early 1980s still the 70s (Swingtown, Freaks & Geeks) ... 1990 still the 80s (90210) ... and early 1960s were still the 50s (Mad Men).

A Second Look At: Swingtown - Tuned In - TV Blog - Television Reviews - James Poniewozik - TIME
The credits sequence it debuted in its first episode after the pilot was a sign of trouble, with quick flashes of every imaginable mid-'70s touchstone from disco balls to Carter buttons to Farrah Fawcett posters.
The look and art direction of the show, on the other hand, shows more thought: the sets look like the Midwest in 1976, which is to say, there are elements of the last decade or so before 1976 all through it. You see this too in the excellent sets for Freaks and Geeks, which I've been re-watching, and I remember that the key to that show's period sensibility lay in something Paul Feig told me when I did a feature on the show: "We have to remember that the early '80s in Michigan were basically the 1970s." (Having lived in small-town Michigan at the time, I can vouch for that.)

looking for this comment (satisfying to find it! via dlcs srch: swingtown - I tht it was a tv critic, maybe AlanS - but tsemmed to recall the reference being to That 70s Show not Frks&Gks - maybe there is another comment somewhere re that show, or re 1980s should look like 70s ~ nah that's exactly this Paul Feig quote, I must have just pictured the basement of That 70s show as what 80s shld look like, yup, that's it)
after watching Beverly Hills 90210 which is early 1990s but looks to me very "80s" - pink, neon, leggings. shoulder pads, I guess those were 80s too?

DVD Verdict Review - Beverly Hills 90210: The Second Season:
Even though Beverly Hills 90210: The Second Season was shot and aired in the 1990s, it makes your living room feel like the '80s. The first few episodes are a blur for me because I was too busy ogling the horrendous outfits and hairdos.
Once I blocked out the midriff tops and fluorescent colors...


DVD Verdict Review - Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season:
The Charge: Fame is where you find it. hm?
Quick! Name someone who starred in Beverly Hills, 90210. Chances are, it didn't take you long to cough up the name Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, or the name of another ensemble cast member from the show's ten-year run. Beverly Hills, 90210 was so huge that you couldn't escape its hype in any corner of the globe.
Given its overwhelming popularity and recent clamoring from legions of fans, it's surprising that Beverly Hills, 90210 arrives on DVD only now, sixteen years after its debut on Fox. The timing isn't particularly good, because shows like The O.C. (or any CW show for that matter) have eclipsed Beverly Hills, 90210 in almost every relevant category. From incisive writing to catty characters, the new wave of teen soaps kicks 90210's designer denim-clad butt down the stairs. But no current teen soap has the worldwide star appeal that powered 90210. The release of Beverly Hills, 90210: The Complete First Season is a nice way to acknowledge the trend set by the show.
Yeah, I watched it back then. You did too, or you wouldn't be here right now. But frankly, the filter of experience and the perspective of time do not flatter this show.
The pilot struck me with two realizations. The first is that Beverly Hills, 90210 was birthed fully formed, with most of its major characters, plot arcs, and themes in place. Knowing how it turns out later, you can see the seeds planted from day one. like what like what?? This shows remarkable foresight and stubborn commitment down the line by the writing team. Which brings me to realization two: the writing is atrocious. y. The pilot is padded with filler at every turn. The dialogue is somehow bland and cringe-inducing at the same time. Beverly Hills, 90210 relies heavily on the tradition of high school drama, which gives the characters and situations a stagy, melodramatic feel. good, good, this is wh I tht too.
None of this erases 90210's bright spot: a vivacious cast. huh y ok.* Yes, they are sometimes hammy. Their delivery is often stilted. Their median age probably hovers around 25. But each of them is watchable, and there is real chemistry among them. Even when reciting clunkers, the cast seems to be having a great time. This upbeat attitude (combined with considerable marketing power) launched them into teen superstardom. Though some of the cast has moved on to other strong work, they'll always be affiliated with their characters from 90210.
Part of the late DVD arrival probably stems from music rights issues. The box proclaims, in 6-point font buried in a picture of Jennie Garth's cleavage, that "Music has been changed for this home entertainment version." I'd love to rail against destroying the purity of the original show, but I have no idea what music has been left out or altered. The catchy theme song is intact, in several incarnations to boot. The soundtrack is not particularly dynamic, but is passable.
Fans of the show will not care about any of this. 90210 is out on DVD! Finally, your long wait is over. This show was a mainstay of the 1990s, and has strong nostalgia value for millions of people.
Though my predominant reaction was "boy, I don't remember how lame this was," there were moments that made me smile. Dillon Dylan McKay is almost indescribable; James Dean with a David Hasselhoff vibe mixed in. Somehow, this is a good thing. Shannen is so deliciously bitchy I could hardly take my eyes off her. And Jennie Garth is hot.
The Verdict: You already knew that it's guilty.


Beverly Hills 90210 remake: how can it possibly top the original? | Organgrinder | Guardian Unlimited : Rob Thomas is an intell writer w clear undstanding high school politics, VMars was one of wittiest teen shows recent years [but] 90210 was the teen show to end all teen shows, the original, the most stupid and, yes, the best.

The New ‘90210’ Commits the Ultimate Sin: Bad Fashion | The Cut: New York Magazine's Fashion Blog | Isn’t a cooler, sexier, more provocative 90210 essentially…Gossip Girl? Why not just spin off that show? Dawson’s Creek, The OC, even Buffy turned th teen-drama genre into something racier & less PSA-friendly (remember, Donna actually waited 8 *seasons* to have sex). It's an uphill task to modernize something so genuinely earnest. 90210 was earnest!? was it?

*vivacious cast... and earnest
List of Beverly Hills, 90210 episodes - Wkp - #Specials # The Best Moments of 90210 # Our Favorite Moments # The Final Goodbye # 10-Year High School Reunion. each is on youtube (posted in multi-parts)
the 10 year reunion in 2003, so only three years after the show stopped running, but 10 years after the end of the HS years: the original cast graduated in 1993. IMDb :: Boards :: "90210" (2008) :: Sophomores twice? (they were said to be juniors the first year: Brenda admitting her age to the older guy she dated, Brandon being teased by the senior he dated, who had a baby. but I gather that the second year they kept them as juniors with the retrocon is that the only word for it? of saying they had been sophomores).
The reunion show gathered Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Gabrielle Carteris, Ian Ziering in a room that either was or resembled the set of the Walsh house living room. at a late point in the conversation the actors who played Jim & Cindy Walsh were brought on and greeted with hugs.
I thought it was really nice. they said they felt like family. Luke Perry said that if something important happened to him, the people he would call were those in that room. it seemed innocent, too - oddly like they had lived out their parts in enacting them, the way I might imagine before understanding that the mechanics of filming means scenes may be acted in an order diff from the storyline and without the whole cast. not organically. they may it sound organic, like they had the experiences of their characters while playing them. maybe tv was shot much more simply then than now? and the set, they said, was in a warehouse, isolated from most everything else, so they were around only each other for lots of time. anyway it was nice and did not seem fabricated so yes maybe there was something vivacious - living - about this cast.

and on the subject of clothes and hairstyles, Jason Priestley was teased and joking about the mullet Brandon had at the beginning of show, and he said "It was the 80s! I mean, it was 1990, but it was the 80s."

and 29July08 again about decades in definition:
What's Alan Watching?: Mad Men, "For Those Who Think Young": Get off my lawn!:
I love the use of "Let's Twist Again" for the opening montage, not just because it evokes Peggy dancing for Pete to the original "Let's Do the Twist" in season one's "The Hobo Code," or because the "like we did last summer" is a meta comment about how much we all enjoyed season one, but because it's a reminder that 1962 is still just as much a part of the '50s as it is the '60s.