Saved by the Bell: The New Class

This was a good show, with great characters. I especially liked Katie (red hair, dates Nicky in the final season, played by Lindsey McKeon?). There were only a few characters that got on my nerves, they were Maria Lopez, RJ Collins, and Vicki Needleman. And another thing that bothered me was that there were so many recycled stories - e.g. Lindsey and Ryan's break-up was pure Kelly-and-Zack of the original series, when Maria started smoking pot it was another Jessie-and-painkillers thing, when Lindsey thought Ryan was going out with Rachel it was just like Snow White and the Eight Dorks from the original series. Oh, and just one more thing that bothered EVERYONE - changes! There were SIXTEEN main students in total! They only explained about two - Lindsey and Tommy. And they only explained a few new people! I got used to watching Lindsey, Ryan, Tommy, Rachel, RJ, and Maria, but then they suddenly disappeared. But it was a great show apart from all those things, and I love the episode where Lisa, Zack, and Slater come back. I give this a B+.

I would consider the material on Saved by the Bell: The New Class to be in the sub-par range. Granted the original Saved by the Bell (or what can by called Saved by the Bell: The Old Class) wasn't close to being a masterpiece on its own terms as it was filled with cheap jokes, stereotypes, and some outlandish storytelling even for a high school farce. But at the same time the cartoonish qualities that surrounded Saved by the Bell made the show appealing in the first place. In contrast, there's really nothing appealing about the New Class. The humor is bland, the writing is pretty lazy, and it the show can often be uneven. When I use the word "uneven" I'm directing this towards the fact that the show carries a rule (otherwise known as E/I) handed down by the Federal Communications Commission the there has to be certain ethics and/or morals in the stories. Because of the New Class' relatively lame writing (i.e. in the comedy department), we get a feeling that we are being throughly talked down to. Granted other sitcoms that have aired on NBC on Saturday mornings carry this rule also, but in contrast, those shows have better writing and are more entertaining. Another problem is that the New Class can't really distinguish itself. Some people have considered the stories from the first few seasons of this show to be exact duplicates of episodes from Saved by the Bell: The Old Class. Not to mention that this show has gone through numerous cast changes which somewhat creates a problem because it's harder to get used to things.

Each Character in the first season of "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" was a parody of an original character as the original "Saved by the Bell". Scott Erikson was a parody of Zach. Barton "Weasel" Wyzell was a parody of Samuel "Screech" Powers, and so on. When Screech returned to the series, things started to go down, and so did ratings, until it became a complete waste of time. I like the original "Saved by the bell" better, even though it is not airing on Canadian Television, because nothing can be better than the original!

If the original Saved By the Bell was stupid fluff, then this show is idiotic junk food for kids who had no taste. Why is that? Because it was the exact same show, only with different actors and names for the characters! You had a new schemer, a new bad boy, a new ditz, a new love interest, and a new dork! I think his name was Moose. And if I'm right...MOOSE?! What the hell? I'm reminded of a Seinfeld episode where Elaine meets the bizarro versions of her friends. Kramer's bizarro guy is named Feldman. I mean, Feldman? Please! Oh, AND MOOSE? What is going on in those producers' heads, anyway? Then they somehow convinced that Mr. Belding fella to come back. I don't know how much they gave him, but it could not possibly have been enough. Then they even managed to pull Screech back into the mix! And sorry, but when Screech is no longer a skinny little guy but someone who is taller than Belding, the annoying voice and clumsy antics just aren't funny anymore (if they were at all). I would like to apologize to the guy who played him, however. I've seen his stand-up comedy and it's obvious how much he hates these shows now. Props to ya, buddy! Anyway, they cancelled this show pretty fast, because everyone had moved on to Beverly Hills 90210 or the Smurfs or something. I don't know. But these characters were not interesting in the slightest, and none of them could act. Especially the bad boy/idiot who wore the leather jacket. He went out with the love interest and eventually they broke up in a scene that's so high school theater it made me want to gag. And I don't know what these kids went on to do afterwards, but I hope it was an Ovaltine commercial or work on the radio. They deserve it! 1/4 stars

"Saved by the Bell: The New Class" wore on and on for eight seasons and an amazing 143 Saturday morning episodes from 1993 through 2000. None of the students in the revolving door of Bayside High in California make much of an impression and we are left with old alums Dennis Haskins and Dustin Diamond trying to salvage any dignity the concept once had. Nothing is very successful though as the premise is old and tiring with past situations played out by lesser performers who may have careers as models, but not legitimate television actors and actresses. More proof that old ideas played out with new people is rarely successful in American television programming. Turkey (0 stars out of 5).