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 1.5 “Screech’s Woman”

Posted on November 29, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Zach becomes Bambi and …. oh, you know the story.

Episode 1.5 “Screech’s Woman”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on September 16th, 1989)

Screech isn’t working on Zach’s science project because he’s depressed about not having a girlfriend. Screech describes himself as being “snakespit.” That’s …. that’s really sad, to be honest. Zach attempts to teach Screech how to be cool. He attempts to get Jessie to go out with him. Finally, Zach….

Oh, you know what Zach does. If you’re reading this review, you’ve undoubtedly seen Saved By The Bell in syndication and you know that this is one of those episodes that seemed to air constantly. Zach calls up Screech and pretends to be Bambi. When Screech demands to meet Bambi personally, Zach puts on one of Jessie’s dresses, a wig, sunglasses, and he shaves his legs. Zach/Bambi shows up at the Max and tells Screech that, if they’re going to date, Screech is going to have to agree to no longer hang out with Zach. A despondent Screech says that he can’t betray his best friend.

Here’s the thing:

Even with the wig and the dress and the whispery voice, Zach is in no way convincing as Bambi. He’s obviously Zach, just wearing a wig and speaking in a slightly higher register. The fact that Screech, Kelly, and Slater are all fooled (albeit only temporarily in Slater’s case) can only lead me to suspect that everyone on this show is an idiot. Saved By The Bell always demands a certain suspension of disbelief but this episode really took it to the limit. (Or pushed it to the Max, if you want to show respect to that tacky place.)

This episode really made me feel sorry for both Screech and Dustin Diamond and that’s saying something how annoying I found both Screech and the actor playing him to be. Diamond was only 11 when he was cast on Good Morning Miss Bliss. In this episode, he’s 12 and he looks and comes across as being even younger. And yet, he’s acting opposite people who were a few years older and, by teen standards, considerably more mature. (In teen years, there’s a huge gulf between 12 and 15.) From the minute he shows up in this episode, Screech is out-of-place. That may have worked for Screech’s character but it also probably explains why Diamond himself never really seemed to grow up and never seemed to get over feeling like an outsider on the set.

Wow, this episode was depressing.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Saved By The Bell 1.3 “The Gift”

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Zack exploits his best friend.

Episode 1.3 “The Gift”

(Dir by Dennis Erdman, originally aired on September 8th, 1989)

Screech gets stuck by lightning!

Wow, I guess he’s dead now. Oh wait, this is Saved By The Bell. People get struck by lightning all the time. Screech isn’t dead. Instead, he can now see into the future. Zack is thrilled that his friend has a power that he can exploit and Screech is thrilled to be exploited. (That’s actually kind of sad.) It’s all fun and games when Zack uses Screech’s powers to trick Slater into losing his bomber jacket. But then, when Zack attempts to use Screech to pass Terrible Testaverde’s history midterm, things fall apart.

Terrible George Testaverde (John Moschitta, Jr.) is supposed to be the most fearsome teacher at Bayside. Everyone fears his superhard midterms. From what we see of his class, he actually appears to be a surprisingly easy teacher, albeit one who talks extremely fast. His midterm questions also don’t seem that tough. Essentially, Zack and the Bayside crew are freaking out because they’re going to have write an essay on three basic questions about the American Revolution. What a bunch of wimps. Seriously, I could pass Testaverde’s midterm with my eyes closed.

Screech loses his powers after Zack accidentally spills a drink on him but still comes up with three questions that Testaverde might ask. Zack sets up a study date with Kelly, one that is crashed by Jessie, Lisa, and Slater. Zack assures them that he knows what the three questions will be. Jessie says, “You would never lie to Kelly, would you, Zack?”

Screech later says that he’s seeing three different questions, which means that it’s time for another wacky plot! Zack pretends to be Mr. Belding and calls Testaverde and tells him that the school is flooded. Then, he pretends to be Testaverde and calls Belding and says that he has laryngitis and he needs Belding to administer his midterm. Neither Belding nor Testaverde apparently notice that the person calling them sounds like he’s 14.

The plan nearly works. Belding gives the class the three questions that Zack called him with. But then Testaverde shows up, dress like a plumber. “My school needs me!” he says. Testaverde and Belding eventually figure out what happened. (These aren’t the smarter public educators in the world.) Testaverde administers the real midterm….

Jessie gets a C and faints. Slater doesn’t seem to care about his grade, mostly because Slater’s a bad ass. Zack gets an “F minus, for scamming.” He also has to be Slater’s slave for a month. (Slater has Zack order a pizza. Zack asks for one with the “hottest peppers you can find.”) Screech passes because he actually studied so Zack makes fun of him and the audiences goes wild….

Watching this episode, I realized that the appeal of Saved By The Bell was how incredibly amoral it was. There was no right or wrong and there were no consequences. Zack fails a midterm. He lies to both a principal and a teacher. He reacts to Screech getting struck by lightning by taking advantage of him (as opposed to calling an ambulance). And, other than having to order a pizza for Slater, nothing bad really happens to him. Most shows would make a big deal about the importance of getting good grades and caring about your friends. Not Saved By The Bell! Saved By The Bell takes place in a world where, even when Zack loses, he somehow wins. I can understand why that would appeal to many viewers.

Next week, Kelly convinces Zack that she’s going to kill him.

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.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning Miss Bliss 1.13 “The Mentor”

Posted on October 11, 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 Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which ran on the Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989 before then moving to NBC and being renamed Saved By The Bell. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, we close out the Miss Bliss years.

Episode 1.13 “The Mentor”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on March 18th, 1989)

For some reason, Miss Bliss’s mentor — James Lyman (Robert Donner) — shows up at the school to visit his favorite student, Carrie Bliss. (Apparently, the very British Miss Bliss grew up in Indiana. I’m not saying it’s not possible, as her parents could have come over when Miss Bliss was still young. That said, it just seems odd that no one — not even her students — ever mention anything about Miss Bliss being British. It would seem like something Miss Bliss would have mentioned during all of those lessons about the Constitution and American history.) Mr. Lyman is retired but he agrees to substitute for Miss Bliss while she spends a week doing paperwork. (Most teachers would probably just have to suck it up and both teach and do paperwork during the week but not our Miss Bliss!)

This is one of those annoying episodes where Mr. Lyman is the unconventional teacher who gives the kids free hall passes and takes them on extended field trip without getting permission beforehand. Mr. Lyman makes learning fun! (Gag!) Miss Bliss gets upset because Mr. Lyman isn’t following her lesson plan and Mr. Lyman basically accuses Miss Bliss of being a sellout. For once, I’m on Miss Bliss’s side here. Mr. Lyman is a substitute. His job is to follow the lesson plan. If Miss Bliss doesn’t want him to handing out hall passes, that’s her right. It’s her class! And this whole thing of trusting the students not to abuse the hall pass? I would have totally abused a free hall pass. Everyone would abuse a free hall pass! I would laughed at any teacher dumb enough to give me a free hall pass. It’s almost as if the people who wrote this episode had absolutely no knowledge of how teenagers think. In the end, Mr. Lyman comes across as being an unlikable crank. The episode ends up with dressing up like Abraham Lincoln and showing up, unannounced, in Miss Bliss’s classroom. Seriously, someone call the cops on their weirdo.

Meanwhile, Nikki worries that boys don’t see her as being feminine. Lisa teachers her how to wear makeup. Next year, maybe Nikki and Zach….

Oh, wait a minute. Sorry, Zach, Mr. Belding, Screech, and Lisa are all moving to California. Nikki, Mickey, Miss Bliss, Ms. Palladino, Mylo are staying in Indiana. The Mentor was the final episode of Good Morning, Miss Bliss. The Disney Channel canceled the show but producer Peter Engel took some of the cast over to NBC and launched Saved By The Bell. The Miss Bliss episodes would later be repackaged for syndication with Zach saying, “I remember this time in Junior High…..” I remember changing the channel whenever I realized a Miss Bliss episode was starting.

We’ll start Saved By The Bell next week. Finally, the tyranny of Miss Bliss is over.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning Miss Bliss 1.12 “Clubs and Cliques”

Posted on October 4, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Miss Bliss takes over the school.

Episode 1.12 “Clubs and Cliques”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on March 11th, 1989)

Mr. Belding is teaching Miss Bliss’s class!

Why?

Well, the answer doesn’t make much sense but here it is. The School Board has ordered Belding to name one of the teachers as an “assistant principal” who can be in charge whenever he’s out of the building. Most schools just hire an assistant principal but whatever. Maybe this is an Indiana thing. Since there are only three teachers to choose from and one of them is the mad scientist who wanted to force Nikki to dissect a frog, Mr. Belding goes with Miss Bliss. But, before Miss Bliss can officially have the job, she has to serve as a principal for a week. Belding covers her class.

At first, Mr. Belding is nervous. But, by the end of the class period, he’s thrilled. He tells Miss Bliss that he thinks he did a wonderful job and that the kids really got something out of it.

“Mr. Belding,” Miss Bliss replies, “it’s only homeroom.”

Okay, I’m just going to say it …. WHAT A BITCH! Seriously, how condescending can one person be? This is who you want to make principal? Is this how you motivate people? Again, this is why I cannot stand Miss Bliss. Seriously, if anyone ever said that to her — “It’s only homeroom,” — she would have rightly been offended.

(Then again, I have to wonder whether or not Mr. Belding’s ever taught a class before. This episode seems to imply that he hasn’t. Was that a common thing with principals back in the 80s?)

Miss Bliss has a lot to deal with because it’s pledge week. Apparently, the coolest club at JFK Middle School is the Rigma club and Zach has been told by Rick (J. Trevor Edmond) and Trevor (Christopher Carter) that he can wear a Rigma jacket if he’s mean to all of his friends. Zach calls Lisa’s parents and let them know that she wears makeup in school. He throws ice cream at Nikki’s sweater. He reveals that Mikey has a crush. He calls Screech a “nothing.” He loses all of his friends and then he finds out that he wasn’t even being considered for Rigma membership. Instead, it was all a big joke on the part of Rick and Trevor.

Now, to give credit where credit is due, Mark-Paul Gosselaar did a pretty good job playing up Zach’s regret after he realized he had lost all of his friends for nothing. The episode is interesting because it shows a side of Zach that would totally disappear over the course of Saved By The Bell. In this episode, Zach is insecure and desperate to belong. By the time Saved By The Bell really got going, it had been established that Zach had no insecurities and was automatically loved by everyone he met. Insecure Zach is infinitely more compelling but a bit less fun than confident Zach. Watching this episode, it’s hard to believe we’re watching the same Zach Morris who will eventually lie about a being a descendant of Chief Joseph.

Things work out in the end. His friends forgive Zach. Even more importantly, Miss Bliss gets in trouble for not calling and asking for permission from the Board of Education before giving everyone everything they wanted. “She’s not perfect,” Belding chuckles. You got that right, Mr. Belding!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning Miss Bliss 1.11 “Stevie”

Posted on September 27, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is perhaps the dumbest episode of this show yet.

Episode 1.11 “Stevie”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired March 4th, 1989)

The world’s most popular pop singer (Suzanna Tara) is performing at her old middle school, JFK Junior High! The world knows her as Stevie but Miss Bliss still calls her “Colleen Morton.” Since Colleen/Stevie’s parents are no longer living in Indiana, Miss Bliss suggests that Stevie should stay with her. Stevie agrees because, when you’re a millionaire who can literally stay anywhere, why wouldn’t you want to stay with a condescending middle school teacher?

During her concert, Stevie will be singing to one student who will join her on stage. Zach wants to be that student, especially since he’s made a bet that he’ll kiss Stevie before the week ends. Zach sends Stevie a letter, claiming to be terminally ill. Stevie is touched. Mr. Belding is touched. Miss Bliss sees right through Zach and exposes him for being a liar.

When Zach goes to Miss Bliss’s house to apologize, he meets Colleen. Like Zach, Colleen is also a damn liar and claims to be Miss Bliss’s niece. Zach and Colleen talk about how Stevie is retiring to go to college. Zach thinks that is crazy and I agree. Colleen kisses Zach on the cheek.

Later, watching Stevie sing to Screech, Zach realizes who she is. “I kissed Stevie!” he shouts. Nikki tells him to get bent.

This was an annoying episode. I could buy the idea of Stevie wanting to perform at her old high school but seriously, who would ever want to return to middle school? Who remembers their middle school teachers? Who would want to stay with Miss Bliss? Add to that, this was yet another episode of Good Morning Miss Bliss that was so poorly lit that I almost went blind from the glare of Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s hair.

This whole thing was just dumb.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning Miss Bliss 1.10 “Practical Jokes”

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Screech goes on trial!

Episode 1.10 “Practical Jokes”

(Dir by Gary Shimokawa, originally aired on February 25th, 1989)

“It’s Hoosier Harvest Festival!” Miss Bliss tells us. Apparently, this is some sort of Indiana thing where everyone rolls around in hay and plays practical jokes on each other. In her 11 years of working at JFK Junior High, Miss Bliss is proud to have never been pranked. Mr. Belding gets pranked all the time. In fact, Belding spends this entire episode getting humiliated over and over again. After eating some tainted food, he runs from the cafeteria. Miss Bliss has a good laugh over the suffering of a man who, just a few weeks ago, moved Heaven and Earth so she could win the Teacher of the Year award.

In other words, Miss Bliss is a bitch.

When Miss Bliss sits down in class, it turns out that someone has painted her chair. Her new sweater is ruined! Miss Bliss gets angry and demands that the responsible party step forward or the entire class will be punished. The class immediately pressures Screech to confess. Screech does so and is told that he will have to pay for Miss Bliss’s sweater. Screech takes back his confession.

Miss Bliss says the only way to settle this is by holding a mock trial. Hey, that’s convenient! Would you believe that Miss Bliss just happens to be teaching a unit on the Constitution? Screech is put on trial. Zach is his lawyer. Nikki is the prosecutors. Mikey is the bailiff. Lisa is a witness. The rest of the cast — you know, the dorky kids who don’t get names or storylines — are the jury.

The evidence is stacked against Screech but Zach gets most of it thrown out. (Nikki may have found a paint brush in Screech’s locker but she had no right to search it.) The only evidence against Screech is that he said he was going to get Miss Bliss and …. well, he did confess. Somehow, his confession never comes up at the trial. That’s a pretty big piece of evidence, even if everyone knows he was pressured into making it. Screech surprises everyone by taking the fifth when asked why he went to his locker after saying he was going to get Miss Bliss.

Screech is acquitted for lack of evidence. (Uhmm …. confession? Hello, he confessed?) Miss Bliss reveals that she pranked herself to trick the kids into learning about the Constitution. Because she pranked herself, this mean that she has still never been officially pranked. After class, she helps Screech open his locker and gets hit by the silly string that Screech previously set to go off. So, Screech did prank Miss Bliss!

(Wouldn’t Nikki have gotten hit by the silly string when she illegally searched Screech’s locker?)

This episode was dumb. Screech should have been wrongfully convicted because Zach wasn’t that good of a lawyer. Unfortunately, Nikki wasn’t that good of a prosecutor either. That’s the system for you, dagnabit!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Good Morning, Miss Bliss 1.9 “Let’s Get Together”

Posted on September 13, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, the kids learn yet another lesson about conflict resolution.

Episode 1.9 “Let’s Get Together”

(Dir by Burt Brinckerhoff, originally aired on February 18th, 1989)

After Ms. Palladino (Joan Ryan) is kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend, she temporarily moves in with Miss Bliss. It doesn’t go well. Ms. Palladino is messy and quirky and accident-prone. Miss Bliss is British. Can these two friends figure out how to live together?

Meanwhile, Nikki and Zach have been assigned to work on a class project but they’re suddenly not getting along. They have to convince Miss Bliss that the telephone is a worthwhile invention. (Miss Bliss plays the role of a skeptical pilgrim.) Nikki wants to use a bunch of charts to make her point. Zach pretends to call Nikki on the phone and apologizes to her for not being a good friend. It’s extremely awkward to watch, despite the fact that Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Heather Hopper both pour their hearts into the scene. Actually, maybe that’s why it’s so awkward to watch. Imagine being a student, trapped in that classroom and forced to listen to Zach and Nikki work out their differences. Miss Bliss give them an A and decides to stop being such a bitch to Ms. Palladino. Good for her!

This episode probably would have been more effective if we hadn’t already been subjected to an episode where Mickey and Zach get into a disagreement and then talk about their friendship while the entire school watches. This episode felt like a do-over. I also found it curious that all the students apparently knew that Miss Bliss and Ms. Palladino were living together and not getting along. First off, why would the students know this and secondly, why would the students cares?

I’m starting to think that Good Morning Miss Bliss was not a realistic portrayal of the Indiana middle school experience.