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 retconned 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 . 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, drinking and driving, homelessness, financial issues, divorce, graduating, college, sibling rivalry, taking responsibilities for one's actions, being bullied, 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 The O.C. and Dawson's Creek 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 , which followed several of the original characters' college experiences and Saved by the Bell: The New Class , which followed a new group of students at Bayside High School. The series also spawned two TV movies and a short-lived comic book series.
The series is also available in French: Sauvés par le gong , Spanish: Salvado por la campana , Italian: Bayside School and German: California High School .
History
Good Morning, Miss Bliss
Main article: Good Morning, Miss BlissSaved 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. 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 .
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 fictional Palisades, 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 towards 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 savaged by television critics, quickly and easily 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 resign 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. In addition, a special series finale titled "Wedding in Las Vegas" had four parts in which Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski got married and ended their on- again off – again relationship.
Today, reruns air weekday mornings on TBS, as well as in local syndication, either once or twice a week depending on market.
Main characters
Zachary "Zack" Morris
Main article: Zack MorrisZack, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, is often referred to as "Preppy" by his friend AC Slater. 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. Zack's schemes, though amusing, often backfire, resulting in outcomes which he hadn't expected.
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, 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
Main article: Kelly KapowskiPlayed 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. Indeed, much of the show's storylines concerned 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 s
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