Saved by the Bell

Saved by the Bell was a popular teen sitcom which ran from 1989 to 1993 and built a large, loyal fanbase. Its original incarnation, Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1987), starred Hayley Mills as the good-natured Miss Carrie Bliss who oversaw later Saved by the Bell cast Lark Voorhies, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Dustin Diamond as well as other students. Good Morning, Miss Bliss would later be retitled Saved by the Bell.

Characters

Zack

Zachary "Zack" Morris, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, is a manipulative schemer in the mold of Ferris Bueller, to the extent that early episodes of the series featured Zack engaging in Bueller-esque, fourth wall-breaking addressing of the audience as well as the ability to freeze everyone around him in their tracks while he gives plot exposition. His best friends are Lisa Turtle and Jessie Spano; his relationship with Screech, while appearing to be that of friendship is more based upon Zack manipulating Screech to serve as his servant and using Screech as the whipping boy for his various schemes.

Related Topics:
Ferris Bueller - Fourth wall

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His arch nemesis is Principal Belding and often Zack finds himself being sent to Belding's office for breaking school rules. For a while, Zack also feuded with fellow student AC Slater over who would be Kelly Kapowski's boyfriend though by the start of the show's second season, Slater would concede defeat to Zack and begin a relationship with Jessie instead.

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Zack is a schemer and money hungry; often episodes would revolve around Zack engaging in a get rich quick scheme or engaging in some sort of plot to win Kelly's love. Though Zack is willing to manipulate anyone to get his way and has a overt superiority complex regarding those around him, he does have a conscience that often cause him to do the right thing if push comes to shove.

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Kelly

Kelly Kapowski, played by Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, is the cheerleader of the group and love interest for Zack and Slater in the first season. Considered the most popular girl in school, Kelly was introduced as an outsider to the show's core clique though through Zack's pursuit of her, she would become part of the group.

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Unlike most of the cast, Kelly comes from a lower class background. Her father is unemployed (having been laid off from work at the defense contractor plant he worked at during the show's first season) and due to her family having a large number of children, Kelly was forced to gain work as a waitress at the local fast food place called "The Max."

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A good girl who rarely used profanity, Kelly often would refer to people who wronged her as being "Un-Nice" and saying "You're something really really bad!" rather than swearing. The on-again/off-again relationship between her and Zack would be a driving influence of the show, with Kelly breaking up with Zack in the show's third season in order to pursue a relationship with her much older boss (played by soap opera star Patrick Muldoon).

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Slater

Albert Clifford "A.C." Slater, played by Mario Lopez, is the stereotypical "jock" of the group and originally was written as Zack's rival for Kelly's affection before being turned into Zack's best friend in the show's second season. An army brat, he moved to Bayside at the start of the series and became the school's star wrestler/football player. Originally a suitor for Kelly, Slater settled for the strong-willed feminist Jessie Spano. Despite a very rocky start, due to their clashing attitudes towards the opposite sex, the two became a somewhat stable couple during the show's run.

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Despite his position as the show's "jock", Slater was somewhat well-rounded in that he was also an excellent chef (which led him to briefly quit the wrestling team so as to pursue a career as a chef) and extremely skilled debator, holding his own against Zack (who Slater would call "Preppy" as a slam against Zack's opinion towards his own superiority over the rest of the school) and his girlfriend Jessie.

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In an episode of Saved by the Bell: The College Years, A.C. Slater finally finds out his actual family name is Sanchez and that he is a Chicano, to which Zack replies, "I always thought he was Italian."

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Jessie

Jessica "Jessie" Myrtle Spano, played by Elizabeth Berkley, is the show's resident know-it all crusader, often seen pursuing a variety of causes (most of which were feminist in nature) while keeping up her position as the smartest student in her class. Like Lisa and a lesser extent Screech, Jessie was Zack's childhood friend and would often visit Zack at his home to talk. The friendship between Zack and Jessie would culminate in one of the show's most imfamously mocked moments, in which Zack discovers that Jessie has become addicted to caffeine pills in order to keep up not only her grades but also to be able to participate in an "girl group" get rich quick scheme Zack has going on.

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Her main love interest, as of the second season was Slater, who disagreed with her radical feminist views. The two would routinely fight over this though they remained committed to each other in spite of their views.

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In the fourth season, it was revealed that Jessie's parents had divorced and her mother remarried. Jessie picked up a step-brother in the process, which created tension for her and Zack when her step-brother blackmailed Jessie and Zack over Zack skipping school by pretending to be Jewish. Jessie ultimately convinced her brother to let them out of his blackmail plot though tension between her and her step-brother remained high.

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Screech

Samuel "Screech" Powers, played by Dustin Diamond, was Zack's only male friend though "slave" more properly summed up their relationship. An aspiring scientist and all around nerd, Screech was in love with Lisa and often was exploited by Zack for his various get rich quick schemes, with little respect of apprieciation shown to him by his so-called friends.

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Because of his association with Zack's clique though, Screech maintained a small level of popularity as the "coolest nerd" at Bayside. For a time, in the second season of Saved by the Bell, Screech had a girlfriend named Violet (played by Tori Spelling) though the relationship and Violet vanished at the start of season three.

Related Topics:
Clique - Tori Spelling

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Lisa

Lisa Marie Turtle, played by Lark Voorhies, was a beautiful African American girl who came from a wealthy family (her father's occupation was never revealed though her mother was shown to be a surgeon) and was the fashion expert who was obsessing over clothes and shoes. The only character on the show who never had a steady boyfriend, Lisa was the object of Screech's affection even though Lisa was repulsed by Screech.

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Like Jessie and to a lesser extent Screech, she was Zack's childhood friend and often would turn to Zack for help if she was in trouble. In the fourth season, the writers devoted an episode towards establishing that Zack and Lisa were both sexually attracted to each other but had never acted on these impulses due to their close friendship. Lisa wanted to be a fashion designer and often found herself having to play peacemaker between Kelly and Jessie whenever the two would fight.

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Mr. Belding

Mr. Richard Belding, played by Dennis Haskins, was known for being part nerd part cool guy, and yet notoriously out-of-touch with his students due to his obsession with maintaining order at Bayside High. Belding would often be frustrated by Zack's antics and often was portrayed as Zack's main rival. Despite his position as the show's antagonistic authority figure, Mr. Belding was willing to help Zack and his friends in dire situations.

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Other Characters

In season three, Saved by the Bell had the characters work at a resort by the beach. Characters specific to these episodes were:

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• Leon Carosi, played by Ernie Sabella, was the owner of the beach resort and was often portrayed as a one-dimensional flabergasted boss from hell .
• Stacey Carosi, played by Leah Remini, was the daughter of Leon Carosi and a love interest for Zack. Stacey gained fame from a lot of fans of the show, due to the fact that Stacey often acted as a sarcastic foil for Zack and his clique and would often point out the selfish and hypocritical behavior of the group.

In 1992, Saved by the Bells first made for TV movie Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style aired. Kelly's grandfather invites the kids to stay at his little hotel in Hawaii. However, someone else is out to buy his land and build an apartment complex. Zack and gang end up saving the hotel. Zach also falls for a divorced woman with a child, but realizes he "just ain't ready fo that father thang."

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