Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell. The series followed the exploits of several students along with their principal at Bayside High School.

The show stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, and Dennis Haskins, who appeared in Good Morning, Miss Bliss, as well as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez, who joined the cast for Saved by the Bell.^[2] The show brought fame to the cast members and launched most of their careers; however, many were typecast into their Saved by the Bell roles for many years.

The show often incorporated dramatic elements into episodes by dealing with real teen social issues, such as friendship, drug use, driving under the influence, homelessness, financial issues, divorce, graduation, college, sibling rivalry, taking responsibilities for one's actions, bullying, death, and environmental issues. This made it a precursor (with other teen sitcoms of the time like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) for networks of more recent shows such as Beverly Hills, 90210, Dawson's Creek and The O.C. to introduce young target audiences to critical moral matters. Notably, sexual relationships were alluded to but not actually dealt with.

The show's popularity allowed for two spin-off series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years, a prime time series which followed several of the original characters' college experiences, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, a Saturday Morning series which followed a new group of students at Bayside High School.^[3] The series also spawned two TV movies and a short-lived comic book series.

History

Good Morning, Miss Bliss

Saved by the Bell originated in an NBC pilot entitled Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was inspired by then NBC president Brandon Tartikoff's teachers from his past. The show was set in Indianapolis, Indiana. NBC decided not to pick up the pilot, but Disney Channel did and aired the series for one season. Unlike the series that followed, the intention was to focus on the life of the teacher Miss Bliss, played by Hayley Mills, as the main character. The characters of Zack Morris, Samuel "Screech" Powers, Lisa Turtle, and Mr. Richard Belding all originated on the series; other main characters, including other classmates Nikki Coleman (Heather Hopper), Mikey Gonzalez (Max Battimo), and maintenance supervisor Mylo Williams (T. K. Carter) were discontinued when the show changed direction. Jaleel White, Brian Austin Green, and Jonathan Brandis all had roles in the pilot episode.

The show was canceled after 13 episodes and the rights were acquired by NBC, which had reconsidered the matter. Seeing that it had merit, they decided to revamp and recreate the series (their second live-action youth series in a five-year period). Executive Producer Peter Engel wanted the show to be called When the Bell Rings, but Tartikoff convinced him to go with the title Saved by the Bell.^[4]

NBC rebirth – Saved by the Bell

Three of the teens from the original cast – Gosselaar, Diamond, and Voorhies – remained on the show, playing the same characters with only minor changes to their backstories. Haskins also stayed on as Mr. Belding. However, the setting was changed from Indianapolis, Indiana to the fictional Bayside High School in the Palisades in Los Angeles, California. The two students dropped from the original series were replaced by three new additions. Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen) and Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) were introduced as longtime friends of the original three characters and new transfer student A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) rounded out the group. Max (Ed Alonzo), the proprietor of the local restaurant hangout "The Max," was also a cast member in early episodes.

The focus of the show was shifted toward the exploits of the students themselves and Zack Morris became the show's lead character. Several teachers recurred over the course of the series, but Mr. Belding was the only school authority figure ever to be in the main cast.

After the show's second season, NBC sold the series off into syndication with the Good Morning, Miss Bliss episodes included to pad out the syndication package, despite the continuity problems and production changes. The Good Morning, Miss Bliss episodes were edited to include openings to match the Saved by the Bell episodes. These episodes are sometimes billed as Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years. Mark-Paul Gosselaar would do in-character commentaries addressed to viewers before each of the earlier episodes, explaining that the episodes occurred in junior high.

The show performed extremely well for NBC and despite being trashed by TV critics, quickly became the highest rated show on Saturday mornings. At the height of its popularity, the cast of the show did many road tours to malls and other places where they would interact with fans and sign autographs. The show's popularity on Saturday morning is what led NBC to shift from airing cartoons to live action teen-oriented shows (California Dreams, Hang Time, etc.) under the TNBC banner. Each season of the series essentially represented a year of high school for the students, culminating in their graduation.

In the fall of 1991 at the start of the third season, the series was expanded to an hour with all new back-to-back episodes.

In the show's final season, NBC doubled the number of episodes ordered, despite the fact that they would have to re-sign the entire cast to new contracts in order to film them. Thiessen and Berkley refused to sign a new contract for these new episodes, resulting in a block of episodes that feature a new character, Tori Scott (Leanna Creel) in their place.

The final episode of the series aired in prime time on May 22, 1993. The episode, in which the cast graduated from high school, was filmed before Thiessen and Berkley left the show. No mention is made as to what happened to Tori Scott. The series finale was followed by a special airing of the Saved by the Bell: The College Years pilot episode, to set up the next phase of the characters' lives.

Saved by the Bell also aired in Australia on Channel Seven and from 1990 until 2004 on Nickelodeon.

Today, reruns air weekday mornings on TBS, as well as in local syndication, either once or twice a week depending on market.

Characters

Main characters

Zachary "Zack" Morris

Zack, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, is often referred to as "Preppy" by his friend AC Slater.^[5] He is a charming schemer who often breaks the fourth wall by addressing the audience, sometimes temporarily freezing all of the characters around him in the process by calling, "Time out!". Zack's schemes, though amusing, often backfire, resulting in unexpected outcomes.

Zack's best friends since grade school have been Lisa Turtle and next-door neighbor Jessie Spano; Samuel "Screech" Powers has also been tagging along with Zack since they were little.

Zack was also constantly pining for Kelly, coming up with new ways to try to win her over in many episodes and often battling for her affections with his on-again, off-again best friend A.C. Slater. This rivalry ended as the show decided that Zack and Slater were better suited as good friends, not least because of the close friendship between the actors who played them.

Zack's father is a hot-shot computer salesman (with whom his relationship was, for a time, rather distant) who has been played by two different actors. His mother is a kind, but overly permissive homemaker. Upon graduation, Zack was slated to go to Yale, having scored 1502 on the SAT, the highest of the gang (despite his slacker reputation) but he ultimately attended Cal U with Slater, Screech, and Kelly. .

Kelly Kapowski

Played by Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (now known as Tiffani Thiessen), Kelly is a cheerleader and has been described by creator Peter Engel as the quintessential "All-American Girl." She served as a love interest for both Zack and Slater in the first season, but it was Zack who would eventually win her heart and end up marrying her.^[6] Much of the show's storylines revolved around their on-and-off relationship. Considered the most popular girl in school and despite the stereotypes of cheerleaders, Kelly was one of the kindest and most squeaky clean (though she did have to serve a couple of detentions during high school). She was introduced as an outsider to the show's core clique.

At times, Kelly and Jessie had arguments due to their differences. Jessie believed that cheerleading was demeaning to women although she was a cheerleader in several episodes. Zack had been obsessively in love with Kelly for years, as evidenced by a cardboard cutout of her in his bedroom. His pursuit of Kelly led to her eventually joining the gang. She is on the volleyball, cheerleading, and swim teams and is also a trained lifeguard. Upon graduation, she did not have enough money for college so she attended community college, but later transferred to Cal U with Zack, Slater, and Screech. Both Elizabeth Berkley and Thiessen, as well as Jennie Garth, auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski. Thiessen and Garth would later work together on Beverly Hills, 90210 as unfriendly rivals Valerie Malone and Kelly Taylor, respectively (the actresses became best friends in real life).

Lisa Marie Turtle

Played by Lark Voorhies, Lisa is trendy and talkative. She is the clique's fashion expert and the gossip queen of Bayside High. She comes from a wealthy family; her father and mother are surgeons. Originally, her character was written to be white and Jewish; however, Lark aced the audition and they awarded her the role. Because of her upbringing, Lisa always has access to the latest fashions and knows when something is in and when it is not. Like Jessie and Screech, Lisa has been Zack's friend since grade school and some episodes hinted that she harbored a small crush on him. Lisa's goal is to become a world famous fashion designer (Voorhies would later play fashion designer Jasmine Malone on The Bold and the Beautiful). For the majority of the gang's years at Bayside, one of the running gags was Screech's fruitless attempts to woo Lisa. While his romantic feelings for her were never returned and often rejected with insults and jokes, eventually she realized she had developed a soft spot for Screech and even attended the Bayside Senior Prom with him. Upon graduation, she receives acceptance into the Fashion Institute of Technology after a successful fashion show.

Samuel "Screech" Powers

Played by Dustin Diamond, Screech Powers (whose given name is Samuel) is the school nerd who has an undying love for Lisa Turtle. Screech has been tagging along with Zack since they were in elementary school and is extremely loyal to him. In exchange for doing Zack's homework and being roped into Zack's various stunts, Screech receives protection from school bullies and a general boost in his confidence; but Zack's affection for Screech is evident in spite of this. Screech is very comfortable with his geekiness and fancies himself a ladies' man. The rest of the gang simultaneously picks on and humors Screech for his eccentricities (e.g. hiding in his locker, wearing extremely loud and mismatched clothes, and obsessing over science and chess). A recurring storyline in the series is his unrequited love for Lisa Turtle. During the show, Screech had a girlfriend named Violet (played by Tori Spelling); it was never made clear why the two broke up. He also dated Kelly Kapowski briefly in one episode of Season 1 as he helped her study for a science test. In several early episodes of the series, Screech has an anthropomorphized robot named Kevin, which he programmed. Screech was class valedictorian, but gave that title to Jessie as he knew how much it meant to her. However, Jessie learned what Screech had done for her and returned the honor on graduation day. He received acceptance to The Barbizon School of Modeling and Acting, Duke University; Emerson College; Clemson University; University of California, Berkeley; the California Institute of Technology; Emory University; University of Southern California; and Princeton University. He is rejected from an all-women school that was his number one choice. He chose to go to the fictional Cal U after graduation and shared a dormitory suite with Zack, Slater, and Kelly. He also became the only character to appear as a series regular in every incarnation of Saved by the Bell when he joined the cast of The New Class as an aide to Mr. Belding. Diamond was three years younger than most of the cast though his character was the same age as them.

Albert Clifford "A.C." Slater

Played by Mario Lopez, Slater is the token "jock" of the group. An army brat, he was an outsider, having transferred to Bayside in the first filmed episode (which aired later as a flashback). A.C. mentions that he has been to Bolivia, Italy, Iceland, and Berlin among other places. He becomes the school's star athlete, excelling as a wrestler and the quarterback of the football team. He is on the basketball team in one episode, even though the basketball season coincides with the wrestling season. Slater was originally written as Zack's rival for Kelly's affection before becoming Zack's best friend in the show's second season and developing an attraction to strong-willed feminist Jessie Spano. A common theme occurs when Jessie constantly bickers with A.C. over his insensitive remarks, particularly about women.

He refers to Zack as "Preppy" and when he starts dating Jessie, calls her "Mama". Lopez is a drummer and dancer and some episodes include Slater showcasing these "hidden talents." His father (a Major) appears in two episodes, but his mother, though mentioned throughout the series, never appears. He also has a younger sister named JB whom Zack briefly dated, much to Slater's chagrin. In the season 4 episode "Love Machine," his ex-girlfriend from Berlin visits and calls him by his real name, "Albert Clifford", but the meaning of the abbreviation "A.C." periodically served as comedic fodder during the show's run. During an episode in which Zack was dealing with Gem Diamond to purchase class rings, the A.C. was stated as meaning "abnormally cruel." During an episode where the six core characters used fake I.D.'s to get into an "over 18" dance club called "The Attic," the A.C. was stated as meaning "absolutely charmed."

Much like Voorhies, Lopez was able to captivate the show's producers into casting him into a role that was originally written to be Caucasian. This issue of Slater's ethnicity is addressed in an episode from The College Years, where it is revealed that 25 years earlier A.C.'s father changed his last name from Sanchez to Slater so he could get into the military academy. Although the episode reveals that A.C. does not fluently understand Spanish, he is seen speaking broken Spanish to the kitchen staff of the Malibu Sands Beach club. Slater receives a wrestling scholarship to the University of Iowa, but ends up going to Cal U. with Zack, Screech, and Kelly.

Jessica "Jessie" Myrtle Spano

Played by Elizabeth Berkley, Jessica Myrtle ("Jessie") Spano is the show's resident know-it-all crusader. She's often seen pursuing a variety of environmental and generally liberal causes while keeping up her position as class president and one of the smartest students in her class. Like Lisa and Screech, Jessie is Zack's childhood friend (despite the lack of continuity with Good Morning, Miss Bliss). She and Zack live next door to each other and he routinely climbs into her room via a tree outside her window. From the second season onward, her main love interest is A.C. Slater, who disagrees with her feminist views. Jessie's parents are divorced and both are remarried during Season 3. Her mother's remarriage introduces a conniving stepbrother from New York named Eric (played by Joshua Hoffman) in a 2-part episode, although neither her mother nor stepfather are featured.^[7] In another 2-part episode, her father marries a much younger aerobics instructor named Leslie, whom Jessie initially disfavors. Jessie also struggled with drug addiction at one point on the series, taking caffeine pills in order to stay awake for longer study hours. Jessie fully expected to be crowned valedictorian, but finished a fraction of a point behind Screech. The race between the two figured as a significant plot point in the episode, with Screech yielding the honor to Jessie, knowing its significance to her. Jessie, however, finds out about her second-place status and uses the opportunity to highlight the caring relationships between the show's core group of characters. Upon graduation, Jessie attends Columbia University, although she long expressed a desire to attend Stanford University and likewise displayed interest in the fictional Stansbury College, as well as various other elite universities.

Richard Belding

Played by Dennis Haskins, Richard Belding is the principal of Bayside High School and the show's resident authority figure. However, when he attended high school he was an anti-authority hippie whom, in one episode, Jessie described as "The Zack Morris of the 60s". According to an old copy of the school paper, he once mooned the school board. He once mentioned that had he been allowed to return for a fourth tour of duty, "the war would've been won in a week". He's known for his catchphrase "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! What is going on here?" as well as his high-pitched laugh. Belding has frequent run-ins with Zack and his friends as either a foe to be outwitted or a friend to turn to for help. Despite being a responsible authority figure, Mr. Belding is unique as he genuinely seems to care what his students, particularly Zack, think of him. He is married to Rebecca "Becky" Belding (née Flugelman) and has an irresponsible younger brother Rod. Rod Belding appeared in one episode, volunteering to take the class on a rafting trip but backing out at the last minute to go on a date with a stewardess. The resulting argument was overheard by Zack, who had initially liked Rod's lighthearted manner, but came to appreciate Richard's more responsible manner more than before. Belding remained the principal at Bayside (along with Screech as his assistant) until he left to become dean of students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (Haskins' alma mater in real life) in the final episode of Saved by the Bell: The New Class.

Other characters

• Max, played by magician/comedian Ed Alonzo, is the owner of The Max, the favorite hangout of the gang. He acted as a sort of liaison between the adult and kid worlds—serving as both a guide and a friend to the gang. Max is known for his quirky sense of humor and his array of magic tricks. He starred in the first season and appeared only once in the second and then stopped appearing due to The Max being bought by a new owner. Under this new management two new Max employees were introduced: Jeff, who split up Zack and Kelly, and James, the actor. The Max burned down in the New Class episode Fire at The Max.
• Violet Anne Bickerstaff, played by Tori Spelling had a recurring role as Screech's girlfriend during Seasons 2 and 3. She played Violet for only three episodes on the show: episode #21, "House Party", wherein Screech's parents leave for Graceland and the gang accidentally breaks his mother's Elvis statue, episode #34, "Glee Club" and her last episode, #41, "Check Your Mate".
• Tori Scott, played by Leanna Creel, was introduced near the end of the series as the new girl at Bayside High. She is initially portrayed as a "tough girl" who rides a motorcycle to school and is seldom seen without her leather jacket. At first, she is an antagonist to Zack, often getting the better of him, but the two eventually develop romantic interest in each other. Tori only appears in approximately half the episodes of the final season; because Creel was cast after Thiessen and Berkley refused to renew their contracts, the show presented its stories as if Tori, Kelly and Jessie were all at Bayside, and interacted with Zack, Slater, Lisa, Screech and Mr. Belding at completely different times (the three actresses shared a total of zero scenes together).
• Stacey Carosi, played by Leah Remini, was introduced in the Malibu Sands Beach Club episodes where the gang took jobs over the summer (except Lisa, who was a club member). Stacey attends school on the East Coast and the owner of the club is her father, Leon Carosi, played by Ernie Sabella. Stacey is initially disgusted by Zack and refers to him sarcastically as "Dude" and often remarks that his being "Californian" is quite annoying, yet later becomes Zack's love interest. They must hide their affair from Leon, as Zack and Leon are at odds from the beginning of the summer. Their romance ends when Stacey must go back to New York for school and in the final summer episode, even Leon, who finds out about the romance, grows to like Zack.

Spin-offs

The show was popular enough to warrant two spin-offs, both of which premiered in 1993.

Saved by the Bell: The College Years

Saved by the Bell: The College Years continued with several of the characters dealing with college life.

Saved by the Bell: The New Class

Saved by the Bell: The New Class was created to continue the story of Bayside High School in the Saturday morning timeslot after the original cast graduated. The series featured a new set of students anchored by Dennis Haskins and later Dustin Diamond, whose character Screech became Principal Belding's administrative assistant on a work-study program from California University (a reference to Screech's college in The College Years). While Saved by the Bell: The New Class ran for seven seasons, it suffered numerous cast changes (including a second season cast purge that only left Haskins and three other cast members) and never gained the popularity of the original series. The New Class aired from September 11, 1993 to January 8, 2000. Many of the New Class episodes were actually "recycled" plots from the original Saved by the Bell. Slater, Lisa, and Zack had a cameo in one episode in Season 2 while trying to keep Bayside from being bought and destroyed. Mr. Belding was given a new, bigger office. The Max remained as the hangout for the Bayside High students, although a fire burned it down in one episode and it was given a new look.

Syndication

The series is syndicated on individual television stations around the U.S. (depending on the market) and is shown for one hour daily starting at 8:00 a.m. ET/PT on TBS with the College Years episodes airing on Fridays in the same time slot. (moving to Sundays), The series has aired on TBS nonstop since November 2, 1992.^[8] On August 1, 2011, It was announced that the series was originally to be leaving syndication on TBS on September 23, 2011.^[9] But it was announced on August 18, 2011 that the series will be moving to Sundays on TBS.^[10] WGN also aired reruns of the series in the mid-to-late 1990s.

The show premiered on The N with a six-hour marathon on January 14, 2008 to July 14, 2009 starting at 6pm EST. It was normally seen on weekday afternoons. The series returned to the channel on May 9, 2011, under The N's rebranded channel name TeenNick until June 2011.

Reunion

On April 9, 2006, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim announced that Saved by the Bell would air at midnight as a two week special starting April 17. On April 19, 2006, Adult Swim also posted on their website that Saved by the Bell was back in production. A week later, the announcement was exposed as a joke.^[11]

On March 27, 2009, NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon launched a campaign to get the cast to have a Saved by the Bell reunion. Fans can sign the online petition and pledge their support for the cast to reunite on the show. As of now Dennis Haskins, Lark Voorhies, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Mark-Paul Gosselaar have agreed to a reunion.^[12][13] Gosselaar reprised his role as Zack Morris on Late Night on June 8, 2009, while promoting his then current TNT drama, Raising the Bar. The spoof interview closed with a performance of "Friends Forever" originally by Zack Attack, where Zack played guitar and sang with backing from Fallon's house band, The Roots. Tiffani Thiessen posted a parody video to the online website Funny or Die where she said she was just too busy to join in a reunion.^[14]

The cast reunited in August 2009 for a photo shoot in People. Diamond was not invited to participate in the photo shoot because of the bad relationship between himself and the rest of the cast; in fact, Diamond was edited out of the 1989 cast photo that was the cover's inset contrast to how the cast (Diamond excluded) look 20 years later.^[15] In September 2009, Diamond published Behind the Bell, a "dirt-dishing" memoir about his time with the show (ISBN 0-9812396-9-2), and presently, only Dennis Haskins is on speaking terms with Diamond.

Haskins, Diamond, Gosselaar, Voorhies, and Lopez did their own voices in a Saved by the Bell/Saw parody, "Sawed By The Bell", as part of a skit on episode 56 "Boo Cocky" of Season 3, of Robot Chicken, on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

Merchandise

DVD releases

Lionsgate Home Entertainment has released all 5 seasons of Saved by the Bell on DVD in Region 1. Several episodes from the first two seasons are the syndicated versions and not the original broadcast versions. Lionsgate released the two feature-length TV movies on DVD, in Region 1, on August 7, 2007.^[16]

Season 1 was released on DVD in Region 2 by Fabulous Films on March 22, 2010^[17] and in Region 4 by Shock Entertainment on February 10, 2010.^[18]

A three-disc DVD boxset is available on Region 2 with the two feature-length TV movies, as well as the episodes 'Dancing At The Max,' 'Graduation Day,' and 'The College Years: Wedding Plans.' Each disc is also available to buy separately.

To date, there has been no DVD or home video release of Good Morning, Miss Bliss.

Soundtrack

A CD and cassette tape soundtrack was released on April 11, 1995.^[19] It contained songs used throughout the series. The tracklisting is as follows:

1. "Saved by the Bell"
2. "Don't Leave With Your Love"
3. "Go for It!"
4. "Love Me Now"
5. "Make My Day"
6. "Friends Forever"
7. "Did We Ever Have a Chance?"
8. "Deep Within My Heart"
9. "Surfer Dude"
10. "Gone Hawaiian"
11. "School Song"
12. "Saved By The Bell" with Michael Damian

See also

• List of Saved by the Bell episodes
• List of minor characters in Saved by the Bell

References

External links

• Saved by the Bell at the Internet Movie Database
• Saved by the Bell at TV.com
• Saved by the Bell at epguides.com
• Saved by the Bell on TeenNick.com
• Saved by the Bell on TBS.com
• Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) Interview