Grading every episode of Peacock’s new ‘Saved by the Bell’
Peacock
There’s a scene in the last episode of the new season of “Saved by the Bell” -- to repeat: a new season of “Saved by the Bell”! -- that is so good that I can’t wait to the bottom of this piece to talk about it.
(SPOILER ALERT: WHAT FOLLOWS DETAILS A LOT OF WHAT HAPPENS THROUGHOUT THE 10 EPISODES. IF YOU JUST WANT TO SEE THE GRADES, SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF EACH SECTION.)
Slater (Mario Lopez), having only now just realized how often he dismissed Jessie’s (Elizabeth Berkley) concerns in high school with an indifferent line like “Relax, Mama,” goes into her office, where Jessie -- sorry, Dr. Spano -- works as the guidance counselor at their old haunt Bayside High (Slater is the gym teacher). “You are were always standing up for things that you believe in, and I just kept telling you to calm down,” he says. “We all made fun of you, but you were the only one who knew what was really going on. I shouldn’t have been telling you to calm down; I should’ve been yelling right there with you. I’m sorry I wasn’t.”
Jessie at first tries downplaying Slater’s apology, then expresses skepticism about her passions because nothing seems to have changed. Slater counters: In fact, he feels good about the world because of how many young people are now new versions of Jessie, and she shouldn’t stop being who she is.
“I don’t need your permission to feel my own feelings, you sexist pig,” she says, a nod, of course, to their rapport of 30 years ago. This time, though, when he says, “Oink oink, baby,” there is a recognition that things have changed, that Slater has changed, that the world has changed, and that these two beloved characters actually understand and appreciate each other in a new way. It’s an incredible exchange.
All this is to say: Yes, the new “Saved by the Bell,” which arrived November 25 on Peacock (the first episode is free, the remaining nine require a subscription, or at least the 7-day free trial), embraces one or 10 ways that TV and high school kids and just about everything is different now than it was when the show aired from 1988 (beginning with “Good Morning, Miss Bliss”) to 1994 (ending with the TV movie “Wedding in Las Vegas,” and not counting “The New Class”). As it should; the original show contained minimal continuity as well as a laugh track that often undermined Jessie’s feminist points (see above) while furthering the mission of having Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) minimize any consequences for his actions. I loved the show as a kid and find it and its fandom fascinating as an adult. That’s why I wrote “Zack Morris Lied 329 Times! Reassessing every ridiculous episode of ‘Saved by the Bell’ … with stats,” which includes interviews with 22 cast members, the co-founder of Saved by the Max and “Zack Morris is Trash” creator Dashiell Driscoll, who now co-hosts the “Zack to the Future” podcast with Gosselaar. (Click here to listen to me as the guest on episode 10, “Beauty and the Screech.”)
Below I’ve broken down each episode just as I did in “Zack Morris Lied 329 Times!” while also adding a grade, with an overall series grade at the end. And, yes, I counted Zack’s lies in the three episodes he appears in, but I didn’t count lies for any of the new characters because this is no longer a show about the zany antics of a pathological liar!
Episode 1: “Pilot”
Debuted November 25, 2020
Plot: Because governing and empathy take a lot of effort and Governor Zack (that’s actually what he wants people to call him) still likes shortcuts, he cuts $10 billion in education funding that leads to school closings and all the students from Douglas High transferring to the much-glitzier Bayside, with its sports car-filled parking lot and different sign-up sheets for beach volleyball and beach volleyball (resort sand). Thanks to Jessie’s Bayside Buddy program, Zack and Kelly’s (Tiffani Thiessen) scheme-happy son Mac (Mitchell Hoog) connects with honest, high-achieving Daisy (Haskiri Velazquez), who almost immediately decides to run for sophomore class president; Jessie’s coddled, non-genius, mediocre athlete/heartthrob son Jamie (Belmont Cameli) pairs up with far superior quarterback Aisha (Alycia Pascual-Pena); and Lexi (Josie Totah), star of her own reality show (“Becoming Lexi: I Am Me”) about being transgender, matches with the far more easygoing Devante (Dexter Darden), who Slater foolishly assumes wants to play football but would rather audition for the musical.
Right off the bat: Following Zack’s re-election campaign ad that shows he only ran for office to get out of a $75 parking ticket, showrunner/writer Tracey Wigfield (“30 Rock”) opens the pilot with a scene that is brilliant in its cheesiness: Mac encounters twins and asks if they want to go skinny dipping tonight (he just flooded the gym), noting “Now that’s what I call a double date” after the conversation has ended; Jamie, studying for a big geography test, reads his book upside down because he’s learning about Australia; and Lexi laments accidentally planning her birthday party on the same night as her parents’ anniversary party, with Mac betting $100 she can’t make them divorce by Saturday. All of these jokes are terrible on purpose, and Wigfield’s affectionate/ironic way of showing that the new “Saved by the Bell” could never duplicate the rhythms and corny plotting of the original show.
Plus, nailed it: Comedy pilots are notoriously difficult as the need to introduce characters, tell stories, pile exposition and set up the season clashes with, you know, being funny. Not this time, though: Not only is this episode hilarious (see below) but the characters come into focus beautifully. In retrospect, the original show’s characters often felt like characters in a sitcom, without inner lives or agency. After just one episode, I’m interested in and excited about every one of the main students, who are well-drawn, awesomely cast and, hey, actually believable as friends.
Privilege and purpose: Clearly a major theme here is how far removed Governor Zack and many of the Bayside students are from the challenges of those outside their bubble of wealth. “They gather together, they loiter,” one white parent complains to hapless principal Toddman (John Michael Higgins). “I’m just saying, how do we know we can trust them?” Toddman’s excellent response: “These concerns about a criminal element are unwarranted and offensive. And for the record, sir, you are currently on probation for embezzling money from a nursing home.”
So close: The new “Saved by the Bell” seems determined to shake off many of the tropes of the ‘80s and ‘90s, including the focus on social status and trying to generate laughs from being cruel to others. So it’s a little jarring when Aisha says one of the things she knew about Douglas was not to get in a fight with “one-eyebrow Stacy.” These people, and this show, are better than this lazy name-calling.
Rest assured! Not everything from the old show is gone. Though this time it’s Daisy, not Mac, who gets to call timeouts. (Insert thumbs-up emoji.)
Ugh: In his ad, Zack still needs to describe Kelly as his “still smoking-hot wife.” This doesn’t make him supportive, it shows that he’s still fixated only on her looks, just as he was when they were kids. Love the ways that the show now is willing to call out his awfulness.
Far funnier: There are a lot of great lines in this episode, which on a comedic level certainly feels more like “30 Rock” than “Saved by the Bell.” Particular favorites include Mac introducing the Max as “where we like to hang out after school. Also before and during”; Toddman, appalled at Mac sitting at his desk and feeling so in charge in the principal’s office, pleads, ““In general, be less comfortable in here!”; and Daisy, realizing eating at the Max resulted in her not having enough money to pay for the printing of her campaign posters, exclaiming, “Stupid overpriced magician restaurant!” No matter what you thought of the original series (again, I liked it, I did), it was not a delivery system for big laughs.
And valuing talent! In the original show futility was often the key to the storylines and the origin of the jokes. Now “Saved by the Bell” is willing to have us root for doing well at things in a new way. While the Bayside kids all figure out where to put their efforts, Aisha’s great at football, Devante can really sing and Daisy’s capable, caring and very deserving of being the president. She even tries not to accept winning the election after Mac and Lexi throw it for her, but a great scene in Toddman’s office about the privileges and challenges built into the system sets her straight: “The universe got one right today. You’re here, and you’re the president,” he says. “These kids can be sheltered and clueless, but there’s one thing they get right: They never feel guilty about taking their seat at the table.” Great to see Daisy get hers.
Zack’s lies (5):
Saying that California is where his story began (he sounds sincere but this is not true, as his story of course began in Indiana)
Asking Kelly to say that as a busy mom a bailout for the fossil fuel industry is important to her
Saying that he didn’t want to close the schools and that he feels terrible for these kids, neither of which we should believe (2)
Claiming he believes in public education
Worth reiterating: Because there’s no laugh track (and the people involved in the show actually value where Jessie’s coming from), she’s able to get the last word in when Slater calls her “Mama,” then acknowledges the HR meeting they had about that and changes the label to “Dr. Mama.” Replies Jessie: “That’s not what we settled on.” It’s quick, it’s funny and the message is that Slater is the idiot, not that he’s funny for brushing off her concerns. Progress!
It’s … all right: Would love to know who else was considered for the awkwardly modernized theme song, performed by Lil Yachty. In an attempt to look on the bright side, though: It’s not impossible to imagine a situation a few years ago where, in an effort to package what the kids seem to like these days, the duties fell to LMFAO. Again, progress!
Episode grade: A-
Episode 2: “Clubs and Cliques”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: The Douglas kids’ abilities threaten their new Bayside friends as Aisha battles Jamie to be starting quarterback, Devante and Lexi both want the lead in the musical and Daisy discovers that work-averse Mac is somehow seated right in front of her in honors English.
Speaking of “30 Rock”: The joke of white Bayside mom Joyce Whitelady’s name not being pronounced how it looks is identical to Dr. Leo Spaceman (Chris Parnell) on “30 Rock.” And for the record I am fine with that, still funny.
Hooray for consequences: Mac claims he didn’t read “Frankenstein” because of seasonal dyslexia that flairs up only in summertime, and at first it seems that he’ll be let off the hook. But Daisy, whose eagerness recalls many classic, ambitious sitcom characters like Amy Santiago on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” negotiates an extension for herself, leading to Mac having to read it too. In other words: Mac doesn’t get away with his lie, and Daisy’s presence leads to him being better educated. Win-win!
Feel! Feel! Apparently Mr. Belding’s old technique of getting the football players to open up their emotions worked, as now they commonly use a “feelings helmet” to share freely with the team. It leads to Aisha realizing that the key to helping Jamie recognize how his insecure behavior denying her being named the starting QB has made her feel small, one of many great ways that the show develops character, leans into modern expectations of sitcom emotions and stays funny in the process. Not easy to do.
Referencing the original: This is one of many reboot episodes that reuses a title from the previous series while delivering an entirely new plot, as this one doesn’t involve selling out your friends to join the Rigmas. Over/under on Trevor and Rick still being best friends?
But wait wait wait, is this a mistake? When Slater pulls out a book of stats about women he made out with, he cites a princess from Lichtenstein -- which “Saved by the Bell” scholars know was actually the princess of the fictional country of Lichtenburg. Perhaps that could be the series winking at that silliness or suggesting that Slater doesn’t remember, but it doesn’t come off that way.
Funny on purpose, though: Upset about Slater wanting to protect Aisha on the football field, Jessie argues, “A woman can do everything a man can do -- except enjoy the films of Todd Phillips.”
Episode grade: B+
Episode 3: “The Bayside Triangle”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: Hilariously recalling Zack and Slater literally fighting over new girl Joanna, Mac and Jamie take ridiculously long to realize that they both want to take the same new girl at school to the ice cream social. Meanwhile Lexi’s feelings for Jamie make her wish Daisy would stay out of the guys’ battle while Aisha considered whether or not to turn in Devante, who she believes stole a box of iPads that leads to the cancelation of the aforementioned dessert party.
Once again: This show is really, really funny, in ways that even the biggest fans of the original show can’t possibly claim that the previous seasons ever were. This episode is loaded with great moments that showcase the appeal of both the cast and the characters, never more so than in Mac and Jamie’s ridiculous moments of misunderstanding. “We only have to write one Valentine’s Day rap!” they exclaim in unison after discovering that they are both interested in a girl named Pamela (Amanda Giroux), an absurd and hysterical comment for like six reasons.
Just as significantly: “Saved by the Bell” rarely, if ever, dealt with complicated morality or motivations. The Aisha/Devante subplot here does an excellent job of revealing more about the characters while also considering what happens when punishment for a smallish crime leads to far bigger consequences (like when that person is responsible for managing their grandma’s insulin shots).
On that note: I realize that some people don’t want “Saved by the Bell” to acknowledge issues of race and identity, and I would like to say that those people are part of the problem that makes addressing these issues that much more necessary. It’s perceptive to discuss the reasons Aisha thinks she needs to separate herself from Devante, and there’s more than enough room in this smart, highly amusing show to make you think as well as laugh.
And and and: Something else that’s fantastic in this episode is the show acknowledging the immaturity of Mac and Jamie’s infatuation. After they both say they love Pamela, Daisy yells, “You don’t love her! You haven’t even heard her speak! Can she? You don’t know!”
Keep the compliments and comparisons coming: The original “Saved by the Bell” was undeniably lopsided in the attention it paid to various characters and how certain ones had romantic interests and others rarely did. Happy that Lexi is not relegated to a snappy deliverer of pop culture-based one-liners but is just as complex and involved as the others, complete with a multi-faceted interior life and a crush. And she calls her schemes “Lexicons,” which is perfect.
One of the show’s best teachers is still around! Great to see Mr. Dewey still at Bayside, even though he didn’t seem happy to be there 30 years ago and hasn’t brightened up in the slightest. (Hey, here’s a plug that you can read my interview with Patrick Thomas O’Brien, aka Mr. Dewey, in “Zack Morris Lied 329 Times!”)
Episode grade: A
Episode 4: “The Fabulous Birchwood Boys”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: It wouldn’t be “Saved by the Bell” without a dance, but this time the show deals with much more than just who is asking who, and the dance itself is more of an afterthought than the central issue at hand. What a concept!
“How do you do, fellow kids?” I laughed so hard at every joke about how old the seniors look, with the characters each time being played by actors in their 50s and above. When Delores shows interest in Jamie, I thought I was going to lose it.
Another mandatory “30 Rock” mention: From Lexi telling Devante this is the first time she ever sincerely told someone they have a great voice to Jamie being afraid of scarecrows, there are many times that these characters reminded me of Jenna (Jane Krakowski) and Tracy (Tracy Morgan), respectively. Not a problem, but worth noting.
The wealth of wealth-related issues: Money is simply a driving force of this series now, and it’s working on many levels. Daisy at first can’t believe she (as class president) has to spend $10,000 on the dance, suggesting they skip the caterer and instead everyone can just bring their own chips and keep secret which flavor they’ve chosen. But after an outing with Mac (who isn’t the centerpiece of the show, which is so so so important!) she attempts to act like her understanding of an entitled rich person, leading her to take the volunteers for granted and become the worst version of herself. “When you’re poor, you’re worried all the time, even when you’re a kid,” Daisy tells Mac, who actually listens to her and sincerely responds, “I’m sorry, Daisy. That really sucks.” When he then wonders if a quinceanera is some kind of spicy meat pie, it gets a laugh but doesn’t take away from the message, only reinforcing how clueless Mac is. (And it’s excellent when Daisy questions how prepared the gym looks with, “Isn’t this too easy? I acted horribly, and I just get to get away with it?”) Well done.
The aforementioned identity issues: Love what this episode does with Devante (who claims to like singing but not acting) and Lexi (who tries to help Devante only to have him insult her) and the recognition and closeness that comes from their conflict. This series is legitimately interested in building relationships through experience in ways that the original just didn’t, and it’s powerful to see Devante, whose best friends from Douglas now go to Valley and are reinventing themselves in their own ways, see an episode of “Becoming Lexi” and see the performance issue, and his own insecurities, from Lexi’s perspective. Several of the episodes deal with figuring out how to be yourself without worrying about what others think or assume, a message that’s way too big for one just plotline anyway.
Not working quite as well: Surprisingly, Toddman sometimes works better from an emotional perspective than a comedic one. While the show finds fresh approaches to nearly everything in it, Toddman living in a community of divorced dads and wanting his band the Birchwood Boys to perform at the dance just feels stale.
And yet: You wouldn’t think everyone dancing to “Escape (The Pina Colada Song),” the only song that the Birchwood Boys know, would be oddly endearing, but that’s a testament to the appeal of these characters. Or maybe just how much we all love getting caught in the rain?
Episode grade: A-
Episode 5: “Rent-A-Mom”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: Daisy struggles to confront her busy mom about how much she wants to apply for a summer fellowship while Jessie struggles to have a tough conversation with her dopey husband Rene (Cheyenne Jackson of, yes, “30 Rock”), and Slater and Aisha try to motivate their insanely terrible football team.
Those emotional football players: So, so funny to see team captain Jamie leading a pre-game speech about how it’s time to go out there and make 11 new friends, and fun and exercise being more important than winning, and don’t tackle #10 because it’s his birthday. “Clear eyes, full hearts, full stomachs. Everyone had their milkshakes?” Cameli (a suburban Chicago native!) is really, really good at being likably, sweetly not the smartest, and Slater and Aisha’s efforts to drive Jamie and the team through anger (such as claiming the other team said Bayside doesn’t know the freeway dance from “La La Land,” which they’ve been practicing all season) are a hoot.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for? Jessie’s caffeine pill addiction (“Jessie’s Song”) is unquestionably the series’ most infamous episode, and the scene then delivers a lecture about her experience and how things start exciting and get more exciting and then get scary and ruin your girl group’s shot at a recording contract is … fine. At this point the reference has been done and done and done, and I’m glad that the new series mostly avoids blunt moments like this. Funniness and subtlety tend to be in direct proportion.
Some better, funnier, more efficient writing: At Douglas they didn’t have a guidance counselor, and all they could afford was an empty room with a Magic 8-ball in it. Daisy’s overload of extracurriculars is represented by being president of both the science club and the flat earth society. Jamie once led the team in a moment of silence so long they missed the entire game. So many good lines in this series.
Team effort: As Lexi and Mac assist Daisy in a scheme called The Giraffe’s Gambit, Mac hilariously doesn’t know how to properly cash in on having the favor returned, instantly just asking for some of Daisy’s fries. A silly moment with spot-on timing, which works even better because of how Daisy recognizes how she didn’t used to indulge in schemes like this at Douglas.
The problem with that, though: The Giraffe’s Gambit is clearly meant to replicate Zack’s use of James to impersonate both his father and Mr. Belding, yet supposedly the term is named for Jessie because she participated in a lot of schemes and is tall and eats a lot of salads? Nope, doesn’t make sense.
Speaking of Jessie: It’s disappointing to see her in such a transparently lousy marriage, with Rene, who’s away at a months-long writers’ retreat, seeming far too self-involved and phony to have ever appealed to Jessie. “You are the only reason I am able to love myself as much as I do,” he tells her. Funny, but a jackass, which is dull.
More Toddman-related shrugworthiness: He loves Devante’s shirt and overpays for his own, which inevitably gets damaged. Just not that entertaining, which is not Higgins’ fault at all. Sometimes the actor is just funnier than the character.
Episode grade: B-
Episode 6: “Teen-Line”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: When Toddman suddenly realizes that people are addicted to their phones, he requires all students to give them up for the day and sparks a plague of withdrawal and despair that might have seemed insightful about 9 years ago. On a much sweeter note, Aisha and Jamie spend a lovely day living as if there were no tomorrow -- because Aisha feels like the budding couple has no future as of 3 p.m., when Jamie gets his phone back and hears the audio message Aisha accidentally texted him in which she says he’s too dumb for her to date.
I thought we were done with status stuff? One of the original show’s most distressing choices was labeling people and showing no interest in the lives of those who the main characters (usually Zack) looked down on. So while it’s no surprise that Zack’s son Mac says that he pays a nerd to take one phone to the library (his parents track his location) while he uses a second one, it doesn’t feel like the show is doing enough to recognize that “nerd” no longer has the same connotation to it, and that someone who talks this way is not nice. (Lexi also says she gets a nerd to help out, and she’s talking about Daisy. Unnecessary and unexamined.) It feels like there’s a missing punchline here that would say something like, “You mean a nerd you met waiting in line all night before ‘Avengers: Endgame’?” Not saying that’s a good joke, but it would at least call out Mac’s behavior.
Not that much better: Snooty theater critic Tanner (Josh Reiter) very much recalls pompous Maxwell Nerdstrom as he destroys the musical in the Bayside Bugle, leading to him falsely accusing Devante of beating him up, an eventual mini-trial (containing a hilarious re-enactment) and a ridiculous resolution exposing Tanner as a complete fraud. The only upside is Lexi understanding Devante differently in a reversal of their dynamic from “The Fabulous Birchwood Boys.” “What Tanner did to you wasn’t just uncool,” she says. “it was dangerous.” Credit this “Saved by the Bell” for acknowledging systemic racism in a way that fits the tone and the time.
Seriously? The episode opens with Toddman surfing off the stage and exclaiming, “My groin has been suctioned into a tuba.” It’s one of the rare times the show goes for a laugh like this, and it doesn’t get it.
Speaking of low-hanging fruit: I get that Lexi is the selected deliverer of all things pop culture-based, but the constant name-dropping is a little much. “It took me less than three words to get Jeremy Renner to quit his music career,” she says, which isn’t awful but by this point already feels redundant, predictable and too much like Jenna again. There are also mentions of the Weeknd, Bella Hadid and Kristen Stewart in this episode, and I didn’t even mention the weak Simon Cowell reference earlier in the season! (Careless pop culture obsession also led to this.)
That said: The Aisha/Jamie storyline here nearly redeems the entire thing, starting with silliness (Jamie texts, “After homeroom meat me in the halweigh”) and generating memorable, sweet moments like a romantic, candlelit lunch at the Max (with Jamie nicely using Aisha’s Instagram fondness for pigs in a blanket as inspiration), watching a sunset on the computer and, in a science class, prompting a teacher to demand, “Stop using the emergency safety shower for sexy fun.” Even better, it leads to a great exchange in which Jamie proves to be more evolved than we think, with a mature, clear-headed viewpoint of trust in relationships, and them believing their connection is stronger than one bad text. A really nice counterpoint to everything else happening in the episode.
Good line despite the lame idea: Pitching his revelation about phone addiction to the staff (which does lead to a funny progression of Mac turning himself into a human pay phone and Daisy saying he should help Devante instead of being selfish), Toddman asks, “When was the last time you went into nature and stuck your hand in a hole in a tree just to see what was there?” Toddman can be quite funny, and he’s right -- I haven’t done that in weeks.
Episode grade: C+
Episode 7: “House Party”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: Jamie hosting a birthday party provides Daisy an opportunity to socially rebrand herself at a rich person’s party while Lexi and Mac scheme to break up Jamie and Aisha in service of Lexi’s elaborate plan to manipulate Jamie in her direction. Also: While Jessie visits her terrible husband, Slater agrees to accompany Toddman (whose lonely social calendar recalls Coach Steve on “Big Mouth”) on a double date, in which Slater’s date is played by his real wife (Courtney Lopez)!
Never goes out of style? Can’t imagine any fans of the original show not loving the moment when Slater, who leaves his date to break up the party after Jessie worries about things getting out of control, busts out the same dance he did at the Max three decades ago. It’s really funny that he says, “Alexa, hit it!” (forgetting that he has to actually say the name of a song), and the timing is perfect as the kids pause in silence after the dance, then applaud wildly. This is a sweet show with fondness for the characters, and the scene honors the past rather than trying to embarrass Slater (who in many other moments is presented as unsuccessful and dopey). And the “Barbara Ann” callback that follows plays great too.
Psychology in action: Really liking the way the show lets the characters drive the plot instead of the other way around. In this episode Lexi engineers a selfish plan but eventually feels terribly, realizing that it’s more akin to something she used to do when she was unhappy and that making people feel bad now makes her feel bad; Aisha shows that she’s not, as Lexi suspects, insecure about her feet but in fact worried about not being able to buy Jamie expensive gifts; Daisy is both endearing and goofy as she drinks too much before the party and has a really good time getting out of her head; Mac continues to recognize/deny that he has an emotional void caused by his dad’s inattention; and Jamie again proves to be more observant than he initially seems, identifying the ways Lexi has changed as well as how her mean comments used to impact him. (Devante doesn’t have as much to do in this one besides having fun.)
Calling Mark Wahlberg: When Jessie and Slater can’t believe it’s been 30 years since their high school parties, he hilariously attempts to confirm this by rattling off all of the NBA champions in those years, which comes off a lot like Wahlberg listing women’s names in “Ted” (which he still remembered after filming -- see here starting from 0:21).
Calling Melissa Fumero: Again it’s hard not to think of her “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” character Amy Santiago as Daisy talks about her usual party approach of either standing in the corner or trying to make friends with the dog. Doesn’t matter if Daisy is a type, though; like the rest of the cast, Velazquez is excellent, appealing and effortless … even though I wish Daisy didn’t delight in saying for once she wasn’t the loser at the party because A. She doesn’t realize that she was the one who made out with a coat and B. As mentioned, I thought these characters weren’t going to try to define people by social status but now I’m not so sure.
Some early songs actually are good, but: During his date Slater says his favorite band is Train, to which his date, Michelle, says they exclusively make music for car commercials. Which is actually one of the nicer things you can say about their last 5-7 albums.
Wait, now you don’t drop names? In the opening scene Lexi says she and Jamie could be the ultimate power couple and laments when beautiful actresses date “SNL” writers. Clearly Peacock gave the creators permission to mention any celebrity as long as you avoid saying the words “Colin Jost.”
Episode grade: B+
Episode 8: “The Todd Capsule”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: Rather than focus on who’s going to be king and queen or something, homecoming means Lexi and Daisy teaming up to fundraise while Zack and Kelly return for an alumni gathering and, along with Slater and Jessie, realize that their friendship doesn’t seem to have the same spark as it did in the days before jobs, kids and running states.
So sorry, but: The subplot about the original gang forgetting that Toddman went to school with them (and saved Jessie when her ATV was out of control in the Malibu Sands episodes) is terrible. I hated the mediocre visual gags of Toddman being cheaply placed in classic episodes like “No Hope with Dope,” and even as a joke the storyline (FYI Higgins is a decade older than Gosselaar, Thiessen, Berkeley and Lopez) just felt like an insult to the history of the show … which is hard to do when a series lacks as much continuity as “Saved by the Bell” does.
Much better idea, somewhat better execution: No one could deny that life changes between being a teenager and being in your 40s, and it’s fun to spend time with the adult versions of Zack, Kelly, Jessie and Slater as they reconcile their relationships now with how things felt back then. What’s troubling is how one of the few highlights of “The College Years” was Kelly developing as a person outside of Zack’s shadow, yet now we’re meant to see her wellness brand and attempt to call herself a doctor of optimism as airheaded at best. And if it’s meant to be ironic when Jessie comments that Zack and Kelly have changed and are so self-absorbed now, the joke doesn’t land. It just seems like the show doesn’t know how to simultaneously identify Zack’s flaws and also not suggest that his closest friends always saw the truth about him. (Well, they do later suggest that he was selfish when he was younger too, but opening up that line of thinking too much would of course question why they put up with him for so long.) What results are some fun references to early episodes (can’t not love seeing Zack Attack sing “Friends Forever” again, even if the composition of the group is very different than it was before with Jessie and without Screech and Lisa) but a bit of a dead end in terms of what’s being said about the nature of these friendships and how much they have/haven’t navigated growing over time.
What happened to being nice? Lexi’s back to mean girl here, disapproving of morals and saying that fundraising requires a dedicated fleet of minions immune to verbal abuse. Most of the new series shows that you can be really funny and sharp without being nasty, so lines and characterizations like this stand out, and not in a good way.
Zack seems to be somewhat more honest and supportive now! Setting aside a couple lies (see below), he acknowledges an upsetting meeting he had (a seismologist says the next earthquake will be an extinction-level event during which survivors will wish they died!) and trying to reassure Kelly that her business can’t be stupid because it came to her in a dream and a psychic said it was rad. That sounds like a dig, but he says it sincerely, and for Zack Morris this counts as emotional support. We’ll take it!
On the other hand: Just as his father once did to him, Zack pays little attention to Mac, instead taking a call when his son, who longs to be on the pranking level of his dad, is trying to talk to him. Continually happy that the show is willing to indict its most notorious character for not being a great person, and the impact his obliviousness has on his child -- who amusingly/sadly wonders, “How can he be the problem? He’s never around” and later asks if they can pull a prank in which they throw a baseball back and forth to each other.
Zack’s lies (2):
Saying that he and Kelly got a flat tire while she simultaneously says they were actually having sex in the limo and that’s why they’re late
Claiming he has to take a call to get out of talking to Toddman
Hey, look who it is! Lark Voorhies makes an extremely brief appearance when the group calls Lisa (who works in fashion in Paris) on FaceTime to see if she remembers Toddman being in school with them. She does and says she loves that guy. Once again: This doesn’t work. But glad to see Lisa’s doing well!
Major breaking news on original cast member #6: According to Slater, Screech isn’t around because HE AND KEVIN ARE LIVING ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. This inspires so, so, so many questions.
Episode grade: C+
Episode 9: “All in the Hall”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: With the previous episode ending with the PTA wanting to use fundraising money to reopen Douglas, Devante tries to get Toddman to do a better job of standing up for the Douglas students while Daisy leads the charge to use bureaucracy to their benefit and Aisha just tries to save herself.
The fuzzy pink fantasy sequence returns! Imagining what his life would be like if Daisy never came to Bayside, Mac takes a page out of his dad’s book with an absurd visualization in which, among other things, a girl who transferred from Makeout High wants him and he gets to eat dino nuggets for lunch. A provocative look into a complicated mind.
OK I guess the show is still obsessed with status, bummer: Slater, who really should be over this perspective, claims to be upset about all the Douglas kids being forced out of Bayside and “not just the cool ones who play sports, even the little nerds.” No. Stop. Mean.
Much, much better: It’s awesome when the show finds a way to capture something meaningful and add something funny without dismissing what came before. “When you spend time with people who are different from you, you start to see the world through their eyes. And once you’ve opened your heart you can’t close it again,” Lexi tells Mac in a fantastic, optimistic explanation of his newfound empathy. Oh, like a Capri Sun, he says. Nostalgic, accurate, funny, perfect.
Speaking of nostalgia: Yes, that is Troy Fromin aka Ox aka Scud in line as Lexi, Mac and Daisy try to cut their way to the front of the line. Great to see an old character return, sorry to see Ox is at a place in his life where he can be bought for $5!
And another callback: Apparently the tagline for Principalcon 2010 (which both Toddman and Douglas principal Davis [Rodney J. Hobbs] attended) was Belding’s classic, “Hey hey hey hey, what is going on here?” Disappointing to not see Richard himself on screen, but really like the laughs between these guys and the discussion about the temporary assistance that keeps Douglas far away from long-term solutions.
Correcting the sleaziness of the peephole era: When the gang is looking for Daisy, Mac puts security cameras in the girls’ locker room showers and connects it to an app on his phone. “Jesus Christ!” exclaims Lexi and knocks his phone out of his hand. This is how you acknowledge gross behavior!
Obligatory Amy Santiago mention: Daisy loves paperwork and is psyched to get to handle a filing that could keep the Douglas students at Bayside (featuring a very funny return of a minor character from earlier in the season, or was it?). Pretty shocked she doesn’t profess her fondness for binders too, and very happy with how the gang rallies around her and reflects that this group of friends actually seems bonded. Which matters.
And now that we’re making comparisons: Jamie quite recalls Jason Mendoza, Manny Jacinto’s seemingly unintelligent but likable and unexpectedly wise character from “The Good Place,” especially when Jamie (who anchors a moving final scene again showing his emotional savvy) says that before Aisha arrived he was pretending a mechanical pencil was a big, scary needle. Um, go Jaguars?
Episode grade: B+
Episode 10: Showdown”
Aired November 25, 2020
Plot: Will the Douglas kids get to stay at their new school? Can the gang get the Bayside students to help out with that? And will Governor Zack really show up at the Daisy-led walkout as Mac believes, or will his dad continue a lifelong run of disappointing everyone?
Quick reminder: That scene between Jessie and Slater that I mentioned in the intro is in this episode, and I love it so much.
Zack’s lies: None! This is not uncommon for a season to end with Zack showcasing more honest behavior. (And, yes, that means I believe him when he says he got Jason Statham on the California Supreme Court.) Read more about that, with statistical evidence, in “Zack Morris Lied 329 Times!”
Though it takes more than honesty to be good: More specifically, much of this episode is about how much Zack, well, sucks, which is especially bad when that’s something pointed out by his own son. He literally says, “What just happened is my dad sucks,” and he’s right: Mac spends 16 hours on hold trying to get in touch with his father, and it’s clear absentee parenting is why, as Daisy points out, until this week Mac has been a sociopath. “Not all legends are good,” she adds after Mac, who understandably doesn’t know all about the terrible things Zack did as a kid, claims his dad is a legend at Bayside. Daisy’s claim proves true when Zack’s version of “doing everything he can” turns out to just be unveiling a mural for a photo op, and it’s pretty wonderful to see her continually challenge the lazy, indifferent politician until she breaks through his jargon about the complexity of the educational system to recognize that he’s really just afraid of not being re-elected. The only thing I don’t like about all this is Kelly wearing a red dress because “I came here to seduce your father just in case he didn’t do the right thing,” which suggests only bad things about both Zack and Kelly and who they are as people now and the nature of their relationship.
So high school: It wouldn’t be a story about teenagers if we didn’t get a tour of the cliques, and we finally get one here as we glimpse the artsy kids, the girls who code, the cool Christians and uncool Christians (later getting a laugh when the Christian kids want to start a protest with a prayer and the atheist kids want to start with a nothing.) “Being friends with someone doesn’t mean you’re willing to put your neck out for them,” Devante points out, which both fits his character well and makes an observant point about adolescent relationships.
About those relationships: With Jamie and Aisha ending things in the previous episode, the possibility of Jamie and Lexi returns, with the latter confessing her crush and the former admitting he has thought about her that way. Plus, Jamie’s comment is pretty persuasive: “I think friends can date friends; haven’t you ever seen ‘Friends’?”
Funny twist on the material: Following an earlier joke in which Zack recognizes that others may not understand Zack Attack-related commentary because their stardom was just in a dream he had, this episode now finds him declaring, “New kids keep things fresh; remember Tori?” to which Kelly replies, “Who?” It seems like a low blow until you remember that Kelly never met Tori, and do you really think Zack was going to tell Kelly about her?
Speaking of former cast members: If you weren’t already wishing to see or at least hear about Stacy Carosi again, it was hard not to think of Leah Remini when Lexi says, “Don’t sit the sci-fi nerds next to theater, that’s how Scientology was invented.”
Good riddance: Jessie finally gives his awful husband the verbal dismissal he deserves after he seems to not care about her 29 years free of caffeine. “I’m Jessie fucking Spano. Now get out of my office” will be a meme by the time you’re done reading this sentence.
Ominous: One of the season’s last lines is Mac getting a text and saying, “What’s coronavirus? Oh well.” WEAR A MASK, PEOPLE.
Mark your calendars: There’s another reference to the huge, impending earthquake (Zack was in L.A. for a meeting about it), now identified as happening May 14. Since this gag has no payoff in this season, it guarantees that that day will bring a new “Saved by the Bell” action film about the whole original gang banding together to save humanity! (Unlikely, but we can hope.)
Episode grade: A-
Series grade: B+
No, not everything works. But as a whole the revived “Saved by the Bell” is accessible, funny, timely and sharp, with great characters cast perfectly. While some may wish to spend more time with the adults we saw as kids in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I’d argue these 10 episodes strike the right balance of old and new, acknowledging what came before without feeling trapped by it. It’s smart comedy with one wink where many showrunners would have opted for two. And if there were ever a time when people needed to realize the futility of clinging tightly to the errors of the past, it’s now. Bring on growth, ideas, continuity, tolerance, big laughs, and season two.
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