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, the school wrestles with progress.

Episode 3.14 “Hold Me Tight”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on November 23rd, 1991)

Kristy (Krystee Clark) is a new student at Bayside who wants to join the wrestling team. Coach Stonski (Monty Hoffman) says that girls can’t wrestle. Mr. Belding agrees. Zack doesn’t care about wrestling, but he wants to date Kristy, so he takes up her cause and he gets Jessie involved as well. One protest later, Kristy gets a tryout and joins the team.

And then almost everyone involved is revealed to be a hypocrite.

Zack goes on a date with Kristy but freaks out when she defends him from a bully. The guy is supposed to protect the girl, Zack says! Okay, Zack, so why didn’t you? From what I saw, Zack Morris was about to get his ass kicked before Kristy stepped up and used her wrestling moves to save his life. Zack has the power to stop time but he can’t take care of a bully on his own? It’s a pretty good thing Kristy was there!

Jessie gets it into her head that Kristy is trying to steal Slater from her. She goes on the radio and announces that she was wrong to support the idea of a woman wrestling… HEY, THE SHOW’S WRITERS REMEMBERED THE RADIO STATION! That’s a rare case of Saved by the Bell actually having some sort of continuity.

This was an annoying episode. Why would anyone want to join the wrestling team?

The worst part of this episode came towards the end when it looked like Kristy might lose her first match. “Do something, Zack!” Screech says. What’s Zack going to do? Well, he could stop time but he’s not willing to use his God-like powers in this episode. Zack is proof of Deism. Instead, Zack yells at Kristy to use the move that she used on the bully. Kristy wins her match and Zack announces to the school that they’re dating.

Of course, as usually happens whenever a new character appears and briefly becomes the center of attention, Kristy will never be seen again. Maybe she ran off with Jessie’s stepbrother.