Too Jewish for Beverly Hills 90210?

I've been mining CBS.com for shows to watch while I eat supper. Unfortunately, most of the full-length videos seem to be from the day-time soaps (like the type Jameel enjoys watching). There are, however, some gems, including about fifteen early episodes of Family Ties, which I grew up on. That was some show; do they even make sitcoms like that anymore? CBS.com also has episodes of Beverly Hills 90210, which all the girls (and some guys in secret) obsessed over in high school.

A new 90210 series will soon hit the silver screen with all new characters, including a "half-Jew" and an Iranian. The real high school that 90210 is modeled on is predominantly Jewish (with many Persians). Apparently the the producers have not heeded those who criticized the original series for not reflecting the true demographics of the real school.

The original series at least had two full Jewish characters, both of whom started out as the nerds of the show. "David Silver" later became cool, but his Jewish identity was never explored. On the other hand, "Andrea Zuckerman," the unattractive bookish nerd played by real-life Jew Gabrielle Carteris, discovered her Jewish heritage in one episode.

Sadly, Carteris's initiative to subtly stress her character's Jewish identity was strongly rebuffed . . . by Jews. Haaretz relates:

When Carteris, who is now in her 40s, showed up on set wearing a Star of David around her neck, the network honchos balked. They called her into their office, she said, and asked her to remove the Jewish symbol. "The executives said that 'Middle America' really doesn't want to see it," Carteris said in an interview with the Forward. "'Middle America' is a phrase that is always used in this industry. I want to know, who is this 'Middle America'?"

Carteris, who is a member of Temple Beth Hillel, a Reform synagogue in Valley Village, Calif., refused to take off the Star of David unless the other cast members were asked to remove their crosses. As a result, the executives mandated that no religious jewelry could be worn. The irony? The executive who asked Carteris to remove the star was himself Jewish. Moreover, the creator of the original show was the prolific Aaron Spelling, a Jewish television and film producer who almost specialized in creating white-washed depictions of American reality (think "Charlie's Angels" and "Dynasty").