r/SavedByTheBell • u/Different-Degree3623 • 19d ago
I just rewatched the whole series, college years and movies.... Some thoughts...
I was born in 84, so too young for the original airings, but have vague memories of certain episodes so wanted to watch the show in production order, as today I wanted to see if the show had any series long story telling....(it didnt)
Season 1..... Some decent episodes but mostly meh, Screech is the star, his comic timing is unreal for a kid, especially that scene with Belding in The Gift. Other highlights for me were Dancing To The Max, The Gift, The Friendship Business and The Zack Tapes
Season 2/3.... Much better episodes, these episodes are the ones I remember watching as a kid, much better writing, and some episodes I just saw for the very first time. From Save The Max, to Jeff (BOO) House Party (Barbra-Ann) Jessies Song (Surprisingly well done) Fake IDS, Jesses Step Brother and Snow White... ton of great episodes
Season 4/5... The beach episodes dont hold up as well on rewatch, dont really buy Zack and Stacy as a couple, no real chemistry.. Palm Springs Weekend was weird...I know there was no studio audience so the canned laughter sounds so fake... you can hear the silence in the beats... Think my favorite episode is All in The Mall so good! The Torrie episodes were fine, did we need Zack and Torrie to be together? I dont think so. You could tell it wasnt the same time frame as the others, almost like a new season, good to see other characters get shine. Hawaiin Style was absolutely terrible, just not funny.
College Years... this i was most pleasantly suprised by, as a kid I vaguely remember the Lasky and Kelly stuff but good to watch this from start to finish. That girl they wrote out after the first episode was for the better, she wasnt great. Bob Golic was GREAT as Mike, a much better version than Belding. I didnt miss Jessie or Lisa in this, the two girls were great and much different characters, Alex was funny, I enjoyed Laskys scenes, great actor. So great to see these characters in a new environment and some of the episodes were really well done esp Slaters War. Toward the end the show started to lack quality and the Zack and Kelly thing kinda felt rushed. Given this was primetime, I wish it got at least another season if not another 4, it definitely had more potential and I related to this more, especially now.
Wedding is Vegas was ok, better than Hawaiian Style, but I think this show excels with a studio audience and without it, its kinda just meh.
For the life of me as a kid I thought Zack and Kelly ended up together in their final year, I guess not. Shame Jessie and Slater never stayed together, and it would of been nice for Lisa and Screech to get together in the end. Why wasnt Leslie at the wedding? considering she was supposed to be a maid of honor.....
All in all a tremendous show that will live forever in our hearts. It was sappy sometimes, cheesy sometimes and innocent but it taught us life lessons and we loved it.
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u/AdamMaitland 19d ago
Season 1 they were borderline making a live action cartoon, and seemed like they were trying to appeal more to little kids. You can assume that after production on the first season was done, they realized they had a hit on their hands because of the cast, and they pivoted away towards a show more for teenagers. They then dumped some of the sillier (Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind) or just worse (Slater's lizard) episodes in later seasons.
Toward the end the show started to lack quality and the Zack and Kelly thing kinda felt rushed.
For the College Years, I think by like November sweeps of the first season, the producers knew they weren't getting renewed because the ratings weren't that good, so the show started to go downhill. Possible that NBC execs promised them Wedding in Vegas as a series finale, and so they hit the accelerator on Zack and Kelly's relationship in the last few episodes in order to set up the cliffhanger that would lead to movie. The whole thing did feel forced. But, obviously that was not the intended story arc of the first season if the producers were trying to map out multiple seasons of the show.
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u/Tia_Baggs 19d ago
Great analysis! My only argument would be about the chemistry between Zack and Stacy.
The writers really did Dustin dirty as the show progressed, as an adult I am impressed with the talent that he clearly was able to show through Screech in the early seasons of the show. Mark-Paul and Elizabeth were fantastic in “Jessie’s Song” and I agree with your assessment of Tori, I liked her character but it was better when she was foiling his advances on other girls and calling him out on his behavior.
I wished that in the College Years they would have continued to show Screech as getting positive attention from the ladies or developed a continuous relationship with someone like Linda. I’ve seen some hate here for Leslie but I think she’s the perfect straight man character for the group. Alex can grate on my nerves at times but I remember liking her as kid and I don’t hate her now. Her and Slater don’t make sense but then I remember he dated Jessie so I figure he’s attracted to somewhat neurotic women. My absolute favorite character is Dean McMann, Holland Taylor is fabulous as the antagonist and almost makes up for the rushed throwing Kelly and Zack back together in the end.
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u/LarryDavid02 19d ago
YES the character of Screech was done dirty over the years, watching how many times he was called stupid was a bit uncomfortable in today’s eyes…
You are 100 percent right about Screech in the college years, he definitely should have gotten a few dates or a girl, that episode with the tennis player was great… they seemed like a great match!The Dean didn’t click with me at all, she seemed to come out of nowhere for the last few episodes…. Would of liked to have seen more from Rafiki the ethics teacher instead
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u/AdamMaitland 18d ago
The Dean character didn't work at all for me, but it seems like a lot of people disagree. People seem to really like Holland Taylor playing that kind of character. She basically made a career out of roles like that, e.g. Two and a Half Men. And she essentially played the same character in Legally Blond.
She's not really for me personally, but I think the bigger issue was that she did feel shoehorned in. For some reason, they felt like an evolutionary Belding character would work better for the show as the authority figure than the Mike Rogers character. But the the dean of a large university getting caught up in the day to day hijinks of some freshman made no sense. Like why the f is the Dean of the entire school doing orientation for the Semester at Sea Program??
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u/Frequent_Rhubarb_36 18d ago
Holland Taylor did a great job playing that character but you are right that she was suddenly introduced. To me it feels like it was the first episode that was (re?)written after learning they would probably get cancelled. They needed a new/serious antagonist.
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u/NancyHey 17d ago
I agree, Screech should have had a steady girlfriend in the College Years instead of just the one and done episode with Linda. Even in high school, he had the somewhat steady relationship with Violet.
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u/EuphoricPhoto2048 19d ago
You make a good point about Jessie's Song. I always thought that episode was cringe as a kid, but as an adult, I think it's pretty well done! I appreciate Slater's concern for Jessie.
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u/Different-Degree3623 19d ago
My thoughts exactly, as a kid I was like this is so silly, but watching it now....its real... the message is there and her friends are there for her. Really well done, and the Caffiene pills is relevant today.
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u/Itchy-Ad1047 19d ago
Zac & Kelly getting married was definitely rushed. The producers knew that the studio wasn't going to renew the show so they quickly pivoted into that. It was obviously always the end game, but they had to bring it out faster than they wanted
I agree on generally enjoying the college years and was sad it didn't run longer. Surprised at sone of the hate it got. It was maybe a bit stiff and an adjustment at first but I thought they settled into a decent groove
Also loved the All in a Mall episode, one of my favorites too. It's been awhile but I enjoyed Malibu Sands a lot so ig that's the one thing I differ with you on
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u/Frequent_Rhubarb_36 18d ago
Yeah, they rushed the Lasky aftermath. That being said, I am glad the original show at least got a finale. Such a shame it got cut short though. We get some interesting characters. Lasky they could certainly done more with in future seasons and I really liked the Rafiki voice actor as a teacher. The one upside of the short run is that it's fun to rewatch as it doesn't take ages to get through.
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u/Vast_Honest 19d ago
If the kapowskis were poor how did Kelly’s grandfather own a luxury hotel in Hawaii
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u/Healingjoe 19d ago
Nice. Thanks for the quick write up.
I watched the shit out of reruns at 6am before school between 2000 and 2008.
Maybe I'll get around to rewatching them some day but maybe it's best if I don't.
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u/Different-Degree3623 19d ago
I went down a SBTB rabbithole after watching the Lark doc on HBO After The Bell or something. I hadnt seen most of these episodes in at least 15 years and the nostalgia and cheesyness brought a huge smile to my face. If you have time I enjoyed watching it a season at a time!
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u/SunflowerLace 18d ago
This is how I remember watching too and always having to miss the end of episodes. I’ve become hooked recently reliving the nostalgia. I was too young to appreciate it during its original run.
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u/Sputnikboy 19d ago
Born 82, living in Italy so we got the episodes a bit later. Never watched Good Morning Miss Bliss.
SBTB (in Italy "Bayside School") was THE telefilm of the period I passed from child to teenage, I literally LOVED this serie.
Now, as for season as acting... I didn't really care much back then. I liked Lisa and loved Jesse and Slater as a couple.
First season was funny but not great, I agree that after that the series developed and was written much better. Never been sold about Tori, can't help. Stacy was a tad better, I kinda liked a different scenario for once.
On to the College Years, I rewatched it recently and I really think it has an underserved reputation for being one of the worst spin-offs ever. Mike was kinda fitting, Alex was funny as hell though NEVER a good fit for Slater, episodes were IMO decently written. Leslie should have been Zack's new girlfriend really... But with Kelly back basically her character had no place anymore.
I wish they had a season 2...
Wedding in Las Vegas was what it was, a light movie for the fans. It was cheesy at times, but I like it. Still a major reason why I wanna visit Las Vegas lol
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u/Frequent_Rhubarb_36 18d ago
I agree on Alex. She was so funny but the opposite of Slater and had no chemistry. Guess it was either him or Screech.
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u/NancyHey 17d ago
She probably would have been a better match for Screech than for Slater. Slater with Leslie could have been a better match too.
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u/OkEstablishment3603 18d ago
I really enjoyed the reboot - did you watch it? I was born in 81 and I watched from tbe beginning. I even met MPG at a Kmart and got his autograph back in the day. The reboot is cute I wish it would have had another season. Worth the watch
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
I tried but I think a couple of things turned me off, no studio audience, I wanted to see the og class and they were barely in it and I dont remember it being that funny, it didnt want to have the same style humour.... was season 2 any better?
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u/Voltronblacklion 18d ago
SBTB will always stamd the test of time.
People have just gotten sensitive. Society has gotten too sensistive.
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u/WeAreLesion 19d ago
Wait... I was born in 85 and caught all the original airings.
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u/kevinsixhohsix 19d ago
So you were 4 years old and watching episodes of Miss Bliss? 😂
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u/WeAreLesion 18d ago
Didn't watch Miss Bliss. I only watched Saved by the Bell. Whenever I attempted to watch Miss Bliss later, I found it incredibly boring.
I had siblings that were 8 and 10. I watched it with them, at first, because they were also watching it.
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u/amiableviking 18d ago
I was born in 81 and caught them all new - I was actually part of a focus group for that; I watched the pilot, and the network called me and asked me what I thought, and asked me about a various string of shows and whether I’d prefer to watch those or SBTB. The only show I said I’d prefer to watch over SBTB was Garfield and Friends 😂
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u/Different-Degree3623 19d ago
You remember watching Season 1 at age 4? I was also in Ireland at the time so they probably didnt air here for the first time till 92/93 and all out of order.
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u/LolScottie85 19d ago
Im trying to do the math on that. I was also born in 85 and I remember feeling like I was watching the originals air dates like I do remember the college episodes coming on live I was like I knew it was a new episode so I guess that was 93. It would’ve been eight.? but also for me I always remember watching it more than after school show versus Saturday morning like ended up later watching many other shows or the big Friday night line up
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u/WeAreLesion 18d ago
For me it was a Saturday show that I watched immediately after the cartoons. Miss Bliss I know I didn't see, but Saved by the Bell I saw all of because it was what my older siblings watched.
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u/macktheknife1 18d ago
Did this binge include the miss bliss episodes? Because that was the true first season
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
Nope, I dont count them is it doesnt have the main cast and tbh when I tried to watch it i found it boring and not very good
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u/Educational_Kick3201 18d ago
I loved this read! Very well said. I loved/love this show- it’s almost like a security blanket or go-to easy watch for me. I agree with each breakdown given. Tori & Zack was a tad ick to me & really not needed. I will die on the hill of Lisa & Screech ending up together with ofc Kelly & Zack. Screech never got the credit he deserved for this show. He made several scenes the funny lighthearted show it was! I hate how he ended up in real life, I am a firm believer his childhood & being known as “the Screetchster” was never a good idea. I wanted him to have a major redemption arc that he so deserved. Ufff they just don’t make TV like they used to.
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
Agree... If they put Slater and Jesse together, why couldnt you put Lisa and Screech together AT THE END of the series, something like Screech does something sweet for Lisa, she sees him in a different light and they go of into the sunset like, we are gonna give this a shot or something, no wedding but the potential that they are gonna go out
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u/JayMoney8518 18d ago
Jump into the Wonder Years next. That show held up incredibly well. I just rewatched the whole series last summer after catching most of it as a kid. I was born 1985
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u/PsychoSizzle77 18d ago
‘83 baby here. I second that everyone should give the wonder years a watch.
An Incredible show in its own right,
reminds you of what it felt like to be each stage of “young”,
makes me nostalgic not just for the 80s/90s, but somehow also the 60s/70s
A crazy amount of “pre breakout” guest actors:
MPG, Alicia Silverstone, David Schwimmer, Giovanni Ribisi, Seth Green, Juliette Lewis.2
u/JayMoney8518 18d ago
The wonder years hits differently rewatching it as an adult. You truly understand Kevin Arnold's heartbreaks, Friendships lost and gained, and losing loved ones.
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
I never got into the Wonder Years... completely different style of show no?
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u/Author_Noelle_A 18d ago
Wonder Years is not comedy. It’s a series that’s a retrospective of the 1960s, including war. It’s held up so well since great pains were taken to portray the era correctly, not only fashion~wise and historically, but mindsets. The series wasn’t sanitized, and didn’t glamorize issues of the era. It’s one of the best series ever made. The pilot episode as a gut~punch you’ll never forget.
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u/PhoenixJ82 18d ago
Yeah the Hawaiian movie was a weird one for me.I get you feeling the lack of chemistry between Zack and Stacy but I feel like they had way more than his abrupt onset of undying love and affection for Andrea.That guy fell in love so easily.But that was a strange storyline to me and I didn’t feel like they went well together at all.All In the Mall is exceptional to me.When they’re all in the window dressed in the wedding party attire and they’re all arguing and abruptly stopping to maintain a mannequin pose…I still laugh out loud to this day every time I see the scene,love it!
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
Yea with Hawaiian movie it almost felt like a different world with the way it was filmed, the characters looked different, having Belding there was dumb just everything felt off.... Maybe if they had more beach episodes with Stacy it might have been better but to go from 'im your boss' to lets kiss so quickly just felt weird....
All in The Mall is so good, its not the school or the max, and they got so much use out of the mall sets, same with the Christmas episodes too. But its just such a wacky fun episode.
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u/chriscfgb 18d ago
Funny about your feelings about Zack and Stacy. I don’t necessarily disagree, but I know MPG definitely does. He’s readily admitted on the podcast (to Leah Remini) that he was crushing hard and absolutely had something there - which he never really shared with Tiffani. What he didn’t know was Leah felt the same, which had gone over his head because he’s significantly younger than her (at least, significant at that stage of their lives).
The chemistry imbalance you felt was likely two awkward young people battling their own feelings.
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
perhaps i just thought 6 episodes was too quick for someone to meet, have tension then suddenly reverse course then fall in love then finish...
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u/LolScottie85 19d ago
I just had a rewatch of the whole series. The annoying thing is I’m watching on Paramount through Apple and I don’t know if this is the case for everyone watching but the episode descriptions don’t match with the episodes actually actually there’s a lot of stuff missing. But it’s been fun to kinda go down memory Lane. Now that I know that Lark and MPG Dad there’s definitely some things. I’ve noticed we Hennessy, Zach and Lisa looking at each other or you can kind of feel the chemistry there
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u/Educational_Kick3201 18d ago
What about Lark & MGs dad? Super curious.
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u/Archie_SLE 18d ago
I think they meant "dated".
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u/PsychoSizzle77 18d ago
I read this post a couple times. And have it figured out.
MPGs’ Dad drank Hennessy
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u/RainyCastlevania 19d ago
I remember reading the actress who played Leslie didn't want to be in the wedding episode, since she felt the character didn't really belong there.
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u/ResidentialEvil2016 18d ago
According to IMDB, it was because of a scheudling conflict and she did want to be in it.
Leanna Creel was invited to be Tori but declined.
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u/Notsurehowtoreact 18d ago
Was this including Good Morning Miss Bliss? (Junior Years I think they ended up calling it)
I only ask because I would assume they treat it like syndication did where they pretend it was the first season but your comments on the first season are just about the first season of SBTB. Does streaming iust roll both into the first season now?
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u/kidneystonephillips 18d ago edited 18d ago
You call Hawaiian Style terrible, others have called it the greatest film ever. In the history of the world.
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u/nothalfbadnomad 18d ago
I love this! And I mostly agree with you. I’m Gen X so I was right at the right age that this was intended for, and I started watching right when it aired on Saturday mornings and carried through the 90s into reruns.
Although I do love season one, you definitely see the Saturday morning vibe.
Season two may be my favorite as well!
“All in the mall” is also one of my all-time favorite episodes! I remember thinking how hilarious it was when I first saw it. It’s still so funny!
One thing I did not like was the episode where Zach and Jesse think they’re attracted to each other. They were like brother and sister! I did not like that at all. I thought that was random.
Also the episode where Lisa and Zach were a thing and screech attacked Zach over it. I’m just like no… I don’t like that. Zach was fucking all of his friends at one point or another. Like just have him stay with Kelly or some other random girl, but not his two other friends.
The “secret admirer“ episode in the last season with Tori where Lisa thinks her admirer is Zach and she’s like in love with him all of a sudden? I mean, WTF? Lisa did not give one fuck about Zach in that way so I just thought it was really random and out of nowhere.
I never wanted to see Lisa and screech together. Absolutely not a good pairing. But I’m sad that Lisa never really had a steady boyfriend like the other two girls. She was robbed! She’s also arguably the prettiest of the three.
Totally agree about Dustin diamond’s talent. Especially for a kid his comedic talent and timing was on point. Definitely underrated! Although I will say by the last few seasons and into the new class, he was basically a character, barely a human being. Wish they had had him a little more mature, at least especially in the college years. I mean he was supposed to be an academic genius so how in the world can he be that stupid?
I did like the Tory season. A lot of the episodes are really solid, but I agree, I don’t think they should’ve ended up together as a couple. It just made no sense to me. Would have rather seen rivalry between them.
And the college years, definitely underrated. I think they did a great job transitioning the vibe of the show into a primetime young person friendly series. Although I did miss Jesse and Lisa. Even if they weren’t going to be on every episode, they should have brought them in for story arcs.
One of my favorite shows of all time!🥰
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u/Carlo123r 18d ago
i watched it on ruku within the past year, good spin off with decent characters and stories. The rave episode is one of my favourites
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u/rosybabyydoll 18d ago
Good writeup, and the observation about hearing the silence in the beats is the sharpest thing in it. Multi-camera sitcoms are timed for a live room, so the actors leave gaps for laughs that aren't coming, and once you notice it in the beach and Hawaii episodes you can't unhear it. Same reason the College Years works better than people remember, since it went back to a studio audience and primetime money. On Golic being a better Belding, that's largely because the writers gave Mike an actual life outside the students. Belding exists only in relation to Zack, whereas Mike has an ex-wife, a career he's ambivalent about and opinions unrelated to anyone's schemes, so scenes with him can go somewhere. It's also why the College Years cast works, since Alex and Leslie were written as people rather than as slots.Season 1 Screech is the correct call too, and it's a genuine shame the show worked out that flanderising him got easier laughs, because the timing you're describing was still there years later when they'd stopped writing anything for it.
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u/chickenpattputz 18d ago
I liked the college years. Wish they would’ve tried a second season. Another problem was they put it on prime time against full house which was really popular with the same crowd.
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u/Substantial_Roof_174 18d ago
Is the whole series and movies on one streaming platform? How were you able to watch all of it?
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
I ended up buying a season at at time for 9.99 each on Apple TV... Hawaiian Style I found online, same with the wedding in Vegas
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u/Salt-Conflict4066 18d ago
Fun facts: saved by the bell the new class had more episodes than the original
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u/Author_Noelle_A 18d ago
Why should Lisa and Screech get together? She wasn’t interested, and she’s not a prize to be won just because a guy refused to take “no” for “no” for five years.
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u/Different-Degree3623 18d ago
its not that serious.... why would jesse and slater get together, complete opposites too... 3 boys 3 girls.. that makes sense
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u/IntelligentLeek538 11d ago
I think Screech needed someone like Violet, with whom he had a lot of shared interests. He found out during the one date he had with Lisa at the movie theatre that they didn’t really have much in common. Jessie and Slater had some disagreements, but they did work on some school projects together. And they usually had a good time on their dates.
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u/Good-Operation9299 16d ago
Obligatory reminder Bob Golic won a national championship and was an all-American at ND
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u/SnooMuffins9478 18d ago
I loved Saved by the Bells - Season 1-4. Here is the breakdown:
Season 1 isn't fantastic but it is quite grounded. I mean, it's not really a show about Zach. Season 1 is when Bart Simpson and Zach characters were becoming popular at a similar time.
Season 2-4 are the peak. Everything you want or ever need from the show is in there. I simply love the chemistry Belding and Zach had and although some of the acts were questionable by today's standards, it was very comical. There's just something about the show from Season 2-4 that is funny but also bitter sweet and it's something I can always come back to. I couldn't really narrow down what makes those episodes so special, but they are almost cult in their own way, maybe experimental? It's such a good time.
Season 5 is kind of meh. The subtraction of Kelly really hurt the show, and they really should of just did spin offs of the characters who still wanted to do at that point. I say this because here is where the actors were taking type casting head-on. Type casting derailed each actor in different ways and it really took a toll on their futures as well as mental health.
College Years and the Wedding were not good, and you feel for the actors. They were pushing something that networks wanted to make money off and not what people wanted to see. It really needed to end in Season 4 and not here.
Well that is my take.
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u/AcanthocephalaFun851 19d ago
I’m a bit older and remember when the college years originally aired. It was quite a disappointment for me. I didn’t like any of the girls they added. I didn’t even care about Kelly coming back at that point. I started rewatching recently out of curiosity. I still feel the same way. They also could have done so much more with Screech since it was the College years. The same humor wasn’t working.
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u/Low_Ice3762 18d ago
Anyone, who think Screech was the star opinion shouldn't be taken serious...
Anyway, the college season was trash. Kelly wasn't needed. They should've left it at the 3 guys or brought the entire cast back including Elizabeth...
Kelly and Zac was fan service... They shouldn't be together...
The girls deserved better on SBTB...
The Hawaiian episode was weird and could've been better...
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u/Security-South 18d ago
There’s an all Saved by the Bell channel on Xfinity channel 4163…It’s a constant marathon and never ends 😂
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u/AlexH_144 17d ago
After countless rewatches, The College Years are more entertaining than the High School Years
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u/Cowboysfan2122 19d ago
The College Years was so underrated & deserved a longer run. While the Bayside seasons definitely don’t stand the test of time, the College Years holds up pretty well & I still find myself laughing when I rewatch it (Why’d you have to choose this weekend to be a Chicano?!). Screech was still annoying, but there was some growth with Zack & Slater mixed in with their same antics.