Well, the two-hour series premiere of the new (and improved? could that even be possible?) 90210 [1] finally aired last night. While it sure was long — I think maybe the two-hour premiere "event" was a miscalculation, cause I was getting a little tired by the end — I was actually totally fine with it and would say that it exceeded my expectations. Granted, my expectations were low. But still: exceeded!

First of all, it was surprisingly true to its source material's tone — especially on the wholesomeness front. You might be saying, "But Buzz, there was oral sex and drugs in the first episode!" which is true . . . but I found nothing in last night's premiere shocking, did you? It certainly didn't push into crazy new territory for a teen show. And unlike the Gossip Girl [2] universe, the kids that exist in this elite world will experience consequences and get grounded and stuff (or, you know, lose their texting privileges and coffee money)! It almost got a little after-school special-y at times; maybe it will be a better fit with the sweet Privileged [3] than I initially thought!

You can check out our live chat about the show last night [4], and I've added a few more thoughts on all the new characters and plot twists if you .

• Grandma Tabitha is awesome. No surprise that Jessica Walter (aka Lucille Bluth) is one of the best parts of the show, but seriously, I want a grandma like that! She gets such good lines.
• What's your verdict on the overall acting? I thought Shenae Grimes had a huge load to carry as Annie and pulled off her role well, impressing me more than she ever did as Darcy on Degrassi [5]. The actress who played Silver was great at snark, but bad at emotion; Naomi's face terrifies me, so job well done, I think; and the verdict is still out on Dustin Milligan as Ethan Ward. He's definitely the weak link.
• Also, it's really hard not to think Wire [6] thoughts when Tristan Wilds is on the screen! Like, "What, Dixon, you gonna let some lacrosse boys push you around? Call Chris and Snoop! They'll give them the what-for!"

• I know they had to get us hooked but there was a lot going on. I mean, Dixon alone was booted on and off the freaking lacrosse team like nine times in two hours. Hopefully that storyline is retired now.
• Brenda's back! Kelly's got a kid! Nat was . . . there, and apparently bad at making coffee. So did you like having those older characters hovering around? Did it distract from the fun or add to it for you?
• Did anyone else notice the name of the anchor-girl on Navid's news show? Zuckerman!
• Speaking of Navid, he was a surprising highlight for me. That whole daddy-is-a-porn-producer story is great.
• And finally: While I could have done with a few more Freaks and Geeks moments [7], they were definitely there: Annie's musical flashback, 90 percent of what came out of Tabitha's mouth, etc. Was it enough awkwardness for you?

What else did you catch? Are you hooked? Will you keep watching?

Photos courtesy of The CW [8]