When I wake up in the morning… I turn on my TV and watch Zack Morris, Kelly Kapowski and Screech get into crazy shenanigans. From 1989 to 1993, Saved by the Bell captured the hearts and minds of America's youth. And now, still airing in syndication more than a quarter-century later, the once-critically panned teen sitcom has become a cultural phenomenon. Here are 22 things you might not know about Saved by the Bell.
1. SAVED BY THE BELL BEGAN AS A DISNEY SERIES STARRING HAYLEY MILLS.
In 1987, NBC aired the pilot for Good Morning, Miss Bliss, a teen sitcom featuring Hayley Mills (star of The Parent Trap and Pollyanna) as sixth grade teacher Miss Bliss. In the pilot, which only aired once on NBC, the main students were played by Brian Austin Green (who would go on to star with Tiffani Amber Thiessen on Beverly Hills, 90210), Family Matters' Jaleel White, and seaQuest DSV’s Jonathan Brandis.
NBC ultimately decided not to pick up the series, but the Disney Channel agreed to air Good Morning, Miss Bliss for one season. Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris), Lark Voorhies (Lisa Turtle), and Dustin Diamond (Samuel “Screech” Powers) joined the cast. Good Morning, Miss Bliss ran for 13 episodes before being dropped by Disney and picked back up by NBC. NBC gave Good Morning, Miss Bliss a significant facelift—aging up the students, adding Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Kelly Kapowski), Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie Spano), and Mario Lopez (A.C. Slater) to the cast, and shifting the focus away from the teachers to create the Saved by the Bell audiences came to know and love.
2. MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR, MARIO LOPEZ, AND DUSTIN DIAMOND ARE THE ONLY ACTORS TO APPEAR IN ALL 86 EPISODES OF THE SHOW.
If you include the episodes formerly known as Miss Bliss, only Gosselaar and Diamond hold this distinction. Diamond is also the only original cast member to appear as a regular in all Saved by the Bell spinoffs and movies.
3. ELIZABETH BERKLEY AUDITIONED FOR THE ROLE OF KELLY KAPOWSKI.
Elizabeth Berkley was in the running to play Kelly Kapowski, Zack Morris' dream girl. While the role ultimately went to Thiessen (because, of course it did), the producers liked Berkley so much they created the character Jessie Spano specifically for her.
4. BERKLEY WASN'T ALWAYS THRILLED WITH HOW HER CHARACTER WAS PORTRAYED.
Despite having the role of Jessie written expressly for her, Berkley wasn't always a fan of her (literally) buttoned-up persona. In a 2013 interview on Bethenny, Berkley said of her character's wardrobe, “I didn't like it because I felt like as a young woman, just because you are a feminist, why can't you also dress in things that make you feel girly and empowered?" Especially when Kelly and Lisa got to romp about in next-to-nothing. “Right the bikinis,” Berkley said. “They used to put me in a one piece. I'm sorry, but at 16 you don't want to be the girl in the one piece with baggy shorts.”
5. MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR AND LARK VOORHIES DATED FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE SHOW'S RUN.
While Kelly Kapowski held the keys to Zack Morris' heart, Lark Voorhies had Mark-Paul Gosselaar's on lock. The couple dated for three years, including during the filming of Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style. In 2009, Gosselaar told People that “All of us dated at one point or another—it was incestuous!"
6. GOSSELAAR HAD TO DYE HIS HAIR EVERY TWO WEEKS DURING FILMING.
Gosselaar, a natural brunette, became well acquainted with bleach during his years on Saved by the Bell. He admitted to People that, “Getting back to my natural color took a while! I haven't dyed my hair since 1997.”
7. MARIO LOPEZ CREDITS SLATER’S DO (OR DON’T) TO MEL GIBSON.
“I liked my hair long because I wanted to look like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon," Lopez told People. “I didn't even know I had a mullet! Looking back, I guess it does qualify.”
8. THERE WAS NO SWEARING ALLOWED ON THE SET.
In order to maintain the show’s wholesome feel, executive producer Peter Engel put a moratorium on cursing on the set. In an interview with MarkPaulGosselaar.net, Gosselaar expressed his relief at being able to let loose a bit while filming the 1998 movie Dead Man on Campus. “It was nice to actually swear on the set,” Gosselaar said. “It was like, 'Ooh, I can say that?' We weren't allowed to swear on the Saved by the Bell set. We were very restricted. It had to be a very clean show, all the way around.”
9. KELLY AND JESSIE MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED IN THE FINAL SEASON … UNTIL GRADUATION DAY.
After filming Saved by the Bell's final season, but before the episodes aired, NBC decided to double their episode order, a move that would require re-signing the entire cast. While the majority of the cast renewed their contracts, Thiessen and Berkley refused. Enter, Tori Scott.
To solve the lack of female lead—and love interest for Zack—problem, the show introduced a new character, tough girl new student Tori Scott (played by Leanna Creel). With no explanation, Tori joined the gang and Kelly and Jessie were never mentioned again. Until graduation, that is.
The show's finale, which featured the crew's high school graduation, was filmed before Thiessen and Berkley's exit. So Kelly and Jessie appear in their caps and gowns alongside their best buds. Conspicuously missing? You guessed it: Tori.
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