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The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story | |
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Based on | Behind the Bell by Dustin Diamond |
Written by | Ron McGee |
Directed by | Jason Lapeyre |
Starring |
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Composer | Shawn Pierce |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | Harvey Kahn |
Cinematography | Adam Sliwinski |
Editor | Lisa Binkley |
Running time | 88 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Lifetime |
Release | September 1, 2014 |
The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story is a 2014 American television film that aired on Lifetime on September 1, 2014. It was directed by Jason Lapeyre, produced by Harvey Kahn and written by Ron McGee. [1] [2] The teleplay for the film was based on the 2009 Dustin Diamond book, Behind the Bell .
The film is the first film of the Unauthorized series, followed by The Unauthorized Full House Story , The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story and The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story (all in 2015).
In 2009, actor Dustin Diamond wrote Behind the Bell , a memoir that purported to reveal what life was like on the set of Saved by the Bell, NBC's 1989–93 Saturday morning teen sitcom.
BuzzFeed's Jarrett Wieselman reported that "hours of brand-new interviews [were] conducted for this film (obtained independently of Diamond and his book)." [3]
The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story delves into the experiences of six unknown young actors placed into the Hollywood spotlight, exposing the challenges of growing up under public scrutiny while trying to maintain the squeaky-clean image of their popular characters both on and off-screen.
The film premiered on September 1, 2014 on Lifetime [4] and M3. [5]
The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story was released on DVD in Region 1 on November 4, 2014. [6] and on DVD in Region 4 on April 20, 2016
DVD name | Discs | Region 1 (USA) | Region 2 (Uk) | Region 4 (Australia) | DVD special features |
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The Unauthorised Saved by the Bell Story | 1 | November 4, 2014 | N/A | April 20, 2016 | None |
The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story received negative reviews from critics and has a score of 33% on Metacritic. [7]
Variety was critical of how it placed emphasis on exaggerated dramatic events rather than depicted events as they happened, saying "So it turns out The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story is really just Lifetime for Sharknado." [8]
Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast was also highly critical of the film, saying "The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story is really an avant-garde meta examination of Saved by the Bell. That it is a dramatic deconstruction of the worst elements of the hit '90s children's series. That the bad acting, wooden dialogue, elementary plotting, and impotent dramatic tension are actually an artistic wink at those very elements in the original series." [9]
Pilot Viruet of The A.V. Club criticised how the film's ending hinted at a sequel, saying "The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story doesn't make a compelling case for a sequel. It doesn't even make a case for its own existence." [10]
Entertainment Weekly called the film "horrendous and unmoving time-waster" and compiled a list of one-hundred elements it depicted that they found to be unconvincing. [11] TV Guide compiled a similar list of eight elements and said that it "seemed more parody than biopic" [12]
After the film aired, many fans of Saved by the Bell expressed their disdain for it on Twitter. [13]
Full House is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three daughters, eldest Donna Jo Margaret, middle child Stephanie and youngest Michelle in his San Francisco home. It originally aired from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995, with a total of eight seasons consisting of 192 episodes.
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.
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.
Elizabeth Berkley is an American actress and producer. She played Jessie Spano in the Saved by the Bell television franchise and Nomi Malone in the 1995 Paul Verhoeven controversial film Showgirls. She had supporting roles in the box office hits The First Wives Club and Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday, as well as in Woody Allen’s period comedy The Curse of the Jade Scorpion and Dylan Kidd’s critically acclaimed Roger Dodger.
M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic with adult contemporary and classic music videos, along with music news programs, concert specials, and pop culture programming.
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.
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.
Mario Lopez is an American actor and television host. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and the 2020 sequel series. He has appeared in numerous projects since, including the third season of Dancing with the Stars and as host for the syndicated entertainment news magazine shows Extra and Access Hollywood. He has also hosted America's Best Dance Crew for MTV. In 2012, he co-hosted the second season of the American version of The X Factor with Khloé Kardashian, and was the sole host for the third and final season.
James Thomas Fallon is an American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. Best known for his work in television, Fallon's breakthrough came during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004. He was the host of the late-night talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon from 2009 to 2014 and became the anchor of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon following his departure from Late Night.
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.
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The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incarnation of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise, with Fallon serving as the sixth host. The show also stars sidekick and announcer Steve Higgins and house band The Roots. The Tonight Show is produced by Katie Hockmeyer and executive-produced by Lorne Michaels. The show records from Studio 6B in Rockefeller Center, New York City, which is the same studio in which Tonight Starring Jack Paar and then The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson were produced from 1957 until 1972.
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Tiera Skovbye is a Canadian actress. She began her career as a child actress. She is known for starring in television films such as her role playing Elizabeth Berkley in Lifetime's The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story; for her recurring roles as Polly Cooper on The CW series Riverdale, as Robin on the ABC television series Once Upon a Time. Skovbye starred as Grace Knight on the Global series Nurses.
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The Unauthorized Beverly Hills, 90210 Story is a 2015 made-for-television movie based on the 1990s television drama Beverly Hills, 90210, directed by Vanessa Parise and produced by Peter M. Green. It was written by Jeffrey Roda. The film follows the creation of the show through its first four seasons, dealing with the relationships between the actors, between the producers Darren Star and Aaron Spelling and the media and fan attention the show brought.
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