Good Morning, Miss Bliss

As a kid born in 1985, I became of a learning age around 1990. At that time, SAVED BY THE BELL was just starting off. Zack, Slater, Kelly, Screech, Lisa, Jessie, Mr. Belding... they were all there. Reruns started about two years after that.

And the reruns messed with my head.

You see, I had no prior knowledge that this Bayside-based high school sitcom actually had roots in a former show entitled GOOD MORNING, MISS BLISS. But apparently everyone else had, so there were no explanations when these episodes were aired under the SAVED BY THE BELL moniker and threw my entire viewing experience off its axis.

It was ve-e-e-ery '80s. Zack was pretty young (around 14 or 15?) and he was aside a prepubescent Screech and two new kids that seemed to be 1989 in the raw. Miss Bliss was weird; and the episode where they invest in potatoes is just damn bizarre.

Like the entire show.

I watch Saved by the Bell every morning, and for a while, I noticed that there was no Slater, Kelly, or Jessie. And that's just weird. Because Saved by the Bell always had those people, and this show, called "Saved by the Bell" did not.

I really didn't enjoy this version. There were two students who didn't even make it to the actual show, and that's lame.

Anyway, it's 7AM, and I'm missing Saved by the Bell, the one where Kelly has to pick between Zack and Slater to take to the dance (It's a pretty old one, Slater just showed up at Bayside yesterday), so I have to go.

What do you all think of this show as it related to the actual show Saved by the Bell, you know, the one that got super popular in the early 90s and that we all grew up on?

Okay, so this show wasn't that great, but I hope everyone realizes that this was the show responsible for the launch of Saved By The Bell, one of the most awesome Saturday morning shows that I must say I and everyone I know watched religiously as we were growing up. :D

I just wish I could see more episodes of it. I only get to see it occasionaly when they venture into the earliest episodes of the show which older Zach usually narrates the beginning of (renamed Saved By the Bell and played now in syndication as if they had been normal episodes of the SbtB series).

Oh, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class was terrible!!!

Long live Zach, Kelly, Lisa, Screech, AC, Jessie, and Mr. Belding! hehe

I loved Hayley Mills in the original series as Miss Bliss. But the rest of the series just displayed many stereotypes that we would be better off without. A brainless jock, a Barbie doll ditz, a spoiled rich kid, a young womanizer and a geek just for starters. Selfish, self indulgent teens with no real substance. With the exception of perhaps one or two characters, their first instinct was always to dupe someone or get something they were told they couldn't have. It was always at the expense of someone else. The only time they showed any morals or regret was when they were caught and told how they should act. And while they made fun of geeks at every opportunity, how is it that Scheech (a self admitted geek) was one of their circle of friends? Of course he was the fall guy for many a prank. Pityful. I would not let my children watch this show....ever.

My opinion of this original version of "Saved By The Bell" has remained virtually unchanged since it premiered over a decade ago. Basically, it's rarely funny, sometimes quite slow-moving, and yet, I still occasionally watch the reruns because it is a pain-free way to kill some time. That's hardly an endorsement, but it is quite the compliment considering how weak this show really is. I can't explain why I watched it when it first aired, and I can't explain why I sometimes watch it now...perhaps these days it's a nostalgic thing, but I don't really know. One thing's for sure: unless you grew up watching this and "Saved By The Bell", you shouldn't bother giving this show a chance.