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.

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?

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!

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.

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.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.15 “A Perfect Lindsay”

Posted on August 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, while everyone is dancing, Lindsay is starving.

Episode 2.15 “A Perfect Lindsay”

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

TV’s “hottest show,” Club Jam, will be holding a dance contest at the school!

Brian asks Rachel to be his partner and is overjoyed when she says yes. (As I watched this episode, I had to remind myself that it was supposed to be taking place before the country club episodes, which explained why Rachel and Brian were not dating.) However, when Rachel sees that Megan is going to be dancing with some guy named Kent (Adam Bonfiant), she says that she and Brian don’t have a hope of winning.

Oh, don’t worry, Rachel. Brian has a plan! Brian tells Kent that the way to win the contest is to offer Belding a bribe. Because Kent is apparently an idiot, he does just that. Mr. Belding gives Kent detention and Megan dumps Kent as her dance partner. Fortunately, Bobby needs a partner. Unfortunately, shortly after asking him to be her partner, Megan discovers that Bobby can’t dance.

Meanwhile, Screech shows up at the Max and demonstrates his dance moves. It’s extremely cringey but the audience goes nuts. Dustin Diamond is so spastic and uncoordinated that the whole thing just feels cruel. I really wanted to step into time machine so I could travel to 1994 and shout, “They’re not laughing with you!”

Lindsay, meanwhile, fears that she’s fat. When Megan and Rachel mention that the camera adds 40 pounds, Lindsay has a fantasy where she dances with Tommy while wearing a fat suit. The audience laughs but Lindsay not amused. She skips a meal, which leads to both Tommy and Rachel theorizing that she has anorexia. When Tommy says that the dance contest isn’t worth risking her health, Linday dumps Tommy as her partner and instead teams up with Kent.

During the dance contest, Lindsay suddenly starts to feel faint. She has to go to classroom to rest her head on a desk. Brian gives up his chance to dance with Rachel and goes with Tommy D to help out Lindsay. Lindsay says she’s fine and then she faints.

With everyone else in the classroom, Megan and Bobby win the dance contest! It turns out that Megan only needed a week to teach Bobby how to dance like a pro. After the contest, a smiling Lindsay apologizes to everyone. Bobby nods and says, “Go eat something.” Lindsay happily trots off to do just that….

,,,,which is actually not how anorexia works at all. I mean, I appreciate the fact that the show was trying to warn its viewers about eating disorders but suggesting that anorexia can be cured by simply telling someone to go eat is really kind of irresponsible. This episode focuses on Lindsay not eating while ignoring why she stopped in the first place. Including a fantasy sequence where the audience laughs at Lindsay wearing a fat suit probably did more to promote anorexia than Bobby saying, “Go eat something” did to prevent it.

Oh well. At least Lindsay didn’t sing I’m So Excited.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.14 “Farewell Dance”

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yay! It’s the final country club episode!

Episode 2.14 “Farewell Dance”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 22nd, 1994)

The summer is coming to an end and so is the gang’s indentured servitude at the Palisades Country Club. The farewell dance approaches and with it comes the hope of romance and the pain of the heartbreak.

For instance, Bobby pretends to be rich so that snobby club member Michele (Ebonie Smith) will go to the dance with him. Michele loves it when Bobby talks about how his father is a millionaire who owns a private jet and hangs out with the Queen of England. But when Lindsay points out that Michele isn’t falling for the real Bobby, Bobby decides to tell Michele the truth. Michele dumps Bobby and apparently, we’re meant to see Bobby as the victim here. Bobby shouts that he wouldn’t ever go on a date with a girl who refuses to date poor people. Uhmm, Bobby, have you considered that maybe she just refuses to date liars? Anyway, as often happened on any episode where Bobby or Megan even thought about dating anyone who wasn’t listed in the opening credits, Bobby and Megan ended up going to the dance together.

Meanwhile, Screech is upset because Allison is going to be moving to New York to attend Julliard. Screech announces that he’s going to go to New York with her, even though that means he won’t get his degree. (Can’t Screech just transfer to a school in New Yor?) Allison decides that she can’t go to Julliard because it would mean Screech giving up his dreams. (“You have a future with Mr. Belding and Bayside,” Allison tells him. Uhmm ….. what?) Screech realizes that Allison has to pursue her dreams so he tells her to go to New York without him. Allison plays Screech a really bland piano piece that she wrote for him and then they share a final dance.

The main problem with this episode …. oh Hell, you know what the main problem was. The main problem’s initials are D and D. Dustin Diamond gives such a cartoonish performance that it’s hard to believe that Allison would have ever fallen for him in the first place. There are no emotional stakes when it comes to any story involving Screech because there’s nothing real about Screech. As a character, he’s the equivalent of Bobby’s father’s private jet.

All that said, at least the county club episodes are over with! Yay! Always be thankful for the little things.

Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell: The New Class 2.13 “Bayside Story”

Posted on August 11, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh no, it’s another Bayside vs Valley episode!

Episode 2.13 “Bayside Story”

(Dir by Don Barnhart, originally aired on October 22nd, 1994)

It’s time for Bayside and Valley to meet on the athletic field …. again!

*sigh*

Seriously, how much water can this show draw from the well of this particular rivalry? Ever since the original Saved By The Bell, there have been episodes about Bayside competing against Valley. Every episode begins with Mr. Belding complaining that Bayside never beats Valley. And yet, every episode also seems to end with Bayside defeating Valley so I’m really not sure what Belding’s problem is.

This episode, after Valley toilet papers the Bayside hallways, Mr. Belding complains that Bayside hasn’t defeated Valley since Slater graduated. Tommy D, Lindsay, Rachel, Megan, Brian, and Bobby all nod in agreement, which is odd since Slater graduated before any of them started at Bayside. Belding also mentions that Screech is in Vegas for Zack and Kelly’s wedding and, again, everyone nods as if they know who Zack and Kelly are. None of these students knew who Screech was when he first came back so how would they know Zack and Kelly? Am I just giving this too much thought? Perhaps.

As the head cheerleader, Megan is determined that the cheerleading squad (which is apparently made up of only her, Rachel, and Lindsay) is ready to declare death to Valley. But then she meets Doug (Bumper Robinson), the captain of Valley’s football team, and she ends up falling for him. Her friends are horrified that Megan would date someone from Valley but that doesn’t stop them from using Megan’s relationship to take advantage of Doug by pulling off one of those elaborate SBTB schemes where everyone dresses up in a stupid costume and distracts Doug long enough for Brian and Bobby to use a spy camera to take pictures of Valley’s playbook.

(Seriously, the whole thing is really stupid.)

Shortly afterwards, Megan ends up breaking up with Doug because she can’t handle everyone’s disapproval. The Gang feels guilty so they decide to give the pictures of the playbook back to Doug but, as opposed to just giving him the film, they instead decide to pull off another elaborate prank that involves everyone putting on costumes.

The reason why I’m not going into a lot of details about the pranks and the costumes is that it’s all really stupid. And I’m worried that if I spend too much time describing all of this, my brain might short-circuit. Let’s just say that it never occurs to anyone to just do the simplest of things, like maybe practicing really hard on the football field and trying to win the game legitimately.

That said, there a few things that work in this episode.

Amazingly, there actually is a funny running joke in this episode. Unlike most of the characters on this show, Brian knows nothing about American sports and continually has to be told the most basic facts about football. (“It’s played on a field, not a rink!”) Christian Oliver delivered his lines with the right amount of enthusiastic naivete and it was kind of nice to see Brian transformed into something more than just a stand-in for Zack.

The episode ends with the Bayside Gang meeting the Valley Gang at the Maxx and everyone crying as they realize that they’re not so different after all. That was actually kind of sweet. And then Belding ran in wearing riot gear because he was convinced a fight was about to break out. That actually made me laugh a little. So, dumb pranks aside, this episode wasn’t a total loss.

In conclusion, I should mention that my high school had a hated rival that was actually only a few blocks away from us. Our football team hated their football team and all that other stuff. Unfortunately, since my school was pretty much an art school, I don’t think we ever won a game against them. Some of that was because my school didn’t even have a football field so our team had to go over to the rival school whenever they wanted to practice.

Seriously, not even Slater could have saved them.

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

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

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.