Some new zip in the '90210'

There's A ginormous silver "N" on the wall behind the center bar at Boulevard3 in Hollywood, which isn't usually there. A blond, pretty adolescent girl vogues for her guests on 15 plasma screens spread throughout the chic two-tier nightclub. Indie pop band Tilly and the Wall has never performed here before, but it does fit in. One hundred or so dolled-up teenagers who wouldn't normally be allowed anywhere near this Sunset Boulevard venue bop to the band.

But tonight Boulevard3 is a set, and this extravaganza of millionaire proportions is a Sweet 16 celebration for Beverly Hills queen bee Naomi Clark (AnnaLynne McCord). As the band grooves, Naomi greets Internet celebrity-party girl Cory Kennedy and her photographer pal, the Cobrasnake (who play themselves), and the truth is revealed: This is not your mama's drama.

This is “90210," the CW spinoff, and, boy, is it au courant: The pivotal moment in this scene involves a betrayal exposed by Sidekick, captured on video by TMZish high school journalist Navid Shirazi (Michael Steger). The party's decadence is one thing, but Cory and Tilly and the Wall in the same room? Ridiculous! (And we thought Dylan McKay was cool.)

Only eight years have passed since "Beverly Hills, 90210" went off the air, but, thanks to technology, the world has shrunk in the time it takes two classes to graduate from high school. Back in the day, Kelly (Jennie Garth) and Brenda (Shannen Doherty) would never have blabbed about a cheating boyfriend in a text message or vlogged their secrets. Nat (Joe E. Tata) didn't serve cappuccinos to teens at the Peach Pit, like he does in the spinoff's first episode.

"Not everyone was texting each other and taking their phones everywhere and IMing," said co-creator and executive producer Gabe Sachs. "What e-mail has done to relationships, I think, it has ruined high school. You used to have to go to a girl and talk to her. They text now. It's a different world, and all of that stuff is great for stories."

Nostalgia over the older version has been palpable, albeit virtually, with every stage of development of the series enthusiastically dissected on the Internet. (For the record: Garth and Doherty are in; Tori Spelling is out.) But a spinoff of a pop-culture phenomenon is tricky business, and the new show's success might depend on its ability to both depict and comment on the global culture in which the new West Beverly High crew is growing up, while balancing the beloved elements of the first series. It premieres Tuesday.