"Beverly Hills, 90210" gave us something to talk about...like Luke Perry

I was going to write about Lindsay Lohan this week and how she needs to just disappear. I'd hope you're just as tired of hearing her antics on prime-time news as I am. She's done. She isn't even a great actress, so why do we care so much about her? Yes, "Mean Girls" was great, but not because of her. The side players made that movie, from Gretchen Weiners to Ms. Norbury. We don't need Lindsay Lohan in the world anymore! So please, stop caring about whether she failed her latest drug test or how much jail time she did or didn't serve. She was cute in "The Parent Trap," so remember her for that and get on with your life.

I'm glad I got that out.

Now on to bigger and better things -

Da-na-na-na. Da-na-na-na. Dun. Dun.

Oct. 4 marks the 20th anniversary of the premiere of "Beverly Hills, 90210." I know, important stuff, right?

But it is - without "Beverly Hills, 90210," you wouldn't have your "Gossip Girl," your "OC," or your "Dawson's Creek." And don't you pretend none of these shows aren't your secret guilty pleasures.

"Beverly Hills, 90210" - not to be confused with the awful remake/continuation/spin-off or whatever you call it currently airing on the CW network - was big for it's time.

Back in 1990, no show dared tackle such taboo topics as rape, cocaine, AIDS, gambling, alcoholism - the list goes on and on - in dealing with teens. It just wasn't brought up.

Even the core topic associated with character Donna Martin - her wish to not have sex until she was married - was a very hot topic in the '90s. It united girls all over the country who weren't ready to have sex in high school or even college, for that matter. Donna Martin made it ok to be a virgin and girls looked up to her for being brave enough to admit that.

And of course, the stars made the show, or maybe the show made the stars - heck, most people can rattle the characters names off - nice guy Brandon Walsh, bad-boy Dylan McKay, funny man Steve Sanders - or sweetheart Kelly Taylor, vixen Valerie Malone - moreso than they can the actors' names. They were teen idols in every way, and Aaron Spelling made them.

Yet, after 10 seasons on the air - the longest running teen drama, I might add - that idol-sensation turned into a curse for some. Every character was so well-known that many of the actors had trouble finding work after it ended - being pigeonholed into their long-running character. Some made it out just fine (Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Tiffani Thiessen have all had steady work) - others (many) went on to "Dancing with the Stars," and one married Meghan Fox. Lucky for Brian Austin Green.

But despite all that, those actors were part of a show bigger than themselves.

I was three when the series originally premiered, but I remember watching it with my parents growing up. It was cheesy and soap-opera-eske, but for the '90s that was what worked - you were always there to tune in. I was devastated when it went off the air in 2000 - maybe because I was 13 and wanted Dylan McKay all to myself - but it was also time for a new generation of teens with a whole new set of problems. It was the new millennium, and audiences were ready for something fresh.

If only they knew that that something fresh would be reality TV.