September 10th, 2009 9:39 pm

Melrose Place

Scandal, mystery and seduction is back on The CW, with the remake of Darren Star’s 90’s drama ‘Melrose Place’.

The CW seem to be setting a trend for bringing Darren Star’s 90’s dramas back to the screen; and the spin-off to the original’Beverly Hills 90210’, ‘Melrose Place’, is the latest to see new life on the network.

Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, who ran ‘Smallville’ last season, breath new life into the iconic apartment complex, introducing a new batch of characters, new mysteries and new dramas — and like the new ‘90210’, the producers hope to infuse the new characters with a few original cast members too.

Laura Leighton reprises her role as Sydney Andrews in the new series and it appears little has changed since the original. Sydney is just as devious and scheming as before (albeit, alive once again — which is said to be explained at some point in the new series).

As the new landlord, she’s worked her way into every one of the new tenants lives, especially David Breck (Shaun Sipos). Within the first five minutes we’re thrown right into the middle of one of Sydney’s deceptions, which ultimately leads to pivotal moment in the pilot. This single incident brings all the new characters together, complicating all of their seemingly normal lives.

Perhaps the two of the more intriguing storylines, revolve around aspiring filmmaker Jonah Miller (Michael Rady) and medical student Lauren Yung (Australian raised Stephanie Jacobsen).

Jonah, who is left hanging after proposing to his long time girlfriend Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas), catches an Oscar-winning producer in an incriminating position with a barely legal young girl. Faced with the option of trading the footage for a film-deal, Jonah realises the the impact this decision could have on his career and pending engagement.

Meanwhile, Lauren, who is struggling to pay off her hefty student loans, is propositioned by her patient’s attractive and charming son. With the offer of a large sum of money in return for certain behind closed-door favours, Lauren is unsure what to do, but finds herself being convinced to take up the offer by the mysterious new tenant Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz).

Another Melrose resident is super PR agent, Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy), whose love for being in control is equal to her love for woman. Ella is likely to stir up plenty of trouble for her fellow residents, showing signs of being equally manipulative and deceitful as Sydney.

Rounding out the series regulars is Auggie Kirkpatrick (Colin Egglesfield), who, while keeping up the appearance of being a talented young sous chef, shows he actually has a much darker side.

Also reprising his role from the original series is Thomas Calabro, as Dr. Michael Mancini, who is revealed as the father of bad-boy David. It appears the apple didn’t fall far from the tree in this case, as both have found themselves involved with Sydney at some point.

Following the initial “off with a bang” introduction, the pilot tends to drag a little with your standard character exposition and interactions. Though it does pick up towards the end, when the coda kicks in. Questions which were raised are somewhat answered, while even more perplexing questions are established as the episode comes to a close.

Between all the mystery, flash backs and seductions, there’s plenty of intriguing story lines to pull in even the newest ‘Melrose’ watchers.

While it’s nothing new or the least bit original, The CW have managed to sex up an already sultry franchise — with its flashy new look and glammed out set pieces, its bound to fit in nicely with the rest of the networks buzz worthy dramas.

One big question that remains is whether Network Ten will even consider screening the series, considering how awfully ‘90210’ bombed last year. Perhaps GO! will try to snap up both series. They’d fit nicely on the new channel’s line up.