Beverly Hills, 90210

Brandon and Steve are on a summer road trip across the country when run into a bit of trouble when their car breaks down in a small racist town in rural Texas, called Hadley. Steve decides to head out via the airlines, and leaves Brandon to fend for himself in a not-so-friendly environment when redneck locals harass him after he befriends a young black woman, named Mariah. Back in Beverly Hills, Donna works with David on a video shoot, and the singer isn't the only one that is hard to deal with. Meanwhile, Valerie meets with Kenny Bannerman, a local businessman and one of Jim Walsh's former coworkers, whom she hires to help revamp business for the Peach Pit After Dark. Also, Clare and Steve attempt to meet with each other after spending their summer away, unaware that they are at the same airport at LAX waiting for the other.

The Beverly Hills Beach Club holds its annual reunion. Steve reminisces about his relationship with Kelly, as he lost his virginity to her on the beach in 9th grade. Clare is disturbed to learn of the couple's history, and comments on the "incestuous" nature of the group. Steve confesses that he helped spread rumors about Kelly after their break-up, causing her to gain a reputation as a slut. Kelly is hurt, but eventually decides to forgive him. Meanwhile, Steve's annoying stepbrothers, Ryan and Austin, return and learn another hard lesson in finding girls. Ryan blows a chance at a date when Austin convinces him to spy on the girl as she undresses. Steve gives the boys a lecture about treating women with respect. David continues to dump all over Donna for quitting the music video business. He harasses her when she talks and dances with another guy, and they decide to break up. Kelly goes to work at an AIDS hospice to complete her summer school credits. Mark Reese, the general manager of the campus television station, recruits Brandon and flirts with Kelly. Also Valerie starts a casual romance with Kenny, who is married but supposedly separated.

Joan's daughter Lily comes to town to serve as maid of honor, and seduces best man Brandon. Nat, Brandon and Steve discover that Lily is an exotic dancer. Nat and Joan's wedding comes to a halt when she goes into labor. She refuses to have the baby until she is a married woman, so they tie the knot in the hospital hallway. Joan gives birth to a son, Frankie. Clare insists that she will never get married, as she couldn't bear to walk down the aisle without her mother. Touched by Joan and Nat's romance, she decides to be more receptive to the idea of marriage. Meanwhile, Kelly befriends Jimmy, a young gay man and hospice resident with an upbeat attitude. David moves into Mark's luxurious home. He tries to get another video contract after being dropped by MZA, and refuses to help Donna film the wedding. Also, Valerie sees Kenny having lunch with his wife and son and rightfully suspects that he has lied about his marital status.

Kelly helps Jimmy treat a bleeding cut, and panics after getting some of the blood on her hand. The doctor assures her that she cannot contract HIV this way, but she decides to take an AIDS test because of her long history of unprotected sex. The test is negative, and Kelly apologizes for shunning Jimmy. The gang watches Jimmy perform a magic show; later that evening, he tells Kelly that he has just a few days to live. Meanwhile, David refuses to tell his father that he has dropped out of school, so Donna breaks the news to Mel. Mel issues David an ultimatum: he must finish college or lose all financial support. Brandon and Mark hire a confident young woman, named Tracy Gaylian, as their news anchor. She suffers a panic attack just before the first broadcast. Mark and Brandon try to calm her with a drink, and she ends up getting plastered. Also, Kenny declares his love for Valerie and does not want their secret romance to end.

Kelly and David take Jimmy to synagogue to celebrate the Jewish New Year. Jimmy becomes very ill the next day and thanks Kelly for her friendship and then dies. Donna gives a shy basketball player, named Dani, a makeover to help her get into the Alpha house. She is accepted, but decides to pledge a sorority that is not so elitist. Donna resigns as rush chairperson to protest the behavior of Alpha president Ellen. Steve leads a group of KEG pledges in a Spirit Day prank by streaking; they run through Chancellor Arnold's speech wearing nothing but shaving cream, only to have the sprinklers come on. The dean becomes furious when the incident is replayed on the CU News, as she considers it sexual harassment. Chancellor Arnold, with Mark's cooperation, orders Brandon to turn over the tape so that he can identify the offenders. He reluctantly gives the chancellor the tape, which is mysteriously blank. Tracy reveals that she erased the video with a magnet out of loyalty to Steve and Brandon. Elsewhere, Kenny rents a love nest for his liaisons with Valerie, then stands her up for a family outing. Brandon becomes suspicious of the duo's relationship.

David and Mark throw a big party at their Hollywood Hills house. Clare catches Steve kissing another girl and dumps him; she is tired of constantly fighting and listening to Steve's apologies. A fire sweeps through the hills and threatens the house. Kelly experiences flashbacks about being burned (back in Season 5), but decides to stay and help everyone protect the house. The house is spared because of a shift in the winds. David drinks too much and spends the whole day throwing up. Donna slips and injures her knee while trying to save a baby deer. The firefighters (including hunky Cliff Yeager) rescue Donna and the deer. Kelly accepts a date from the persistent Mark. Valerie comes clean with Brandon about her affair with Kenny; he warns her to break things off, but naturally Valerie will not listen to him. Kenny and his wife finally agree to seek a divorce. Kenny tells Valarie that he cannot see her for the time being because he does not want to give ammunition to his wife's attorney. At the end, Valerie storms into Kenny's office and announces that she is pregnant.

On Halloween, Kenny orders Valerie to terminate her pregnancy. He agrees to pay her $100,000 to have an abortion. When he skips a meeting where he was to make the payment, she delivers diapers to his befuddled wife. Kenny angrily writes Valerie the check. Firefighter Cliff helps out with the Alphas' haunted house, where he encourages a young boy to overcome his fears. Cliff later has a date with Donna at the After Dark. Steve is miffed when Clare chooses to go to the Halloween concert with egotistical Dick Harrison, a Phi Beta Kappa member. He uses an escort service in the hopes of making Clare jealous, but she learns that Steve paid the woman and mistakenly assumes that she is a hooker. Steve turns down Clare's proposal of an open relationship. Meanwhile, Brandon and Tracy spend time together at the club, although he does not wish to pursue another workplace romance. He gives her a ride home and kisses her. Also, David refuses to spend the weekend at his grandparents' house in Palm Springs. At the end, David's father, Mel, calls him to deliver the bad news that his grandfather died of a heart attack.

Steve overhears Valarie discussing her pregnancy on the phone. She begs him to keep her secret, but he shares the news with Kelly. Kelly gives Valerie her full support and offers to drive her to the clinic. Val turns her down, claiming that Kenny will be by her side. Kelly runs into Kenny at a restaurant, and Valerie's conflicting story prompt Kelly and Steve to suspect that she was never pregnant. David's grandfather leaves him $250,000 and a 1961 Thunderbird. Mel believes that David should keep the money in a trust fund, and threatens to contest the will. Mel later backs off, although he and David's mother, Sheila, express concern about David's increased drinking. Steve learns that Clare and Dick are participating in a rowboat crew. He begins rowing with a group of his frat brothers, and responds to Dick's taunts by challenging his squad to a race. Donna and Cliff become closer. During a day of hiking, he reveals that he is leaving for an out-of-state job. An uncomfortable Tracy decides to quit her TV job after Brandon nixes a relationship. She changes her mind because she is having a good time at the station.

Kelly takes great delight in telling Brandon about Valerie's pregnancy and abortion, and also shares her doubts about Val's story. Brandon goes to see Kenny, who portrays himself as an innocent victim caught in the web of an evil vixen. He tells Brandon that he paid Valerie $100,000 to stay away. Brandon threatens to throw Valerie out of his house unless she gives the money back. Valerie plans to move out, but returns the money following a talk with Tracy. She confesses to Brandon that she was never pregnant, and insists that she cannot live up to his moral expectations. Mel, worried by David's newfound wealth, asks Donna to keep an eye on him. David goes on a wild spending spree, and later shows up at Donna's apartment in the middle of the night after swimming in the ocean. David offers to help out the financially strapped Valerie by purchasing half of the club. They celebrate their deal by making out. Also, Steve impresses Clare with his dedication as he trains for the crew race. His team barely loses, but Clare decides that she wants him back. Kelly comes clean with Mark about her past drug problem.

David takes Valerie, Steve and Clare to Las Vegas for the weekend. He frightens them with his reckless driving. They see Ray perform in concert, and he comments on David's frenzied behavior. David gets drunk and suffers heavy gambling losses. He invites two young women on the street to join him at another casino. The women take David to their motel, where they drug him and steal his money, credit cards, jewelry and clothes. Ray calls Donna and advises her to fly in from Los Angeles. She yells at her friends for not babysitting David, then comforts him. Meanwhile, Brandon meets a troubled woman, named Melanie, at the Peach Pit; she was robbed just after arriving in town, and cannot get in touch with her fiance. Brandon provides her with refuge, and helps her pick up the pieces when she learns that her fiance has met someone else. Also, Steve steals a term paper from Brandon and turns it in as an independent study project. Mark agrees to be patient with Kelly, who is not ready for an intimate relationship.

During an argument with Donna in the student union, David throws a tantrum and cuts his hand on a glass. He must see a psychiatrist after displaying hostile behavior toward the ER staff. Mel agrees with the doctor's recommendation that David be held 72 hours for observation. David is diagnosed with a mild form of manic depression. His mother, Sheila, comes to see him and advises him to moderate his behavior; he will not require medication if he seeks therapy and stops drinking. David thanks Donna for her support, and they decide to get back together. Meanwhile, Steve faces plagiarism charges. Professor Randall, who assumed control of the independent study course after returning to C.U., recognized Brandon's writing. Randall still holds a vendetta against Brandon over his past tryst with his wife Lucinda, and brings collusion charges against him. Kelly's and Mark's plans for a romantic weekend getaway are foiled by a lost reservation. They finally secure a motel room, only to come down with food poisoning. The gang helps Willie build a house, which his family will receive from Habitat for Humanity. Valarie displays construction skills as a result of working with her contractor father, but hints to Clare that she has few happy memories of her dad. At the end, everyone eats Thanksgiving dinner inside the unfinished house.

Steve elects to plead guilty, leaving his punishment to the lenient Chancellor Arnold. Brandon refuses to plead guilty to a crime he did not commit, and faces a hearing and possible expulsion. Randall tries to prove that Brandon knew the contents of Steve's paper by pointing out that he handed it to Muntz for delivery. He also claims that Brandon let Steve cheat off his quizzes in freshman sociology. Steve digs through the fraternity files and proves that he flunked every sociology quiz. Brandon is cleared, and Professor Randall faces charges for forging his grade ledger and lying at the hearing. Meanwhile, Kelly throws a surprise birthday party for Mark, although he would rather be left alone. He hates the party even more when everyone ignores him and flocks to Brandon. Also, Felice objects to Donna's renewed relationship with David, which she considers unhealthy. Dr. Martin advises Donna to follow her heart. Donna tries to stop David from buying into the Peach Pit After Dark.

David seeks his father's help in winning over Felice. Mel and Jackie invite David, Donna and her parents over for dinner. Felice naturally makes catty and snide remarks about the pre-prom incident from four years earlier, the fact that Jackie and Mel are not married, and David's mental problems. A furious Donna refuses to come to her parents' house for Christmas. Felice apologizes to David and asks him to arrange a truce. Kelly's father fails to show for dinner, but a young woman arrives in his place. She stuns Kelly by revealing that she is her half-sister, Joy Taylor. Kelly is angry to learn that her mother hid the truth, and she and Joy become friends as they compare notes about their absentee father. Meanwhile, Chancellor Arnold immediately hits it off with Samantha at his Christmas party, making both Steve and Clare uncomfortable. The gang picks names from a hat to decide who will exchange gifts. Brandon and Tracy struggle with their gift selections, as neither wants to send the wrong message. While shopping for Kelly's present, Valerie gets some help from a kindly woman collecting donations at the mall. Val and Kelly wind up exchanging identical journals.

Brandon and Mark vie for the prestigious Dryer scholarship. Mark appeases Kelly by providing Brandon with tips, although he believes that he is a shoo-in because of his wealth and connections. Brandon wins one of the two scholarships, while Mark gets nothing. Mark does not handle the news well. He skips a party for Brandon, then confronts Kelly in the Peach Pit parking lot. He orders her to stay away until she is willing to sleep with him, so she dumps him. Meanwhile, Clare gets Steve an interview at the C.U. job fair, but his interviewer propositions him. Clare suspects that Steve invented the story to hide the fact that he blew the interview. The woman again comes on to Steve, unaware that her boss and Clare are listening nearby. Donna fills in for her father's ailing receptionist. Dr. Martin criticizes Donna for humoring talkative patients, but her listening skills later head off a potential disaster. Tom Miller, Valerie's old boyfriend from Buffalo, comes to town. Valerie offers him a job managing the club, despite David's objections. While watching her prom video, Val becomes unnerved by footage of her late father.

Donna joins the C.U. News as a weather forecaster, incorporating fashion tips into her reports. She begins receiving anonymous, menacing phone calls. Meanwhile, Clare sets up Kelly on a blind date with a guy who turns out to be a pompous windbag. Donna then tries to convince Kelly to go out with Evan Potter, a nice guy who operates the camera for the C.U. News. Kelly reluctantly agrees to a double date. Evan comforts Donna when her stalker leaves a threatening message on a videotape. While working late-night security detail as part of his probation, Steve has a run-in with the "Phantom of C.U.," a homeless man who lives on campus and plays pranks on security guards. Steve catches the guy in the act and learns that he is C.U. senior Larry Lincoln. Larry lives in the basement of a school building and eats from the garbage because he cannot afford food or housing. Steve doesn't turn him in, and gives him money to get an apartment for the rest of the year. Val tells Tom that she is only interested in a casual relationship. David refuses to believe that Tom can secure pop singer Donna Lewis (an old friend) for a concert. When the event proves to be a success, David thanks Tom by inviting him to stay at Mark's old house.

David and Tom team up to produce a Super Bowl party at the After Dark, much to Valerie's annoyance. Donna believes she has solved the mystery of her stalker's identity when she sees Garrett Slan, the man who tried to rape her, at the university. Donna's friends insist that she is mistaken, as Slan is in prison. Donna is cheered by a girls' night out with Kelly and Clare, until someone tries to run over her outside the After Dark. While sorting through her parents' unopened mail, Donna finds a notice that Slan has been recently released from prison. Meanwhile, Brandon and Tracy spend the weekend at her family's ranch near Bakersfield. Tracy is distracted by her horse, which has taken ill; and the presence of Sam, an ex-boyfriend who once asked her to marry him. Tracy rejects Sam's advances and has sex with Brandon in the barn. Back in Beverly Hills, Steve and Dick team up to market T-shirts for sale at the After Dark's Super Bowl party. Steve puts his sewing skills to use after he mistakenly orders shirts adorned with a picture of a soccer ball.

Donna's request for a permanent restraining order against Slan is denied. He shows up in a classroom and tries to tell her something, but she runs out. David and Tom confront Slan, who claims that he was trying to warn Donna about her stalker. Donna discovers that someone has left a dead rat in her bedroom. Slan finally picks a fight with David at the Peach Pit After Dark so that the restraining order will be granted. He leaves town, but Donna receives more threatening phone calls... revealing that he was telling the truth about not being Donna's stalker. Meanwhile, Kelly sets her sights on Tom. Valerie believes that Kelly is dating Tom just to hurt her. Tracy accidentally tells Brandon that she loves him; a fact that he does not reciprocate. Brandon and Tom participate in a charity hockey game with NHL players. The jealous Brandon takes a cheap shot at Tom after watching Kelly kiss him before the game. Also, Steve and Clare consider living together as they spend a weekend housesitting. Elsewhere, David takes an interest in a young singer, named Chloe Davis.

Rusty, a technician at the TV station, quits in anger after the police question him about Donna. Evan admits his feelings for Donna and confesses that he is the stalker. When she tells Brandon and Tracy, he pulls a gun and holds the entire staff hostage. He holds Donna at gunpoint and forces Brandon and Tracy to put him on the air. He eventually lets the others leave, but Brandon refuses to leave Donna. Donna tricks Evan into putting his gun down by feigning an interest in him. She kisses him, then kicks the gun away as the SWAT team moves in to arrest him. Meanwhile, Valerie threatens to fire Tom unless he stops seeing Kelly. She apologizes, but he quits anyway. Kelly claims that she is not acting out of spite. Elsewhere, Steve and Clare try to keep their parents from dating during an excursion to San Diego, as they are afraid of being left behind. They finally apologize after realizing how selfishly they have acted. David, oblivious to Donna's situation, grows closer to Chloe Davis.

Donna is still shaken after being held hostage, and Clare and David struggle to bring her out of her funk. She instantly perks up when Cliff makes a surprise visit. She tells him that she has a boyfriend, but David still feels betrayed. Luther Vandross performs at the After Dark for Valentine's Day. Steve infuriates Clare by smoking pot with Dick..Valerie's estranged mother, Abby, comes to town and asks her to approve a second mortgage for the family home, as Val is part-owner. Valerie wants nothing to do with the house and orders her mother to sell it, leaving Abby confused. Valerie is hurt to see Tom with Kelly. Kelly finds her crying in the ladies room. Valerie admits that she needs Tom and pleads for Kelly to set him free if she doesn't really care for him. The guilt-ridden Kelly breaks up with Tom, who later shares a romantic slow dance with Valerie. David reacts angrily when Donna decides to leave after the concert instead of going out with Luther, Chloe and him. Donna runs into Cliff at the Peach Pit and agrees to a date. Later, Tracy finds the engagement ring that Brandon once offered to Kelly and mistakenly assumes that it is for her.

Tracy is in a snit over the fact that Brandon kept the engagement ring. She breaks up with him. Brandon and Kelly each confess their feelings to friends, but expect the other person to make a move. Tracy confronts Kelly, who admits that she still loves Brandon. Kelly tries to stop Brandon from returning the ring. He cannot bring himself to sell it, and runs into Kelly in the street. She believes that he has already sold it and pretends to support this decision. Brandon exchanges the ring to get a bracelet for Tracy, and Kelly buys the ring and sulks. Meanwhile, Valerie tells her mother that her father repeatedly molested her. Abby refuses to accept this and slaps Val. Abby comes to grips with the truth and apologizes for not protecting Valerie. Val asks Tom to leave town, as his presence is a painful reminder of the abuse. Donna is torn between David and Cliff. Chloe makes a pass at David and annoys him with her rude remarks about Donna. Donna tries to reconcile with David, but storms out when Chloe emerges in just a bra. Elsewhere, Steve and Clare go on a double date with Ryan and his girlfriend. Clare pressures Steve to talk to his brother about sex, but Ryan ultimately decides to remain a virgin for the time being.