnesota twins in a courtyard, heartthrob mythology with Very Special Topics, then adulthood without ever leaving the brand. Darren Star and…
- Jennie Garth as Kelly Taylor
Jennie Garth’s Kelly Taylor made Beverly Hills, 90210 a blonde weather system — Minnesota twins in the zip code, peach-pit romance, Luke Perry mythology, Very Special Topics aging a courtyard into adulthood. Fox teen soap as a weekly…
- Ian Ziering as Steve Sanders
Ian Ziering's Steve Sanders taught Beverly Hills, 90210 that the rich kid could be the plot — Minnesota twins dropping into a zip-code soap, Darren Star and Aaron Spelling, peach-pit romance, Luke Perry mythology, Very Special Topics.…
- Tori Spelling as Donna Martin
Tori Spelling’s Donna Martin made Beverly Hills, 90210 feel like a courtyard you could actually live in — peach-pit romance, zip-code soap, Minnesota twins dropping into a high school Fox taught teens to visit weekly. Darren Star and…