Saved by the Bell: The New Class

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Saved by the Bell:
The New Class
Saved By The Bell The New Class.png
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 Lyn Cafagna 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: New Class Season 113January 25, 2005N/AN/ANone
Saved By The Bell: New Class Season 226March 8, 2005N/AN/Anone
Saved By The Bell: New Class Season 326June 14, 2005N/AN/ANone
Saved By The Bell: New Class Season 426August 16, 2005N/AN/AUnknown
Saved By The Bell: New Class Season 526October 18, 2005N/AN/AUnknown
Saved By The Bell: 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

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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.