Jackie Stevens | Through the Shattered Lens

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.

Today, we finish up season one of Saved By The Bell: The New Class.

Episode 1.13 “Running The Max”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on December 4th, 1993)

The season one finale of Saved By The Bell: The New Class opens with Scott talking directly the audience. Hey, that’s something that Scott hasn’t done for a while….

When he goes into his Social Studies class (which is being taught by Mr. Belding because Mr. Tuttle is appearing on Oprah to discuss teachers who overeat), he has to pick a group to join. Lindsay says, “Hey, Scott, why don’t you join us?” She says it as if Scott is still a relatively new acquaintance as opposed to the friend who is always a part of the main group.

Despite having made up with each other several episodes ago, Scott and Tommy D suddenly don’t like each other again.

Vicki suddenly has a crush on Scott again, even though that plotline was abandoned episodes ago.

Weasel suddenly has a crush on Megan, despite the fact that plotline was also abandoned shortly after the first season started.

Oh, and Weasel is again making jokes that sound like they were originally written for Screech.

Watching this episode, it quickly becomes apparent that it was meant to air much earlier in the season but it was instead used as the season finale. That says a lot about how shoddy the first season of Saved By The Bell: The New Class really was. The finale was an episode that was originally meant to air when everyone was still getting to know one another. Vicki’s crush on Scott is a major subplot in this episode, despite the fact that the writers eventually abandoned the idea. By moving this episode to the end, the show wrecks havoc on its continuity but then again, when has continuity ever mattered at Bayside?

On top of all that, this is a dumb episode. Three businesses agree to let the students run things for a week. Who would agree to such a stupid idea? Scott, Tommy, Megan, Weasel, Vicki, and Lindsay end up running the Max. The Max appears to be open 24 hours a day so I’d love to know how they’re running the Max and still going to class. For that matter, how are only six students going to run an entire restaurant? Anyway, long story short: Scott is a bad boss, everyone quits except for Weasel (so, do they all fail the class?), but then they change their mind after they hear that Scott feels bad about his behavior. The gang hosts a banquet for the football team. Tommy comes up with the idea of turning into a Country-and-Western-themed barbecue. Wait a minute — TOMMY’S ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM! Why isn’t he at the banquet?

This was a dumb ending to a dumb season. Half of the cast was fired at the end of season one. Robert Sutherland Telfer, Isaac Lidsky, and Bonnie Russavage would not return as Scott, Weasel, and Vicki for season two. (Indeed, none of their character would ever be mentioned again, despite Tommy D, Lindsay, and Megan still being around.) I can’t say that I disagree with the decision. Telfer was miscast as the new Zack Morris. Russavage never made much of an impression. (In all fairness, she wasn’t helped by the fact that the show’s writers didn’t really seem to know what to do with Vicki.) Lidsky probably did as well as anyone could with the role of Weasel but, from the second season onward, Saved By The Bell didn’t need a new Screech. New students would take their places and they would be joined by a familiar face.

We’ll start season two next week!

I’m saved by the bell! …. but for how long?

Episode 1.7 “Homecoming King”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 23rd, 1993)

The big Homecoming dance is coming up and Lindsay has been nominated for Homecoming Queen, just as her mom (Diane Sainte-Marie) was years ago. Lindsay should be excited but her mom has made it clear that she doesn’t want Lindsay going to the dance with Tommy D. In fact, her mom doesn’t want Lindsay dating Tommy D at all. Tommy D is a troublemaker! Lindsay gets so angry that she decides not to go to the dance at all but instead, Tommy D tells her that she has to go to the dance so that she can be crowned as Homecoming Queen. Tommy says that he does screw up a lot. Maybe they should see other people.

Scott, who just a few episodes ago was trying to break Tommy and Lindsay up, announces that “Tommy D stands for Decent Dude.”

(Then his name would be Tommy DD. I swear, does anyone even go to class at this school?)

Uh-oh. It looks like smarmy Chad Westerfield (Jimmy Mardsen) is planning on asking Lindsay to the dance. Scott’s going to have to come up with a scheme to make sure that Chad doesn’t win Homecoming King and that Tommy and Lindsay get back together….

Wait a minute …. who is that playing Chad Westerfield? THAT’S A YOUNG JAMES MARSDEN! Lindsay should definitely go to the dance with Chad Westerfield! Screw Tommy D! Lindsay, your date is here!

This was one of James Marsden’s earliest roles but he already had the looks and the charisma that would make him one of my favorite actors. Even though we’re supposed to hate Chad and there’s a scene where he reveals that he’s just pretending to be nice so that he’ll win the Homecoming King election, James Marsden is still so innately likable that it’s hard not to be disappointed when Scott rigs the election so that Tommy wins as a write-in candidate. (Homecoming Queen is won by Megan, also a write-in candidate. The “nerds” voted for her because she came to the dance with Weasel after Chad ghosted her once he found out Lindsay was available.) Jonathan Angel was likably earnest as Tommy D but sorry, he just can’t compete with James Marsden.

(What type of school allows write-in votes in an election?)

Beyond featuring James Marsden in an early role, this episode is notable as a good example of Saved By The Bell at its most hypocritical. Lindsay’s mother is portrayed as being wrong-headed because she judges Tommy D on his appearance. And yet, we’re supposed to howl with laughter when Scott asks one of the nerdy girls to the dance. (Scott is trying to get the school’s nerds to vote for Tommy.) Saved By The Bell was always been quick to preach tolerance while also encouraging its audience to laugh at anyone who didn’t have the right look. That was especially true during New Class.

Sad to say, this was the only appearance that James Marsden made on Saved By The Bell: The New Class. He was smart enough not to stick around.