Certainly, it must come as a relief to the programming whizzes at the CW that the much-anticipated premiere of "90120" was not trashed by critics, who were mightily irked that the network had refused to release screeners ahead of last night.

But that's not what's on the minds of those whizzes this morning.

The bigger issue is whether "90120" will become the hit the network so desperately needs. And after last night's premiere that's hardly assured.

While critics were largely kind to the spinoff of the '90s Fox hit "Beverly Hills, 90210," the overall reception was at best lukewarm, as a faithful if uninspired rendering of the old.

The CW has gotten great buzz, if not so buzzy ratings, for its "Gossip Girl," and there was certainly much buzz over "90210" in the months leading up to last night.

But the latter show simply lacks the edginess of "Gossip." It's a lot more like real high school, once you get past the fancy cars and Hollywood good looks, than what goes on in "Gossip's" imagined New York, which reeks of all things adult and forbidden.

In its first iteration, what made "90210" work as a teen drama was not the writing or acting but the issues the series tackled, all then relevant to teens of that era.

But this is a very different time, and those topics are now the property of the teen-skewing shows on ABC Family and other cable networks. "90210" would have a real struggle on its hands claiming them. "90210" will have to carve out a new reason for being.

It could well pull it off. Critics are quick to note that the original was panned by critics and got off to a slow start.

Here are some of the comments from critics this morning.

From Verne Gay, writing in Newsday:

"'90210' is a perfectly competent and reasonably seamless revival that understands what made the original tick (and tick and tick), while being infused (occasionally suffused) with enough contemporary touchstones to remind new viewers that this isn’t their parents’ (or at least older siblings’) trusty fave… '90210' is not a disaster, and the CW can now officially let out a deep sigh … of relief.”

From Alan Sepinwall, writing in the Newark Star-Ledger:

"Neither trainwreck nor masterpiece, the new '90210' was exactly what nobody expected it would be: remarkably faithful in tone and spirit to the original adventures of Brandon, Brenda, Scott Scanlon and company. Outside of the oral sex gag in Ethan's SUV, it was remarkably chaste. The one kid who seems to be using drugs is heading for a Very Important Lesson."

From Joe Adalian, writing in Television Week:

"Given the train wreck/stink bomb/disaster of epic, 'Seaquest' proportions some were predicting, that could be enough to allow '90210' to emerge with post-premiere hype as loud and excited as the pre-show build-up.

"'90210' isn't just a winner compared to expectations. My take? It's pretty decent television. Not Emmy-winning material, of course. And not breakthrough pop culture classic, like the CW's own "Gossip Girl." But as a building block for the CW's ratings-challenged schedule, '90210' looks like a good fit."

From Ray Richmond, writing in the Hollywood Reporter:

"Let's face it, we weren't expecting something that might compare favorably to Shakespeare. With the diminished expectations because of Screenergate, some will be surprised that the cast is even able to make it through the script without succumbing to chronic hyperventilation. So based on that measure, '90210' knocks it out of the park."

From Hal Boedeker, writing in the Orlando Sentinel:

"Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth generated a lot of buzz by reuniting in the spinoff of 'Beverly Hills, 90210.' But their scenes in the Tuesday premiere of '90210' were flimsy and forgettable. You know the routine: a lot of promotional heat precedes a tepid program ... Everything seemed more extravagant and less believable the second time around ... I'd give it about a year."

From Mark A. Perigard, writing in the Boston Herald:

"The producers went to the trouble of bringing back original stars Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty and stranded them with little to do. Their reunion scene frosted up the screen, a product of the actresses’ stormy off-screen relationship. Of all the alleged teens, Wilds and Grimes share the most chemistry, which must be driving the producers crazy, since the two play adopted siblings."