Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.6 “Aloha Slater”

Posted on December 6, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Saturdays, I will be reviewing Saved By The Bell, which ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime and Tubi!

This week, Zack has a chance to get ride of his main frenemy!

Episode 1.6 “Aloha Slater”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 23rd, 1989)

Zack Morris used to be the “top dog” at Bayside but now that Slater has arrived, no one cares about Zack’s pathetic little third place ribbon that he got at a track meet. Instead, they care about the giant trophy that Slater won at his latest wrestling match.

However, there may be hope on the horizon! Slater’s father, Major Martin Slater (Gerald Castillo), has been offered a transfer to Hawaii. When Major Slater tells Belding that he will be removing AC from school, Screech listens from inside a filing cabinet. Major Slater can’t wait to go to Hawaii but AC isn’t so sure. He’s finally got friends and he’s winning trophies! Major Slater leaves it up to his son. If AC Slater wants to go to Hawaii, the family will transfer. If AC wants to stay in California, they will.

Zack decides that AC has to go to Hawaii. He convinces Lisa, Kelly, and Jessie that AC is dying of a mysterious disease and that his only hope for survival is moving to Hawaii. Zack sprinkles fire ants on AC’s back to make AC herk and jerk, as if he’s having a spasm. “This is study hall, not soul train!” the teacher announces. That teacher, by the way, was played by Dustin Diamond’s father.

Zack convinces everyone to treat AC like crap. He also steals AC’s wrestling trophy. AC announces that he’s going to Hawaii. Kelly replies, “And I’m going with him!”

Zack is stunned. I’m stunned, as well. How exactly is Kelly going to go with him? Are her poor, salt-of-the-Earth parents okay with moving to one of the most expensive states to live in? At least the Slaters have a home and a good job waiting for them in the Aloha State.

(Actually, now that I think about it and I remember Saved By The Hell Hawaiian Style, Kelly did have that uncle who lived in Hawaii so I guess it’s not as out-there a development as I initially though.)

Kelly tells Slater that she knows he’s dying. Slater realizes that he’s been set up. It’s time for another prank! AC’s father turns out to be remarkably okay with staying in California. He’s also okay with pretending to be insane and throwing a grenade at Zack.

Watching this episode, it occurred to me that, during the first season at least, Mario Lopez was clearly the star of the show. While Mark-Paul Gosselaar was still trying a little bit too hard (and he wasn’t helped by some overwritten dialogue) and Dustin Diamond looked like he was about 10 years old, Mario Lopez gave a believable performance as a teenager who had finally found a home and didn’t want to leave it. Slater’s the compelling character, the one who actually gets to grow and deal with real problems. (Gosselaar, of course, has grown tremendously as an actor since the first season of SBTB.)

Fortunately, Slater stays in California. Yay! It’s hard to imagine Bayside without him.

This is my final Saved By The Bell review of 2025. Retro Television Reviews is taken a break for the holidays so that I can focus on Awards Season and Christmas movies! Saved By The Bell will return on January 10th, 2026.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.2 “The Lisa Card”

Posted on October 25, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, an important lesson is learned about credit cards.

Episode 1.2 “The Lisa Card”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on August 28th, 1989)

Lisa’s father (Henry Brown) has given her his credit card and Lisa has charged way too much money on it! Now, she has to figure out how to raise the money to pay it off before he finds out.

I could relate to this episode. When I got my first credit card, I went crazy charging stuff to it. I’m still probably a little bit too quick to reach for it. To be honest, it wouldn’t be until I was 25 that I really came to understand that someone actually has to pay all that money back. I knew what Lisa was going through but I was still surprised at how all of her friends immediately came to her aid. What selfless friends! I can honestly say that, if a friend of mine needed that much money, I would probably not give it to them. Lisa got a job at the Max but Slater, Zach, Kelly, Jessie, and Screech ended up doing most of the work and they all did it for free. Maybe if they had all gotten a job at the Max (as opposed to just volunteering to help) they could have combined their paychecks and paid off that credit card. Zach also sells all of Lisa’s clothing, holding a sale in the middle of the school hallways. (“Closing them!” Zach shouts whenever Belding is nearby.) “Who wants this lingerie?” Zach asks. Screech pledges his life savings. Ummm, Lisa is like fourteen and Screech appears to be considerably younger. That’s kind of icky….

This episode was …. well, I was going to say it was dumb but every episode of Saved By The Bell is dumb. That said, it was dumb in a fun way. Lark Voorhees was always underused on Good Morning Miss Bliss but she really goes all out with this episode. Her nervous twitching when she learned all of her clothes had been given to charity (for free!) was something else to which I could relate.

In the end, Lisa’s father forgives her and Lisa gets upset because he’s not angrier. What? Lisa, you got away with it! Be happy!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.1 “Dancing To The Max”

Posted on October 18, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Good Morning Miss Bliss failed where it aired on the Disney Channel but Brandon Tartikoff, president of NBC, felt that the show still had a potential future on NBC. Specifically, Tartikoff felt the kids — Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, and lark Voorhees — and Dennis Haskins were the ones worth keeping around. As such, Hayley Mills was let go. Max Battimo and Heather Hopper were dropped from the cast. The show was retconned from taking place in Indiana to taking place in California. The show itself was retitled Saved By The Bell….

Episode 1.1 “Dancing To The Max”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on August 20th, 1989)

This is it. This is the first episode of Saved By The Bell, the network morning show that would go on to dominate syndication for 20 years. That’s the thing about Saved By The Bell. It’s not necessary to have been anywhere close to being a teenager when this show began. It’s not necessary to have watched the shows when they originally aired. If you grew up in the 90s or the aughts, you knew Saved By The Bell. It was one of those shows that always seemed like it was airing somewhere. Even as recently as two years ago, it was airing on MeTV and there were frequent marathons on E! Today, it’s on Prime and Tubi. That’s not bad for a show that, if we’re to be absolutely honest, really wasn’t that good.

The first episode — which actually premiered in prime time before the show subsequently moved to its Saturday morning time slot — sets up the show. Zach Morris (I know that some people claim that it’s spelled Zack but I’ve always gone with Zach), Screen Powers, Lisa Turtle, and Mr. Belding have all been resecured from the Indiana Hell of Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Now, they all live in California and they all attend Bayside High School. They hang out at the Max, a tacky restaurant owned by a tacky magician named Max (Ed Alonzo).

Joining the ensemble are Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley), Kelly Kapwoski (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), and AC Slater (Mario Lopez). Both Slater and Zach have a crush on Kelly. Screech likes Lisa. A dance contest is approaching, one that is hosted by Casey Kasem. (All the teenagers on the show go crazy over someone who, realistically, most of them had probably never heard of. Max imitates Casey Kasem saying his name twice.) Screech wants to ask Lisa to be his partner but Lisa’s already been asked by someone else. Kelly can’t choose between Zach and Slater so they agree to have a dance-0ff. Uh-oh, Zach can’t dance! Maybe his childhood friend Jessie will teach him….

Jessie doesn’t have a date because she’s tall. When she tells Kelly and Lisa about being insecure about her height, they joke that she could become a basketball player. This gets a big laugh and I assume this episode aired before the WNBA was a thing. Eventually, Zach tells Kelly to enter the contest with Slater because he’s going with his best friend, Jessie. Meanwhile, Lisa sprains her ankle, get dumped by her partner, and ends up entering the contest with Screech.

It’s interesting to watch the character dynamics in this first episode. Jessie is not the straw feminist she would later become. Slater is a jock but still sensitive enough to comfort Screech. Kelly is actually portrayed as being somewhat shallow. Watching this episode, one gets the feeling that Zach and Jessie were originally meant to be the show’s main couple until someone decided that Zach and Kelly had better chemistry and that Jessie’s feminism and Slater’s chauvinism would make for an interesting combination. Lisa doesn’t like Screech but she doesn’t quite hate him as much she would in later episodes. Even more importantly, Zach is nowhere near as cocky as he would be in later episodes. He’s actually insecure about something.

As for the dance contest, Lisa and Screen dance “The Sprain” and they win, largely due to Slater and Zach bullying everyone into voting for them. “C’mon,” Casey Kasem announces, “let’s all do …. THE SPRAIN!” Everyone starts hopping on one foot and, at home, I cringe like you wouldn’t believe.

God, this was a stupid episode. And yet …. it was very likable. The young cast had a lot of talent. In this episode, even Dustin Diamond’s Screech is tolerable. I cringed at the extremely cheesy dance contest but I also smiled. I guess that’s the power of nostalgia. Sometimes, even the really bad things make you feel good when you rewatch them.

Music Video of the Day: Go For It By Hot Sundae (1990, dir by Don Barnhart)

Posted on July 28, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It doesn’t get more 80s than this, even if this is actually from 1990.

Enjoy!

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 5.12 “Graduation” and 5.13 “A Band Divided”

Posted on May 20, 2023 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 Saturdays, I will be reviewing California Dreams, which ran on NBC from 1992 to 1996. The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

This week, the Dreams graduate!

Episode 5.12 “Graduation”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 22nd, 1996)

Graduation approaches and Mark is freaking out because he’s never had the courage to ask out Sarah (Tara Reid …. yes, that Tara Reid). When he finally works up the courage to ask her if she might want to go out with him, she says maybe and asks what he has in mind.

“Well, the school’s hosting a clean-and-sober graduation party….” Mark starts.

“I want beer!” Sarah replies.

And you know what? Mark’s a nice guy but that invitation seriously was kind of dorky. I don’t even drink and I would have totally rolled my eyes in high school if anyone had invited me to “a clean-and-sober graduation party.”

Sarah’s reaction should have been enough to let Mark know that they wouldn’t make a good couple but poor Mark. Over the course of three seasons, he has yet to have a real girlfriend. He’s desperate! He invites Sarah to the graduation party that he’s decided to throw at Lorena’s loft. And he’s also decided that there will be beer at the party! This despite the fact that Mark and the Dreams have just attended a school assembly where Principal Blumford (Earl Boen) warned against the dangers of teenage drinking. Someone is definitely not mature enough to leave high school yet!

And Mark’s proves that he’s not mature enough by getting drunk at the party, trying to drive to the beach with Sarah, and crashing into a ditch. Mark gets arrested, loses his license for a year, and — as he explains at graduation — he’ll have to do community service, attends alcohol classes, and pay a fine. Sarah ends up in the hospital and misses graduation. Mark explains that she has two broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a concussion. HOW DEEP WAS THAT DITCH!? At the ceremony, Principal Blumford announces that “to say I’m disappointed in some of you for what happened last night would be an understatement….” Dude, everyone knows you’re talking about Mark. Way to make him feel bad at his own high school graduation! Sam forgoes giving her valedictorian speech so that Mark can take to the stage and apologize. Way to make graduation awkward for everyone!

Oh well. At least graduation works out for everyone else. Jake and Tiffani make a model castle so that they can pass their history class and avoid summer school.

Anyway, this was a depressing episode but I support any show that tries to keep people from drinking and driving. Plus, the Dreams finally graduated! Yay!

Episode 5.13 “A Band Divided”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 30th, 1996)

Again, yay! This episode opens with the He’s So Funky song!

Unfortunately, the song is so great that it proves to be too powerful for the band’s amp, which explodes on stage. It’s going to cost the Dreams a thousand dollars to get a new amp. Lorena offers to loan them the money, in return for the band making her co-manager with her boyfriend Sly. Sly is actually okay with the idea. “A lot of great couple have worked together,” he says, “Sonny and Cher …. Bonnie and Clyde….”

Sly and Lorena’s first task is to convince the head of the School Dance committee to hire the Dreams to play at the next school dance and….

WAIT A MINUTE! THE DREAMS GRADUATED LAST EPISODE! SCHOOL’S OVER!

Once again, when it came to maintaining continuity by showing the episodes in the proper order, NBC just didn’t care.

Anyway, to the surprise of no one, Lorena and Sly struggle to figure out how to work together and soon, the Dreams have absolutely no gigs! Jake tells them a story about two brothers who both became king and who had to learn how to rule together. This leads to a lengthy fantasy sequence in which everyone gets to wear Renaissance Faire costumes that cause the studio audience to go crazy with each entrance. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t do much good because, rather than learning to compromise, Sly and Lorena demand that the Dreams pick only one of them to be the manager.

To me, Lorena is the obvious choice because she has the best hair. Mark says that he can’t choose because “Sly and Lorena are both our friends.” Uhmm, Mark …. Sly is also your cousin. (This is one of those facts that the show often seemed to forget about.) Tiffani suggests that they let some old surfer dude make the selection. It’s kind of amazing that the Dreams have stayed together as long as they have because none of them appear to be that smart.

Anyway, the old surfer names Lorena as manager and then says that, since he did her a favor, she should do him a favor and have the Dreams play his party for free. Lorena says that’s not a fair arrangement and then Sly jumps up and says it’s not a fair arrangement and the old surfer explains that it was all a trick to make them realize how much they loved the band and he rules that they should both be co-managers. I’m glad that worked out!

This was a silly episode but I enjoyed it. Sly and Lorena are a fun couple and there was a funny B-plot in which Jake tried to rewire Lorena’s house in order to make the new amp work. Jay Anthony Franke was always at his best when the show gave him a chance to balance Jake’s innate coolness with Jake’s general incompetence.

Next week, we have the final two episodes! I’m going to miss the Dreams.

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 5.10 “Babewatch” and 5.11 “Love Letters”

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Sam gets cast on the world’s number one TV show and Lorena and Sly finally get together!

Episode 5.10 “Babewatch”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 9th, 1996)

Babewatch has come to Pacific Coast High School!

Babewatch, we’re told, is the world’s most popular television show. It’s all about attractive people running on the beach and defusing bombs. Hmmmmm, I wonder what show this is based on. All of the Dreams are really excited about the prospect of being on the show! Mark, Sly, and Lorena get lessons from Tiffani on how to be believable as surfers. Meanwhile, Tony performs “Next Big Thing” (a.k.a. He’s So Funky!) for the Babewatch producers, hoping that they’ll give him a role on the episode. However, the producers are far more impressed with Sam. I guess they really liked the way she shouted, “He’s so funky!” during the song.

Tony freaks out over the prospect of Sam having to kiss the star of the show but he needn’t worry. Sam rejects the TV star’s advances and says that she loves only Tony. Personally, I’m not sure if she made the right choice. Tony is a nice guy but he’s just a drummer in a garage band that has an out-of-date sound. This other guy is the star of Babewatch!

This was a pretty standard episode, one that felt a bit more like a Saved By The Bell story than an episode of California Dreams. But any episode that features “He’s so funky!” is worth watching and rewatching.

Episode 5.11 “Love Letters”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 16th, 1996)

Graduation is approaching and the Dreams are thinking about the things that they regret having never done. (They’re only 17. Just wait until they hit 30!)

Sam and Tony regret that they didn’t enter a dance marathon.

Mark regrets that he never stood up to the coach that’s always making him run extra laps.

Tiffani regrets being rude to a boy who wouldn’t stop asking her out.

Jake regrets not playing the bagpipes.

Lorena regrets …. nothing. Good for her!

And Sly regrets never telling Lorena how he feels about her.

So, they all decide to do something about those regrets. Jake learns to play the bagpipes. Tiffani apologizes to her former admirer and quickly comes to regret it as he goes out of his way to remind her of why she was rude in the first place. Sam and Tony dance everywhere and look adorable while doing it. And Sly starts sending Lorena unsigned love notes. Lorena falls in love with her secret admirer but Sly worries that she’ll still hate him even if he reveals the truth.

However, when another guy tells Lorena that he’s the one who sent the notes, Sly realizes he has to tell her the truth. Unfortunately, Lorena doesn’t believe him. However, when the other guy can’t think of anything impressive to say about Jake’s bagpipe performance, Lorena realizes that Sly was telling the truth. The episode ends with them sharing their first kiss and the audience going wild. Yay!

This episode is great, largely because it’s the one where Sly and Lorena finally realize that they belong together. They may both be greedy and self-centered but they do love one another and care about their friends. They’re as perfect a match as Sam and Tony. I have no regrets about loving this episode.

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 5.8 “Letters From Woo” and 5.9 “Senior Prom”

Posted on May 6, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s prom time at PCHS! But first….

Episode 5.8 “Letters From Woo”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 25, 1996)

The band is supposed to practice but Sam says it will have to wait because she’s making a “video letter” for her uncle back in Hong Kong. She and the members of the Dreams discuss all of the wacky adventures that they’ve had and …. oh, it’s a clip show!

I’ll never forget that time I said, “Let’s move on….”

Episode 5.9 “Senior Prom”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 2nd, 1996)

Poor Mark!

Seriously, Mark Winkle was the nicest member of the California Dreams and yet he always seemed to be the one who ended up getting screwed over. Consider what happens in this episode:

PCHS has prom fever! Tony & Sam and Jake & Tiffani are running for Prom King and Queen but Mark is more concerned about getting a date with Erica. He’s had a crush on Erica since forever but he’s too shy to talk to her. When he finally does work up the courage to ask her, she says yes. Yay! But, on the day of the prom, she dumps him and tells him that she’s going to the prom with her ex-boyfriend, Dave.

Unfortunately, his friends can’t be there for him because they’re competing like crazy to be named King and Queen. Lorena and Sly don’t help matters by making a bet on who is going to win. Lorena supports Jake and Tiffani because she thinks that they have more class than Sam and Tony. Sly supports Sam and Tony because he thinks they have more of a populist appeal than Jake and Tiffani. Mark, poor dateless Mark, is trapped in the middle.

(Myself, I’m just wondering how a biker and a surfer would have less populist appeal than a wealthy exchange student. For that matter, since when have Jake and Tiffani had any class at all? One of the reasons why Lorena and Jake broke up was because Jake was way too crude for Lorena’s tastes.)

To make matters even worse, Sly has booked the Dreams to play a prom at a junior high on the same day as the high school prom. Everyone tells Sly that it’s a terrible idea but then again, everyone could also use the money. Unfortunately, the gig is a bust because one the amps blows up on stage. Then, while the Dreams are trying to get back for their own prom, their van breaks down in the middle of nowhere! As the Dreams try to flag down a ride, word comes over the radio that the PCHS Prom King and Queen are …. ERICA AND HER DATE, DAVE!

The leads to even more fighting until Mark yells at everyone for being selfish and makes them see the errors of their way. The Dreams, now reunited in love and friendship, have their own prom on the side of the road. Sly dances with Lorena. Tony dances with Sam. Jake dances with Tiff. And Mark …. well, he gets to play guitar. Mark may have saved the band but he still has to spend the prom alone. POOR MARK!

Seriously, there was a lot I liked about this episode. The cast’s chemistry was on fire. Everyone looked good in their prom outfits. But, at the end of the episode, you couldn’t help but feel that Mark really got screwed over.

Next week, Sam is cast on a show called Babewatch! I wonder what that’s based on….

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 4.15 “Dancing Isn’t Everything” and 5.1 “Stand By Your Man”

Posted on April 8, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, one season ends and another begins.

Episode 4.15 “Dancing Isn’t Everything”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on April 6th, 1996)

The fourth season of California Dreams comes to a close with one of its best episodes and a personal favorite of mine, Dancing Isn’t Everything. In fact, I already reviewed this episode a few years ago.

Rewatching it, I was pleased to discover that I still continue to enjoy the episode. Determined to prove the she’s more than just the band’s groupie, Lorena enters Sharky’s dance contest. Unfortunately, a series of events conspire against her and she’s forced to dance with the very unrhythmic Sly. Fortunately, Lorena learns about the importance of friendship and, even more importantly, this episode sets up the foundation for what will become Lorena and Sly’s romance during Season 5.

There are more than a few memorable moments from this episode, from Lorena coldly dismissing all of her potential dance partners to Sly breaking out his spastic dance moves whenever the judges aren’t looking. My favorite moment is Sly reading the subtitles and discovering what Lorena actually said to him. (If you watch carefully, you can see Kelly Packard breaking character and laughing in the background.) This was also the first episode to feature Tony and Sam performing Next Big Thing. “He’s so funky!”

This episode is California Dreams at its best and it brings the fourth season to worthy close.

Episode 5.1 “Stand By Your Man”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on September 7th, 1996)

The fifth and final season of California Dreams was the best of the show’s history. It not only gave the show a proper send-off but it also gave all of the members of the cast to show how much they had grown as actors since the show began. By the end of the fifth and final season of the show, the cast had proven themselves to be the type of tight and talented ensemble that could wring laughs and tears from even the most predictable of situations.

You wouldn’t necessarily know that from watching the first episode of the fifth season, though. In this episode, Jake needs money to fix his motorcycle and takes a job that requires him to dress up like a pirate for the local seafood restaurant. When he tires of his friends laughing at his costume, Jake gets another job at a local garage. The pay is good and Jake does like working on cars and motorcycles. However, his boss is an attractive woman named Mel. (I have a sister named Melissa who we call Mel. Hi, Mely!) Tiffani gets jealous and, for some reason, she decides that it would be a good idea for her, Sam, and Lorena to put on fake beards and pretend to be old bikers so they can hang out around the garage. (*Sigh* Wacky disguises were a staple on these shows and they never cease to be annoying.) This leads to them knocking over a motorcycle and Jake getting fired. Jake is furious with Tiffany, not because he lost his job but because she didn’t trust him. Tiffani apologizes and Jake forgives her. He then gets his old pirate job back. Arrrrgh!

Meanwhile, Sly and Tony try to catch Mark doing something stupid so they can win a video contest. However, it turns out that Mark is actually filming them for the same contest. Ha ha.

You may be under the impression that this episode was not a favorite of mine and you’re right. It’s not. It’s just too silly and cartoonish, particularly when compared to some of the other season 5 episodes. This is the first episode of the final season and it’s hard not to feel that there should have been a bit more to it than just wacky disguises and a pirate joke.

Oh well! Things will get better next week, as we move further into the final season of California Dreams.

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 4.13 “We’ll Always Have Aspen” and 4.14 “Lorena’s Place”

Posted on April 1, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The California Dreams are in Aspen! Wait …. what?

Episode 4.13 “We’ll Always Have Aspen”

(Dir by Miguel Higuera, originally aired on January 6th, 1996)

This episode opens with the California Dreams in Aspen, Colorado, hanging out at the Costa Ski Lodge. Why are they there? They’re there because this episode was originally meant to air during season 3, after the episode where the Dreams went to the ski lodge and convinced Lorena’s father not to kick that old crank out of his isolated cabin. Why did NBC hold off on showing this episode for so long? I’m not sure but it certainly does lead to some odd continuity errors. For instance, Tony announces that he’s “hunting ski bunnies.” Obviously, this was meant to air before Tony and Sam became a couple. Lorena and Jake are also dating in this episode.

This episode is also one of the rare ones to focus on Mark. Mark is shocked to discover that his ex-girlfriend, Jenny (Catherine Nagan), is staying at the lodge. As he explains it, he and Jenny were once totally in love but then Jenny left him so that she could train to be on the U.S. Olympic skiing team. At first, Mark refuses to speak to Jenny but then Jenny explains that leaving him was the biggest mistake of her life and that she is tired of skiing. Mark and Jenny spend the day together and Mark realizes that Jenny actually does love skiing too much to give it up. So, Mark gets dumped again but this time, he was the one who suggested that Jenny should break up with him so I guess he feels better about the only member of the Dream to never have a romantic partner for longer than one episode.

In the B-plot, Lorena’s father leaves Lorena in charge while he goes off to do …. well, I’m not sure why he left. But him leaving means that Lorena is in charge of the big winter festival. Why would her father leave Lorena, who is a teenager, in charge of the Lodge’s biggest event? I’m starting to suspect that he is just not a very good businessman. Anyway, all of this leads to Jake having to wear a silly costume and Sly taking part in a yodeling contest. That was kind of funny.

This wasn’t a bad episode and it was nice to see Lorena and Jake back together but …. eh. The California Dreams belong the beach. They’re surfers not skiers.

Episode 4.14 “Lorena’s Place”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on March 30th, 1996)

The first thing that I noticed about the 14th episode of the fourth season of California Dreams is that it aired over two months after the 13th episode, which itself was an episode that had been filmed for the 3rd season. I don’t know what exactly was going on behind the scenes at NBC but it appears that the network decided to end season 4 by burning off a few old episodes that, for whatever reason, didn’t air when they were originally supposed to.

(Of course, Saved By The Bell did the same thing. The episode where Screech is made hall monitor was filmed for the first season but, oddly, didn’t air until after the show’s Graduation episode.)

This episode finds the Dreams back in California. Eager to date a pretentious douchebag named Alan, Lorena turns her loft into a coffeehouse and hosts a poetry reading. Lorena also reads Alan a poem that her father wrote for her mother but which Lorena claims that she wrote for Alan. Alan is so impressed that he memorizes the poem. Then, after Lorena tells him the truth, he destroys the poem.

Oh no!

Not to worry. The Dreams hold another coffeehouse reading. Alan, for some reason, comes to that one as well and recites the poem. Sam records his words and recreate the poem for Lorena’s parents. So, not only is the poem saved but Lorena gets a new boyfriend! But Alan kind of sucks so hopefully, he’ll never show up again.

This episode was very 90s but it was a Lorena episode and, since Lorena is the character to whom I most relate, I enjoyed it.

Next week: Season 4 comes to an end!

Retro Television Reviews: California Dreams 4.9 “Operation Tony” and 4.10 “Community Service”

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, California Dreams is Saved By The Bell!

Episode 4.9 “Operation Tony”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 18th, 1995)

Tony needs to have shoulder surgery and he’s so worried about dying that he not only practices laying very still but he also requires Sam to practice mourning. The night before the operation, he has a dream where he sees his own funeral and, upon waking up, he tries to sneak out of the hospital and …. wait a minute. This seems familiar. The exact same thing happened to Zack Morris on Saved By The Bell!

Yes, this episode is pretty much a remake of Operation Zach. The California Dreams version works a bit better than the SBTB version because Tony is a more sympathetic figure than Zach Morris and, unlike Zach, Tony didn’t have the power to stop time whenever he felt like it so Tony has no way to magically put off the operation. Plus, this episode has a B-plot where Lorena volunteers as a candy striper in an attempt to catch the attention of a handsome doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor explains that he doesn’t date people with whom he works. (I would hope that he also doesn’t date teenagers.) It was a predictable storyline but I still always like episodes that focus, even if just partially, on Lorena because Lorena is who I was always relate to whenever I watch this show.

Anyway, this was a good episode, even it was a familiar one. Let’s move on.

Episode 4.10 “Community Service”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 25th, 1995)

In this episode, the members of the California Dreams do community service!

Now, I know that I always complain whenever this happens on City Guys but that’s because City Guys usually features Ms. Noble ordering her students to do stuff during their free time. On California Dreams, everyone actually volunteered of their own free will. It is true that Tiffani guilted them into volunteering but still, there’s a big difference between Tiffani looking sad and Ms. Noble telling all of her students what they’re going to give up their weekend just because she says so.

Sam volunteers for the blood drive. Jake volunteers for Meals on Wheels and eats all the food himself. (In 1995, this was played for laughs. You can only imagine how it would be portrayed today.) Mark helps to clean the beach and ends up smelling like a toxic waste dump. Lorena gives some things to the Goodwill. And Tiffani and Sly end up working at the Teen Help Line. Tiffani tries to sincerely help people while Sly orders pizza and hits on all the female counselors.

Uh-oh! The school is cutting its budget and the Teen Line is going to be closed down! Sly comes up with an idea! Maybe the Dreams can play a benefit concert. I mean, it worked on Saved By The Bell …. TWICE! Sly organizes the concert and basks in everyone’s attention, even though Tiffani is upset that Sly is doing the right thing for the wrong reason. (Calm down, Tiffani.) Fortunately, during the concert, a teen calls in and says he wants to run away from home. Because Sly is the only person in the office, he’s forced to help the caller and he discovers that joy of doing the right thing for the right reasons! Yay! Of course, I imagine this lesson will be forgotten by the next episode. We’ll find out next week!

As a general rule, the best episodes of California Dreams are the ones in which Sly is let loose to be his sleazy but ultimately good-hearted self. Though the story was familiar, Michael Cade did a good job playing the two sides of Sly. Plus, the Dreams performed that “To the End” song, which has a really rocking guitar solo.

Next week, Tiffani tries to heal the bay! Hopefully, she’ll have better luck at it than Mark did during this episode.