Western Animation / Beverly Hills Teens

Girls, Glitz, Glamour.

"Come live your fantasy in Beverly Hills
Come on and make your dreams come true.
And there's a teen club in Beverly Hills
So many things that we can do!
Fun for me and you!"

—Expository Theme Tune

Ever wondered what Beverly Hills, 90210 (which this show predates) would be like if it was animated and didn't take itself so seriously? Beverly Hills Teens is the answer.

What is it about? It's about teenagers living in Beverly Hills. To be more specific, they live in a world of exaggerated wealth — exemplified by mansions, yachts, and limousines — while navigating typical teenage concerns, including schoolwork, friendships, and romantic rivalries.

In 1989, repeats of BHT were teamed with a new series, Maxie's World, and reruns of It's Punky Brewster to create an Animated Anthology, which many independent and Fox stations aired in weekday afterschool time spots. The Maxie's World package lasted one year in terrestrial syndication, and reached new audiences when aired on The Family Channel from 1993-1998.

The whole series is now on two budget DVD box sets courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment.

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This show provides examples of:

• '50s Hair: Chester had once demonstrated a device for instant Elvis style haircut.
• 65-Episode Cartoon: Which aired over the course of two months.
• '80s Hair: Almost everyone, some more than others, with Jett having the poofiest, with Gig coming close.
• Advertised Extra: Troy is in most of the episodes and is important in the sense that he is Larke's boyfriend and the target of Bianca's affections but few episodes are actually told from his point of view and he is far less developed than Pierce, Chester or Wiltshire (all of whom have multiple episodes focusing on them).
• Affectionate Parody: Of '80s Sit Coms.
• All Just a Dream: "Fairy Tale Flake Out" and the appropriately titled "Bianca's Dream."
• Alpha Bitch: Who else but Bianca? She is the main antagonist in most episodes and also a Rich Bitch.
• And Knowing Is Half the Battle: At the end of the Weight Woe episode "Diet, Please," there is a warning not to try this kind of regimen and diet at home without consulting a doctor.
• Animal Jingoism: Empress and Tiara.
• Animation Bump: A handful of episodes and the intro were done by Mook DLE, a studio located in Japan, and it shows.
• Animesque: About less than half of the episodes are animated this way. The rest, however...
• Balloon Belly: In "Bianca's Diary" Pierce is fed an entire picnic lunch by Bianca (including whole roast chickens, lobsters, and suckling pigs) as part of a plot to steal her titular diary back. At first, Pierce seems to out himself as a Big Eater (seemingly devouring a whole chicken, bones included, without utensils!), but the next time we see them he's begging Bianca to stop, with his stomach now large enough to stretch apart his shirt buttons right before he falls into a Food Coma.
• The Beautiful Elite: Every single character is ridiculously cute and/or attractive.
• Betty and Veronica: Larke and Bianca are these respective roles when trying to go for Troy's affection.
• Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game: One where Pierce attempts to throw off Troy by coughing. After a bit of Pinball Projectile, the ball goes straight into the hole.
• Blunder-Correcting Impulse: There is a variation in an episode where Jett quits the band. In the end, the rest of the gang take her to Gig's solo concert. Seeing how badly he manages without her, she goes back. As she says: "I can't handle all this humiliation. Even when it's someone I despise."
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Bianca at the end of "Downhill Racer."
• Broke Episode: Happened to Tara in one episode, when some long lost relative showed up and claimed the family fortune. Of course, by the end of the episode, it turned out to be a scam.
• Burning with Anger: Nikki in "Scene Stealer."
• Butt-Monkey: Bianca (by her plans always failing), Wilshire, Pierce, and to a lesser extent Switchboard.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Bianca. Several of her successful attempts to sabotage Larke during a competition are actually seen by the judges as an original touch deserving a first place.
• Chick Magnet: Troy. Almost every female character wants him.
• Child Prodigy: Chester. The youngest, but by far the smartest, member of the cast.
• Circling Birdies: Pierce experiences these after a fall, as seen here. Gig and Wilshire get the circling stars variety in other episodes.
• City Mouse: Bianca and Pierce do not take well to trying farm life. Bianca doesn't even know where carrots actually come from.
• Cool, but Impractical: Bianca gives Troy a set of pure gold golf clubs. Everyone soon finds out they are way too heavy to be practical.
• Covered in Kisses: ???
• Crying Wolf: Switchboard in "Nothing But Gossip."
• Crossover: One episode, "Beach Blanket Battle," featured the BHT competing against the main protagonists from Maxie's World in a charity fundraiser.
• Dating Service Disaster: Two episodes are centered around Chester using a computer for that. The results... Well, it actually works out the first time, but only 50/50.
• Deadpan Snarker: Pierce has a handheld computer that is perfectly willing to snark when answering Pierce's questions.
• Depending on the Writer: Wilshire can go from desperately wanting Bianca to love him back or just being happy with her abusing him.
  • Pierce's in-universe popularity also varies by the episode. While he is never the Chick Magnet he so desperately wishes he is he can go from being a social pariah no sane girl would willingly date to someone who has no problem getting dates only to mess things up by going after someone he wants more (ie. faking a cold to get out of a date with Nikki to try and date Roberta in "Robot Romance".)
• A Dog Ate My Homework: There is an episode with that name, although it's actually a subversion (the excuse is true, not used, and it's not a paper, but a floppy which is ruined).
• Doomed New Clothes: The gold lamé pants and silk cape ensemble Bianca tried to wear to a photo shoot.
• Double Entendre: Maybe not intentional, but a question about why boys aren't home "polishing their limos" is hard to take literally in the middle of the night.
• Drama Queen:
  • Nikki, an aspiring actress, acts melodramatic even when not trying out for a part.
  • Bianca often acts like this, especially when she isn't getting her way.
• Dresses the Same: At a costume party, Bianca and Larke wear similar outfits. When they got new outfits, those were still similar.
• Eek, a Mouse!!: Happens in "Hold the Anchovies." To both Larke and Tiara. Well, they both recover quickly enough.
• El Spanish "-o": Buck Huckster attempts that when speaking to the mayor of Pompeii (he wants to buy the city to use as a stage set). He hangs up and says: "I don't believe this guy. He doesn't even speak Italian."
• Enemy Mine / Eviler than Thou: "Death Valley 500." to an extent, where all the teens, including Bianca, are competing against another team. A team fully willing to cause potentially lethal incidents, something that gave Bianca a My God, What Have I Done? moment in an earlier episode.
• Escaped Animal Rampage: An entire circus is released when Chester accidentally gets some cotton candy on the cage controls.
• "Everybody Laughs" Ending: Happens frequently.
• Everything's Sparkly with Jewelry: The girls are frequently seen wearing fancy jewels with their formal dresses.
• Evil Twin: "A Splitting Image." makes an asshole duplicate of Pierce.
  • Same can be said for Pierce being like Reggie Mantle and Troy being Archie Andrews.
• Expy: Larke and Bianca resemble the original Betty and Veronica.
• Failure Is the Only Option: Don't expect Bianca to succeed. Ever.
• Fairy Tale Episode: "The Dog Ate My Homework." Chester sure makes a good fairy godmother.
  • Also literally done in "Fairy Tale Fake Out."
• Fake Band: Jett and Gig's group. Gig plays guitar, Jett plays keyboards.
• Faked Kidnapping: "Take My Hostage, Please!" is about Bianca attempting this. It goes horribly wrong... For everyone.
• Fancy Camping: In "Roughing It", Troy takes Larke to camp in a secluded, untouched spot. Bianca wants to join them, but once she finds it's too much for her... Troy and Larke arrive only to find the whole gang along with several airdropped high-tech tents.
• Fanservice: The characters are in swimsuits a lot., and at least one episode has them in an automated dressing room.
• Fangs Are Evil: Pierce's Evil Twin has them when his teeth are shown.
• Feud Episode: "Star Split."
• Fiction 500: Most of the cast would fit this, but particularly Bianca's family. Her dad owns Texas.
• Financial Test of Friendship: In the episode "Down and Out in the Teen Club", Tara becomes penniless after a relative claims her parents' fortune. She is forced to take a job at the Teen Club, thereby ending up serving her friends. All of them are sympathetic to her plight except Bianca, who goes out of her way to add to Tara's humiliation by being a snotty customer. But Tara's friends have her back and set up a plan to make Bianca think she's penniless too. When the plan is revealed, Bianca is pissed off, but she admits she had it coming.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: In "The Slumber Party," during the storm, you can see a few pictures on the walls. One of them is a toddler Larke (presumably, since she has Larke's trademark earrings).
• Friendship Moment: In the episode "Poll Climbers" after Pierce lost the class president election, Larke agrees to go on a date with him after seeing how sad he looks, even saying he has potential to be a good boyfriend.
• Form-Fitting Wardrobe: The girls' outfits in "Death Valley 500." The word "hot" was actually allowed to be said.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Bianca, and to a lesser extent Pierce, are part of the main cast's friend circle, despite being frequently shown as selfish and willing to backstab others if it gets their way.
• Fur Bikini: A belly dancer in one episode wears a top trimmed with white fur.
• Gem-Encrusted: If something can possibly have jewels on it, it does.
• Getting Crap Past the Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
• The Generic Guy: Troy. Larke and Chanelle seem to be Generic Girls.
• Girls Have Cooties: Normally averted with Chester, who is quite interested in female attention (and gets much more than some of the older boys). However, in one episode Jillian responds to a remark about "embracing" boys with "how totally yucky." She changes her mind after a few minutes, when she is thrown into the air and Troy catches her.
• Gold Makes Everything Shiny: Many items in the show are made of gold, based solely on whether it looks good.
• Gone Horribly Right: "Potions of Love."
• Grade Skipper: Chester is an elementary school aged student attending high school.
• Grand Finale: A two-part Yet Another Christmas Carol. It doesn't really resolve anything.
• Gratuitous English: The French version of the theme song:
  "Relax teenager de Beverly Hills
  Dan tes déliers soit coo-oo-ool
  T'as mi le select derrière le colline..."
• Harmless Freezing: Pierce and Bianca in "Jillian's Lesson."
• Here We Go Again!: The ending to "A Time to Remember."
• High-Class Gloves: Bianca's evening dress includes matching long gloves.
• Hypocritical Humor: In "From Rad to Worse," Chester states Radley has never been able to tie his own shoelaces. Chester's own shoelaces are untied in that scene, as they usually are.
• Idle Rich: Most of the cast, although the events they get caught in make them less idle than the trope typically would be.
• Impact Silhouette: In an episode where Tara tried to cook an ox tail soup — while it was still attached to the ox.
• Incredibly Obvious Bug: In "Chase of a Lifetime," Bianca plants a tracking device in Troy's back pocket. It is as big as the pocket, yet Troy never feels it.
• Instant Cultured: Radley in "From Rad to Worse." He is also an Instant Jerkass...
• Invisible Parents: Parents are alluded to but never seen.
  • However, "Look Deep Into My Eyes" does have Pierce receiving a video call from his mother.
• It Came from Beverly Hills: The show's title tells you where it takes place.
• Jerkass: Bianca has nearly zero redeeming traits, at least on the surface.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Occasionally Pierce, and more often in later episodes.
  • Buck.
• Kid-Appeal Character: Chester was very clearly meant to be this. Interestingly enough, he's actually one of the more developed characters.
• Kissing the Ground: Pierce does that after a somewhat bumpy water trip.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Played literally (and for laughs) in "Take My Hostage, Please!"
• Lampshade Hanging: Bianca tries to rig a contest to date Troy, but ends up with the prize for dating Radley. She said she knew her behavior deserved punishment, but not that much.
• Landslide Election:
  • "The Dog Ate My Homework": Larke wins the title of the Midnight Ball Princess 82 votes against one. Bianca realizes not even Wilshire voted for her.
  Wilshire: Gee, Ms. Bianca, I can't help it. White's my favorite color.^note referring to Larke's dress
  [prompting Bianca to chase Wilshire]
  • In "Poll Climbers", Shanelle wins with 95% of the votes once Bianca's scheming is revealed.
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Gig (At least In-Universe).
• Lots of Luggage: Bianca once brings half a dozen suitcases with "absolute necessities of life" along. Doesn't sound like much? Well, perhaps it should be mentioned she brought them for a day in a beauty salon...
• Luminescent Blush: Chester and Jillian tend to react that way to Larke and Troy, respectively.
• Marilyn Maneuver: In "Pierce's Hundred Dollars" to a random girl because of Pierce's new car.
• Mirror Universe: "Bianca's Dream" is basically Bianca dreaming up a version of that... That is, a world where everyone has a personality close to her own.
• Mirrors Reflect Everything: In "Death Valley 500."
• Miss Exposition: Switchboard's role in most of her appearances.
• Mistaken for Transformed: One episode has the heroes mistake a trio of piglets for triplet toddlers transformed by one of Chester's inventions.
• Modeling Poses: The opening sequence includes some shots of the girls doing flashy poses while modeling clothes.
• Mundane Utility: A common source of humour. Pierce for example uses a high-tech and sentient PDA to search for dates.
• Naïve Everygirl: Larke, but mostly Tara.
• Never Say "Die": Normally played straight, although there was at least one case where Tara said she might die from embarrassment.
• Next Sunday A.D.: The futuristic gadgets seem to imply this. Overlaps with a good amount of Zeerust when the only copy of the homework is on a five inch floppy (Three inchers were out since 1983, with 1.44 MB capacity since 1986. A CD writer drive was first demonstrated in 1987).
• Nice Guy: Wilshire often proves himself to be this. After winning a valuable prize in a contest, he donates it to a children's charity instead of being swayed by newfound wealth.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Rivals!: When for some reason, a shop only has one sack of flour.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Larke winning due to Bianca's "successful" sabotage. It happens all the time.
• Non Sequitur, *Thud*: In "Teen Club Carnival," Bianca is knocked out by a ball and starts blabbering after waking up. That is, she repeats her evil plan instructions to Wilshire in front of the entire gang.
• Obstacle Ski Course: Chester has the "track on both sides of the tree" gag in "McTech, P.I." And it is shown how he does that. Later repeated by Pierce in "Troy Triathlon."
• Official Couple:
  • Troy and Larke date a lot.
  • Gig and Jett have a relationship, even if it gets tested a lot.
• Older Than They Look: It's occasionally implied Wilshire is slightly older than everyone else.
• Only Sane Man: Shanelle seems to be the most "normal" of the recurring cast.
• Only Six Faces: Blaze and Larke differ mostly in their hairstyles. Radley and Troy have more similar hair, but Radely has a clear tan.
• Out of Focus: Tara in the later episodes. Her last important role is in "The Kindest Cut of All" (episode 56) and her last speaking role of any kind is in "McTech, P.I." (episode 60). She does return for a non-speaking cameo in the two part finale.
• Pet the Dog: In one episode, Wilshire wins a contest and receives solid gold license plates. A couple of the other guys immediately try buddying up to him in the hopes that he'll give them as gifts. Bianca, upon learning of the situation, tracks them down and reads them the riot act for being so callous and self-centered; she may take him for granted quite often herself, but no way will she let someone else do it.
• Pimped-Out Car: The characters drive around in a pimped up limo with a swimming pool on it.
• Pimped-Out Dress: The girls' evening dresses have the typical frills and trimming of designer gowns at the time.
• Pink Means Feminine: Bianca's pink dresses and her bathing suit, Larke's pink car.
  • In "The Teen Cup," a pink yacht. The only one with an all female crew.
• Pity the Kidnapper: The episode name: "Take My Hostage, Please!" speaks for itself. Bianca tries to arrange a fake kidnapping to play the Deliberately Distressed Damsel part. A real criminal overhears and decides to kidnap her for real... doesn't take long before he realizes what he got himself into.
• Precocious Crush: Chester seems to have one on both Larke and Bianca. And, like all the girls, Jillian has one on Troy.
• Pretty in Mink: The girls often wore fur garments, and a common thing is fur rugs draped over various seats, whether in cars, or even chairs at the beach.
  • Bianca wears a brown fur wrap with her evening dress (an outfit design Larke was going to wear, but Bianca snatched it up).
  • Nikki wears a white fur coat a few times.
• Real After All: Two episodes about ghosts end that way.
• The Real Spoofbusters: "Ghost Story" is an early example of this trope, as several characters use homemade ghostbusting equipment to deal with an alleged haunting at the Teen Club Castle.
• Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Bianca, Thorndyke, and a few supporting characters, lack street smarts and book smarts.
• Right on Queue: The Oh, Crap! moment at the end of "Teen Club Carnival".
• Rule of Glamorous: Many things in the show happen just because of this trope, such as all the things being covered in gold and jewelry.
• Running Gag: Bianca's sabotage making Larke succeed. By Episode 38, it was used half a dozen times (including one time she sabotaged Chester), and at least once it wasn't even the main plot.
• Schmuck Bait: Subverted, to an extent, in "A Splitting Image." Chester tells Pierce not to press a big red button on his invention. You half expect him to press it as soon as Chester is out, but it actually takes some persuasion from an Evil Twin to do that.
• School Play: "Casting Call" is about characters trying out for Romeo and Juliet.
• The Short Guy with Glasses: Chester, as he's significantly younger than most of the cast.
• Ship Tease: Pierce and Bianca. While Pierce hits on every female character and has a unrequited crush on Larke, and Bianca is (mostly) chasing after Troy, the two get quite a lot of shipping moments, more than some of the canonical couples. The end of "Chase of a Lifetime" has the two get together for a dance in a mutual Throw the Dog a Bone moment.
• Shirtless Scene: About every male character gets one. It's up to the viewer if this counts as Fanservice.
• Spoiled Brat: Bianca, although only a few of the characters are immune to this.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: A lot of episodes are focused on Bianca, to the point that some sources list her as the main character and nearly a Villain Protagonist. Pierce runs her a close second in terms of focus though he is used as an outright antagonist less, and the two characters often share the limelight in the same episode.
• Standard Snippet: The William Tell Overture Finale, a couple of times.
• Status Cell Phone: A few are seen over the course of the series. By our standards, they are huge and very seldom used.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Averted. If it weren't for their similar way of speaking you'd have no idea Pierce and Jillian were related.
• Surfer Dude: Radley. He even owns a flying surfboard.
• Telecom Tree: If someone wants to get everybody together, they tell Switchboard and pretend it's a secret.
• Tempting Fate: "May I be struck from above if I'm not telling the truth." Cue being smashed by Pierce falling from a tree.
  • In another episode, she says: "You don't see me running around yelling at everyone." Next moment, a living fish is dropped into her cleavage, making her do that exactly.
• This Is Reality: In "Star Split:"
  Tara: It's like I always say. If you want a happy ending, have a romance novel.
• Title Drop: "From Rad to Worse."
• Title Theme Tune: Played with. The "Beverly Hills" part is sung, but not the "Teens" part. As a result, the song could just be talking Beverly Hills in general. Or not, since it does mention a teen club.
• Those Two Guys:
  • Tara and Nikki in a few episodes.
  • Jett and Gig are a mix of this and Official Couple.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: In "Poll Climbers," Pierce loses the election for class president. Larke, looking to cheer him up, agrees to go on a date with him and even says that he has the potential to be a good boyfriend.
• Token Minority: Shanelle is the only person of colour in the entire main cast. She's unfortunately The Generic Guy.
  • There tends to be a couple of these in any sizable crowd.
• Totally Radical: Especially Radley and Jett are prone to 80s California slang.
• Transforming Mecha: "Green With Envy" has a Japanese car transform into a robot for serving golf clubs.
• Treasure Is Bigger in Fiction: Just look at the size of the gems.
• Uncle Pennybags: All but Bianca and Pierce are pretty generous with their money. Not that Bianca and Pierce are misers. They just like to spend a lot when it benefits themselves.
• Unwanted Assistance: One episode has Wilshire serving Pierce instead of Bianca due to a life debt. The results are... Less than optimal.
• Unwanted Harem: Most of the female characters are attracted to Troy. Chester even notes this when Jillian says she also crushes on Troy.
• Vacation Crossover: A crossover occurred with Maxie's World when the cast of the former drop in for some friendly charity competition on a beach.
• Vague Age: Just how old is Chester supposed to be? Well, in "Chester the Matchmaker" he said he won't be a man for ten more years, so probably eight or so.
• Valley Girl:
  • Jett, if the way she talks is any indication.
  • Rachel and Cindy from "Eye of the Tigress." No, really; they're actually from Valley High and the way they talk make Jett sound absolutely posh.
• Vaudeville Hook: Happens to Nikki in "Old at Heart."
• What Does He See in Her?: Wilshire's unending devotion to Bianca.
• Why Don't You Marry It?: After Kissing the Ground, Pierce says: "If you only had blond hair and blue eyes, I'd marry you."
• Wingding Eyes: Chester gets these (with Heart Symbols) when Larke kisses him.
• Wink "Ding!": In "Star Split."
• Worthless Yellow Rocks: In "Teen Club Carnival," Bianca gets a plush toy with a diamond collar. She throws the collar away and keeps the toy.
• Zeerust: All over the place. Pierce's CAD is probably one of the more noticeable examples.

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