Saved by the Bell: The New Class

Last updated
Saved by the Bell:
The New Class
Saved by the Bell- The New Class (text logo).svg
Genre Teen sitcom
Created by Sam Bobrick
Developed byBennett Tramer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes143 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer Peter Engel
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time22–24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 11, 1993 (1993-09-11) 
January 8, 2000 (2000-01-08)
Related
Saved by the Bell (1989)

Saved by the Bell: The New Class is an American teen sitcom television series and spinoff of Saved by the Bell . The New Class premiered on September 11, 1993. The series ran for seven seasons on NBC as a part of the network's TNBC Saturday morning line-up, airing its final episode on January 8, 2000. [1] At seven seasons, it was the longest-running incarnation of the franchise. [2]

Contents

The show had the same concept as the original series but featured a new group of students roaming the halls of the fictional Bayside High School. Mr. Belding, played by Dennis Haskins, remained as the in-show school's principal. Many of the stories were recycled plots of its parent series. The first-season cast included Robert Sutherland Telfer, Jonathan Angel, Isaac Lidsky, Natalia Cigliuti, Bianca Lawson, and Bonnie Russavage. Unlike the original series, which featured very few major cast changes throughout its run, The New Class regularly changed its core cast with Mr. Belding and Screech (from season 2 onward) being the only consistent characters. [3]

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 13September 11, 1993 (1993-09-11)December 4, 1993 (1993-12-04)
2 26September 10, 1994 (1994-09-10)December 31, 1994 (1994-12-31)
3 26September 9, 1995 (1995-09-09)December 9, 1995 (1995-12-09)
4 26September 7, 1996 (1996-09-07)December 14, 1996 (1996-12-14)
5 26September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13)December 14, 1997 (1997-12-14)
6 13September 12, 1998 (1998-09-12)December 5, 1998 (1998-12-05)
7 13September 11, 1999 (1999-09-11)January 8, 2000 (2000-01-08)

Cast and characters

Overview

ActorCharacterSeasons
1234567
Robert Sutherland TelferScott EricksonMainDoes not appear
Isaac Lidsky Barton "Weasel" WyzellMainDoes not appear
Jonathan AngelTommy De LucaMainDoes not appear
Bianca Lawson Megan JonesMainDoes not appear
Natalia Cigliuti Lindsay WarnerMainDoes not appear
Bonnie RussavageVicki NeedlemanMainDoes not appear
Dennis Haskins Richard Belding Main
Christian Oliver Brian KellerDoes not appearMainDoes not appear
Sarah Lancaster Rachel MeyersGuestMainDoes not appear
Spankee RogersBobby WilsonDoes not appearMainDoes not appear
Dustin Diamond Screech Powers Does not appearMain
Richard Lee Jackson Ryan ParkerDoes not appearMainDoes not appear
Salim GrantR.J. CollinsDoes not appearMainDoes not appear
Samantha BeckerMaria LopezDoes not appearMain
Ben GouldNicky FarinaDoes not appearMain
Lindsey McKeon Katie PetersonDoes not appearMain
Anthony Harrell Eric LittleDoes not appearMain
Ashley Tesoro Liz MillerDoes not appearMain
Tom Wade HuntingtonTony DillonDoes not appearMain

Main

Production

Linkage to the original series

During the August 1993 repeat airing of the Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style television film, NBC ran promotions, set at Bayside High School and at The Max, where the cast of the original series and the cast of the first season of The New Class met and interacted with each other. These segments were a "passing of the torch" type of narrative. Also present were Dennis Haskins as Principal Richard Belding, and Bob Golic from Saved by the Bell: The College Years as the resident advisor from Cal U. One segment involves Zack and Scott in the school hallway, where Zack gives Scott a list pertaining to Mr. Belding to cause trouble for him. Mr. Belding overhears this and takes the list away, joyfully triumphant at outsmarting Zack. After he walks away, Zack hands Scott "the real list".

Cast changes

The show was notable for its cast changes. Each season featured one to three cast changes. The constant changes made it confusing for new viewers who were not watching the show from the start as cast members would come and go without any real explanation, and presumably contributed to lower ratings as the seasons progressed.

After the initial criticism of the first season of The New Class as essentially being a poor copy of the original series, the producers changed a number of elements of the show for the second season. Robert Sutherland Telfer, Isaac Lidsky, and Bonnie Russavage were all fired. Three new characters were introduced for the 1994–95 season. Brian Keller (Christian Oliver) became the new transfer student from Switzerland, Bobby Wilson (Spankee Rodgers) was the newest cool kid, and Rachel Meyers (Sarah Lancaster) was the school's fashion expert and shopaholic. Lancaster had previously appeared as Rachel in a single episode of the first season of the series.

The writers also invited back original cast member Dustin Diamond as Screech for the show's second season, as he became available after the cancellation of Saved by the Bell: The College Years . Providing continuity, Screech returned to Bayside High to work as Mr. Belding's assistant as part of a work/study program and also help build a bridge between the two series. Screech ended up remaining for the rest of the show's run, with very little mention being made throughout the story of his continued enrollment at California University. Further, the show's sets were redesigned to change the appearance of Bayside from that of the original series and Mr. Belding was given a new office.

Prior to Season 3 cast members Bianca Lawson, Christian Oliver and Spankee Rodgers left the show, and three new characters were brought on. Schemer Ryan Parker (Richard Lee Jackson), lively and outspoken cheerleader Maria Lopez (Samantha Esteban, then credited as Samantha Becker), and fashion-conscious R.J. "Hollywood" Collins (Salim Grant) were transfers from Valley High School.

At the end of the third season, original cast members Natalia Cigliuti and Jonathan Angel had decided to move on to other projects. Salim Grant was also let go and did not return for the new season, beginning in September 1996. New cast members Ben Gould (Nicky Farina), Lindsey McKeon (Katie Peterson), and Anthony Harrell (Eric Little) joined the show for its fourth season. Gould played Ryan's stepbrother from New York and was the love interest for Katie and later Maria. Katie was the newest "goody-goody" and Eric was the school's star football player.

Season 4 was Sarah Lancaster's final season and she was replaced in Season 5 by Ashley Lyn Cafagna as Liz Miller, a sheltered star of the school's swim team and is initially pursued by both stepbrothers, Ryan and Nicky. Also, the gang's original hangout, The Max, was renovated for the new season after the original burnt down in the fourth-season finale.

Season 6 followed and new cast member Tom Wade Huntington replaced Richard Lee Jackson as Tony Dillon, another Valley High transfer student and love interest for Maria. It was widely reported that Season 6 was in fact the final season for the series. In addition, NBC decided to prolong the series by splitting the number of episodes in half into another season (Season 7). These episodes had already been filmed at the same time as the sixth season and the cast remained the same.

Concluding the series in a similar fashion to the original, all characters go their separate ways into college. Eric is accepted into the Chicago School of the Arts to pursue his singing career and Liz is accepted into Stanford to pursue her Olympic aspirations (both constant themes throughout the series). Maria is accepted into UCLA and Tony is accepted into SDSU, prompting the two to end their relationship. Katie is accepted into Columbia, but is unable to go due to financial troubles. She instead plans to head for an unnamed Cal State University. Thus the series ends with Katie and Nicky's future in relative uncertainty, as he is accepted into NYU. Mr. Belding is offered the position of dean of students at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (the alma mater of Dennis Haskins). It is unknown what happened to Screech.

Home media

Image Entertainment released all seven seasons of Saved by the Bell: The New Class on DVD in Region 1 in 2005. However, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print.

DVD nameEpisodesRegion 1Region 2Region 4DVD Special Features
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Season 113January 25, 2005N/AN/ANone
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Season 226March 8, 2005N/AN/Anone
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Season 326June 14, 2005N/AN/ANone
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Season 426August 16, 2005N/AN/AUnknown
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Season 526October 18, 2005N/AN/AUnknown
Saved by the Bell: The New Class Season 6 & 726December 6, 2005N/AN/ASaved by the Bell: The College Years DVD Promo.

Saved by the Bell: The New Class novels

There have been 10 novelizations based on the show, released by the publishers Boxtree Ltd and Aladdin Paperbacks, all written by Beth Cruise. The books all feature the main cast, and have the same storylines that relate to the main-plots in the TV spin-off. The first five books in the series focus on the first-season cast, and the last five books in the series feature the second-season cast.

TitleISBNRelease Date(s)
Trouble Ahead( ISBN   0689718500)1 August 1994
Spilling the Beans( ISBN   0689718519)1 August 1994
Going, Going, Gone!( ISBN   0689718527)2 October 1994
Breaking the Rules( ISBN   0752206702)31 December 1994
It's the Thought That Counts( ISBN   0689801955)1 August 1995
Finders, Keepers( ISBN   0689801963)1 October 1995
Franken-Bobby!( ISBN   0689804180)1 December 1995
Spreading the Word( ISBN   0689718853)31 December 1995
Lights, Camera, Action!( ISBN   0689718861)31 December 1995
May the Best Team Win( ISBN   068980069X)31 December 1995

Related Research Articles

<i>Saved by the Bell</i> American television sitcom (1989–1993)

Saved by the Bell is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, Saved by the Bell was broadcast in the United States on Saturday mornings, later as the flagship series in NBC's TNBC lineup. A spin-off of the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the show follows a group of high school friends and their principal at the fictional Bayside High School in Los Angeles. Primarily focusing on lighthearted comedic situations, it occasionally touches on serious social issues, such as drug use, driving under the influence, homelessness, remarriage, death, women's rights, and environmental issues. The series starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, Dennis Haskins, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez. The series ran for four seasons, airing its final episode, again in primetime, on May 22, 1993, a Saturday night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lark Voorhies</span> American actress (born 1974)

Lark Voorhies is an American actress. She played Lisa Marie Turtle on the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989–1993) and was nominated for the Young Artist Award six times, winning in 1990 and 1993 for her work on the show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark-Paul Gosselaar</span> American-Dutch actor (born 1974)

Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar is an American actor. He is best known for playing Zack Morris in the NBC series Saved by the Bell. In 1991, he won a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dustin Diamond</span> American actor and comedian (1977–2021)

Dustin Neil Diamond was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is best known for portraying Samuel "Screech" Powers throughout the Saved by the Bell franchise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Haskins</span> American actor

Dennis Haskins is an American actor known for his role as Principal Richard Belding in the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993 on NBC. He then went on to star in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which aired from 1993 to 2000. He also portrayed the role as a regular in Good Morning, Miss Bliss.

Zack Morris (<i>Saved by the Bell</i>) Fictional character

Zachary "Zack" Morris is a fictional character from the sitcoms Good Morning, Miss Bliss; Saved by the Bell; and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He also makes a guest appearance in the spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The New Class. He is portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Though the character appeared in several different television programs, Gosselaar made a concerted effort to keep the character fundamentally the same through its various incarnations. Zack also appears as a recurring character in the 2020 Saved by the Bell series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Speedman</span> Canadian actor (born 1975)

Robert Scott Speedman is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series Felicity, Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–action Underworld films, and Barry "Baz" Blackwell in the TNT crime drama series Animal Kingdom. His other film work includes Duets, Dark Blue, XXX: State of the Union, The Strangers, Barney's Version, The Vow, and Crimes of the Future. In 2021, he returned to Grey's Anatomy as a main character following a guest role in season 14 as Dr. Nick Marsh.

<i>Good Morning, Miss Bliss</i> American teen sitcom television series

Good Morning, Miss Bliss, also retroactively known as Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years, is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on the Disney Channel from November 30, 1988, until March 18, 1989. Starring Hayley Mills as a teacher, the series takes place at the John F. Kennedy Junior High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. After one season on the air on Disney Channel, the show was retooled as Saved by the Bell, which aired on NBC.

<i>Saved by the Bell: The College Years</i> American television sitcom (1993–1994)

Saved by the Bell: The College Years is an American television sitcom, and sequel to Saved by the Bell. It is the third incarnation of the franchise, and ran on NBC for one season, premiering on May 22, 1993, and airing its final episode on February 8, 1994. It is the only series of the franchise to air on primetime television instead of Saturday mornings – most episodes aired on Tuesday evenings. The series follows Zack, Screech and A.C. Slater, and their three female suitemates, including Kelly Kapowski, in the dorms at college. It was followed by a television film, Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, which aired in October 1994.

<i>Hang Time</i> (TV series) 1995 American TV series or program

Hang Time is an American teen sitcom that aired on NBC from September 9, 1995, to December 16, 2000, as part of the network's Saturday morning program block for teenagers, TNBC. Created by Troy Searer, Robert Tarlow and Mark Fink, the series featured extensive cast changes throughout its six-season run, similar to its TNBC stablemate Saved by the Bell: The New Class. The show's title is taken from a sports term referring to how long a basketball player stays in the air after leaving the ground for a slam dunk. Hang Time won a Prism Award in 1999 for its accurate depictions of drug use in the season four episodes "High Hoops" and "Breaks of the Game".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Fabian</span> American actor (born 1964)

Patrick Fabian is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in Better Call Saul (2015–2022). His film roles include End Game (2006), The Last Exorcism (2010), Pig (2011) and Jimmy (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Berry</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Rachel Barbra Berry is a fictional character and one of the two main protagonists, alongside Mr. Schue in the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Lea Michele, and appears in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Rachel was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. She is the glee club star of the fictional William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, where the show is set. Her storylines have seen her suffer peer alienation due to her Broadway ambitions and over-eager personality, but she is very kind-hearted and willing to help even if people do not need it and develop romantic feelings for Jesse St. James, a member of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, but primarily for quarterback and glee club co-captain Finn Hudson, to whom she eventually becomes engaged. Hudson later dies in season 5, with his cause of death not being revealed. This was due to his actor, Cory Monteith, passing away in real life, which led to his character being killed off. Berry later reconciles with her ex boyfriend, Jesse St. James in season 6. In the series finale, it’s revealed that Berry married St. James, and became a Surrogate for friends Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson.

<i>4 OClock Club</i> British childrens television series

4 O'Clock Club is a British comedy drama and musical children's television series set in a secondary school, which premiered on 13 January 2012 on CBBC.

The YoungStar Awards, presented by The Hollywood Reporter, honored young American actors and actresses from ages 6–18 in their work in film, television, stage and music. Winners were chosen via a poll of 3,500 entertainment industry insiders who read The Hollywood Reporter. The awards ceremony was held from 1995 until 2000; there was no ceremony in 1996.

<i>Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp</i> 2015 American comedy television miniseries

Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp is an American satirical comedy television miniseries written by David Wain and Michael Showalter, and directed by Wain. First Day of Camp is the second installment in the Wet Hot American Summer franchise. The eight-episode Netflix series is a prequel to Wain's 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer, a parody of teen sex comedies which has since developed a cult following. Although many of the original film's ensemble cast have gone on to high-profile work, all of the then-adult actors returned for this series, playing even younger versions of their original roles. The episodes were released for online viewing at the end of July 2015.

<i>Alexa & Katie</i> Netflix original sitcom

Alexa & Katie is an American sitcom created by Heather Wordham as a Netflix original series. Matthew Carlson serves as showrunner. The series stars Paris Berelc and Isabel May as Alexa and Katie respectively. Alexa is a high schooler suffering from cancer. Her best friend, Katie, helps her every step of the way. Jolie Jenkins, Emery Kelly, Eddie Shin, Finn Carr, Tiffani Thiessen, with Jack Griffo also star. The series debuted on Netflix on March 23, 2018, and ran for four parts, concluding on June 13, 2020.

<i>Saved by the Bell</i> (2020 TV series) 2020 American sitcom

Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom developed by Tracey Wigfield that premiered on November 25, 2020, on Peacock. It is a revival to the original television series of the same name created by Sam Bobrick and follows some of the same characters.

References

  1. Josef Adalian (December 7, 1998). "Final 'Bell' will ring in new skein". Variety . Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  2. "Class Is Nearly Over For 'Saved' Spinoff". Chicago Tribune. December 9, 1998. Retrieved 2016-02-14.
  3. "BBC - Comedy Guide - Saved By The Bell: The New Class". BBC. Archived from the original on 2004-09-04. Retrieved 2013-12-01.