SAVED BY THE BELL

US teen sit-com Saved By the Bell was my ish back in the day. That show,  made by US network NBC and syndicated to 85 countries around the world, was one of the only things that could get me out of bed on a Saturday morning as a child. Well that and my mum threatening to beat my ass if I didn’t get up and start my weekend chores. It was based on a group of six high school students who attended the fictional Bayside High in California and the shenanigans they used to get up to.

Produced by Peter Engel, who later became synonymously known for the US teen sit-com genre, SBTB was the fore-runner for shows such as Beverly Hills 90210, California Dreams (another Peter Engel production,who remembers that one? Lol!), Hang Time (Also Engel), Dawson’s Creek and Party of Five. All these shows worked in a range of issues which affect everyday teens, such as drugs, drinking, sex, self-esteem, peer pressure, blah, blah, blah, handled with the usual sugary sweet approach, and with the aim of teaching viewers a valuable life lesson.

Those hardcore… or just plain sad fans of the show will remember that the first series was originally called Good Morning Miss Bliss, and of the eventual cast only featured cocky schemer Zak Morris (Mark Paul Gosselaar), spoilt rich girl Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies) and lovable nerd Samuel ‘Screech’ Powers (Dustin Diamond). Damn, I even remember Screech’s full name. Lol! It also featured bumbling teacher Mr Belding (Dennis Haskins). Then for the second series they switched things up with three new characters pretty cheerleader Kelly Kapowski Tiffani Amber Thiessen), school jock AC Slater (Mario Lopez), and outspoken feminist Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley), and these six then became the staple characters, along with Mr Belding, who in later series (there were a whopping 11 in total, including the spin-offs, e.g. Saved By The Bell: The New Class and Saved By The Bell: The College Years) became the school principal.

Some of the main things I remember about the show includes the fact that the kids always hung at at place called the ‘Max’, a little diner, where they bought milkshakes and burgers. It was owned by a guy called… Max, who appeared for the first few seasons, until the place was bought up by someone else.

Also Zack and his huge mobile phone, but I guesss this was the 80s when cell phones were massive. I always wondered how a high school kid could afford a mobile phone, which unlike today when 9 year olds have mobiles, this was not the norm. But in TV land anything is possible.

I also remember in the early seasons of the show when Zack used to do a ‘time-out’, which meant talking straight into the camera to the viewers at home. When this happened, the world around him would freeze, and everyone else in the show would be in a trance and oblivious to what he was saying.

And, who could forget the on-off relationship between Zack and Kelly? Slater and Jessie dated  too, and there was also Screech’s on-going crush on Lisa (she couldn’t stand him.Lol!). But the real love story was between Zack and Kelly, and their love affiar eventually ended up in marriage, in the spin-off movie: Saved By The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994).

THE REUNION:

Last year was the 20th anniversary of the show (One again I feel ancient!) and the cast got together for a special photo-shoot and interview, courtesy of  US entertainment magazine People. Well, when I say the cast I mean everybody except Dennis Haskell who played Mr Belding, and more poignantly Dustin Diamond (Screech). The reason for Dustin’s absence was explained as his no longer being close with the rest of the cast. The fact that he was in the process of releasing a tell-all book about the show (below), featuring a series of damning accusations about other members of the cast probably didn’t help that.

These included allegations of Mark-Paul using steroids, claims that producers on the show covered up a rape scandal involving Mario Lopez, by paying off an alleged victim, and accusations that Tiffany Amber Thiessen was a ’slut’. LOL!

No wonder he doesn’t speak to the other castmates, or is it that they don’t talk to him! And can you blame them??

In the People article (cover below) the rest of the cast rubbished Dustin’s claims, dismissing the book as his desperate attempt to make some quick cash. Judging from his career path since SBTB ended, this is not hard to believe! His post SBTB jobs include a stand-up comedian, appearing on reality TV show Celebrity Fit Club, and starring in a REALLY BAD (so I’ve read!) porn movie… Unsurprisingly there were also reports that he was broke not too long ago, so writing the book (as with most books of this kind) does seem like the actions of a desperate man. But then does that mean the allegations aren’t true??? Who knows!

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

MARK PAUL GOSSELAAR (35)

Who knew Mark was half dutch and half… Indonesian? I certainly didn’t, but apparently he is.  Come to think of it, I can see it now looking at him. You learn something new every day, huh? But anyway, moving on… After Saved by the Bell ended in 1993, Mark, along with Mario, Dustin and Tiffany starred in spin-off, Saved By The Bell The College Years, which wasn’t half as good as the original, but I still watched it! lol! This was in the mid 90s, and despite doing a few movies (Dead Man on Campus) and short-lived TV shows (Hyperion Bar, DC), following on from that, none of them created much of an impact. Probably his most high profile role since leaving SBTB was in NYPD Blue (2001-2005) playing Detective John Clarke Jr. Mark-Paul was last seen on stage in New York in a play called the Understudy, which ended in January 2010. He is married with two young kids.

TIFFANI AMBER THIESSEN (36)

Tiffani, who is of German, Turkish and Welsh descent (just thought you’d like to know. lol!) has probably had one of the most high-profile careers of the six main SBTB cast members, since leaving the show, thanks to her stint as Valerie Malone in Beverly Hills 90210 (1994-1998). Her character of Valerie Malone was bought into the show after the departure of Shannen Doherty (who played Brenda Walsh) as the new ‘bad girl’. And it worked too as she did succeed in vamping up the show, which lost a bit of steam after Shannen left. As a family friend of the Walsh clan Valerie wreaked havoc on anyone that crossed her, and anyone else she took a dislike to. After leaving 90210 Tiffani appeared in guest roles in  various TV shows. The most notable of these was a recurring role on Three Girls and A Guy (which was broadcast on Sky channel Trouble over in the UK). She also starred as a lead in TV crime drama Fastlane (2002-2003), before the series was canceled. She is now starring in comedy crime-drama White Collar and is expecting her first child (with husband, actor Brady Smith) in May 2010.

ELIZABETH BERKLEY( JESSIE SPANO), 37

Elizabeth Berkley was pretty much under the radar after the show ended, until she popped up in the infamous film Showgirls. The film, which flopped when originally released in 1995, has now become a bit of a cult classic. Showgirls charted the career of a young stripper who goes on to become showgirl, and the behind the scenes drama that came with it. It received  a NC-17 rating (the first big budget film to do so), as it featured several sex scenes. Most of these were unnecessary to the storyline, and seemed to be slotted in to gloss over the thin plot and terrible acting, and that is being kind. Elizabeth now appears on hit TV crime drama CSI: Miami.

LARK VOORHIES, 35

Lark has appeared in several TV shows since SBTB ended, including soaps Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful. She reportedly quit the latter after refusing to do sex scenes due to religious beliefs.  Later she popped up in the LL Cool J sit-com In The House, where she played the love interest for Alfonso Ribeiro’s character Maxwell Stanton.

In terms of the big screen, at one point a few years ago her name was put in the mix regarding a Whitney Houston biopic, but there have been no new updates of this since then. Not many know that Lark has a musical background. She is also the niece of Jermaine Jackson’s wife, and in 1994 she formed a group with the two daughters of oldest Jackson sister Rebbie called X-Girls. But the group was short-lived. Lark is married with a daughter.

DID YA KNOW?

• Lark dated co-star Mark-Paul Gosselaar from 1989-1992.

• She was engaged to Martin Lawrence, but he embarrassingly broke it off, after announcing he was engaged to another women live on the Arsenio Hall show! Damn, reminds me of how K-Ci did Mary J on British TV show The Word! UK visitors may remember that cringe-worthy incident!

• In 2006 she sued the National Enquirer after they wrote an ‘article’ accusing her of being addicted to cocaine. They settled the case out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.

MARIO LOPEZ, 36

Appearing on reality TV show Dancing with the Stars in 2006 turned out to be a great career decision for Mario. Before then he had mainly been serving as a host on a series of mediocre game shows. But after coming second on the third series of DWTS, his profile grew quite substantially and he was offered more high profile hosting slots on shows such as MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, and as a regular presenter on entertainment  show Extra. In addition he is now appearing as Dr Mike Hamoui in the current series of US hit drama Nip/Tuck.

DUSTIN DIAMOND, 33

Well he’s writing books and tryna get paid, I guess!

AND WHAT ABOUT MR BELDING???

Dennis Haskins (now 60) became a bit of a cult figure among those old enough to remember Saved by the Bell first time round. As bumbling Principal Mr Belding he had numerous run-ins with nemisis Zack Morris, who enjoyed wiinding him up. But as the series progressed you saw that the two actually had a soft spot for each other. After the show ended Dennis appeared in various below the radar TV and movies, mostly in supporting roles. He also tours the country giving talks to school kids as part of his on-going charity work.

DID YA KNOW?

• Dennis used to be a promoter for singer Tim Jones.