open discussion characters

[jeffthefatcheff]

my personal opinion is that i only likesaved by the bell with the full cast: Zach, Lisa, Kelly, Slater, Screech, and Jessie.

I don't like the College Years, the "Tori episodes" (lack Jessie and Kelly), and when the crew work at the restaurant over the summer (season 3 or 4 i think).

It's not much of a discussion, but anyone feel free to agree, disagree, or write any comments, (please not rude). I'm just curious how other people feel.

[Erika]

Personally, I love all things with the original SBTB. As a child, I didn't enjoy the Tori episodes. My favorite character was Kelly and not having her on the show didn't sit well with me. But I still watched every Saturday. As an adult, I don't mind the Tori episodes that much. I guess I am more open to them now and I appreciate them.

Watching the Malibu Sands run was like an adventure! As a child, I looked up to the gang "working" and just practically being "on their own". I thought they had become such cool young adults and I wanted to be just like them. LOL And still till today, I think they are fun to watch.

[tatfan]

i was never a fan of the tori episodes either cuz i was a kelly fan. i dont hate them. the stories are still good but just not the same. i really like the malibu sands episodes though. i like seeing them in a different setting with some different characters added in. but i have always loved the college years and still do. i dont know why. to me if kelly is still in it its still good. lol and i really liked leslie and alex. alex was so much fun! i think i liked seeing the show with more of a mature feel and less corny storylines.

[The Friar]

Hey Gang,

I would have to say that I am a fan of TOS, which includes the movies and Malibu Sands. Tori was ok, but not my fav.

But TCY, that was actually my fav. They were more grown up and complex and dealt with issues that were beyond high school. They were going through college around the same time I was finishing up and that was cool. It showed what college life can be like (although it was a bit Hollywoodized!). Although I missed Jessie and Lisa I did like the new characters.

Now the new class...never got into that.

The ;D Friar

[Barb]

My favorite episodes are The College Years. It was more realistic....and that's because the school setting was more realistic. You didn't have kids running things...they actually got in trouble for their actions, and they were getting in trouble for normal everyday college stuff...like having a party with alcohol. And sorry Mr. Belding, but you were easily won over, and didn't really do your job. lol The fact that their relationships were more mature were also a plus...it wasn't a simple peck on the cheek...you knew these kids were possibly looking for the person they were going to spend the rest of their lives with. I also loved seeing them live with each other, and see their social life more in-depth. Instead of "talk" in the hallways and dealing with gossip, they had to deal with each other constantly and had to work out their problems together, outside of school.

Now don't get me wrong, I love the original...even if their biggest problem were green fingers. lol But it could get a bit cheesy and unrealistic..for example, Screech predicting the future....But that is SBTB. It's meant for you to escape reality, especially at a young age. I just loved that when the characters got older and you wanted to see more, you could with TCY. They took their personalities and their relationships to the next step.

Now The New Class...if it wasn't for them ruining the characters of Mr. Belding and Screech, I would have enjoyed it more. But when you tune in to see a character you grew up with being sabotaged, it just ruined the experience for me. Not to mention, re-used storylines aren't my thing, especially when they aren't done as well....I sometimes got the impression they were making fun of the original.

haha Wow, I wrote a lot. Agree or disagree...just how I feel.

[gokinsmen]

Really?

I thought the college years did a good job of satirizing/fantasizing aspects of the college experience -- but elided way too many key aspects. Alcohol was seldom, if ever, mentioned and certainly not shown. I'm sorry, you can't have college and not mention the constant preoccupation with beer, keggers, bars, parties, drugs, etc. Not to mention S-E-X. The only mention of anything risque was Screech and his Nitrous.

In high school, it's "okay" to gloss over those issues somewhat. After all, many normal, popular kids in my school seldom, if ever, drank or did drugs or had sex (alas, ha). And thankfully, they didn't feel pressured, too. But in college, at the very least, it's all around you and unavoidable. Zack throws a "rave" but no mention is ever made of, er, what a raves traditionally consists of (esp. at a big school like Cal).

The high school episodes did have goofy things like Screech gaining ESP, but it also had just as many "mundane" story lines -- midterms, finals, SATs, summer jobs, homecoming, family tree projects, etc. SBTB was always one of the few high school shows that *actually* depicted kids going to class and worrying about homework and zits and teachers. Over the course of 90+ episodes, though. You're going to get some cartoony stories too.

[baysidetiger]

I detested the new class. I wanted to watch it to see what it was like as I had grown up with the original but it felt like a chore to sit through the whole episode. Now I know your'e all big fans of the show, as am I, but I have to say this: The show was pretty bad in some areas: acting, storylines, the continuity errors but what made it work was the cast. Each character/actor had such charisma and together they had undeniable chemistry. Personally I think Zack or more specifically Mark Paul, as I don't think another actor could have been better suited, made the whole show and thats why it was never gonna work with a new cast. The SBTB crew were very lucky to have come across those 6 guys in the auditions.

Hmmm Malibu Sands. I really dont know how I feel about those episodes. All I know is that I'll skip them on the DVD's so I cant like them that much. Mr Carosi I found annoying, Kelly I liked seeing in a bikini lol, and it was nice to see them out of the school setting but I think I found the whole thing boring to watch and too much of a change to what I was used to seeing. I was too much of a fan of the early episodes where Zack was after Kelly to enjoy these.

Personally I liked the College Years. They are definately not as bad as some people say they are. It was great to see most of the orginal cast in a more adult setting. I also liked Mike, I thought he was a great character. It was a bit rushed though as all of a sudden Kelly and Zack fall for each other again and decide to get married but other than that most of the episodes were clever and funny and I enjoy watching them especially the bloopers at the end. Mark Paul's got a great laugh lol

In response to the Tori comment, I still liked the show up to that point even if they were two people short. It's strange though because when Kelly and Jessie left it felt like the school got smaller lol I'll still watch them but won't enjoy watching them half as much as I did the 1st and 2nd seasons.