It got to the point where not only had I seen every single episode multiple times, but I had the insane ability to recognize which episode it was just by watching to first 30 to 45 seconds of the show. And that still holds true now, as the other day, while watching a repeat on Noggin, I found myself saying the lines along with the show. I mean, i admit, it's a problem. But it's fascinating to see that this is the kind of information I retain in my head. I don't remember anything from the French class I took two years ago, but I can sing every song that was pitched in the School Song episode. Weird. I realize now how crazy that sounds, but it's better than me being out on the streets, right? But as you can see, I was a fan of the program to say the least.
2009 marks the 20th anniversary of SBTB, and recently, Jimmy Fallon launched a campaign on his show to get the entire cast back together for a reunion. Mr. Belding was of course the first to sign on, probs because he has nothing else going for him except his karaoke bar, Dimples, in LA [see photo of me singing karaoke in said bar from SBLA08]. Soon thereafter, Lark Voorhies agreed to do it. Then in comes Mario Lopez recreating a classic scene from the episode "Save the Max," in an attempt to get more people to sign the petition, which YOU can do at his website! Watch the orig HERE, then watch the 2009 version.
Then, THIS HAPPENED:
Then, THIS HAPPENED:
Now, Jimmy Fallon tweeted this picture the day that episode aired, and I was very confused. I thought, wow, that is a really good photoshop job. But as more pictures circulated, I became even more confused, because it looked like it was NOT Mark Paul Gosselaar that was on the show, but ZACK MORRIS. LIKE, THE REAL ZACK MORRIS. And that night, when he came out as THE Zack Morris, it blew my mind. I embarrassingly knew every single reference he was making during his 10 minute interview. From Malibu Sands with a seemingly unknown Leah Remini as Stacey Carosi, to Stansbury: 'The Harvard of the West', to that skeezy Johnny Dakota from the club "The Attic." It was unreal how much of the show I actually remembered, and how much this interview made me happy.
Even though Saved by the Bell probably won't go down in tv history as one of the greatest shows of all time, it will always be a part of who I am. I grew up with them. They grew up with me. They are as part of my childhood as my Samantha American Girl doll, or the Sunday carousel rides on the beach and even Wegmans cookie cake every year for my birthday. It brings that warm feeling of home, comfort, and familiarity we can lose so quickly these days. It can make our troubles as 20 something year olds fade away, as we get lost in the world of thought where being addicted to caffeine pills is the worst possible thing that could happen to anyone. The thinking that protesting against styrofoam cups in an empty high school hallway will save the world. A place where even if your parent gets fired, your choosing not to go to the prom with your dream date will make everything better. But sometimes, just sometimes, it's just that thing, that nostalgia to make us put everything in perspective and keep on keepin on, because when those credits roll, and that bell rings, everything will be turn out just fine in the end.
