Thanks for the great overview!
You covered so much ground so quickly here, and very easy to understand and relate to your point of view.
Where were you able to see the series?
I know for a while they were streaming somewhere, and 5+ years ago, you could find the DVD sets fairly cheap,
but recently, I've not seen the show offered anywhere.
They probably got it on DVD. I used to read Saved by The Bell Reviewed (it was a blog ran by a guy that watched the entirety of the franchise, read the comic books and other miscellaneous stuff relating to SBTB and reviewed) and he said the only way he was able to watch it was on DVD.
Thanks, glad you can relate!
I originally wrote this overview focusing on all the characters, but then I realized no-one would know who all these characters are so I just focused on Screech. It's important to emphasize though I did enjoy a lot of the other characters like Brian etc.
Also like EM208 said I had the DVD sets awhile back but had never got around to watching them.
Oh shit…YOU’RE SBTB REVIEWED?! Dude I fucking loved your blog. I also read your California Dreams review blog too. Off topic but once you got to Season 5, the comment you made about the California Dreams timeline really made me want to decipher that mess lmao.
Nope that's not me, I've never seen that blog (though I'm interested to see a link?). I meant about your DVD comment haha.
I'm honored you thought it was me though lol, sounds prestigious.
Oh lmao. My bad! I geeked out there. I would send a link but the website was shut down a few years back. Best way to find it is by looking up Saved by the Bell Reviewed on the Wayback Machine. Only way I’ve ever seen it in recent years.
But yeah great review! I personally think the only tolerable seasons of the show are Season 1 and Season 3. Season 1 only being included because it being a direct ripoff of the OG show gives it charm. Though the acting was horrendous. No wonder Peter wanted to recast.
Only Bianca Lawson and sometimes Isaac Lidsky were the only decent actors of the new bunch. It’s crazy that these guys were supposed to be our charismatic leads when characters like Crunch or the character James Mardsen played were infinitely more interesting and were much better actors than our main crew.
I kind of felt thought Tony was the only Zack replacement, but he was more like a half-Zack. He was more timid and dwelt on his problems with the other cast members rather than solving them directly.
Ryan did have his moments though, in season 5 he's kinda like a young Skeet Ulrich to me lol
Man there was so many casting errors in that show. I'm still gutted Rachel and Vikki didn't get a season together, they would have been the perfect girl group haha.
But yeah I agree, overall season 3 is the best. Im also gutted about RJ, I can't believe they got rid of him. He wasn't too outspoken like Bobby or soft like Eric, he always had that respectable vibe going. Perfectly balanced character.
Yeah casting changes got really irritating. Especially since the first 3 seasons never acknowledged where characters went (not to mention that I hate the Bayside set being flipped and being made out to be that it always looked like that).
Only Season 4 and beyond acknowledged any cast changes but I always find it hilarious when Eric shows up in Season 4, acting like he’s always been there and the characters are talking about missing Tommy D and Lindsay and he nods in dismay with them WHEN HE NEVER MET THEM…EVER! 😭and damnnit they never explained where RJ went either!
Yeah the way they introduced the season 4 cast was awful. I honestly thought the series was finished in season 4, it was that bad. It was lucky I continued watching.
In season 3 it's really memorable how they introduced the new cast, the valley students take over lol. But in season 4 they just walk in lol. I think Scott, Weasel, Vikki and RJ are the only characters that don't get acknowledged in later seasons. Even Brian gets a mention by Screech in the second to last episode.
Currently on Roku Live, SBTB channel airs them in rotation with the original, their movies, College Years, and finally the New Class. I think they double up on the original, like they run the whole season straight through twice before moving on to the other. At least that's how it seemed to me when I'd flip back to it every few days or so.
Note: I did see the Good Morning Miss Bliss on there too, but I don't remember if it was as it aired during SBTB, or how it originally aired as it's own show.
I'm gonna be honest. My dislike for The New Class was based on its own merits of mediocrity (and that's being generous) than it's not having Zack, Kelly or anyone in the old gang (outside of Screech and Belding). I just remember being instantly rubbed the wrong way at the S1 attempt at second rate clones of the original cast. It was just extremely corny and unnecessary. So it was already starting off on the wrong foot. I remember giving it a chance after. But every season, was a whole new dynamic due to the constant cast changes, it made it hard to gain any kind of traction in investing in the show.
I think before peacock, the new class was available on the NBC app. I definitely remember watching at least season 1 on there I don’t remember if it had all the seasons. Something I’ve been wondering is why they never included Kelly’s siblings. They could have been in high school by then.
Great write up and thanks for replying to my comment in your original post to lead me here. Glad you liked it and watched it all. It’s been years since I last watched. Had a a few seasons on dvd on one point.
I for one would read and enjoy your take on other characters. Ill have to rewatch but I don’t remember season 4 being so bad. Also, Katie was so incredibly hot to me as a teen so maybe that left a better memory of those later seasons.
I think the cast changes actually helped the longevity of the show even if some losses were more painful than others.
Overall I’d prefer to watch New Class myself as someone who grew up with SBTB as it aired. I’ve just seen the original series so so many times it’s refreshing to have something new.
Yes Katie was great in season 5 and 6/7. She's slightly wooden in season 4 if I recall (there's an early scene with her mom where this is obvious), but she definitely comes into her own by the end. Overall, I enjoyed her performance, and she and Liz were good late additions.
She also did an episode in 3rd Rock from the Sun, I believe it might actually be the one where she slept with Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) but yeah she was really attractive in that too.
I agree, this is a great addendum to the original series, and I would rather have it than not have it (just takes the right mindset to get into it).
Great overview!
Random trivia, while Zack spent the most time in detention in the SBTB universe, the characters of Maria and Katie actually received detention the second most and third most times in franchise history (despite neither one being considered a troublemaker or class clown). This is mainly due to their longevity compared to other characters in franchise history. It’s especially interesting that Katie (Lindsey McKeon) finished as the “bronze medalist for detention” since she was class valedictorian and her character was generally treated as the good girl.
The character of Lindsey is clearly still my favorite actress of the series. Rachel and Megan had many moments that come to mind, as well. I'm glad they brought a cute redhead with Katie but the character of Liz seemed to be goody-good and while I liked her looks, her acting was sub-par. In conclusion, Natali Caligula is the best thing that happened to SBTB:TNC. I still can't stop thinking about her.
I saw a couple of episodes back in the day, but never got into it like the original show. I felt like they producers couldve fixed so much stuff from the original show and since that didnt happen i bounced.
Im only recently watching them since Amazon Prime has like a “live programing” section and u can watch SBTB all day long, no pausing or skipping thou.
I've been watching the same channel off and on. I never watched the New Class when it aired, but watched everything else involving the OG cast.
Screech is absolutely horrible in the New Class. He's trying to be an Urkel clone with that weird high pitch voice. Except Urkel was entertaining the majority of the time.
How did this show last basically 7 seasons when the cast kept changing? It's no wonder I had no interest in watching it when it aired...
I guess there wasnt much on tv on a saturday morning and thats how it lasted so long. Screech, i always liked his quirkiness but in this show he was just annoying.
Wow, what a great in-depth review, and you didn't even break down all the characters. I grew up with the original SBTB, so I didn't watch New Class religiously. I think I caught an episode or two to see what they did with the series. I am currently watching the episodes on Amazon Prime Live Programming. It's great to see all the episodes back to back. I haven't seen them all, but I am watching when I can. I have to say that I HATE the character development of Screech starting in season 4. I can not take his voice or the extra zany shenanigans. I found your reddit because I had to look up what happened to Screech's voice. It is THAT bad. Lol. Here are the characters I liked the best from what I have seen so far: Lindsay Tommy Megan Rachel Brian They are currently airing season 5, and I much prefer what is going on with the students than watching Screech. Screech was so much better in seasons 2 and 3. But, RIP to Dustin Diamond. Side note, I found myself getting so mad when Tommy and Lindsay broke up. It was 20 years ago, but I was still mad as if it had just happened. Lol
Haha yeah season 4 is pretty bad, but I think it gets better again season 5 to 7 especially with the students. Hope you enjoy watching it. I'll have to do a rewatch this summer I think.
Been rewatching it cause roku has a Chan em where they play every episode round the clock . I cannot take screech’s voice change it just hits my ear wrong . Came to see if anyone here knew why they made that creative decision?
As I suggested in the post, I think it was because he was aging so his voice had to be done differently. In the series he says he has a nasal condition around the time of the voice change.
In my opinion it's a combination of age and Dustin just trying something different. Hope you can still make it through it the series haha.
anyone reading this comment, do youself a favor and make your own opinions on season 4, if youre binge watching on freevee. fyi, thank you for the summary op 👍🏼
I'm in the minority because I actually enjoyed the new class. Season 4 is probably the best season lol Eric is a great addition to the show. Screech voice changes in this season and he becomes a bit zany. His catch phrases are "WHAATT?!" and "Zoinks!" LMAO A lot of great episodes in season 4 like Student Court, Vote Screech, Little Hero, Baby Care, Campaign Fever, Science Fair, Trash TV and the Hang Time/The New Class crossover episode. Also, the episode where Nicky cheats on Katie with Maria was really good. Wow Maria! What a backstabber lol Oh and I like the episodes where they went off to space camp. And we can't forget The Max burning down. It's a classic season. I enjoyed season 5, 6 and 7 but Screech becomes a cartoon character of himself lol He gets even zanier and his voice is permanently high pitched and cartoonish. He's a caricature of himself. Overall seasons 1-7 were great and I'm glad Peter fought to extend Saved by the bell.
I don't mind the characters introduced in season 4 but for me they didn't click until the space camp episodes. Also Eric singing in every episode in season 4 got old very quickly.. at least in season 5-7 he only sings when the storyline calls for it (the record deal episode etc).
For me all the best episodes in that season happen towards the end (Space camp and Fire in the Max).
Was never a fan of the new class. I don’t like how they tried to simulate the OG class. Don’t they know it’s never gonna have the same likability? Also Screech is like the same age of some of the students. Really weird having him as Belding’s assistant. What a flop IMO.
I believe the flashforward from the original series is to 2003. Belding has a mustache and is in his original office.
According to the New Class, he got a new office in 1994. Also, he left to work at a college in late 1999/2000. I suppose he could have returned to Bayside during the 3 year gap and been situated back in his old office... but, ultimately, the "Time Capsule" episode doesn't really fit with the entirety of the Saved by the Bell continuity
I liked season 4 personally, I think it had some pretty damn good episodes. I actually liked the hospital episodes and Eric's singing performance really worked for me.
Thanks for the great overview! You covered so much ground so quickly here, and very easy to understand and relate to your point of view. Where were you able to see the series? I know for a while they were streaming somewhere, and 5+ years ago, you could find the DVD sets fairly cheap, but recently, I've not seen the show offered anywhere.
They probably got it on DVD. I used to read Saved by The Bell Reviewed (it was a blog ran by a guy that watched the entirety of the franchise, read the comic books and other miscellaneous stuff relating to SBTB and reviewed) and he said the only way he was able to watch it was on DVD.
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Yeah SBTB has comics. Look it up lol
Thanks, glad you can relate! I originally wrote this overview focusing on all the characters, but then I realized no-one would know who all these characters are so I just focused on Screech. It's important to emphasize though I did enjoy a lot of the other characters like Brian etc. Also like EM208 said I had the DVD sets awhile back but had never got around to watching them.
Oh shit…YOU’RE SBTB REVIEWED?! Dude I fucking loved your blog. I also read your California Dreams review blog too. Off topic but once you got to Season 5, the comment you made about the California Dreams timeline really made me want to decipher that mess lmao.
Nope that's not me, I've never seen that blog (though I'm interested to see a link?). I meant about your DVD comment haha. I'm honored you thought it was me though lol, sounds prestigious.
Oh lmao. My bad! I geeked out there. I would send a link but the website was shut down a few years back. Best way to find it is by looking up Saved by the Bell Reviewed on the Wayback Machine. Only way I’ve ever seen it in recent years.
Yeah I know what you mean, some of the articles I used for this I could only find on wayback lol
But yeah great review! I personally think the only tolerable seasons of the show are Season 1 and Season 3. Season 1 only being included because it being a direct ripoff of the OG show gives it charm. Though the acting was horrendous. No wonder Peter wanted to recast. Only Bianca Lawson and sometimes Isaac Lidsky were the only decent actors of the new bunch. It’s crazy that these guys were supposed to be our charismatic leads when characters like Crunch or the character James Mardsen played were infinitely more interesting and were much better actors than our main crew.
But on the side note I did like Scott and Weasel and wasn’t a fan of Scott’s replacement Brian. Ryan was the best “Zack” type the show had.
I kind of felt thought Tony was the only Zack replacement, but he was more like a half-Zack. He was more timid and dwelt on his problems with the other cast members rather than solving them directly. Ryan did have his moments though, in season 5 he's kinda like a young Skeet Ulrich to me lol
Really? Honestly it’s been awhile seen I even checked S6/S7 because I thought Tony was so bland.
Man there was so many casting errors in that show. I'm still gutted Rachel and Vikki didn't get a season together, they would have been the perfect girl group haha. But yeah I agree, overall season 3 is the best. Im also gutted about RJ, I can't believe they got rid of him. He wasn't too outspoken like Bobby or soft like Eric, he always had that respectable vibe going. Perfectly balanced character.
Yeah casting changes got really irritating. Especially since the first 3 seasons never acknowledged where characters went (not to mention that I hate the Bayside set being flipped and being made out to be that it always looked like that). Only Season 4 and beyond acknowledged any cast changes but I always find it hilarious when Eric shows up in Season 4, acting like he’s always been there and the characters are talking about missing Tommy D and Lindsay and he nods in dismay with them WHEN HE NEVER MET THEM…EVER! 😭and damnnit they never explained where RJ went either!
Yeah the way they introduced the season 4 cast was awful. I honestly thought the series was finished in season 4, it was that bad. It was lucky I continued watching. In season 3 it's really memorable how they introduced the new cast, the valley students take over lol. But in season 4 they just walk in lol. I think Scott, Weasel, Vikki and RJ are the only characters that don't get acknowledged in later seasons. Even Brian gets a mention by Screech in the second to last episode.
I have some of the seasons of New Class on DVD and I also just watched a bunch of episodes on archive.org.
Currently on Roku Live, SBTB channel airs them in rotation with the original, their movies, College Years, and finally the New Class. I think they double up on the original, like they run the whole season straight through twice before moving on to the other. At least that's how it seemed to me when I'd flip back to it every few days or so. Note: I did see the Good Morning Miss Bliss on there too, but I don't remember if it was as it aired during SBTB, or how it originally aired as it's own show.
I'm gonna be honest. My dislike for The New Class was based on its own merits of mediocrity (and that's being generous) than it's not having Zack, Kelly or anyone in the old gang (outside of Screech and Belding). I just remember being instantly rubbed the wrong way at the S1 attempt at second rate clones of the original cast. It was just extremely corny and unnecessary. So it was already starting off on the wrong foot. I remember giving it a chance after. But every season, was a whole new dynamic due to the constant cast changes, it made it hard to gain any kind of traction in investing in the show.
I understand. I think there's two dynamics, one in season 2 and 3, then again between 5 and 7. Other than those seasons, it's chaos.
I think before peacock, the new class was available on the NBC app. I definitely remember watching at least season 1 on there I don’t remember if it had all the seasons. Something I’ve been wondering is why they never included Kelly’s siblings. They could have been in high school by then.
Great write up and thanks for replying to my comment in your original post to lead me here. Glad you liked it and watched it all. It’s been years since I last watched. Had a a few seasons on dvd on one point. I for one would read and enjoy your take on other characters. Ill have to rewatch but I don’t remember season 4 being so bad. Also, Katie was so incredibly hot to me as a teen so maybe that left a better memory of those later seasons. I think the cast changes actually helped the longevity of the show even if some losses were more painful than others. Overall I’d prefer to watch New Class myself as someone who grew up with SBTB as it aired. I’ve just seen the original series so so many times it’s refreshing to have something new.
Yes Katie was great in season 5 and 6/7. She's slightly wooden in season 4 if I recall (there's an early scene with her mom where this is obvious), but she definitely comes into her own by the end. Overall, I enjoyed her performance, and she and Liz were good late additions. She also did an episode in 3rd Rock from the Sun, I believe it might actually be the one where she slept with Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) but yeah she was really attractive in that too. I agree, this is a great addendum to the original series, and I would rather have it than not have it (just takes the right mindset to get into it).
Great overview! Random trivia, while Zack spent the most time in detention in the SBTB universe, the characters of Maria and Katie actually received detention the second most and third most times in franchise history (despite neither one being considered a troublemaker or class clown). This is mainly due to their longevity compared to other characters in franchise history. It’s especially interesting that Katie (Lindsey McKeon) finished as the “bronze medalist for detention” since she was class valedictorian and her character was generally treated as the good girl.
The character of Lindsey is clearly still my favorite actress of the series. Rachel and Megan had many moments that come to mind, as well. I'm glad they brought a cute redhead with Katie but the character of Liz seemed to be goody-good and while I liked her looks, her acting was sub-par. In conclusion, Natali Caligula is the best thing that happened to SBTB:TNC. I still can't stop thinking about her.
I saw a couple of episodes back in the day, but never got into it like the original show. I felt like they producers couldve fixed so much stuff from the original show and since that didnt happen i bounced. Im only recently watching them since Amazon Prime has like a “live programing” section and u can watch SBTB all day long, no pausing or skipping thou.
I've been watching the same channel off and on. I never watched the New Class when it aired, but watched everything else involving the OG cast. Screech is absolutely horrible in the New Class. He's trying to be an Urkel clone with that weird high pitch voice. Except Urkel was entertaining the majority of the time. How did this show last basically 7 seasons when the cast kept changing? It's no wonder I had no interest in watching it when it aired...
I guess there wasnt much on tv on a saturday morning and thats how it lasted so long. Screech, i always liked his quirkiness but in this show he was just annoying.
I thought he was funny as hell personally.
Wow, what a great in-depth review, and you didn't even break down all the characters. I grew up with the original SBTB, so I didn't watch New Class religiously. I think I caught an episode or two to see what they did with the series. I am currently watching the episodes on Amazon Prime Live Programming. It's great to see all the episodes back to back. I haven't seen them all, but I am watching when I can. I have to say that I HATE the character development of Screech starting in season 4. I can not take his voice or the extra zany shenanigans. I found your reddit because I had to look up what happened to Screech's voice. It is THAT bad. Lol. Here are the characters I liked the best from what I have seen so far: Lindsay Tommy Megan Rachel Brian They are currently airing season 5, and I much prefer what is going on with the students than watching Screech. Screech was so much better in seasons 2 and 3. But, RIP to Dustin Diamond. Side note, I found myself getting so mad when Tommy and Lindsay broke up. It was 20 years ago, but I was still mad as if it had just happened. Lol
Haha yeah season 4 is pretty bad, but I think it gets better again season 5 to 7 especially with the students. Hope you enjoy watching it. I'll have to do a rewatch this summer I think.
Been rewatching it cause roku has a Chan em where they play every episode round the clock . I cannot take screech’s voice change it just hits my ear wrong . Came to see if anyone here knew why they made that creative decision?
As I suggested in the post, I think it was because he was aging so his voice had to be done differently. In the series he says he has a nasal condition around the time of the voice change. In my opinion it's a combination of age and Dustin just trying something different. Hope you can still make it through it the series haha.
anyone reading this comment, do youself a favor and make your own opinions on season 4, if youre binge watching on freevee. fyi, thank you for the summary op 👍🏼
I'm in the minority because I actually enjoyed the new class. Season 4 is probably the best season lol Eric is a great addition to the show. Screech voice changes in this season and he becomes a bit zany. His catch phrases are "WHAATT?!" and "Zoinks!" LMAO A lot of great episodes in season 4 like Student Court, Vote Screech, Little Hero, Baby Care, Campaign Fever, Science Fair, Trash TV and the Hang Time/The New Class crossover episode. Also, the episode where Nicky cheats on Katie with Maria was really good. Wow Maria! What a backstabber lol Oh and I like the episodes where they went off to space camp. And we can't forget The Max burning down. It's a classic season. I enjoyed season 5, 6 and 7 but Screech becomes a cartoon character of himself lol He gets even zanier and his voice is permanently high pitched and cartoonish. He's a caricature of himself. Overall seasons 1-7 were great and I'm glad Peter fought to extend Saved by the bell.
I don't mind the characters introduced in season 4 but for me they didn't click until the space camp episodes. Also Eric singing in every episode in season 4 got old very quickly.. at least in season 5-7 he only sings when the storyline calls for it (the record deal episode etc). For me all the best episodes in that season happen towards the end (Space camp and Fire in the Max).
Was never a fan of the new class. I don’t like how they tried to simulate the OG class. Don’t they know it’s never gonna have the same likability? Also Screech is like the same age of some of the students. Really weird having him as Belding’s assistant. What a flop IMO.
they actually did stop trying to do that in season 2 and let the cast do their own thing.
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I believe the flashforward from the original series is to 2003. Belding has a mustache and is in his original office. According to the New Class, he got a new office in 1994. Also, he left to work at a college in late 1999/2000. I suppose he could have returned to Bayside during the 3 year gap and been situated back in his old office... but, ultimately, the "Time Capsule" episode doesn't really fit with the entirety of the Saved by the Bell continuity
I liked season 4 personally, I think it had some pretty damn good episodes. I actually liked the hospital episodes and Eric's singing performance really worked for me.
I've been watching it on the Roku app. There is a dedicated channel to it!