Beverly Hills, 90210 - Season 4, Episode 8

"Mmm...It feels sooo gooood to finally have a storyline of our own."

"Twenty Years Ago Today"
Original airdate: 10/27/1993

Episode summary: Mama and Papa Walsh finally get their own storyline when the gang attends their twentieth wedding anniversary party. Mel dumps Erin off on David for the weekend so he can get his rocks off with his hot new girlfriend in Cabo. Stuart proposes to Brenda, and Ahn-drea starts to question her feelings for Dan...and meets her future husband, Jesse.

---

Recap: This episode kicks off with a montage of photos of Mama and Papa Walsh in their younger days - and when Papa Walsh had a lot more hair. It's morning and the two are still in bed together. Mama Walsh rolls over and cuddles her husband and wishes him a good morning, and he lets out an appreciative groan. She asks him if he remembers what he was doing twenty years ago and he pretends not to remember that it's their twentieth wedding anniversary. The sound of a dish breaking startles them, and Papa Walsh wryly says that his mother must be in the kitchen making breakfast again. Mama Walsh hustles out of bed and tells him they'd better get downstairs, then adds that she hopes Brandon got to LAX in time to pick up her parents. Apparently they get a little squirrelly whenever people are late for things like airport pickups. Papa Walsh motions her over to the bed and hands her a small jewelry box, which she opens to find a lovely emerald necklace. She tells him it's beautiful and gives him a thank you smooch...and he thanks her for an incredible twenty years together.

Brenda rushes into the kitchen to help Grandmama Walsh clean up the dish she broke. Grandmama Walsh asks her how many people are expected to attend tonight's anniversary party, and Brenda says around fifty. Grandmama Walsh says that she could have done the cooking for the party, and snarks that it was a waste of money for Mama Walsh to hire a caterer. Brenda explains that clearly her mom wanted her to be a guest, not the chef - so then Grandmama Walsh makes a catty comment about how her daughter-in-law never liked her cooking and haughtily adds that in her day, people didn't hire caterers. Now I see where Brenda inherited her bitchitude. Brandon arrives home with the other set of grandparents, and Brenda rushes over to greet them just as Mama and Papa Walsh are bounding down the stairs. A minute later the doorbell rings, and it's Stuart. Brenda introduces him to everybody, and he schmaltzily compliments all of them by saying he sees where Brenda gets her good looks. Brenda then announces that she and Stuart are heading out for a last minute shopping trip, and Brandon says he has to go tutor a basketball player.


Beach house. Mel arrives at the beach apartment with little Erin and tells David that he has a dilemma. Jackie refuses to switch weekends with him, and his hot young girlfriend, Nina, has a photo shoot in Cabo and desperately wants him to fly to Mexico and spend the weekend with her. David asks him why he doesn't just take Erin with him, so Mel explains that he and Nina can't very well indulge in a two day doinkfest with a toddler in the room. He tells David that Erin's regular babysitter is all lined up and that she'll handle everything - but he wants David to sleep at his place during the weekend. David is reluctant, but agrees to cover for his selfishly horny douche of a father.


Alumni Gymnasium. D'Shawn is once again acting like a total dick, refusing to start his tutoring session with Brandon until he finishes shooting hoops. D'Shawn suggests to Brandon that he go to the nearby gym for a workout while he's waiting, so Brandon does and starts pumping some iron. Across the gym, a pretty woman with curly hair is exercising on a stairmaster. She glances over at Brandon appreciatively and, after a few minutes, walks over and asks him if he'd be willing to spot her while she lifts weights. He obliges, and she chats him up, telling him that she's traveled extensively through South America, and that she's a grad student/cultural anthropologist. She introduces herself as Lucinda Nicholson and invites him to get a cup of coffee, but he has to decline because of the tutoring session he has scheduled with D'Shawn. After a bit of flirty banter, Brandon asks her if he can call her sometime, but she's like, "Nah." However, she tips him off that she's at the gym every morning at 7:00am.


The Walsh house. A bunch of deliverymen are unloading the tables and chairs for the anniversary party, and the two grandmothers can't agree on where the outdoor furniture should be set up. An exasperated deliveryman tells them to make up their minds - and fortunately Mama Walsh comes over at that moment and gives him some concrete directions. That Grandmama Walsh really seems like a bitchy instigator.


Dylan is hanging out in a sketchy neighborhood, nonchalantly reading a magazine. A shady looking guy approaches him and says, "I hear you might be in the market for some product." He introduces himself as Gus and invites Dylan to take a short walk. He leads him over to a nearby van and opens up the back where he has a small selection of various handguns. Dylan picks one out, looks it over briefly, and tells Gus he'll take it.


California University. Kelly is studying on the lawn when John Sears ambles over to her. He tells her he's been trying to get a hold of her all day to tell her that he has front row tickets to a concert tonight. She declines the concert and tells him that she already has plans to go to a party...and when he tries to invite himself along, she explains that it's a twentieth anniversary party for the Walshes. John tells her he'd still like to accompany her, but Kelly says that that might be too weird, since Dylan is also expected to attend. She says it wouldn't be the right time and place to make their first appearance as a couple. John tells her he's crazy about her, thinks about her all the time, and knows that she feels it too. Kelly admits that she does feel it too, but can't allow herself to give in to it tonight...and John happily tells her that he can wait 'cause she's worth waiting for.


Gun range. Dylan is testing out his newly purchased handgun. He shoots repeatedly into the target, hitting it in the center. 


California University. Brandon runs into Ahn-drea (blech) and asks her if she needs a ride to his parents' anniversary party tonight. She tells him she doesn't, since her new boyfriend Dan will be taking her. Dan happens to be standing nearby, so she introduces them to each other. Dan jokingly asks Brandon where his halo is, since Ahn-drea always talks about him in such glowing terms. Brandon suddenly notices Lucinda sitting at a nearby coffee shop, so he excuses himself to go hit on her again...and Dan remarks to Ahn-drea that Brandon seems like a really nice guy.


Brandon approaches Lucinda, and she invites him to sit down. He tells her that his parents are having their twentieth anniversary party tonight, and she laments that people today are often short on commitment. That's ironic, considering how she ends up shamelessly cheating with Brandon on her unsuspecting husband. She offers to share her coffee with him, and when he tells her he's not much of a coffee drinker she chuckles to herself and says, "You're just a kid, aren't you?" When they compare ages, Lucinda reveals that she's twenty-seven. Yikes. Brandon diplomatically tells her that twenty-seven isn't that old...but Lucinda argues that it is old when a twenty-seven year old person is flirting with an eighteen year old. Um, yeah...put in that context, I guess twenty-seven is pretty old.


Dylan's house. Dylan is loading bullets into his new gun when Brandon stops by to drop off his parents' gift for safekeeping. He tells Dylan it's a giant jigsaw puzzle created from their wedding photo. This reminds Dylan that he still needs to go out and buy the Walshes an anniversary gift.


Beach house. Donna can't decide which super short, skin tight dress she should wear to the Walshes anniversary party and asks David for his opinion. The phone rings and it's Mel with yet another dilemma. Erin's babysitter is running late, and Mel is worried about missing his flight to Mexico. He needs David to come over and watch his little sister until the babysitter shows up, so David tells him he's on his way.


The Walsh house. Brandon and Brenda are in their bathroom, getting themselves ready for the party. They marvel at how their parents have stayed happily married for twenty years. Brenda wonders aloud how they keep the passion alive, and Brandon says that they still lock their bedroom door every Sunday night for a weekly romp in the sack. That's...weird of him to notice. Brenda asks him what he thinks of Stuart, and Brandon's like, "I barely know the dude." Brenda says she thinks he could be "the one", so Brandon cautions her to slow down, and points out that she's only known the guy for two weeks. Brandon suddenly remembers that he has to swing by Dylan's house to pick up their parents' jigsaw puzzle wedding photo.


Papa Walsh tells his catty-ass mother that he's glad she's here. She tells him that his father would be proud of what a good husband and father he turned out to be, then hands him a small box that contains her and her late husband's wedding rings. She wants her son to have them, and suggests that he might want to pass them down to one of the twins in case either of them is planning on getting married soon. Papa Walsh is aghast at the thought.


Brandon races over to Dylan's house in his Mustang. He runs up to the front door, but it's locked and Dylan isn't answering. Turns out he's in the shower. Brandon goes around to the back of the house, but finds the back door locked as well. By now, Dylan has gotten out of the shower and is shaving. Brandon panics and is so completely desperate to extract the jigsaw puzzle wedding photo from Dylan's living room that he picks up a giant wrench and smashes the glass on the back door. WTF, dude?! Dylan hears the sound of glass breaking, assumes it's a burglar, and gets his gun. He points it at the back door just as Brandon's hand is reaching through the broken window to open it from outside. Dylan yells at the "intruder" that he has a gun, and Brandon yells back that it's him, and to not shoot. Dylan demands to know what he's doing at the house, so Brandon explains that since he didn't answer the door, he had no choice but to break in to get his parents' anniversary gift. Incidentally, he doesn't offer to pay for the needless damage, but probably should at some point. The two yell at each other about how the gun almost went off, and that Brandon could have been killed. Dylan admits that he's "out of it" and doesn't know what the hell he's doing, so Brandon urges him to get rid of the gun by throwing it off a pier. Dylan agrees to dispose of it the following day.


The Walsh house. Stuart enters Brenda's room as she's putting the final touches on her outfit and those scarily manicured eyebrows. Stuart gives her a seductive kiss and tells her that he'd love to skip the party and doink all night instead...but she makes it clear that that ain't going to happen, then orders him to zip up the back of her dress, which he obediently does. The two head downstairs to join the anniversary festivities, which are already in full swing.


A band is playing, and it looks like the caterers have provided a lot of great food. Steve is there with Celeste, and Ahn-drea introduces them to Dan. Steve says that he really admires the Walshes for staying married for twenty years - no doubt a record in Beverly Hills - and Celeste agrees and gushes about how romantic it is. Dan disdainfully retorts, "If you believe in marriage." Ahn-drea gives him a look of surprise and says, "What? You don't?" and he tells her to ask him in five years. Steve and Celeste wisely beat a hasty retreat from that awkward conversation, leaving Ahn-drea looking dismayed and somewhat discombobulated. Kelly arrives at the party in a pretty red dress at the exact same time Dylan arrives. He tells her that he's disposing of his new gun, and says he now realizes it's a bad thing to be armed and dangerous. Kelly looks very pleased to hear him say that. The two enter the Walsh house together and immediately notice the giant jigsaw puzzle wedding photo thing, which is on display in the foyer. It's actually kind of a dumb anniversary gift. After that, Donna, David, and Erin arrive...and when Jackie realizes that her tiny daughter is there, she rushes over to find out whassup with that. David explains to her that Mel had babysitter problems, and Jackie lets out an involuntary sneer. But then she coos at Erin and takes her off David's hands.


Several couples are on the dance floor, including Brenda and Stuart. Brandon remarks to Dylan that it looks like Brenda finally found someone to keep up with her on the dance floor. Dylan disdainfully calls Stuart a real "mover and shaker", so Brandon asks how he knows Stuart. Dylan tells him - in his annoying world weary, been there done that manner - that he knows Stuart from "the scene"...and adds that Brandon doesn't want to know what "the scene" is. He says he definitely wouldn't want Stuart dating his sister.


As Stuart and Brenda slow dance together, he tells her how cool it is that her parents so obviously love each other, and that their home is a real home...unlike his. He says that his parents' marriage is like a business arrangement, and that they gave up on romance a long time ago. He declares that he believes in love, and Brenda agrees that she does as well...and the two kiss. Stuart suddenly decides he'd like to make the first toast to Mama and Papa Walsh, and then marches over to the mic and asks for everyone's attention. He prefaces his toast by acknowledging that he doesn't know the Walshes very well, but wants to congratulate them and toast their twenty year marriage. Afterward, the Walshes look delighted and thank him. Grandmama Walsh is very impressed with Brenda's polite, rich boyfriend and tells the family how awesome it would be if the two of them got married. Mama Walsh's mother, however, argues that Brenda is way too young - not to mention volatile and immature - to even be thinking about marriage. Brenda tells Stuart that his toast was wonderful, and he says there's something he wants to tell her in private. They walk around to the other end of the house, and he tells her he's never met anyone like her, and that she makes him happier than he's ever been, blah blah. He then hands her a small box, which contains a very expensive looking diamond ring. Brenda is totally stunned, and Stuart quickly admits that he knows this is happening fast, but he really really wants to marry her. Brenda is at a complete loss for words when Stuart gets down on one knee and proposes. When she points out that they've only known each other for two weeks, he simply repeats his proposal. Brenda thinks it over for a few seconds, then throws all common sense to the wind and accepts. 


Kelly's upstairs in Brenda's room, touching up her makeup when Ahn-drea enters. Kelly tells her that Dan seems like a nice guy, and Ahn-drea's like, "Yeah, whaever." Kelly asks her whassup with her budding relationship, so Ahn-drea confesses that she and Dan have hit the sheets, but she now thinks it may have been too impulsive of her. For a little while she thought she might have been in love with him, but he's way too cerebral...and there's the problem of the hair, and he also doesn't seem to have a romantic bone in his body. She's pretty sure he's the wrong guy for her, since the earth has not moved any of the times they've doinked. She says there aren't any sparks between them, so Kelly tells her that she and Dylan have all the sparks in the world, but they still can't seem to make their toxic, unstable, dysfunctional relationship work. Go figure.


Jackie feels Erin's forehead and thinks she might have a fever. She wants to get in touch with Mel to let him know, so she asks David where he is...and he tells her that Mel's in Mexico, getting his rocks off with his hot young girlfriend. Jackie immediately goes ballistic and angrily declares that she's taking Erin home...and that she'll be calling her lawyer.


Stuart wants to announce the big engagement news to Mama and Papa Walsh, and a hesitant Brenda agrees. Not surprisingly, when Mama and Papa Walsh find out, they're shocked and dismayed...and Papa Walsh tells the couple he'd much prefer it if this news wasn't announced at their party. Unfortunately, his meddling mother has overheard the conversation and is thrilled about her granddaughter's impending nuptials. She takes it upon herself to announce it to the rest of the partygoers, and everyone looks suitably shocked. Kelly, Donna, Ahn-drea, and Celeste immediately rush over to check out Brenda's rock. Donna asks her if she's sure about this life altering decision, and Brenda says she is...and adds that she wants her friends to be happy for her. They quickly assure her they're thrilled.


Stuart encounters Dylan inside the house, and Dylan snarls that he hopes he's cleaned up his act since his bad boy days. Stuart says he has, then adds that it's none of his business. Dylan pretends to act all protective and gives him a very cliche warning about how important Brenda is to him, and that if Stuart hurts her, he'll have to deal with him, blah blah. Go away, Dylan.


It's time to cut the anniversary cake! Mama and Papa Walsh give their guests a short thank you speech, and express their great happiness. Dan tells Ahn-drea that he'll score them some cake if she gets a couple of drinks from the bar. She agrees and goes outside where the bartender is stationed. She orders champagne and punch, and he asks her if she has ID...so she goes, "Wuh?" and he laughs and tells her he's just kidding. He then tells her that his parents also got engaged at his grandparents' anniversary party, and that he's a sucker for romance. He also says she has a great smile that lights up her entire face. Ahn-drea looks intrigued by this kind stranger, who appears to be the polar opposite of her unsentimental boyfriend. When they introduce themselves, she learns that his name is Jesse. As he hands her her drinks, he tells her that Ahn-drea is a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Oh Jesse...if only you knew well enough to run fast and run far. Ahn-drea responds with a "cheers" and heads back inside the house.


Stuart and Brenda exchange I love yous as they slow dance together. Brandon asks to cut in, and when Stuart is out of earshot, he asks his sister if she's fully aware of what the hell she's doing. He's concerned that she may regret this hasty, insane decision to marry a guy she's known for all of two weeks, but she assures him that she would never do anything she regrets. Right...because that would be so unlike Brenda.


After all the guests have left, Mama and Papa Walsh collapse exhaustedly on the couch. They tell Brenda that they'll discuss her ridiculous decision to accept Stuart's marriage proposal in the morning. For some reason, Brandon decides to remove a piece out of the jigsaw puzzle wedding photo, and it makes the whole dumb thing fall apart. Nice going, Brando. He looks over at his parents sheepishly and says that now they'll have something to do tomorrow. After Brenda and Brandon head upstairs, Papa Walsh asks his wife how serious she thinks the relationship between Brenda and Stuart is...and Mama Walsh doesn't really answer, and just says it's a very serious engagement ring. She adds that if they actually do get married, she hopes Stuart will make Brenda as happy as Papa Walsh has made her. Awww.. Papa Walsh gets up and puts on one of her favorite songs and invites her to dance with him. As the two sway to the music, Mama Walsh asks him what they're going to do about Brenda...and Papa Walsh grimaces and tells her they'll deal with their problem child tomorrow.

Thanks for reading! If you are enjoying TVofYore's recaps, consider thanking me by buying me a "coffee"!

---