How L.a. Captured Prime Time . . . and Turned It into a Platform For

At the age of 18, Darren Star surprised his large, tight-knit family in suburban Potomac, Md., by moving to far-out Los Angeles. Within a few years, he wrote and sold the script for Doin' Time on Planet Earth, a film about a teenager who thinks he's from outer space. After that, Star never looked back. Today, at 30, he draws a six-figure income as the creator of Beverly Hills, 90210, the Thursday-night melodrama that has captured the teen audience by portraying youthful angst and L.A. glitz. Star owns a house in the Hollywood Hills, drives a Porsche convertible, lifts weights and...