When the Walsh family moves from Minnesota to Beverly Hills, California they experience a dramatic culture shock when they are exposed to the glamor, wealth, and privilege of their new home town. While parents Jim and Cindy try to become used to their new faster-paced lives, twins Brenda and Brandon learn that the student body at West Beverly High is completely different than the friends they left behind.

Brandon is given an assignment to write about his experience as a transfer student and later helps out a younger student who is being the victim of bullying. When Brandon goes surfing with Dylan, he meets Sara, who he later must save when she is involved in an accident. Meanwhile, Brenda has an argument with her new friends.

When Brenda goes shopping with Kelly and Tiffany, she is shocked to learn Tiffany is a shoplifter, but nonetheless lets Tiffany pressure her into letting her stash her stolen goods at Brenda, 's house. When Brenda and Tiffany are later arrested for stealing, Cindy begins to think that moving to Beverly Hills changed her daughter for the worst. Meanwhile, with some help from Dylan, Brandon is hired at the Peach Pit.

Sheryl, Brandon, 's girlfriend from Minnesota, makes a surprise visit to Beverly Hills and stays with the Walsh family for a few days. However, despite spending the night together for the first time, Sheryl flirts with Dylan which leads to an explosive fight between Brandon and Dylan. Meanwhile, Brenda develops a crush on one of her teachers and offers to babysit for him.

Brandon decides to try out for the basketball team and is asked by Andrea to look into the rumor that the school recruits students from out-of-district schools in order to boost their stats. Meanwhile, Brenda takes driver, 's education, but fails twice and ends up losing Brandon, 's car when trying to pick Kelly up from a bad date.

When Steve gets an A in history , a class that everyone else has a hard time in because of a steep grading curve , Brandon studies with him and learns that Steve has been stealing exams before the test. Meanwhile, Brenda tries to catch Dylan, 's eye by dying her hair blond, but thing do not go as planned.

For the 15th Annual West Beverly High Fashion Show, the gang is in high form. Andrea goes with Cindy and Kelly ends up kissing David after he gives her a tape of the show. There, Brenda meets Kelly, 's mother, who she thinks is the perfect mother, but Kelly becomes upset with her mother after she discovers she did cocaine and drank at the fashion show.

It, 's Jim and Cindy, 's 17th wedding anniversary and things are stirred up when Cindy, 's high school boyfriend, Glen Evans, comes to Beverly Hills to tell her he still has feelings for her, leading them to kiss. When Brandon and Brenda become convinced that Cindy is having an affair, Kelly talks to Brenda about divorce. Meanwhile, David, Steve and Donna try out to be the new school DJ and Brenda and Brandon participate in a twin study.

Dylan talks to Brandon about sex when a 14 year old has a crush on him, but Brandon has a crush on Nina , until he meets her husband. David is crowned the next West Beverly Hill High DJ, much to Steve and Donna, 's chagrin. Brenda, through the new teen help line, helps Bonnie through a rape. Meanwhile, Andrea helps a boy with a problem though the help line and Brenda learns Kelly lost her virginity in the 7th grade.

Brenda comes home to find Dylan in the shower, she catches him in only a towel. As they decide to go out on a date, Jim worries about a possible relationship forming between the two. Meanwhile, Dylan decides to take an AIDS test after the gang attends an AIDS seminar at school.

When Donna, 's parents go to Cabo San Lucas for the week, she throws a party where Kelly and Steve hook up. The next weekend when Jim and Cindy are out of town, Brenda throws a party and the cops end up paying her a visit. After Brandon kisses Andrea and upsets her, he goes driving where he crashes his car and his arrested for drunk driving. Dylan comes to his rescue and brings him to an AA meeting.

Brandon goes on a date with Melissa, a single mother, and he learns the , joys, of parenthood. Meanwhile, Kelly and Brenda enter a radio contest where the prize is a trip where they get to go skydiving.

Brenda invites Kelly, Donna and Andrea over for a slumber party, but when Amanda, Kelly, 's rude friend, shows up, things take a bad turn. Meanwhile, Brandon and Steve go out with two girls who end up stealing Brandon, 's car.

The Walshes let Carla, their maid, 's daughter, use their address so she can attend West Beverly High and Brandon begins to develop a crush on her. Meanwhile, Jim hosts a party for his new client, a sportswear designer; and David tries to get MC Hammer to perform at the school dance.

Brenda plans to spend the weekend with Dylan, but cannot remember the name of his hotel. She loses her wallet and spends the night in a linen closet. She finally makes it to the hotel, only to find Dylan hanging out with another girl. David's grandparents give the teens advice about romance, and help Brenda and Dylan reconcile. Brandon befriends a young customer at the Peach Pit, but later catches him trying to steal cash.

Brandon happens to be rollerblading in the same park that a popular primetime television show is filming an episode. The producers seek him out as an emergency replacement for one of the extras. He hits it off with the star, Lydia Leeds, and is considered for a recurring role. However, Lydia is only using him to make her leading man/boyfriend jealous so that he will end his holdout

Andrea and Kelly have Brandon run for class president. Meanwhile, Brenda moves out of the Walsh home to live with her new friend, Sky, in her small apartment.

Steve and Andrea stress over their upcoming SAT testing and decide to study for the test together, but they don, 't too a whole lot of studying. Brenda, after reading an article about self-exams, finds a lump in her breast and Brandon misses the SAT exam to go with Brenda to learn the results of the biopsy.

Brandon is assigned to write a senior profile for a classmate, Roger Azarian, who is writing a disturbing screenplay. Meanwhile, Donna decides to cut class in order to put forth a , bad girl, persona after learning she did poorly on the SATs; and Brenda and Brandon are upset when they get the same score on the SATs.

Brandon and Steve coach Jim, 's little league team when Jim hurts his back and cannot coach. When Brandon becomes worried about all of the pressure the young boys are under to succeed, Andrea helps Brandon by bringing in a female celebrity to give a motivational speech to the team.

Kelly becomes preoccupied with being named Spring Queen at the upcoming school dance and ends up hurting Steve when she asks Brandon to go with her instead. Steve, upset over not going with Kelly, gets drunk at the dance and lashes out at everyone. Meanwhile, Dylan books a room at the hotel in which the dance is taking place and Brenda decides to join him; and David learns a contest that wins him the first dance with the Spring Queen.

Jim tells Brandon and Brenda that the Walsh family is moving back to Minneapolis after he gets a job offer in their home state. Saddened over the news, Brandon and Brenda think that everyone is ignoring them until they walk in on their surprise going away party.