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{{quote|''[[Catch Phrase|"Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?"]]'' |'''Richard Belding'''}}
'''''Saved By
Originally the show was intended as a [[
The new show (now called ''Saved By
Powered by the [[Law of Disproportionate Response]]: characters won't even bat an eyelash at the big absurdities of their lives (such as the fact that Screech is imprisoned in a locker at least once per episode), but will explode over something trivial. With Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) as [[The Hero]], most episodes surrounded his attempts at holding on to his on-again off-again girlfriend [[The Chick|Kelly]] (Tiffani Theissen). His friend and [[Rival]] A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) would also fight with Zack over Kelly, but would later [[Beta Couple|hook up]] with the independent Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley). Samuel "Screech" Powers (Dustin Diamond) was their resident [[The Smart Guy|Smart Guy]] and resident [[
Dennis Haskins, as the Principal Richard Belding, ended up playing the role longer than anyone else.
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The show is one of the most charming sitcoms, with a high level of rewatchability, although it certainly had its moments of [[Narm]] (although one could argue that [[Narm Charm|this is part of its charm]]). One of the most memorable scenes of the series involved Elizabeth Berkley having a total mental breakdown as a result of a caffeine pill addiction. It is has become infamous with fans and belongs in the discussion of all-time great television [[Narm]] moments.
* ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' (a.k.a. ''Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years'') (13 episodes,
* ''Saved By The Bell'' (87 episodes,
* ''Saved By The Bell: The College Years'' (19 episodes,
* ''Saved By The Bell: The New Class'' (143 episodes, 1993-2000)
After graduating from Bayside, Zack, Slater, Screech and Kelly ended up at [[California University]] for the more adult-oriented sitcom ''Saved By The Bell: The College Years''. Unfortunately it failed to attract an audience and ended after one season, though it did lead to a television movie that finally saw [[High School Sweethearts]] Zack and Kelly get married. (Aw!)
Launched at the same time as ''The College Years'', ''The New Class'' might be classified as more of a [[Spin-Off]] than a continuation; with one exception the entire old main cast had left and [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute|were replaced]] with new students. In fact ''The New Class'' featured an [[Revolving Door Casting|alarmingly high cast turnover]] during its run - Mr Belding and (later) Screech were the only constants. Amazingly, despite its lack of memorable characters (at least compared to the original cast) it was the longest-lasting incarnation of the series (mainly because it was the anchor of an entire Saturday morning block of SBTB clones
{{tropelist}}
* [[An Aesop]]
* [[Aesop Amnesia]]: Any aesop the gang learns in one episode is forgotten and/or never referenced again in the ones after.
* [[All of the Other Reindeer]]: Screech.
** Also, by all accounts, the source of a lot of Dustin Diamond's disdain for the rest of the cast.
* [[Alpha Bitch]]: Averted/subverted. Despite displaying typical [[Alpha Bitch]]-qualities such as cheerleader (Kelly), overacheiver (Jesse), and fashion queen (Lisa), all three main character girls are genuinely nice people and worthy of their popularity.
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* [[Beach Episode]]: A whole string of them, [[Fan Nickname|informally known]] as "The Beach Episodes". Though they don't really fit the traditional definition, a swimsuit-clad Kelly (and Slater) in all six of these episodes ain't too shabby.
* [[The "B" Grade]]: Happens to Jessie several times. She fainted after receiving a B on a test (which most of the class, with the exception of Screech, bombed) and had fits over scoring lower on the SAT than Zack and losing valedictorian to Screech.
* [[Black and Nerdy]]: Ollie Creekly.
* [[Bottle Episode]]: A few, but since production values as a whole were not large, they aren't terribly noticeable.
▲* [[Born in An Elevator]]: Zack Belding. Guess who attended the birth?
* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: Zack put a hypnotic suggestion into Kelly's music tape to drop Slater and go with him to a [[High School Dance]], with Screech making one for Lisa. Initially it worked, but then Kelly loaned her tape to various friends and suddenly all three girls wanted to take him. They got revenge.
* [[Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs]]: "My hobbies include dating, guys, and dating guys!"
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: Zack would often address the viewers.
* [[Breakout Character]]: ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' was '''''completely''''' retooled to focus on Zack. If that doesn't give [[Happy Days|Fonzie]] a run for his money, nothing else does.
* [[Brilliant but Lazy]]: Zack.
* [[Building of Adventure]]
* [[California University]]: [[Trope Namer]]: Zack, Kelly, Slater, Jessie (for a little while), and Screech all attend this university after graduation.
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* [[Comedy Series]]
* [[Compliment Backfire]]: Screech has made two such mistakes. The first time involves his attempt to compliment Violet's mother by comparing her with a celebrity. His celebrity of choice? [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. His other such mistake is shown in this exchange when he introduces Mr. Belding to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in an episode of ''The New Class'' series:
{{quote|
'''Kareem''': (turning to Mr. Belding) Mr. Belding, we need to talk.
* [[Compressed Vice]]: Jessie's caffeine pill addiction. And any tobacco or drug addiction any student from "The New Class" series gets would likely end up as this.
* [[Continuity Snarl]]: The Tori episodes in the fourth season. Not that the show as a whole is exactly known for its continuity.
** The ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' thirteen episode season were originally just [[Canon
** Also in the ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' episodes, Zack's father was divorced, and Zack had a sister who was mentioned but not seen. After the [[Retool]], Zack's parents were together, his father's original actor had been replaced by [[The Other Darrin]], and he was now an only child.
* [[Cool Teacher]]: Miss Bliss.
* [[Creator Cameo]]: The end of "No Hope With Dope" features NBC President Brandon Tartikoff [[As Himself]]. Tartikoff broached the initial ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' premise and supported the series.
* [[Delivery Guy]]: Zack.
* [[The Documentary]]: The dream episode where the Zack Attack becomes rock stars was structured this way.
* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: Screech, to Lisa. Borders on [[Stalker with a Crush]].
** Also seen in the first season of ''The New Class'' as regards Screech [[
* [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!]]: Melissa, the girl in the wheelchair during one of the Tori episodes, really hates being treated differently. Zack really doesn't seem to get this, and keeps embarrassing her by saying things like "Could you slouch down? My date's in a wheelchair and she can't see the screen," and "Melissa you were amazing in that game! See, even though she's in a wheelchair she did great!" and other cringe-worthy comments. One honestly can't blame her when she dumps Zack.
* [[Dream Sequence]]: Plenty of 'em.
** Many of which involve the characters all having the same daydream / dream...
* [[Easily Forgiven]]: Zack, dear God, ''Zack''.
* [[Edutainment Show]]: Really only in technicality, but it has life lessons, so it counts, so some television stations will plug it in a
* [[The Eighties]]: Started in 1988 as ''Good Morning, Miss Bliss'' and after [[The Retool]] came back as
** Actually that makes sense, as much of the pop cultural trends of [[The Eighties]] bled over into [[The Nineties]] until roughly 1992 or '93.
* [[Eighties Hair]]: Oh Lord yes. Lisa, Jessie, and Tori poofed up their hair as much as humanly possible, but Kelly only poofed it up in the front, to the point that in retrospect it looks like she has a mullet. And don't get us started on Slater's Jheri curls and Zack's bleaching and feathering.
** Zack's fantasy self with a... faux punk look will never be surpassed.
*** "...I look like 'Mr. Madonna'! "
* [[Embarrassing First Name]] / [[Embarrassing Middle Name]]: Slater's full name was Albert Clifford Slater (hence why he prefers "A.C."). Jessie's middle name was Myrtle. Which was, apparently, also the name of Zack's turtle.
* [[Enter Stage Window]]: Zack and Jessie.
* [[Estranged Soap Family]]: The parents rarely show up, but when the gang graduates, goes to college, gets married, etc., they're never around.
** Well, Zack's and Kelly's parents DID show up for the Wedding in Las Vegas (and with the original actors too!).
* [[Estrogen Brigade Bait]]: Slater likes wearing gym short-shorts, and incredibly loose muscle shirts.
* [[Extroverted Nerd]]: Screech.
* [[
* [["Falling in Love" Montage]]
* [[Fat Idiot]]: Mr Tuttle. Although he was a knowledgeable, enthusiastic science teacher, he was shown to be very gullible and easily manipulated by Zack.
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* [[Forced Prize Fight]]
* [[Freudian Excuse]]: Several episodes imply that Zack's ultra-manipulative personality is the result of his parents being divorced. His father basically ignores him because of work while his mother makes excuses for Zack's delinquent behavior and generally does nothing to punish her son for his actions.
** That was only when the show was ''Good Morning Miss Bliss''. In ''Saved by the Bell'' proper, and ''The College Years'', Zack's parents were still married.
*** One of the earlier episodes of the proper series suggests that Zack is such a poor student because his father is busy working all the time and never around to keep him focused.
* [[Future Loser]]: Slater feared this for one episode, where he imagined his life as an out-of-shape WWF (now WWE) wrestler who was losing one match after another.
* [[G-Rated Drug]]: Jesse's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c caffeine pills.]▼
* [[The Game Never Stopped]]: [[Trope Namer]], in the murder mystery episode.
* [[Gender Flip]]: Plots from the original series were recycled in The New Class with the gender roles reversed.
* [[Give Geeks a Chance]]
* [[Grand Finale]]: The Wedding in Las Vegas.
▲* [[G-Rated Drug]]: Jesse's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c caffeine pills.]
* [[The Great Politics Mess-Up]]: The show takes place right at the end of the [[Cold War]], when the Soviet empire was falling apart (there are early references in the show to [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], and at one point Zack describes his skin-clearing cream as "Acne Glasnost"). It actually becomes a plot-point in the 1990 episode "The Prom", where Kelly's dad loses his job at the local defense contractor due to Cold War tensions coming to an end and the [[Real Life]] federal budget cuts in defense. In Mr. Kapowski's words, "World peace broke out." Serves as an example where [[Real Life Writes the Plot]].
* [[Greek Chorus]]
* [[High School]]
* [[High School Dance]]: Basically every other episode features one. It seems like the kids of Bayside High believe that a school dance is the solution to every problem.
* [[High School Hustler]]: Zack Morris. He's also the rare example that crosses it with [[Big Man on Campus]].
* [[High School Rocks]]: This is an overall theme of the series. Reinforced in the "school song" episode during senior year, where Zack pens a song all about how Bayside rocks.
* [[High School Sweethearts]]: Zack and Kelly. Their eventual marriage even got [[media:
* [[Hollywood Tone Deaf]]: Kelly in the Beauty Pageant and glee club episodes, though [[Canon
* [[Idea Bulb]]
* [[Informed Attractiveness]]: Kelly was portrayed as the hands down hottest chick at Bayside, yet most would agree she's not any more attractive than Jessie, Lisa, or any other one-off "hot" girl.
* [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]]: Melissa, the girl in the wheelchair. [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|Much to her chagrin.]]▼
* [[In with the In Crowd]]
▲* [[Inspirationally Disadvantaged]]: Melissa, the girl in the wheelchair. [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|Much to her chagrin.]]
* [[Ironic Inversion]]
* [[Ivy League for Everyone]]: Well, [[California University|California University For Everyone]], anyway. Zack got into Yale, but ends up going to Cal U instead.
* [[Karma Houdini]]: Zack gets away with a lot of sociopathic behavior.
* [[Large Ham]]: Mr. Belding, though he's no [[Brian Blessed]].
** During the Hawaii movie when Mr. Belding briefly impersonates a professor, his performance can only be described as this. [[Lampshade
* [[Law of Disproportionate Response]]
* [[Life Embellished]]: Zack would sometimes use an inexplicable "Time Out" ability - basically, he could freeze time to escape from whatever sticky situation he'd gotten into, and [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|break the fourth wall]].
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** Zack would also address the audience, usually at the beginning of an episode to provide exposition.
** During the first season of ''The New Class'', the Zack [[expy]] Scott Erickson did the same thing in every episode.
* [[Noodle Incident]]: "Screech, I have a great idea!" "Gee, I dunno, Zack. The last time you had a great idea, I ended up (in an extremely improbable situation)". Examples include "naked in a jar of jellybeans" and "with my tongue stuck to a moving airplane". Scenarios that are never shown, nor discussed again.
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: We discover during senior year that Zack has been playing this trope from the beginning (although it had been hinted at throughout the series) when it comes to academics. Despite his self-constructed image as a slacker, he scores extremely high on the SAT and gets into Yale. The
* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: Mr. Belding often played this role during the Miss Bliss episodes.
* [[One Born Every Minute]]: And Zack is certainly quick to take advantage.
* [[Parent Ex Machina]]
* [[Platonic Life Partners]]: Zack and Jessie, who have been friends since preschool and describe their relationship as being more [[Like Brother and Sister]] than anything.
** Somewhat disturbing given that they make out in one episode, just to see "How much we wouldn't like kissing each other!". And are
* [[Plot Hole]]:
** The "Tori Paradox"
** There never is any real explanation for what happened to all the characters who disappeared in the show's transformation from
* [[Pretty in Mink]]: Kelly in a fantasy scene.
* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Mr. Belding.
* [[Remember the New Guy?]]: Kelly and Jessie who
* [[Revolving Door Casting]] By the time ''The New Class'' ended, Belding was the only one to be there from day one. Granted, high school is four years, but many of the characters that left were never stated to be seniors, so they were either [[Put on a Bus]] or [[Brother Chuck|BrotherChucked]].
* [[Risky Business Dance]]: When Zack, Slater and Skreetch have a sleepover (except they're dancing to "Barbara Ann" instead of "Old Time Rock 'n Roll").
** The whole episode is one big homage to ''[[Risky Business]]''.
* [[Screaming Birth]]: Mrs. Belding gives birth trapped in an elevator with Zack and Tori.
* [[Seers]]: Screech for an episode.
* [[Ship Tease]]: Both the Zack/Jessie and Zack/Lisa pairings each got one episode devoted to teasing the pairing. The former promptly [[Ship Sinking|sank]] it because they realized they had [[Platonic Life Partners|no romantic chemistry.]] (Though some fans seem to disagree) The latter [[Victorious Childhood Friend|went all the way]] and, ironically enough, [[Canon
*** Re: Zack and Lisa, they also teased us with the Zack-in-hospital episode, the Murder Mystery episode, a several other subtle moments.
**** Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Lark Voorhies actually ''were'' dating for much of the series, so that certainly explains the undeniable chemistry between Zack and Lisa.
**** As for Zack/Jessie, there were definitely a few episodes in Season 1 that seemed to subtly [[Ship Tease]] them, such as the one where Jessie trains Zack to dance so that he can take Kelly to a dance, but Zack ends up asking Jessie herself to be his dance partner (many fans like to think of this as an example of Jessie becoming a [[Sexy Mentor]] to Zack), and even in their senior year, the moment after Jessie realizes that Zack has orchestrated a hair-brained scheme to get her into Stansbury University, she and Zack share a sweet moment outside Belding's office.
* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Mario Lopez has several in both Saved by the Bell and Saved by the Bell: the College Years. In the College Years, on the episode Professor Zack, the girls convince Slater to pose for a shirtless calendar - which he does on-screen. In the original series, he competes in the Miss Bayside contest - going shirtless for the swimsuit portion and flexing.
* [[Six-Student Clique]]: [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: Jessie and Slater.
* [[Stand-In Parents]]: Zack got a waiter/aspiring actor from the local hangout to pretend to be his father for a parent-principal conference with Mr. Belding. Since that guy was an out-of-work actor [[Large Ham|he decided to ham it up.]] But that was for a different reason - he didn't want his real father to find out about his scholastic misdeeds.
* [[Studio Audience]]: And a very excitable one, at that.
* [[Stupid Sexy Flanders]]: On at least two occasions (both while he was in drag), someone makes a flirtatious comment about Zack's legs.
** And, even though it wasn't in drag, there's been a few comments on how soft and girly his hands are.
*** Some coming from Slater. Make of it what you will, Zack/Slater-shippers.
* [[Suspiciously Apropos Music]]
* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: ''The New Class'', most blatantly in its first season. Scott for Zack (even breaking the [[Fourth Wall]] in the same way), Weasel for Screech, Tommy D for Slater, Lindsay for Kelly, and Megan for Lisa and Jessie (due to her being Weasel's unrequited crush, as well as the smart one in the group). Also Tori for both Kelly and Jessie in the original show.
* [[Take That]]: There's one [[Take That]] at Vice President [[Dan Quayle]] (like in ''most'' of the TV shows from this period) where during Zack's fantasy about becoming an industrialist, Quayle buys one of Zack's Buddy Band bracelets and tries to wear it as a headband, breaking it in the process. According to fantasy!Jessie and fantasy!Zack, this is apparently not the first time this has occurred.
** In "The Prom", Screech, Lisa, and the rest of the gang are watching a zombie movie and Lisa asks if Matt Dillon is in the movie, to which Screech responds "No, [[Growing Pains|Alan Thicke]] is the zombie. Everybody knows that!" as a not-so-subtle way of insulting Thicke's acting skills.
* [[Thing-O-Meter]]: There's a Love-o-Meter at the Max. Kelly and Screech also invent one for a science project that leads to hilarity.
* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: During the Miss Bliss episodes, Nicki played the Tomboy to Lisa's Girly Girl.
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** And the show does take place on the California coast, where the whole surfer dude culture never really went away.
* [[TV Teen]]
* [[The Unseen]]: A really bizarre and glaring example. In some episodes, Mr. Belding is informed of an incoming visitor to his office by a secretary over the PA system. But...''how?'' The door from the hallway leads directly into Mr. Belding's office, with no secretary room in between, so unless the guests to Mr. Belding's office first enter a pocket dimension where a secretary works before re-emerging in Belding's office, this seems impossible.
* [[Unspoken Plan]]
▲* [[The Unseen]]: A really bizarre and glaring example. In some episodes, Mr. Belding is informed of an incoming visitor to his office by a secretary over the PA system. But...''how?'' The door from the hallway leads directly into Mr. Belding's office, with no secretary room in between, so unless the guests to Mr. Belding's office first enter a pocket dimension where a secretary works before re-emerging in Belding's office, this seems impossible.
* [[Vacation Episode]]: The [[Grand Finale]], in Las Vegas.
** An earlier episode has Kelly's grandpa inviting everyone to his hotel in Hawaii for summer vacation.
** The whole Malibu Sands arc.
** And Jessie inviting her friends to her dad's hotel to meet her new step-mom.
* [[Very Special Episode]]: Most blatantly "Jessie's Song" and "No Hope With Dope".
* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Jessie and Kelly's location during the Tori episodes is never stated due to contractual issues regarding the number of episodes they were signed up to do.▼
** More like they were not actually mentioned at all.▼
* [[What Is Going On?]]: Mr. Belding's [[Catch Phrase]]: "Hey, hey, hey! What is ''going on'' here?!!"
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Zack often gets called out by his friends for his schemes and manipulations yet they continue forgiving him and go along with them over and over again.
* [[Wrong Name Outburst]]: It's what eventually kills Zack and Kelly's relationship. For a while, anyway.
▲* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Jessie and Kelly's location during the Tori episodes is never stated due to contractual issues regarding the number of episodes they were signed up to do.
▲** More like they were not actually mentioned at all.
* [[You Look Familiar]]: Minor characters Scud and Ox were played by the same actor.
* [[Zany Scheme]]: This show managed to raise zany schemes to an art form.
** In a few episodes after Zack's scheme fails, he begins to formulate a new one and the other characters tell him off.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:The Nineties]]
[[Category:Work Com]]
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[[Category:The Eighties]]
[[Category:American Series]]
▲[[Category:Saved by the Bell]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:Adult Swim]]
[[Category:Kid Com]]
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