Well Deserved Praise

Very well executed

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Oh my God! Zack Morris had to be the cutest guy to hit the saga of the 80s teen idols. And the fact that Mark-Paul Gosselaar was so young was unbelievable! I've seen almost every episode of Good Morning, Miss Bliss and I have to say, Hayley Mills is terrific in this show. I've seen her as a young a young starlet appearing in movies such as the original Parent Trap (which is just as good as the Lindsay Lohan version). I was a big fan of 60s movies, FYI. And whatever happened to Mikey and Nikki? They were great characters, and they coped well with Zack's antics! An besides, I used to have a crush on Mikey(between you and me, Mikey was way cuter than Zack). At least they didn't get rid of Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), Saved by the Bell would have never been right without her. Oh, and Mr. Belding too! He pretty much a better father figure on the show for Zack than his own father was in both Good Morning, Miss Bliss and Saved By The Bell. And I'm so mad that they got rid of Milo. He was the coolest. Well, all I have to say is whatever you do, never take Good Morning, Miss Bliss or Saved By The Bell of television, even if you keep showing reruns. Without these shows, you would never know what you can expect in junior high?

I loved Hayley Mills in the original series as Miss Bliss. But the rest of the series just displayed many stereotypes that we would be better off without. A brainless jock, a Barbie doll ditz, a spoiled rich kid, a young womanizer and a geek just for starters. Selfish, self indulgent teens with no real substance. With the exception of perhaps one or two characters, their first instinct was always to dupe someone or get something they were told they couldn't have. It was always at the expense of someone else. The only time they showed any morals or regret was when they were caught and told how they should act. And while they made fun of geeks at every opportunity, how is it that Scheech (a self admitted geek) was one of their circle of friends? Of course he was the fall guy for many a prank. Pityful. I would not let my children watch this show....ever.

As a kid born in 1985, I became of a learning age around 1990. At that time, SAVED BY THE BELL was just starting off. Zack, Slater, Kelly, Screech, Lisa, Jessie, Mr. Belding... they were all there. Reruns started about two years after that.And the reruns messed with my head.You see, I had no prior knowledge that this Bayside-based high school sitcom actually had roots in a former show entitled GOOD MORNING, MISS BLISS. But apparently everyone else had, so there were no explanations when these episodes were aired under the SAVED BY THE BELL moniker and threw my entire viewing experience off its axis.It was ve-e-e-ery '80s. Zack was pretty young (around 14 or 15?) and he was aside a prepubescent Screech and two new kids that seemed to be 1989 in the raw. Miss Bliss was weird; and the episode where they invest in potatoes is just damn bizarre.Like the entire show.

My opinion of this original version of "Saved By The Bell" has remained virtually unchanged since it premiered over a decade ago. Basically, it's rarely funny, sometimes quite slow-moving, and yet, I still occasionally watch the reruns because it is a pain-free way to kill some time. That's hardly an endorsement, but it is quite the compliment considering how weak this show really is. I can't explain why I watched it when it first aired, and I can't explain why I sometimes watch it now...perhaps these days it's a nostalgic thing, but I don't really know. One thing's for sure: unless you grew up watching this and "Saved By The Bell", you shouldn't bother giving this show a chance.