Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.12 “Christmas In July”

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell: The New Class, which ran on NBC from 1993 to 2o00. The show is currently on Prime.

This week, we’re back at that damn country club.

Episode 2.12 “Christmas In July”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 15th, 1994)

The Palisades County Club is holding its annual Christmas in July celebration. Along with the employees taking part in Secret Santa, a new Snow Queen will be named. Again, this episode takes place in July. There’s no snow on the ground. The sun is bright. It’s summer in California. I can’t help but think that Santa costume that Belding is wearing is going to be getting awfully hot and smelly. Even stranger, this episode aired in October.

Seriously, Saved By The Bell, why couldn’t you just be normal?

Screech is in a panic about Secret Santa. After he learns that his girlfriend, Alison, has been given a new car by her father, club owner Big Ed (Frank Bonner), Screech wonders how his gift can possibly compete. Hey, Screech? Big Ed is her father. You’re not supposed to compete with his gifts. Anyway, Screech sells his never-bef0re-seen Scooter so that he can get Alison something expensive. Meanwhile, Alison buys Screech a rinky-dink horn for his scooter. Wow, Alison’s gift really sucked! Alison’s driving a brand new car and she still couldn’t find Screech a gift that cost more than a dollar? I guess their relationship must be all about the sex because it’s definitely not about love.

Meanwhile, Megan, Rachel, and Lindsay are competing to be Miss Snow Queen. The winner gets a scholarship! Megan is outraged when she discovers that there’s a swimsuit portion of the competition. She demands that Rachel and Lindsay join her and quit in protest. Rachel and Lindsay both say that they’re not quitting because they actually need the scholarship. Megan, who has previously been established as coming from a wealthy family, decides to stay in the pageant so she can give a speech about sexism and keep the two poor girls from going to college. Megan wins the pageant but she also apologizes for calling Rachel and Lindsay “bimbos” for not dropping out. It’s good to see that performative activism did not go out of style after Jessie graduated.

This was a dumb episode. The second season of Saved By The Bell: The New Class is a hundred times better than the first but the country club episodes still suck.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.11 “Tommy The Tenor”

Posted on July 28, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh no! The Glee Club is in trouble!

Episode 2.11 “Tommy the Tenor”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 15th, 1994)

During the second season, Saved By The Bell: The New Class aired twice on Saturday morning. The first episode would feature the Gang at Bayside, dealing with high school stuff. The second episode would feature the Gang outside of school, working a summer job or visiting relatives in another state. This often wrecked havoc with the show’s already fragile continuity. Episodes in which Rachel and Brian were dating while working at the Palisades Country Club would air beside episodes set at Bayside, in which Brian was still pining for Rachel and Rachel, for her part, barely seemed to notice that Brian was even around.

In this Bayside-set episode, Brian joins the Glee Club because he wants to be near Rachel. (Rachel, meanwhile, joins the Glee Club because the teacher is hot. That’s also why Lindsay and Megan join as well.) The only problem is that Brian can’t carry a tune. So, he arranges for Tommy stand outside the classroom and sing through an open window while Brian lip-synchs. Tommy has a wonderful voice but he’s afraid that his cool, leather jacket-wearing image will be ruined if he joins the Glee Club. And the teacher apparently is too stupid to notice that Brian can only sing when he’s standing near an open window.

(Speaking of continuity, Lindsay doesn’t realize that Tommy is the one singing for Brian, even though she’s been dating Tommy forever and should presumably know what his voice sounds like. In this episode, Lindsay and Tommy barely speak. It’s as if everyone involved forgot that Tommy and Lindsay were supposed to be the school’s power couple. How lazy were the writers this season?)

Uh-oh, the school board is thinking cutting funding for the Glee Club! Mr. Belding invites the school board’s Mr. McKenzie (Eddie Allen) to hear the Glee Club perform but, unfortunately, Rachel, Megan, and Lindsay are too busy fighting over the teacher to sing (and that all get hiccups due to — God help me — hiccup spray that Rachel buys to sabotage the other girls) and Tommy isn’t available to provide a voice for Brian. The Glee Club is doomed!

Oh well. Who needs a Glee Club?

Apparently, Bayside does. Belding arrange for yet another performance and, this time, Tommy walks out on stage and does his best Tony Bennett impersonation. Tommy D is willing to risk his cool to save the Glee Club. What a loser.

The best thing about this episode is that Screech was not present. Bobby mentions that Screech is in Alaska, visiting his grandmother. For some reason, this is presented as a laugh line. I mean, surely, there are grandmothers who live in Alaska, right? And people do visit them. It’s not like Screech went to Manitoba to visit her. Now, that would have been funny!

Otherwise, this was a dumb episode. The lip-synching was dumb. The assembly was dumb. Why was the school board funding the Glee Club? Why couldn’t the Glee Club just do a fundraiser on their own? When I was in high school, I stood outside of Richardson Square Mall in short shorts and a crop top and yelled, “Car Wash!” and raised enough money to fund the Drama Club through 2035. It’s not that difficult!

Seriously, this episode barely even tried. No wonder Screech went to Alaska.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.10 “A Matter of Trust”

Posted on July 21, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s all for charity!

Episode 2.10 “A Matter of Trust”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 8th, 1994)

Oh crap, it’s another country club episode.

It’s time for the annual charity event! The male employees of the club are auctioned off to various women bidders so that they can compete together in a contest. The winning team gets a hot air balloon ride. Mr. Belding makes it sound like a big deal but it’s hard not to notice that hardly anyone outside of the main group seems to take part. Apparently, this is a charity being funded exclusively by teenagers with summer jobs.

Bobby asks Megan to bid on him because he thinks it’ll make him more attractive to the woman who he hopes will buy him. Instead, Megan bids too much and she wins Bobby.

Lindsay wins her boyfriend, Tommy D. Lindsay is excited but Tommy is worried because he’s scared of heights.

Because Mr. Belding says that Screech has too many responsibilities to be auctioned off, Screech can only watch as his girlfriend, Alison, purchases Brian.

Brian’s girlfriend, Rachel, buys Hubert Dweebly (Mark David) because she feels sorry for him. That’s something that I would definitely do. Hubert then turns out to be a total perv who spends the entire competition pawing Rachel and trying to get her to kiss him. This would perhaps have been funnier if Sarah Lancaster had been older than 14 when she played Rachel.

Anyway, Screech gets jealous and tries to get Brian in trouble so that he can take Brian’s place. And Tommy doesn’t want to win so he tires to help Bobby cheat but everything gets screwed up and Tommy and Lindsay win anyways. It’s a typical Saved By The Bell episode, you can probably already guess everything that happens. Allison turns out to be very forgiving. Allison might not be that smart.

The main problem with this episode is that it asks us to believe that Allison would find needy, uberemotional, shrill-voiced Screech to be in any way attractive. During the second season, Dustin Diamond’s performance was nowhere near as obnoxious as it would eventually get. But his version of Screech was still too cartoonish to be taken seriously. His performance in this episode is …. well, it’s just bad. There’s no other way to put it. You really do find yourself thinking, “Allison and Brian actually make a lot more sense than Allison and Screech.”

It’s funny to me that the first Country Club episode was all about the importance of working hard when you have a job and we haven’t actually seen anyone doing their job since.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.9 “Belding’s Prank”

Posted on July 14, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we have an episode that you should watch at your own risk.

Episode 2.9 “Belding’s Prank”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 8th, 1994)

This is one of those episodes where the plot just gives you a headache.

It’s Prank Week at Bayside and Mr. Belding is all in. He thinks that Prank Week is a great way to build school spirit. When Screech informs Belding that the new superintendent is coming to inspect the school, Belding assumes that it’s a prank. Meanwhile, Brian, Tommy, and Bobby are trying to prank Rachel, Lindsay, and Megan and vice versa. Brian, Tommy, and Bobby sabotage a sink in the girls locker room. Rachel, Lindsay, and Megan put a live chicken in the boys locker room.

Finally, Screech is able to convince Belding that the superintendent is coming. Belding suspends prank week. However, when a plumber (Ken Thorley) shows up to look at the sink, the girls tell Screech that he’s the superintendent. (The plumber was at the Plumber Awards Banquet and is wearing a suit.) Belding and Screech give the plumber a tour of the school. Belding take him to the Max for lunch.

The real superintendent (Raye Birk) shows up but Screech thinks he’s the plumber. (Oh my God, this hurts my head just to write.) Screech tells the superintendent to fix the sink. The superintendent gets sprayed with black sludge. Screech takes the superintendent to the boys locker room to wash up. The superintendent runs into the chickens and ends up covered in feathers.

The superintendent demands to speak to Belding in his office. Our core group of students — who apparently don’t have any classes to go to — wait outside. Belding steps out of the office and announces, “I’ve been fired.”

Well, yeah, I should say so. There’s absolutely no reason for Belding not to be fired. He obviously can’t control his school. Hell, he can’t even get his students to go to class.

The next day, the superintendent returns and, at a school assembly, says he’s going to introduce the new principal.

“We want Mr. Belding back!” Brian cries out.

“Then you should have appreciated him when he was here,” the superintendent replies.

The superintendent then introduces the new principal — “Mr. Richard Belding!”

Belding steps out on stage, disappointing Screech who thought he was going to be the new principal. “Got ya!” Belding says to the students. Hey, it was all a prank! Belding mentions that it’s a good thing that the superintendent had a sense of humor.

WHAT!?

I’ve seen this episode a few times. Dennis Haskins actually gives one of his better performances as Belding in this episode. You really do believe him when he says, “I’ve been fired,” which makes it all the more strange when it turns out it was all just an elaborate prank.

Overall, though, this is one of those episodes that gives me a headache in that every problem could have been resolved by everyone not acting like an idiot. This is migraine television. And that’s no prank!

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.8 “Rachel’s Choice”

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Rachel’s boyfriend returns.

Episode 2.8 “Rachel’s Choice”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 1st, 1994)

Oh, Hell, we’re back at the country club.

Rachel and Brian are now dating but Rachel still hasn’t told her long-distance boyfriend, football star David Conrad (Kevin Bell). In this episode, it’s mentioned that Rachel has been dating David for two years (so why was she going on out on a date with Scott during season one?) and that David is the “local boy made good.” Mr. Belding acts as if David is the only good football player that Bayside ever had, which is definitely A.C. Slater erasure.

(It’s weird how Bayside went from being the most exclusive school in Los Angeles during the first series to apparently just some throw-away slum school in the New Class.)

David told Rachel that he would be spending the summer in Europe but — surprise! — he comes home early for Rachel’s birthday. (David immediately recognizes Screech as someone he went to school with so David is at least 20. Rachel appeared in the first 4 seasons of The New Class and, when she left, it was because she transferred to another school. So, Rachel is around 14 or 15 here and has been dating David for two years, which means that David should probably be in jail.) Rachel has to make a choice between David and Brian. Now, that could make for some serious drama if both Brian and David were portrayed as being two nice guys who both liked Rachel. Instead, David is portrayed as being such a soulless snob that there’s absolutely no doubt who Rachel will eventually pick. Indeed, the whole episode makes Rachel seem shallow and stupid for going out with David in the first place.

Meanwhile, Mr. Belding is concerned that some of the members are joining a different country clubs. Why does Belding care? This is just a summer job for him. Belding assigns Screech to make a video about the club. Shouldn’t Belding have run that past the actual owner of the club?

These country club episodes are stupid. By running them concurrently with the high school episodes, NBC created a situation where one episode would feature Brian and Rachel as a couple and the next episode would feature Brian still trying to work up the courage to ask her out. It’s as if no one at NBC cared. That’s a shame because the late Christian Oliver was a likable actor and Brian and Rachel were a cute couple. (In real life, when this episode aired, 22 year-old Christian Oliver was about 8 years older than Sarah Lancaster but let’s try not to think about that.)

Anyway, the country club sucks. I hope everyone gets a better job next summer.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.7 “The People’s Choice”

Posted on June 23, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Screech becomes a crusading editor.

Episode 2.7 “The People’s Choice”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 1st, 1994)

Feeling underappreciated at the high school, Screech asks to be made faculty advisor of the school paper. With a staff made up of the Gang, Screech rejuvenates the paper. Soon, he is directing an investigation into why there’s no money in the school’s athletic budget for the girl’s swim team to go to state. Could it be because the misogynistic football coach (Brian Reddy) is a embezzling the money so the football team can go on a trip?

Unfortunately, everyone gets so involved in pursuing the story that they neglect their studies and they skip Mr. Belding’s college entrance exam review session! Honestly, college entrance exams are incredibly easy and anyone who needs a review session to do well on them wasn’t going to get into a decent college anyways. Seriously, just blow all that off and go to a party school like I did. GO MEAN GREEN!

Anyway, Screech realizes the error of his ways and puts the newspaper staff through a grueling review session. Everyone does well on their exam. And Screech disguises himself as an old man and tricks the coach into confessing his embezzlement! The coach presumably works with Screech every day so how did he fall for a wig and a fake mustache? Seriously, what is the deal with this show and disguises?

Despite the rather stupid plot, this episode wasn’t that bad. Dustin Diamond actually gave a fairly believable performance as Screech and the ensemble had a good chemistry. I’ll admit that I laughed at Tommy D’s attempts to be a food critic. I bet we never hear about the newspaper again.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.6 “Brian’s Girlfriend”

Posted on June 16, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s a 4th of July episode that aired in September.

Episode 2.6 “Brian’s Girlfriend”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 24th, 1994)

Oh Hell, it’s another country club episode.

The country club is having a tip competition for the 4th of July. Whoever gets the most tips will have their earnings matched by the club. Megan wants to win so she can send her parents on a cruise. (How did Bayside go from being a school full of wealthy trust fund brats to one full of poor people?) Bobby decides to give her all of his tips so she can win. That sounds like cheating to me.

Meanwhile, due to Screech’s stupidity, Mr. Belding ends up with a terrible sunburn. (Screech was supposed to bring the sunscreen but he brought salad dressing instead.) This leads to countless scenes of Screech slapping Belding on the back and causing him agonizing pain. Ha ha, I guess.

Meanwhile, Brian makes Rachel jealous by pretending to like the new tennis instructor (Brittney Powell). She likes him too, even though he’s like 16. When a guilt-stricken Brian finally admits that he was only pretending to like her, the tennis instructor says, “You’re a jerk!” and she’s right. But I guess it doesn’t matter because Brian’s plan works and he and Rachel end up sharing a kiss while watching the 4th of July fireworks.

What type of show airs their 4th of July episode in September?

The country club episodes are so annoying. If I wanted to watch people work, I could just go hang out at Target for 30 minutes.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.5 “Squash It”

Posted on June 9, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hey, it’s time for yet another school carnival!

Episode 2.5 “Squash It”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 25th, 1994)

Because no one at this school actually has to go to class or anything, it’s time for the annual Bayside carnival! Who will win the prize for best booth?

Will it be Tommy and Lindsay’s kissing booth? Neither Tommy nor Lindsay are happy about the idea of either one of them kissing anyone else. So why did they agree to a kissing booth in the first place?

Will it be Rachel and Brian’s dunk tank? When Belding comes down with a cold, Brian takes Belding’s place as the dunkee. Everyone wants to dunk Brian because he’s spent a week deliberately insulting everyone. However, Brian has rigged the tank so he won’t fall in the water. “You forgot to release the safety!” Belding says, not realizing that there’s a reason for that. Uh-oh. Soon, Brian is soaked and the audience is saying, “Woooo!”

Will it be Megan and Bobby’s mind-reading booth? Let’s hope not because that’s really dumb. Bobby also has to remove his mind-reading turban so he can fight a bully. Fortunately, Screech has taught him karate!

I know this all sounds terrible but this is actually a pretty cute episode. Instead of being Screech-centered, this episode actually allows every member of the cast to have at least one moment to shine. (I hate to keep pointing this out but the season 2 cast has a far more appealing chemistry than the season 1 cast.) Even Screech teaching Bobby karate is amusing. There’s nothing subtle about Dustin Diamond’s performance but, for once, the broad humor actually works. Add to that, Bobby learns how to fight but then he chooses not to. Hey, that’s actually a good lesson, even if it is a bit anticlimatic.

We never learn who wins the Best Booth prize. I would have given it to Brian and Rachel. They’re a cute couple, even if they’re not technically dating. (It also helps if you don’t think about the fact that there was a 8 year age-difference between the actors.)

All in all, this was a good episode. I’m as shocked as anyone.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.4 “Blood Money”

Posted on May 26, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s time to learn a lesson about giving blood.

Episode 2.4 “Blood Money”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 17th, 1994)

Megan is running the school blood drive but no one wants to give blood. Mr. Belding tries to teach everyone a lesson by volunteering but he’s informed by nurse Penny Brady (Emma Caulfield) that he has high cholesterol. Not only does Belding need to start an exercise regimen but he’s apparently too fat to chaperone the school’s hiking trip.

Not wanting the school’s butch gym teacher to chaperone the trip, Brian decides that Screech should be the chaperone. However, Screech is depressed because he has a crush on Penny but he can’t work up the courage to ask her out. Brian tells Penny that he’ll get everyone in the school to donate blood if she agrees to go out with Screech….

Ugh. This is another Screech-is-in-love episode. Dustin Diamond was nowhere near as bad during season 2 as he would be in later seasons but still, watching the previously asexual Screech date someone is not a pleasant experience. Penny discovers that she actually likes Screech (why?) but then Screech hears that she was bribed to go out with him and he gets his feelings hurt.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HIKING TRIP?

Seriously, screw the hiking trip. Why is this school always sponsoring a trip somewhere? Just give people their diplomas and stay out of their lives….

Oh no, Tommy D’s previously unseen best friend was in a motorcycle accident! And he has a very rare blood type! Only Screech can save him! Screech gives blood, everyone apologizes for setting him up, and Screech agrees to chaperone the trip and to continue dating Penny. I’m going to guess that didn’t last since Screech ended up dating Allison while working at the country club over the summer.

Meanwhile, some poor biker has gallons of Screech inside of him.

What an episode. The whole problem with the first season is that the students were not very likable. Now, the show actually has likable students but all of the attention is on Screech. It’s like this show just wanted to fail!

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.3 “Let the Games Begin”

Posted on May 19, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we’re back at the country club.

Episode 2.3 “Let the Games Begin”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 17th, 1994)

At Pacific Palisades Country Club, it’s time for the annual competition between the members of the club and the staff. If the staff wins, the members will wait on them for a week!

Really? I mean, is this a real thing? Why would any club member agree to that? If I’m paying good money to belong to a country club, the last thing that I’m ever going to do is wait on the staff. I don’t care who wins the stupid competition.

It turns out that Screech is a very good golf player, which becomes an important plot point when the games end in a tie. The tie-breaker is a golf game between country club owner Big Ed and Screech. Big Ed tells Screech to either take a dive or stop dating his daughter, Allison. In the end, Screech can’t betray his fellow workers but Allison doesn’t care. She decides who she dates, not Big Ed.

Also, Tommy D learns how to swim (yay, good for him!) and Rachel says she’s going to quit her job when she learns her boyfriend won’t be coming home for the summer. (Her boyfriend was a member of the club and Rachel only took the job so she could spend time with him.) Brian, not wanting Rachel to quit, starts to send her poems that she believes are being written by her boyfriend. Rachel eventually learns the truth but she’s not offended at all. Of course, she isn’t. Just look at Brian’s apologetic smile!

This episode …. listen, let’s give credit where credit is due. Christian Oliver and Sarah Lancaster? They were cute together. As far as fake Zacks go, Christian Oliver was one of the better ones. And Jonathan Angel gave a likably earnest performance in the scenes where Tommy learned to swim. Unfortunately, this episode featured way too much Screech. Though Dustin Diamond is nowhere near as bad during season 2 as he would be in later seasons, he’s still way too cartoonish to be taken seriously as anyone’s boyfriend.

Seriously, can you imagine buying a country club membership and then having to wait on Screech?