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

Posted on September 8, 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.

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.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 6/16/26 — 6/22/26

Posted on August 22, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, and Pluto TV)

I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate over at Reality TV Chat Blog.

Election Coverage (Tuesday Night)

Last week was the last big primary night of 2026. I mostly watched the results from Florida. The defeat of Alex Vindman in Florida should be all the proof that one needs that the Resistance era is over.

Darke of the Night (YouTube)

My review of this unsold pilot will drop in September.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock TV)

I binged several episodes of Homicide this week and wrote and scheduled reviews of each one.

Juvenile Court (YouTube)

My review of this unsold pilot will drop next week.

Law & Order (Hulu)

I watched an episode of Law & Order that served as a crossover with Homicide. My review of both episodes will drop at some point in September.

Radio 1990 (Nightflight Plus)

I watched an episode of this 80s music video show on Friday night.

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

This week’s review will drop shortly.

Sylvan in Paradise (YouTube)

My review of this pilot will drop in September.

Warden Duffy of San Quentin (YouTube)

My review of this pilot will drop in September.

Watched and Reviewed:

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.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/9/26 — 8/15/26

Posted on August 15, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (YouTube)

I watched an episode featuring Leonard Cohen. It was a bit too low-key for me but I did appreciate Cohen’s sense of style.

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been writing about the show that I love to hate at the Reality Tv Chat Blog.

Election Coverage

The Wisconsin primary will go down in history. As much as I disagree with Frances Hong on the issues, I felt a bit sorry for her. There was a time when it was very trendy to claim to be mentally ill on social media. I think a lot of people are going to run into the same problem that she ran into when they try to run for office.

Kitchen Nightmares (Disney Plus)

I watched the two latest episodes. I am amazed that anyone would allow their business to appear on this show. Personally, I am never going to eat again.

Survivor 50 (Wednesday Night, CBS)

That 90-minute run time is going to be the death of Survivor. Every episode feels so dragged out now.

Top of the Pops (YouTube)

I watched two episodes from the 80s on Saturday morning It featured some of the least danceable music that I’ve ever heard.

Watched and Reviewed:

Continue reading →

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.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/2/26 — 8/8/26

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

America 2100 (YouTube)

I reviewed America 2100 here,

Baywatch (Tubi)

You can read my review here!

Big Brother (24/7, CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

You can read my ongoing review of Big Brother here.

Cheaters (Tubi)

Cheaters is on Tubi! I watched a few episodes on Saturday. This show is a guilty pleasure for me because 1) it was filmed in Dallas and 2) Joey Greco is just so judgmental!

CHiPs (Prime)

You can read my review of CHiPs here.

Crime Story (Tubi)

You can read my review of Crime Story here.

Diff’rent Strokes (Tubi)

After buying their father a birthday present, Arnold and Kimberly decided to hitchhike home. They were picked up by a man who locked Arnold in a room and then threatened to rape Kimberly. This was pretty disturbing for a sitcom! I watched this two-part episode on Thursday and I was relieved when the police finally showed up to rescue them.

Freddy’s Nightmares (Tubi)

I wrote about the series finale here!

Election Coverage (Tuesday Night)

I was pretty depressed going into this week’s primary elections but I have to admit that watching the results in Michigan cheered me up, Even though the latest DSA flavor-of-the month, Abdul El-Sayed, won his primary, it was only by one percentage point as opposed to the election being the blow-out that so many predicted. Not everyone is on board with extremism and I take some hope from that.

On Thursday, I watched as the election results rolled in from Tennessee. Other than that one congressman that lost his primary, the Tennessee results weren’t quite as exciting as the Michigan results. I did find myself amused as I remembered how, way back in 2018, some pundits were convinced that Taylor Swift coming out as a Democrat would somehow turn the state blue.

1st & Ten (Prime)

You can read my review here.

Flight of the Conchords (HBOMax)

I watched one episode from the first season (Todd joined the band and things quickly fell apart, despite his skill with the bongos) and one episode from the second season. (Bret and Jermaine met Murray’s best friend, Jim.) Both episodes made me laugh. This is definitely a show that I miss, even if it does seem like Bret and Jermaine probably did everything they could with the concept during the first two seasons.

Hunter (Tubi)

You can read my review here.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

You can read my review here.

Mad TV (Tubi)

Mad TV’s on Tubi now! I watched two episodes on Thursday and, unfortunately, they were even worse than I remembered.

The Office (Peacock TV)

“THIS WAS THE BEST DUNDIES EVER! WHOOOOO!” As much as I complain about the show’s final two seasons, the first three seasons are about as good as anything that has ever aired on television. On Friday, I watched The Dundies.

Pacific Blue (Tubi)

You can read my review of Pacific Blue here.

Saved By The Bell (Prime)

My review will be dropping shortly.

Saved By The Bell: The New Class (Prime)

You can read my review here!

St. Elsewhere (YouTube)

You can read my review of St. Elsewhere here!

60 Minutes (CBS, Sunday Night)

I caught the last 30 minutes of 60 Minutes on Sunday night. It’s funny that, for all the acclaim that this show has received and all the current controversy surrounding it, the only time that I have ever watched it has been when I’ve been waiting for something else to start. It seems like I always end up turning on the show whenever Anderson Cooper is doing one of his “look at my exploring the wilderness!” type of stories.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

As I watched this week’s rerun of Survivor 50, it occurred to me that the all of the Survivor icons are starting to get really, really old. A better name for Survivor 50 would have been Survivor: Seniors’ Retreat.

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.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/26/26 — 8/1/26

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Austin City Limits (PBS)

I watched an episode of this show on Saturday morning. My musical tastes pretty much start and end with EDM. Sorry, Austin.

Big Brother 28 (24/7, CBS, Paramout+, Pluto TV)

I’ve been sharing my thoughts on the show that I love to hate over at the RealityTVChat Blog. Feel free to leave a comment over there because, right now, the blog is not quite living up to the chat part of the name.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

It’s a funny show and it helps to ease my anxiety. I’ve watched quite a few episodes this week.

Rogue’s Gallery (NightFlight+)

I watched an episode about John Dillinger on Friday. Now there was a handsome bank robber!

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

Running Zack! I’ll be posting a review of this week’s episode in a bit.

Survivor 50 (CBS, Wednesday Night)

CBS has been re-airing Survivor 50 after episodes of Big Brother. I missed Survivor 50 when it first aired and I’m still struggling to get into it right now. I prefered Survivor when it was only an hour long. I have ADHD so asking me to concentrate for 90 minutes is a bit much.

Watched And Reviewed: