Melrose Place has some large shoes to fill. Whenever there is a remake of a show, it runs the risk of being criticized and closely compared to the old one. The pilot did not impress me. I thought there were too many characters to keep track of, and not enough depth. There was a murder mystery to keep it together, but overall, I wasn’t sure if it would earn a season pass on my DVR. However, when I watched the 2nd episode (written by the super talented Liz Tigelaar), I became a little more hooked. The writing sharpened up, the characters became more interesting, and I heard there would be some cast members returning from the original show to play their old parts.

The show has slowly continued to build on that 2nd episode, and I have to say, I’m really enjoying it. Katie Cassidy is by far the best part of the show and she is truly unstoppable. Her ruthless character Ella is a take-no-prisoners PR maven, who has to deal with a terrible boss and difficult clients. Any episode that highlights Ella is always fantastic. Daphne Zuniga (Jo Reynolds from the original) returned this week, and I thought she was great too. I’m not sure how crazy I am about Lauren’s (Stephanie Jacobsen) whole storyline about becoming a prostitute to pay off her medical school debt. And Ashlee Simpson-Wentz’s character Violet is mysterious, but I’m not sure I like it. Recently however, the show announced that Simpson-Wentz and Colin Egglesfield (he plays Auggie, and I do enjoy him) are not going to be on the show anymore (after the episodes with them in it have been filmed). I was slightly surprised about Egglesfield (the network said his character is too dark), but taking Simpson-Wentz out of the picture is a pretty good decision.

I enjoy Riley and Jonah, as well as finding out everyone’s secrets. And I’m excited for the return of Heather Locklear (Amanda). I think the show is really making a name for itself, and while it has big plans to incorporate the old characters, it is very different from the original. No matter what the title of the show is, it’s still a completely different cast of characters…even if they still live at the same address. And in my opinion, it’s definitely better than it’s Tuesday night companion, 90210 (also a remake).

Melrose Place may not be my all time favorite show of the season, but I thoroughly enjoy it every week. I look forward to seeing where they go from here, and what storylines they have planned for the new (and old) characters. Be sure to tune in every Tuesday at 9 pm on the CW!

Grade: B+

And just for fun, check out a video about my favorite character, Ella (played by Katie Cassidy):

90210 2nd season premiere is at 8 pm tonight on CW, followed by Melrose Place at 9 pm. Be sure to tune in!

Anyway, the remake of Melrose Place has large shoes to fill. They certainly got the pool and the apartment complex right. They also have returning actors Thomas Calabro (Dr. Michael Mancini) and Laura Leighton (the aforementioned Sydney). I’ve heard Grant Show might be back as well as some other familiar faces. But now there is a new generation who live at the infamous apartment complex: David (Shaun Sipos), Ella (Katie Cassidy from Supernatural), Auggie (Colin Egglesfield), Lauren (Stephanie Jacobsen), Jonah (Michael Rady) and his girlfriend Riley (Jessica Lucas from Cloverfield). And the most recognizable face is that of Violet (played by Ashlee Simpson-Wentz).

Each character knows Sydney (she is the landlord on the new show) and they all have qualms against her. David’s father is Dr. Mancini, and Sydney has an affair with both of them. Ella (a high-powered publicist) considered Sydney to be her mentor until betrayal tore them apart. Violet is a newcomer who has a secret connection to Sydney. Full of unexpected twists and turns as well as connections to the old show, Melrose Place was interesting, I’ll give it that. But I think it lacked a ton of depth…it could have been because it was just a pilot and they still have a lot of character development to work on, but I’m just not sure about this one yet.

However, I recently had the opportunity to watch the 2nd episode, which was written by Liz Tigelaar (love her–she is the creator of my favorite new CW show Life UneXpected). And I have to say, what the first episode was lacking, this 2nd episode made up for it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and there were a lot of interesting developments. We learn Violet’s secret connection and we find out more about Auggie’s past. I think that Tigelaar’s writing really shined through, and that the 2nd episode exhibited a ton of potential.

Melrose Place premieres Tuesday, September 8th at 9 PM on the CW (right after 90210, how fitting).