Warning: this post will include spoilers about the upcoming Melrose Place reboot. Don't go all Kimberly Shaw on my ass!

Last fall's premiere of 90210 was underwhelming, to say the last. Combine the whirlwind of hype, the residual love of the original '90s show with the almost impressively blah storylines, dialogue and acting, and 90210 was more than a disappointment. Still, it attracted enough viewers to warrant a second season and, admittedly, it seemed to find its footing by the season finale.

It also convinced the CW to bring back yet another primetime soap, rebooting Melrose Place and bringing back some even saucier storylines, since older characters mean more drinking, more sex and more debauchery and drama. Having now watched the pilot, I'm relieved to tell you that while the new Melrose Place is far from perfect, it certainly has a better idea of what it's doing than 90210 did.

First, it rips off Desperate Housewives a little bit, by setting up a murder mystery that will surely unfold over the majority of the season. As you may have read elsewhere, original Melrose star Laura Leighton is brought back as Sydney - which is a little complicated, since Sydney, you know, died on the original show. Turns out she just faked it! But then she dies in the pilot, so it's all good. Nobody knows who killed her - and one character are worried that they killed her during a drug-enhanced blackout - but we still get plenty of flashbacks to Sydney's scheming behaviour, including sleeping with one of the Melrose Place residents and his dad. Oh, and his dad? Just happens to be DR. MICHAEL MANCINI. Oh, Thomas Calabro, I didn't realize how much I missed you until you came back.

Of course, the apartment complex is filled with a whole new group of young, successful (or "struggling," but if they can afford rent on that place, they're not doing too badly), impossibly attractive people. There's Ella (Katie Cassidy of Supernatural), the ruthless publicist, Auggie (Colin Egglesfield), the way-too-nice chef with a secret (natch), Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen), the med student who can't pay her tuition without becoming a prostitute, Riley (Jessica Lucas), the boring school teacher in desperate need of a story line, Jonah (Michael Rady of Greek), the aspiring filmmaker who just wants to MAKE IT ON HIS OWN, DAMMIT, David Brek (Shaun Sipos), the "troubled" actor and son of the aforementioned Dr. Mancini - and, finally, Violet (Ashlee Simpson), the meek new girl who is a little too interested in Sydney's death. Got all that?

Thankfully, Ashlee has very little to do in the pilot, which probably has a lot to do with me liking it more than 90210. Like I said, the murder plot is a little too Desperate Housewives, but it's a pretty good device to keep viewers coming back, especially since it involves the murder of a beloved character from the original show. (The storyline was originally proposed to Heather Locklear, who, I guess, would rather Amanda Woodward forever be in hiding with Dr. Peter Burns. Can't say I blame her.) There is some awkward dialogue that is to be expected from a pilot (lots of  lines like, "That guy needs a publicist, and THAT'S WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING" and "I'm trying to be a FILMMAKER, not a VIDEOGRAPHER!"), but nothing terribly egregious.

The writers seemed to have realized that the reason people wanted 90210 back, and why Melrose Place was brought back, is because people miss the cheesy, guilty-pleasure drama that the originals provided, no matter how ridiculous they were. We want blackmail and other questionable ethical decisions! (Hiring Ashlee Simpson could definitely fit in the latter category. Hi-yo!) The main problem I see is that the "villains" aren't evil enough so far and the "nice" characters are annoying. Especially in Jonah's storyline, in which he tries to advance his film career by filming a big director's daughter's birthday party, but the director blows him off - until Jonah accidentally films the guy making out with a lady who is not his wife! Uh oh! Now Jonah has to choose between the career he always wanted and the man he wants to be! (He takes the wimpy way out. Booooo!) Granted, this part may have been more disappointing simply because I loved Michael Rady on Greek and hate that he's leaving.

So while I was initially turned off of the Melrose Place reboot because of 90210, I am willing to see MP through at least a few more episodes. Especially if all the characters keep wilfully ignoring Ashlee Simpson. Because that was pretty funny.