From 1989 to 1992, Saturday mornings belonged to NBC for teens and tweens. That’s when Saved By The Bell reigned supreme. For years after the original series run, it aired in syndication on other networks, allowing even more kids to become fans.
30 years later, with a sequel series on the way, it seems like everyone knows that Zack Morris was the chief troublemaker at Bayside High. Zack skipped a lot of class and chased a lot of girls, but his heart always belonged to Kelly Kapowski. The duo were at the center of a friend group that included a couple of nearly perfect students (Screech and Jessie), the school gossip (Lisa), and a hot headed jock (Slater). Some of them even went on to The College Years together, but these ten best episodes all come from the high school years of Saved By The Bell.
Jessie’s Song S2E09
It’s impossible to have a list of episodes for Saved By The Bell and not include this season two episode. It leads off the best episodes because it’s certainly not the best crafted half hour of the show, but it’s the most memorable.
In the episode, Jessie, always a great student, started to feel the pressure of school. She turned to caffeine pills to make it through her schoolwork and her extracurricular commitments. That led to the often quoted line, “I’m so excited! I’m so… scared.” Though the episode was a thinly veiled anti-drug message for teens, it’s still one of the most entertaining of the series.
Mystery Weekend S3E26
As the series progressed into season three, the writers started moving away from the halls of Bayside High. Some of the concepts of the season involved working at a beach resort for the summer and attending a murder mystery party.
“Mystery Weekend” saw Zack and the gang head to that party, but in a surprise twist, someone at the house was actually murdered. Zack was the main suspect, so naturally, the group had to solve the crime. The episode was a fun departure from the norm, and featured everyone in some interesting costumes - including Screech’s turn at a Sherlock Holmes getup.
Cut Day S3E23
These days, teens have things like senior skip days - where seniors get to miss a day of class and everyone looks the other way. There are also organized walk outs for all students to protest peacefully. “Cut Days,” however, are certainly a product of the 80s and 90s in which literally everyone organizes to cut class for the day - as long as they’re already in good standing with the school.
Zack, to the surprise of only Zack, couldn’t spend the day cutting class with his friends because Mr. Belding was keeping an eye on him. He decided Zack had already missed too many classes. Zack and Slater bet on whether or not Zack would manage to cut class. Zack promised to appear at every spot his friends did throughout the day. It was typical Saved By The Bell, but it brought Zack’s antics to everywhere in town instead of just the school classrooms.
The Fabulous Belding Boys S2E16
A surprisingly sweet two-parter for Saved By The Bell, “The Fabulous Belding Boys” revealed that Principal Belding had a younger, hip, brother. The students liked him a whole lot more - at first.
As the other Belding became a substitute teacher, he allowed the students to essentially do whatever they wanted and didn’t penalize them with poor grades. He also changed their class trip from a more tame outing to white water rafting. Unfortunately for the teens, he skipped out on the trip, leaving them in a lurch. Principal Belding stepped in to save the day, reminding the kids that he always had their best interest in mind.
The Fight S4E01
Zack and Slater almost never saw eye to eye on the series. In the first season, Zack even tried to get rid of Slater. Despite their differences, they maintained a strange friendship while they competed over everything as well.
Over the course of the series, they often showed interest in the same girls, but it wasn’t until the season four premiere that the duo actually fought over a girl. Saved By The Bell often went for verbal sparring over physical altercation, but this is the one time that they two came to blows. It was a different side of the two for viewers to see.
Snow White And The Seven Dorks S4E20
The series featured a lot of extracurricular activities and projects for the gang. When they got into drama and theater, Bayside High got to do their own version of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves. It wasn’t a Huntsman esque tale, but instead one that fit into the 90s.
“Snow White And The Seven Dorks” featured Jessie as the princess, Kelly as the evil queen, and Zack as the prince. It also featured some love geometry as Kelly and Slater became jealous of Jessie and Jack spending so much time together. Did we mention the lines in the play were all rapped? That alone is worth spending the half hour to watch the episode.
Fake IDs S3E09
Zack is the kind of guy who will do anything for a chance with a pretty girl. In this season three episode, he roped his friends into helping him out.
When a college girl came into The Max to use the phone, Zack lied to her pretending to be much older. In order to hang out with her, he needed a fake ID to get into a club. He roped Screech into doing the work. Zack and friends made it to the club with all kinds of fun shenanigans, but while there, they discovered Kelly’s new boyfriend was cheating on her.
It had the perfect combination of hilarity and heartbreak.
Rockumentary S3E22
Not many of the episodes of Saved By The Bell went into full on fantasy territory, but “Rockumentary” did. Imagining a world where the gang’s band made it big with their song “Friends Forever,” Casey Kasem told their story.
The episode was in the vein of a Behind The Music documentary. It was a little ridiculous, and featured a lot of glitter and sequins. For fans who had watched the show for three years, it was a great departure from the usual trials and tribulations of high school.
The Last Dance S3E01
There were a lot of relationships amongst the teenagers at Bayside High, though most fans will remember Zack and Kelly the most fondly. Though the two did et together on the series, they didn’t always stay together. In fact, this season three episode provided their first breakup.
To earn money for a costume, Kelly got a job working as a waitress at The Max. While working there, her much older boss began to hit on her. Kelly developed feelings for him and decided that she and Zack should go their separate ways. It was the first real heartbreak of the show.
The Prom S2E01
In contrast with the previous entry, the best episode of the series provided the audience with hope instead of heartbreak. “The Prom” was the episode in which Zack and Kelly first became official.
Kelly’s father lost his job, which meant Kelly didn’t have the extra money to afford a dress for the prom. Despite wanting to go with Zack, she was too nervous to tell him why she couldn’t go. When Zack found out the truth, he didn’t blame Kelly for missing the dance. He showed his softer side, setting up a picnic for them right outside the prom so the two could enjoy themselves without Kelly having to buy a prom dress.
