Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.20 “Drinking 101”

Posted on September 29, 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.

It’s time for the Bayside Gang to learn a lesson!

Episode 2.20 “Drinking 101”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 19th, 1994)

It’s school trip time! Mr. Belding, Screech, the Gang, and a bunch of anonymous Bayside students are spending a week at a ski lodge!

Rachel thinks the ski lodge is romantic but Brian doesn’t care about any of that. He just wants to ski. (“I have not skied since I lived in Switzerland,” he says and, for not the first time, I find myself wondering if the show is ever going to explain why he no longer lives in Switzerland.) Lindsay wants to go to a frat party, even if it means lying and saying that she’s a college student. And Mr. Belding …. he just wants to survive.

It won’t be easy because Belding sprains his ankle as soon as he arrives at the ski lodge. “My chief!” Screech yells in an early use of the falsetto that will define his character in later seasons. Belding is supposed to stay off his ankle so, of course, Screech keeps tripping over him and dragging him up the slopes. As a dancer, I more than know the pain of a sprained ankle and the scenes of Screech reinjuring Belding’s ankle did not make me smile.

While Screech throws a party for Mr. Belding, Lindsay, Rachel, and Megan sneak into a frat party so they can meet some boys. (Yes, Rachel is dating Brian but she’s mad because all he wants to do is ski.) Tommy, Bobby, and Brian soon end up at the same party. Lindsay gets drunk. Tommy gets drunk. Tommy rides off on a skimobile and later has an accident.

Lesson learned!

Tommy has a broken leg. His parents could totally sue the school district for not keeping an eye on him during a school trip. Screech trips over Tommy’s cast, causing Tommy incredible pain. Belding tells Lindsay and Tommy that they shouldn’t have been drinking and then he tells Rachel, Brian, Megan, and Bobby that they shouldn’t have let Lindsay and Tommy drink. Hey, Belding, maybe you should have brought along more adults so they could keep an eye on the students.

Myself, I rarely drink because my tolerance for alcohol is pathetically low. Still, I have to say that I found it funny that Lindsay woke up with the “worst hangover ever!” even though she only had two beers. Even with my low tolerance, I’ve never had a hang over. From my experience, it would have been more realistic for Lindsay to throw up and then fall asleep on a yoga mat.

Anyway, this episode ends with Belding and Tommy recovering from their injuries, the rest of the Gang “grounded for the weekend,” and Screech skiing. I was kind of hoping the episode would end with the ski lodge being revealed to be the one that Lorena’s father owned on California Dreams. That would have been a cross-over to remember!

The big problem with this episode — and really, this is something that seem to happen in every Peter Engel-produced teen sitcom — is that the actors were obviously having way too much fun pretending to be drunk. I mean, hangover or not, Lindsay seemed to be having a good time.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 3.7 “Check Your Mate”

Posted on September 26, 2026 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 can be purchased on Prime!

This week, Screech is actually good at something!

Episode 3.7 “Check Your Mate”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 5th, 1991)

Bayside has got chess fever! Screech Powers has advanced to the all-city chess finals, where he will be facing off against Valley High’s Russian exchange student Peter Breschnev (Matt Kaminsky), the grandson of a legendary player. Screech fears that he won’t have a chance but then he remembers that he never seems to lose as long as he’s wearing the lucky red beret that Violet purchased for him.

Around the same time that Zack and Slater place a bet on the outcome of chess match, Allison (Hillary Hayes) shows up. She says that she’s from a chess magazine and she wants to do a profile of Screech. She even invites Screech to the magazine’s mansion so that he can swim in the pawn-shaped pool. However, it turns out that Allison is actually a spy from Valley High and she’s been sent to sabotage Screech’s game. Allison steals his lucky beret. How can Screech win now!?

Usually, I can’t stand any episode that revolves around Screech and Violet but I have to admit that I do like this one. Yes, Dustin Diamond and Tori Spelling are just as bad as usual (and Diamond really goes overboard with the goofy faces in this one) but, luckily, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez are also present and they do some of their best work in this episode. Zack and Slater, for instance, kidnap the Russian and tie him up in a broom closet. Zack then pretends to be the Russian and forfeits the match after making one move. Meanwhile, Slater reports on the match for Bayside’s radio station and he does so with just the right amount of earnest enthusiasm. (Jessie: “And now the Russian is hopping out onstage in his underwear!?” Slater: “What an exciting match so far!”) Slater knows nothing about chess but he does know that he wants to see “that commie” defeated. Amongst the guest stars, Hilary Hayes and Matt Kaminsky are perfectly cast and score some laughs of their own. (“I’ll see ya …. at the Galleria.”)

In this episode, Screech nearly loses Violet when he lets his chess fame go to his head. Violet forgives him but this would still be her final episode. I guess dating a chess jock wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.19 “The Class of 2020”

Posted on September 22, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

“One thing I’ll never forget is when the writers were too lazy to come up with a new episode so we just did a clip show instead….”

Episode 2.19 “The Class of 2020”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 19th, 1994)

Screech and Belding are making a documentary to put in the time capsule for the class of 2020. Wow, those 2020 graduates will be amazed to see what the world was like before they were born!

Megan and Bobby are interviewed. Lindsay and Tommy are interviewed. Rachel and Brian are interviewed. There’s a lot of dialogue like “Remember that time we thought we got Mr. Belding fired?” and “I’ll never forget the time my friends helped me out.” Yep, it’s a clip show. One of the clips comes from the previous week’s episode.

Two things of note:

One of Lindsay and Tommy’s clips features Weasel and Scott from the previous season. That makes this episode the only time that anyone during the second season actually acknowledged that Scott, Weasel, and Vicki used to go to Bayside.

Secondly, Rachel and Brian talk about falling in love over the summer at the country club. But this episode ends with Screech and Belding talking about how Screech’s first year as Belding’s administrative assistant is coming to an end. None of the students met Screech until he started working as Belding’s administrative assistant, as the start of the school year. But they all know Screech in the country club episodes. In fact, Screech is the one who hired them. So, the country club episodes have to have taken place during the summer after Screech’s first year as Belding’s academic assistant. So, this clip show apparently includes clips from the future. Maybe Brian and Rachel are time travelers.

Anyway, it’s a clip show. Who cares?

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 3.6 “Operation Zack”

Posted on September 19, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Zack injures his knee and has to go to the hospital! Hilarity ensues!

Episode 3.6 “Operation Zack”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 28th, 1991)

Along with being a track star, a radio announcer, a member of the student council, and the leader of Zack Attack, Zack Morris is also a star basketball player. Bayside’s basketball team has a big game coming up. They’re coached by a short person. That’s the joke. While rushing out of the dressing room for lay-up drills, Zack collides with Mr. Belding and somehow injures his knee. Screech rushes him to the hospital and, in a preview of what he would do to Mr. Belding on countless episodes of The New Class, Screech continually pushes the wheelchair-bound Zack into walls and desks, causing him to reinjure his knee. The show thinks it’s hilarious but I’ve injured my knee and my ankle before and I know how painful it is. Screech is a moron.

Lisa’s mother, Dr. Turtle (Susan Beaubian), says that Zack’s knee is going to require surgery. She says that it’s no big deal but everyone else acts as if Zack has been given a death sentence. “They’re going to hack Zack!” Zack says. He has a dream where he sees his own funeral. (Screech appears as his guardian angel.) Zack disguises himself as a doctor and tries to sneak out of the hospital. Dr. Turtle catches him. Lisa, who is volunteering as a candy striper, tells Zack that everything is going to be okay.

And everything is! The surgery is a success. Zack even survives Screech trying to turn on the television by using the bed’s remote control. And Mr. Belding does Zack’s homework for him. That makes no sense. How is that even allowed?

This episode was pretty dumb. That said, I did once watch it while I was actually in the hospital because I was recovering from an asthma attack and, at that time, it did cheer me up. Dumb as it is, the episode does get at a universal truth. Everyone hates going to the hospital.

Finally, this episode features one of Dustin Diamond’s worst performances. Screech is especially annoying here because, for once, his stupidity actually does hurt someone. Zack doesn’t need some doofus clumsily pushing his wheelchair while shouting, “Lady with a baby!” Whenever Screech caused Zack to bump into something, I felt shooting sympathy pains. Mark-Paul Gosselaar looked fairly annoyed whenever he had to share a scene with Dustin Diamond. In this case, I don’t blame him.

Next week, Screech plays chess and loses his lucky beret. What a dummy.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.18 “Breaking Up”

Posted on September 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s Tommy D’s birthday!

Episode 2.18 “Breaking Up”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 12th, 1994)

Lindsay wants to buy Tommy a great birthday present but, unfortunately, she’s broke. All of her friends are broke. It looks like they’re going to have to cancel Tommy’s birthday this year. But then Brian comes up with a plan. What if they convince Belding to let Brian and Bobby be in charge of the video yearbook and then the use the camera to shoot a birthday video Tommy while, at the same time, screwing over all of the students who actually want a yearbook?

It’s a great idea! Bobby films Linsday talking about how much she dislikes everything that Tommy is really into, like cars. Bobby also films Tommy growing close to Katie Keller (Kim Baranof), Brian’s never before-mentioned sister who does not appear to be from Switzerland. (In all fairness, she could be a stepsister. The show has never really made it clear just why exactly Brian left Switzerland for Bayside so maybe his mother married an American or something.) Katie likes cars and videogames, just like Tommy!

Realizing that Tommy and Lindsay’s relationship is in trouble, Brian pays off a lot of other students to tell Tommy that Katie’s been coming onto them. Wow, way to slutshame you own sister, Brian. What a jerk. Anyway, Tommy puts the kibosh on his growing attraction to Katie but, at his birthday party, Lindsay learns about how Brian spread rumors about Katie to save Lindsay’s relationship with Tommy. Lindsay and Tommy admit to not having much in common and Saved By The Bell: The New Class’s longest relationship comes to an end….

And that’s not really a good thing for either Lindsay or Tommy D. This isn’t like when Slater and Jessie used to break up. Slater and Jessie actually had personalities that went beyond who they were dating. The same can’t really be said about Tommy and Lindsay. It’s not the fault of the actors, as Jonathan Angel and Natalia Cigliuti were actually two of the more likable members of the ensemble. It’s just that Saved By The Bell: The New Class was never about complex characters.

It’s also not about continuity. Lindsay and Tommy D are still dating in the country club episodes. Because all of the members of the Gang already knew Screech in the country club episodes, that means that they had to have taken place in the summer after the school episodes. Plus, in this episode, Brian is not dating Rachel and that again means that the country club episodes had to happen after this episode. So, Lindsay and Tommy D are either going to get back together or the show’s writers just didn’t care.

What a mess!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 3.5 “The Aftermath”

Posted on September 12, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the aftermath of Zack and Kelly’s break-up! Who will survive!?

Episode 3.5 “The Aftermath”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on September 21st, 1991)

Last week, Kelly got a job at The Max and developed a crush on her boss, Jeff (Patrick Muldoon). Zack and Kelly broke up at the school dance. Kelly asked Zack if they could still be friends. “Always,” Zack said.

It turns out that Zack was lying. This episode finds him bitter and obsessed. Screech and Slater take him out to the movies but — oh no! — Kelly and Jeff walk in. Jessie, Lisa, and Screech each set Zack up on a blind date. Zack goes out with Jessie’s fat friend and she eats all of his popcorn. Lisa’s friend is more interested in talking about the books of Jackie Collins than watching the movie. And Screech’s cousin turns out to be a perfectly nice and pretty blonde. (“She’s adopted,” Screech explains.)

Zack takes Screech’s cousin to The Max and dances with her… in front of Kelly! And they’re dancing to… A12 on the jukebox! “That’s Zack and Kelly’s song!” Screech says. Apparently, it’s a song that doesn’t have a title or much of a beat. “A12 is sacred!” Kelly says. “It was sacred until you dumped me for that jerk!” Zack says.

Now, I’m a bit torn here. Zack’s definitely in the wrong here, but is A12 actually sacred? I mean, it’s not mentioned in any other episode. And while Zack is definitely trying to make Kelly feel bad, Kelly is being pretty self-righteous for someone who didn’t break up with her boyfriend until after she kissed another guy. I guess my feeling is that sacred songs pretty much went out the window as soon as Kelly and Zack broke up.

Anyway, Screech’s cousin throws her milkshake on Zack.

Lisa’s Sweet Sixteen birthday party is approaching! Zack says he won’t come if Kelly and Jeff are invited. Lisa tells him that she’ll invite whoever she wants. At first, Zack refuses to go to the party, but then Screech has a heart-to-heart talk with him. Screech basically tells Zack that he’s being a whiny loser. Imagine what it must have been like to hear that from Screech, of all people.

Kelly and Jeff show up at the party. At first, Slater shows admirable loyalty to his friend Zack by giving Jeff the cold shoulder. Then Jeff mentions that he wrestled in high school. “Won my division a few times,” Jeff says. That’s all it takes for Slater to be like, “Zack who?”

Zack does come to the party. He apologizes for being a jerk. He tells Jeff to take care of Kelly. Zack tells us that he doesn’t know if he’ll ever get over Kelly. We’re left to wonder why he doesn’t just stop time if he’s so miserable…

This episode benefits from the presence of Patrick Muldoon, who makes Jeff into a likable “frat boy babe stealer.” It’s too bad that, in his next appearance, Jeff will have had a total personality transplant, because this episode actually made a pretty good point about the importance of accepting breakups and giving people a chance.

Oh well. That’s life at Bayside.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.17 “Wanna Bet?”

Posted on September 8, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we’re back at the ranch.

Episode 2.17 “Wanna Bet?”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 5th, 1994)

Uncle Lester and Cousin Clint are out-of-town for some reason and Screech has been left in charge of the dude ranch.

This is already the stupidest episode of Saved By The Bell: The New Class yet.

It’s up to Screech to set up the end-of-the-week square dance but when he gets to be too bossy, Mr. Belding refuses to work with him. Screech tells Lindsay to tell Belding that he’s no longer speaking to him. Lucky Mr. Belding.

Less lucky are the members of the Gang, who are hustled by two con artists and lose all of their summer earnings in a crooked poker game. Megan has a crush on one of the con artists but she changes her mind when he refuses to give back the money. Luckily, the sheriff is looking for the con artists so all Screech and Belding have to do is keep them from leaving the ranch, which they do by challenging the con artists to a poker game. Screech is such a bad poker player that the sheriff arrives before the first hand has even been successful dealt.

Belding hopes that the Gang has learned an important lesson about gambling. Tommy D swears that he’s never going to gamble again.

“You can bet on it!” Bobby says.

I think I lost brain cells watching this crap.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 3.4 “The Last Dance”

Posted on September 5, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is the episode that has traumatized thousands of viewers.

(I should note that the IMDb and Wikipedia list this as being this first episode of season 3. Amazon, Tubi, and just about every other streaming site that I’ve seen lists it as being 3.4. In order to keep things simple and to not trigger my ADD, I’m following what the streaming sites say.)

Episode 3.4 “The Last Dance”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired September 14th, 1991)

Where were you the first time you watched Kelly break up with Zack?

This is the episode. Kelly applies for a waitressing job at The Max and is hired by the new manager, handsome college guy Jeff (Patrick Muldoon). Zack is excited because Kelly will be able to afford a costume for Bayside’s costume dance. Plus, Zack Attack is going to perform. Zack is looking forward to being named king of the dance with Kelly as his queen. Kelly is feeling guilty because she has a huge crush on Jeff. While they’re dancing, she accidentally calls him “Jeff.” Everyone remembers Zack and Kelly talking outside the school, Kelly crying as she asks if they can still be friends.

In my experience, most people blame Jeff for breaking up Zack and Kelly. Jeff is actually pretty sympathetic in this episode and the next. Yes, he kisses and then dates Kelly while also being her boss. That’s a problem. But he doesn’t set out to break them up. For most of this episode he’s polite and professional. Zack, meanwhile, is possessive and fairly immature. When Kelly says she has to get a job because her family is poor, Zack acts as if she’s suddenly speaking a foreign language. Kelly is worried about helping her family. Zack is worried about the school dance. On top of that, he’s the one who decides they should go as Romeo and Juliet, and he doesn’t even help her pay for the costume.

Then there’s Jeff. Yes, he will eventually cheat on Kelly and try to convince her it’s no big deal. That’s later. In this episode he really does seem like a catch. He’s older, but not so much older that it would be a real issue. He’s responsible enough to manage The Max even though he hasn’t graduated from college. Like Kelly, he actually has to work for a living. He stands up for her when customers are rude. He goes out of his way to accommodate her so she can go to the dance. And, on top of all that, he looks like Patrick Muldoon.

I don’t blame Kelly for dumping Zack at all. You can date a hot guy who will stand up for you, or you can date the cute guy who still spends all his spare time with Screech. Who are you going to pick? Be honest.

It’s still hard to watch them break up. Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s most serious SBTB relationship was reportedly with Lark Voorhies, but he and Tiffani Thiessen did date at one point, and there does seem to be genuine emotion in that scene outside the high school. This is one of those rare SBTB moments that actually feels real. The emotions feel earned. I support Kelly’s decision, but if this episode traumatized you, I understand why.

The breakup is such a big deal that it’s easy to overlook that this episode also introduced Zack Attack. It always cracks me up when Zack says the band will play for free and everyone acts so excited. It’s a school dance, and Zack has basically decided all of his friends are working for nothing that night. When Slater steps out from behind the drum set and duets with Jessie, he’s replaced on drums by Ollie, the nerd with the froggy voice. It’s a shame Ollie wasn’t included in the rockumentary.

Well, Zack is single again. How will he handle it? We’ll find out next week.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.16 “Back At The Ranch”

Posted on September 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s the summer that will never end!

Episode 2.16 “Back at the Ranch”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 29th, 1994)

Mr. Belding had so much fun working with the Gang at Palisades Country Club that he decides to take them on a week-long trip to a real-life, functioning “dude ranch” that is owned by Screech’s uncle, Lester (Lewis Arquette).

Uhmmm …. okay. Sure, that makes sense. Whatever.

Actually, it makes no sense. Do these kids not have families? It’s the summer so they all get jobs working for their principal and now they’re going to a ranch with him? And apparently, they’re going to be working as ranch hands or something? I mean, what the Hell? TAKE A REAL VACATION, KIDS!

Plus, since when has Screech had an Uncle Lester who owned a dude ranch? This has never been mentioned before. Screech apparently grew up around horses. Really? We’re talking about Screech here.

Anyway, Screech is excited to be at the ranch until he sees his cousin, Clint (Bart Johnson). Clint used to bully Screech when he was a kid and Clint still acts like he knows more about horse-riding and gold-prospecting than Screech. While Uncle Lester and Mr. Belding drive into town, Clint takes the Gang to search for gold in the hills. Screech stays at the ranch and has a dream where he’s in an old-timey western. Oh look! The townspeople are all played by members of the Gang! Tommy’s the blacksmith. Wow.

Screech wakes up and sees that the horses have returned but the gang hasn’t. That’s because Tommy didn’t adequately tie up the horses at the gold mine and they all ran off. Clint was heading back to the ranch when he got thrown from his horse. Now, he’s got a sprained ankle and there’s a rattlesnake nearby. It’s a good thing that Screech has got his bicycle so he can ride up into the hills and save everyone!

This was one of the stupidest things that I’ve ever seen in my life. And seriously, that’s all I’m going to say about it.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 3.3 “The Glee Club”

Posted on August 29, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the gang joins the Glee Club!

Episode 3.3 “The Glee Club”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on December 23rd, 1990)

When Zack learns that the winners of a nationwide glee competition will get a trip to Hawaii, he demands that all of his friends join the Bayside Glee Club. The only problem is that Jessie is the only one who can sing, and she refuses to take off her face mask because she thinks she’ll catch ~~COVID~~ Lisa’s cold.

Luckily, Screech’s girlfriend Violet (Tori Spelling) can sing, but she can only do it if Screech is present and supporting her. After Screech acts like an idiot meeting her parents (he mentions that Violet’s mother looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger), Violet is told she’s no longer allowed to spend time around him. Violet will have to quit the Glee Club. Good thing Jessie can sing! Oh no! Jessie took off her face mask and caught Lisa’s cold.

This episode firmly established that Zack is not only a liar but a terrible liar, one who succeeds only because of the exaggerated stupidity of everyone around him. When Mr. Belding demands that Mr. Tuttle whip the Glee Club into shape, Zack’s solution is to tape another glee club’s performance and have Bayside lip-sync to it. Somehow, neither Belding nor Tuttle notices. Later, when the Glee Club performs at the competition, Zack plays the tape again. This time it gets screwed up. At first everyone is singing too fast, then too slow. “That was our impression of a glee club tuning up!” Zack says, and everyone buys it. You can call Zack’s behavior borderline sociopathic and you’ll have a point. But seriously: how dumb is every adult in Zack’s life?

Violet does eventually sing. Screech steps up to support her when she falters. Bayside wins the competition, even though they really should have been disqualified for all of that “tuning up” nonsense. Violet’s parents are so impressed by Screech’s support that they decide he can date their daughter. If I remember correctly, Violet disappeared after one more episode.

This episode does have one truly funny moment. When Jessie says she caught Lisa’s cold, everyone glares at Lisa. “Sorry,” Lisa says, in a tone that suggests she’s not that sorry. Lark Voorhies delivers the line perfectly. Otherwise the episode suffers because it revolves around two of the worst actors to ever grace the halls of Bayside. Any episode that features Screech’s love life is destined for cringe.