90210 vs. Beverly Hills, 90210: Jackie Taylor, the not-so-perfect mom

One of the original stars of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Ann Gillespie, returned to the famous zip code this week to reprise her role as dysfunctional mother, Jackie Taylor, on the spinoff series “90210.”

Jackie is the mother of Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth; another original cast member who returned for the spinoff series) and Erin “Silver” Silver (Jessica Stroup). She is known for her problems over the years with drugs, alcohol, and relationships, especially when it comes to her daughters.

“Beverly Hills, 90210”/Then: Fans first met Jackie in the first season of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” She was a single mom raising teenage daughter, Kelly, and living in a Beverly Hills mansion, which looked like it was straight out of a magazine. Ann Gillespie as Jackie Taylor on Beverly Hills, 90210

In the episode, “The Perfect Mom,” Jackie, a former model, appeared to be hip and cool to Kelly’s new friend, Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty), but in reality she was addicted to drugs and alcohol. Jackie’s problems unraveled when she made a scene during a mother/daughter fashion show for West Beverly Hills High School, embarrassing Kelly.

(Watch the famous scene from "The Perfect Mom" below.)

(Pictured, right: Ann Gillespie as Jackie Taylor in "Beverly Hills, 90210" on FOX)

Jackie then entered rehab, sobered up, and became a better mother to Kelly, which Kelly sometimes resented as she was used to her teenage independence and no rules or boundaries. Despite a few arguments, Kelly was glad to have her mother back.

The mother/daughter bond was short-lived, though, when Jackie started dating Dr. Mel Silver (Matthew Laurance), and Kelly felt left out. She wanted her mother to herself for a while and gave Jackie grief over her new boyfriend; but Kelly eventually warmed up to Mel.

At the end of the second season, Jackie married Mel, and formed a new family with Kelly and Mel’s son, David Silver (Brian Austin Green). Their family grew even bigger when Jackie and Mel had a baby girl that summer, Erin.

Baby Erin brought the Taylor/Silver clan even closer together and seemed to bring out the maternal side of Jackie. However, another curveball was thrown at Jackie when Mel was caught cheating. The couple divorced, reconciled later in the series, and eventually broke up again.

In the later years of the series, though, Jackie did her best to be a good mother for Kelly and Erin, and even step-son, David. It appeared the worst was behind her, or so fans thought.

"90210”/Now: When Jackie made her big return to the spinoff series, longtime fans were probably disappointed to see that Jackie was back to her old ways of alcohol and drug abuse.

Only this time around, daughter Erin (now known as Silver) was the teenager living with an unfit mother. Luckily big sister Kelly stepped in and took Silver to live with her and her son, Sammy, creating a new family together.

Jackie, Kelly and Silver on 90210 This really broke the bond between Jackie and her daughters. Even when Silver was missing, as part of her battle with bipolar disorder, Jackie was intoxicated and seemed to only care about herself. She was no help to Kelly, which pushed her daughters away even further.

(Pictured, left: Ann Gillespie as Jackie, Jennie Garth as Kelly, and Jessica Stroup as Silver; Photo credit: CW 2008 Justin Lubin)

So when Jackie made an appearance in season two, episode “Environmental Hazards,” it was no wonder Silver wanted nothing to do with her mother. The mother and daughter ran into each other at an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting, in which Silver was there to support her friend, Adrianna Tate-Duncan (Jessica Lowndes).

Jackie tried to reach out to Silver by buying her a car, with an invitation to meet her at another AA meeting. Silver attended the meeting, listened to Jackie’s public apology about being a bad mother and trying to set things right; however, Silver made a speech of her own about how terrible of a mother Jackie was to grow up with, gave her back the car keys, and said that she wants her out of her life for good. She told Jackie, “You’re dead to me,” and stormed out of the meeting.

Silver may regret those words, though, because she later learns from Adrianna that Jackie was trying to make amends with Silver because she is dying of cancer.

Jackie is expected to return to “90210” in a few more upcoming episodes, which will delve more into her battle with cancer and her daughters. Hopefully, she will be able to resolve her issues with Kelly and Silver before it is too late. After everything that Jackie and her daughters have been through together, they deserve that much. And so do the longtime fans.

The new “90210,” which airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. (ET) on the CW network, is a spin-off of the original “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which aired from 1990-2000 on Fox. Check back with the 90210 Examiner each week for Versus Thursdays, in which we’ll compare the old show with the new show from everything to storylines, styles, and scandals.

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Watch a clip of Jackie Taylor in "The Perfect Mom" from the original series.