Melrose Place-Then And Now

The sexiest address in LA returned last night with a revamped version of Melrose Place on The CW. It was scandalous, sultry and even a little sleazy—just like the original show. Things kicked off with Melrose Place’s most famous vixen Sydney Andrews (Laura Leighton) causing drama as the landlord. Within minutes, she’s found floating in a pool of blood in that infamous courtyard pool and a “who killed Syd” plot is born. The main suspect? Well, of course it has to be Dr. Michael Mancini’s estranged son (turns out he just happened to be sleeping with Sydney too).

So who’s living at Melrose Place in 2009?

ELLA (Katie Cassidy)

Reminds us of: Amanda Woodward

Ella is the modern day Amanda Woordward (Heather Locklear). She’s a career driven, ruthless, ball-busting publicist who loves “love but hates monogamy.” She also doesn’t like saving her love just for the guys if you catch our drift. Remember how Amanda would stop at nothing for her career as President of D&D Advertising and to get any guy she lusted after whether they were single or taken?

VIOLET (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz)

Reminds us of: Kimberly Shaw

Violet takes over where crazy Kimberly (Marcia Cross) left off. We don’t much about Violet yet except she’s a good girl with a bad side you can tell is just dying to come out and play. That was pretty much how we met Kimberly—the innocent doctor in love with Dr. Michael Mancini—and before you knew it she back from the dead and blowing up the building.

AUGGIE (Colin Egglesfield)

Reminds us of: Jake Hanson

Auggie’s a brooding, hot chef that tends to keep to himself and drive the girls crazy. We don’t learn that much about him in the first episode but it’s clear that he’s the new Jake (Grant Show). Jake was the strong, silent type—and while he wasn’t a chef, he did own the local bar Shooters. The new gang, by the way, now hangs at a much sleeker bar—nothing like the divey, pool hall.

Jonah (Michael Rady)

Reminds us of: Billy Campbell

Jonah’s a struggling filmmaker and newly engaged to Riley), his girlfriend of five years. When he accidentally films a top director cheating on his wife—he’s offered six figures to make a movie—and keep his mouth shut. He then has to decide between his dream and his morals. Sounds a lot like a Billy (Andrew Shue)—remember he too had dreams of making it big as a writer and they finally came true when Amanda gave him his big break at D&D Advertising (they started sleeping together too . . . and there was that pregnancy scare . . . and well, his career never really took off as planned).

Riley (Jessica Lucas)

Reminds us of: Alison Parker

Riley’s just your average schoolteacher. She would never hurt a fly and lives a very boring, normal life. She’s newly engaged to Jonah and life is great. Well, not so fast Riley—there’s a lot you can learn from Alison Parker (Courtney Thorne-Smith). She too was just your run of the mill receptionist until she started dating her adorable roommate Billy . . . but then Amanda came along and rocked their world. All we know is that Ella wasn’t too happy to hear Jonah was engaged so Riley may want to watch her back. History does repeat itself!

Lauren (Stephanie Jacobson)

Reminds us of: Megan Lewis

Lauren’s a med student who can’t afford to pay her student loans and risks having to drop out if she can’t come up with the cash fast. So, she accepts an offer to sleep with the son of one of her patients for $5000. Hey, you can’t blame her—a girl’s gotta make a living—much like Megan (Kelly Rutherford). Remember her? Even though she didn’t show up until season five of the original series—she was a prostitute who meant well (except for the fact that she chose to sleep with Michael).

David (Shaun Sipos)

Reminds us of: Michael Mancini

Well, come on—the apple can’t fall that far from the tree! He’s the son of the evil Dr. Michael Mancini. He was accused of murdering Sydney. Hell, he was sleeping with Sydney too—his dad’s ex-wife! Doesn’t that sound like something Michael would do? After all, Sydney is the sister of his first wife Jane (Josie Bissett).