Saved By The Bell

[iggymcfly 0]

Set your TiVos. Tomorrow night on Adult Swim, it's a very special episode of Saved by the Bell where Jesse gets addicted to caffeine pills.

 

Too fun.

[UZI Suicide 0]

I'M SO EXCITED.

 

I'M SO EXCITED.

 

I'M SO................. scared.

[FroGG_NeaL 0]

The greatest thing ever was the commercials for the episode, they ran them all dy and the whole thing was THAT SCENE.

 

It was glorious.

[Si82 0]

For those who are interested...

 

http://www.adultswim.com/williams/news/ind...es/default.html

 

Saved By the Bell - Back In Production!

04/19/2006

 

Adult Swim has done it again! Following hot on the heels of Fox's Family Guy, Saved By The Bell has been pulled from cancellation with an order for 30 all new episodes taking place at Bayside High.

 

"We were ecstatic when we saw the early numbers on Saved By the Bell on Adult Swim," said Matt Laster, the VP of Turner Entertainment's newly created 80's Reclamation Department. "We knew this had the potential to be big, but we never thought it would be this big. The fans have really shown their support and come out in droves on the adultswim.com website."

 

According to Laster, the new series is still in development but he did say that almost all of the original cast would be returning, minus "Showgirls" star Elizabeth Berkley. The series will follow the events after Saved By the Bell: The New Class and find Screech as the new principal of Bayside and a retired Mr. Belding as the proprietor of the Max, the hangout that the Saved By the Bell gang frequented. Screech is overwhelmed by the new group of students and puts out a call for help, and soon, all of the old regulars are back at Bayside. Laster would not elaborate on the status of Zack and Kelly's relationship, though the couple were last seen walking down the aisle.

 

"I've spoken to the crew and they really can't wait to get back together," said Laster. "We think this will be a fun and exciting new direction for Adult Swim and we can't wait to find even more great 80's comedies for Adult Swim."

[FroGG_NeaL 0]

AHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

This is the best thing I've heard in months, regarding Television.

 

I just hope when they make the shows over the top cheezy this time, they don't ham it up toooo much.

 

 

But I'll be watchin'.

[Jingus 0]

. . .

 

Is this a fucking joke?

 

None of this has made sense from the beginning. Like, why is AS even running a live-action show in the first place?

[Gary Floyd 0]

I'm pretty sure that SBTB being back in production is a joke.

 

Anyways, i saw the caffine pills episode last night. Comedy gold, though not in a way they intended. The bumps might I add, are awesome, especially the one of Belding laughing.

[DMann2003 0]

But did anyone watch TBS yesterday they had 2 back to back classics- The Oil Spill episode and the Johnny Dakota/Dope episode- me and my friend were quoting it all day- THERE'S NO HOPE WITH DOPE!!

[daileyxplanet 0]

Johnny Dakota was a pot-headed pedophile, this is serious stuff.

[Zack Malibu 0]

For those who are interested...

 

http://www.adultswim.com/williams/news/ind...es/default.html

 

Saved By the Bell - Back In Production!

04/19/2006

 

Adult Swim has done it again! Following hot on the heels of Fox's Family Guy, Saved By The Bell has been pulled from cancellation with an order for 30 all new episodes taking place at Bayside High.

 

"We were ecstatic when we saw the early numbers on Saved By the Bell on Adult Swim," said Matt Laster, the VP of Turner Entertainment's newly created 80's Reclamation Department. "We knew this had the potential to be big, but we never thought it would be this big. The fans have really shown their support and come out in droves on the adultswim.com website."

 

According to Laster, the new series is still in development but he did say that almost all of the original cast would be returning, minus "Showgirls" star Elizabeth Berkley. The series will follow the events after Saved By the Bell: The New Class and find Screech as the new principal of Bayside and a retired Mr. Belding as the proprietor of the Max, the hangout that the Saved By the Bell gang frequented. Screech is overwhelmed by the new group of students and puts out a call for help, and soon, all of the old regulars are back at Bayside. Laster would not elaborate on the status of Zack and Kelly's relationship, though the couple were last seen walking down the aisle.

 

"I've spoken to the crew and they really can't wait to get back together," said Laster. "We think this will be a fun and exciting new direction for Adult Swim and we can't wait to find even more great 80's comedies for Adult Swim."

 

I'm calling bullshit, especially since Dennis Haskins said when I saw him do a speech that you shouldn't look for a reunion show anytime soon. If something's changed since then though, I'm gonna mark the fuck out for it.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

That press release is obviously a joke.

 

I think it's pretty funny. I watched one of the SBTB eps earlier this week, and down in the corner of the screen it said something like [crappy '80s live action TV show swim].

[daileyxplanet 0]

Even if the whole cast was back, it'd be crapped on just because it's new. The nostalgia craze might be out there, but the nostalgia hate is vicious.

[iggymcfly 0]

Oh come on. It couldn't be more obvious that this is a joke. Do you really think that after a week's worth of decent ratings, they'd start a whole new show? And that Tiffani Theisen would agree to be on it? I don't even think you're supposed to take this seriously.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

What's even more funny about SBTB, is that the plots seem like they'd fit almost perfectly on an episode of "the Brak Show" or "Aqua Teen Hunger Force."

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

Hey, hey, hey, hey! What is going on here? How Saved

 

By The Bell turned a generation racist, sexist, and classist

 

 

 

by

 

Matthew Craggs

 

Brock University

 

November 19th, 2004

 

For FILM 3P20

 

As more generations are being born into an increasingly media literate society, it is understandable that these generations are becoming more and more influenced by the programming they see on television, and the websites they read on the internet. This influence is increased by the natural urge of youth to imitate what they see. From sports, to drama, to comedy, an impressionable young person in the clichéd 500 channel universe can find himself begging his parents for Barry Bonds’ brand of batting glove, while spouting out indecipherable medical terms he overheard on ER the previous night. Of course, this youth will not know why they should spend obscene prices on brand name products, or what a cat scan is. Youth are impressionable, and television, with its accessibility and constant stimulation, can be a dangerous tool when unleashed on the antsy minds of MTV generation youth. Case in point: Saved By The Bell. This Saturday morning sitcom, programmed to appeal to the tween audience of pre-teens and young teenagers, is perhaps some of the most imitatable television that this audience can be exposed to. From slang, to fashion, to general morals and codes of behaviour, this program instills a value system upon its audience which is not beneficial to themselves or the society who is waiting to pass the metaphorical torch to the world’s next politicians, lawyers, and doctors. Unfortunately, this value system gives an alarmingly significant emphasis on the things that the current politicians, lawyers, and doctors need to erase from their behaviour patterns. Saved By The Bell aimed (and with the aid of reruns regularly broadcast on major cable stations, continues to aim) generations of youth towards tendencies of racism, classism, sexism, and a general sense of hierarchy which, ideologically speaking, is alarmingly close to a blend of Nazism and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

 

It is without doubt that television shapes the behaviour of youth. George Gerbner, Michael Morgan, Nancy Signorielli and Larry Gross use the term “media cultivation” to describe this process.[1] To summarize the concept all too briefly, they believe that television has become the primary common source of socialization. The authors believe that television is a series of patterns, thus the social order which this creates is then legitimized and reaffirmed by these patterns.[2] They write,

 

“Television… links the individual to a larger if synthetic world, a world of televisions own making… The content shapes and promotes their continued attention. To the extent that television dominates their sources of information, continued exposure to its messages is likely to reiterate, confirm, and nourish their values and perspectives.” [3]

According to AC Neilsen Co., in 1990 children aged 6-11 watched and average of 22 hours of television a week. Children aged 12-17 averaged 23.[4] It is without doubt that when one subjects themselves to any type of stimulation for a considerably large amount of time, behaviour is influenced. Among an age group that is in the process of finding their own identity, the audience is merely a blank canvas; A generation waiting to be cultivated and shaped to form the ideal of the artifact which they indulge in.

 

For many youth during 1989 and 1993 Saved By The Bell, which followed six archetypes that each represented a demographic, was life. Zack Morris was the blonde haired, blue eyed, prank pulling protagonist, A.C. Slater was the Latino jock, Samuel “Screech” Powers was the nerd, Kelly Kapowski was the perky cheerleader, Jesse Spano was the man-hating feminist, and Lisa Turtle was the black, fashion savvy gossip. All relevant demographics are thus adequately represented, which one would assume gives these demographics equal representation, but that is hardly the case. With three characters of each gender, they are appropriately paired into groups, each attracting a different level of attention from the audience. This is done by the way which each pair are framed and what priority their plot is given. Zack and Kelly are the least threatening characters iconographically. They are white, average in height, and appear as the apple pie eating All American couple. Then there is Slater and Jesse; Slater’s status as athlete precludes him from that top spot. Jesse’s environmentalism, feminism, and height preclude her from the top female position. The last group, Screech and Lisa, are both caricatures and serve their purpose as the comic relief, providing little relevance outside of forwarding the narrative with expediently timed information or slipping on a banana peel. In the selected episode, the teachers of the fictional Bayside High switch jobs with the faculty in an attempt to teach the student body responsibility. Kelly, the archetype cheerleader, takes her job as substitute history teacher seriously, and when Slater and the rest of the football team feel that practicing for the “big [football] game” outranks Kelly’s test in importance, they appeal to Zack, who is substituting for the principal, arch nemesis Mr. Belding. Zack excuses the football players from the test, and after a moral prodding by Kelly, reverses his decision. The football players, angry at first, take the test, learn the value of an education, and barely make it to “big game” to beat rival school Valley. Everyone wins, the status quo is reaffirmed, and the audience is happy.

 

This episode was chosen for analysis because it embodies all the structures of racism, classism, and sexism that appear in other episodes of Saved By The Bell. Furthermore, the narrative structure and system of hierarchy are present. In terms of narrative, all episodes are similar. A dilemma is presented, which is solved with little problem or concern. This problem always has a result which reaffirms the social structure of the high school, and all of the stereotypes that reside within. Moreover, the problem is always solved by, or with the help of, Zack, who leads the narrative by addressing the audience and providing a character in the narrative world for the young audience to associate themselves with. These narratives, along with the construction of the secondary characters, suggest exclusion, instead of inclusion, which creates a hierarchy which all characters within Bayside High must abide by. With so much of the humour being based in this hierarchy, the audience finds pleasure in the differences and as a consequence this attitude is celebrated. Through the influence of television, it is then reproduced.

 

To properly grasp the scope of Saved By The Bell one must consider the following. Saved By The Bell ran for four years, following the main group of six characters from the first day of ninth grade until high school graduation. This includes a made for television movie, Hawaiian Style, and a series of novels. After the series ended, four of the six main cast members returned to launch a primetime sitcom titled Saved By The Bell: The College Years while a new generation of archetypes were brought in to fill each demographic of Saved By The Bell: The New Class. That series lasted seven seasons in the old Saved By The Bell timeslot before being cancelled in 2000. Moreover, the series is still being aired in syndication; not only on affiliates of major networks, but across North America on TBS Superstation four times a day. By no means is this series an isolated phenomenon, it is a thriving franchise that has spanned a decade. Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli argue that audiences do not watch television like they pick a movie or read a book; rather they watch television by the clock. Audiences decide when they are going to watch television, rather than what they are going to watch.[5] Considering Saved By The Bell was broadcast on Saturday mornings during its first run, and in the morning in syndication, the intentions are clear: Saved By The Bell, the booming phenomenon, was, and is, marketed to a youth audience that buys into the series, both emotionally and economically.

 

To spot the aforementioned “isms” in Saved By The Bell one need not look further than the secondary characters that make up the student body of Bayside. In the chosen episode Screech, the prototypical nerd, teaches gym class. Dressed in spandex with zinc on his nose, Screech emulates the Arnold Schwarzenegger image with his class of fellow nerds. “I will pump you up,” he says, mocking an older Saturday Night Live skit. The line up of nerds, complete with oversized glasses, fuzzy hair, and uncoordinated clothing, await instruction. “Is that your chest or did two Tic Tacs fall down your shirt,” Screech says as he reprimands one student. There is an obvious chastising of the academic world in a bid of anti-intellectualism. Furthermore, when the football team does not show up for a test, one of these students asks the substitute, Kelly, why “the jocks don’t have to take the test.” “Because you care more about your education,” Kelly responds. “Nerd myth! Nerd myth! Deep down we like to party.” The actor’s exaggeration on the word “party” and the declaration of “nerd myth” reaffirms these groups and supports the restraining of characters into specific roles. This exchange also trivializes the non-nerd activity of “partying.” The prototypical jocks are shown in a manner which is just as flattering. When going over the plays for the football game, Slater gestures to an X on the blackboard and informs his teammate, “That’s you, Ox.” The teammate, conveniently named Ox, responds, “No, that’s X. I’m Ox, dummy.” Shortly after the school bell rings, Ox’s voice perks up. “I’ll get it,” he says. In a bid of anti-athleticism, those who are athletic are assumed daft. Therefore, as each student is placed into a specific group which is based entirely on visual clues and behaviour, a hierarchy is established and all characters are forced to fulfill a role based on their position on that hierarchy. Either you are a nerd, you are a jock, or you are another stereotype signified by visual clues and condescending behaviour.

 

Within the main group of characters there is also differential due to stereotypes, such as the stereotypical conventions embodied by Kelly, Jesse, and Lisa. Firstly, one must consider Kelly who is the All-American cheerleader. She values education above extracurricular activities, yet participates as a cheerleader and keeps a job as a waitress. In the selected episode, and through the run of the series, Kelly works as a moral center by being the one character that values education. Her choices are always ethically sound and never questioned by the audience. She is the female character that young girls want to be. Jesse, however, fills the angry feminist role. Her actions are always based in the interest of recognizing gender roles and asserting the female point of view. These actions typically come in the form of backhanded comments to the correspondingly misogynistic Slater. It should also be noted that these morals do not emerge explicitly from issues of gender, but also issues pertaining to the environment, academics, and other topics which are deemed “uncool” according to the social structure of Bayside High. In the selected episode, there is a pep rally for the football game. Slater, captain of the football, addresses the student body: “To win, we’re going to need all of you out there to support us. Our tackling dummy is broken, so all cute blondes are welcome to come out and fill in.” Jesse stands irate and chastises this behaviour. “That’s sexist,” she says. “You know, she’s right,” Zack rebutts as he prepares to address the audience. “All brunettes and red heads are welcome too.” This exchange works to emphasize the Zack and Slater’s values, because Jesse’s attempts to right their behaviour are met with humour which undermines the moral message. What results is a polarization which trivializes Jesse’s morality and makes no progress in accomplishing what the misguided Jesse character is attempting to do. She becomes an angry, cartoonish, feminist caricature, and thus, she is not the character that young girls want to be. Visually, she is the tallest female. In terms of behaviour, she is assertive and ethical, but those good qualities are dampened by other forces. Lisa, the gossip, does not produce any emotion or thought that does not transcend the materialistic. She always speaks in terms of fashion, other social events and icons. This results in her status as the female equivalent of Screech. She is not a character, she is a sideshow. Also, she does not cross the race barrier. Lisa is the only black character on the show, which visually sets her apart from a largely white, blonde student body. In the selected episode, she is placed in the C story and contributes nothing but comic relief. This is hardly the image that youth wants to emulate. Instead of feeling a connection with Jesse or Lisa, the audience connects with Kelly, the character which does the least to challenge the visual and behavioral status quo of Bayside High.

 

The male characters are similarly stereotyped. Screech seems very out of place in the role of gym teacher, which is a direct result of his lack of muscle and short stature. His lacking coordination and self-recognition also contribute to a comedic effect. Slater is constructed in a completely opposite manner, as he is very athletic and possesses the coordination and appearance that Screech mimics. In essence, Slater is the model for the “big man on campus,” however, he lacks the ability to control the narrative and address the audience. Thus, he is treated as a secondary character within the main group of students. Zack has the privilege of being the protagonist: the character that the audience wants to emulate. This is curious when considering how equal these two characters are in terms of what elevates them to the top levels of popularity within the fictional world: the “cool” factor. Considering their equivalency when it comes to this factor one must look at their physical construction to find a reason for their ranking. Slater is of a Latino heritage, with black hair and brown eyes. Zack is Caucasian, with blonde hair and blue eyes; a poster boy for the Aryan race. As blind to race as society has become in the past fifty years, there is a clear sense of superiority in Zack, as he gets to control both his fellow characters, and the audience, with voice over and direct address. Moreover, Zack is regularly the character who learns a lesson at the conclusion of an episode, chosen for leadership roles, such as Principal for the week in this episode, the leader of any musical number the class presents, and the ringleader for each week’s zany scheme. Slater, Screech, and the rest of the student body are regulated to passive roles which are affected by the decisions of Zack, as opposed roles which shape the narrative in any significant way. It is also curious that Slater, on a very rare occasion, is privileged to obtain an almost equal amount of screen time where he is not constantly being compared to Zack, the female characters are only shown when they are being framed in the context of their relationship to the male characters.

 

These roles are verified by the series Saved By The Bell: The New Class, which took over the original series’ time slot in 1993. The series centred around six high school characters. Scott, the new Zack, who played pranks and kept Principal Mr. Belding’s life in general disarray. Tommy, the new Slater, who played football and rode a motorcycle. Weasel, who was the new Screech, was the comic relief. Lindsay, the new Kelly, who was the love interest of the new Zack. Megan, the new Lisa, who was the love interest of the new Screech, and worked as a gossipy giver of information. Vicki, who was the new Jesse, was as neurotic as her predecessor. All characters had similar socioeconomic backgrounds, races, opinions, and mannerisms as their predecessor. NBC, the network which initially ran the series, was likely attempting to present a carbon copy of the original series in hopes of sparking a recurrence in viewer ship. Similarly, in the primetime sitcom Saved By The Bell: The College Years, Zack, Slater, Screech, and Kelly maintained the same roles, while new female characters were included to fill the Jesse and Lisa roles: Leslie, the neurotic protector of women’s rights, and Alex, who was on par with Screech in wackiness and comic relief. The duplication of this formula unambiguously speaks to the presence of the formula in the original series, and the desire of the network to reproduce them.

 

Admittedly, on the surface the morals of Saved By The Bell are decent. For example, in the selected episode, education prevails over extracurricular activities, and every student learns the value of good schooling. Similarly, each episode ends with a freeze frame of a character, Zack, more often than not, after the revelation and resolution of the episode’s problem. A joke is used to close the episode, the applause track plays, and a general sense of well being washes over the audience. In this instance, Kelly asks Zack, “Do you think you will ever be a principal someday?” Zack replies, “You mean go to school when I don’t have to, no way?” He then addresses the audience and says the score of the football game. The audience, consequently, begins to watch the next program happy, knowing that the characters of Saved By The Bell will spend their Saturday afternoon contented and a little wiser. This happiness, however, works to hide the contempt that is present in the represented relationships. This contempt, which surfaces in the aforementioned “isms” is hidden with a sense of completion that arises from the program leaving the viewers with a sense of closure and satisfaction. After all, every action in the episode is based around tension. For example, in the opening scene, Jesse addresses the student body regarding the cancellation of the school talent show. The reason for this cancellation is the loss of a ventriloquist dummy. That dummy belongs to a character named “Muffin” and was eaten by termites. The name “Muffin” automatically arouses connotations of stupidity and materialism. A young, blonde woman blowing bubbles and twirling her hair around her finger comes to mind. Jesse, who initially respects the fate of the doll, cannot hold in the laughter and lets out a jovial laugh. This creates an “us versus them” attitude, wherein differences in values are a source of condescending comments and comedy. Furthermore, when the football team does not show up for Kelly’s test, the result is a group of “nerds” and attractive women. When the nerds leave, the women follow them, as one says, “Wait for us. Nerds are better than nothing.” A condescending attitude is found in this exchange as well, as the men who they chose to spend time with are treated as a consolation prize. The relationships between social classes are based upon hate and this hate is hidden from the audience because of the sense of completion and euphoria upon the ending of each episode. Thus, narrative structure allows these tensions to seep into the subconscious of the audience. In practical terms, a child may not watch an episode of Saved By The Bell and loathe the “nerd” stereotype; however, when that child attends high school, they will not embrace the positive characteristics that the “nerds” have, as they will not want to fit into the nerd role.

 

In conclusion, as the attention span of youth declines, the influence that television has over the younger generations will increase. Television will continue to shape the behaviour of its audience; much like Saved By The Bell consciously shaped the trends of its audience, and subconsciously encouraged a trend of behaviour which includes racism, sexism, and any “ism” which promotes exclusion and inclusion. The strict social structure of the student body on the program supports the idea of people staying within the restrictions of their class and race, with the transcendence of those barriers resulting in tensions. The solution to this subconscious programming is television which makes a conscious effort to break the seemingly unspoken rule of not addressing race in a comedic fashion. For example, the animated South Park which uses conventions of race, sex, and gender for comedic effect. By acknowledging these conventions, youth are more likely to recognize how ludicrous they are, and grow up with a stronger ideal of what is ethical. In an essay arguing for the use of popular culture in education, Thomas A. Fain Jr . writes,

 

One teacher had a group of seventh grade social studies students present a project about this program. How could that be positive? One of the group members explained to the class, "This is not intended for Jewish people. Cartman, one of the main characters of the show, always picks on Jews and teases Kyle because he is Jewish" (Stevens, 2001). We may not approve of South Park, but here students are actually emphasizing an aspect of the program from which the students can learn.[6]

 

The recognition of the Cartman character’s anti-Semitism is much more beneficial to Western youth than the silent patterns of racism, classism, and sexism inherent in Saved By The Bell.

[Jingus 0]

Arrgh, my eyes! I've struck down by that glaring series of Blinding Flashes Of The Obvious!

 

Seriously, this is the kind of essay that makes me hate scholarly deconstruction of popular entertainment, because it doesn't really say anything that isn't immedietely apparent by just watching the show.

[tigeraid 0]

Since the new (allegedly) SBTB won't have Elizabeth Berkley stark naked for the whole thing, I doubt I'll watch.

[Guest Arnold_OldSchool]

That's a prank Tiger.....

[Guest Felonies!]

This whole SBTB On Adult Swim thing has exhibited some interesting dork stratification, i.e. the losers who think it's the pinnacle of wit to stick some cheesy Saturday morning sitcom in the lineup, and the ones who are upset that it's encroaching on their Inuyasha episodes.

[tigeraid 0]

That's a prank Tiger.....

 

I know, hence the "allegedly"

[razazteca 0]

So has every episode been a musical during this run on the CRAPPY 80's LIVE ACTION CHANNEL?

[Guest Felonies!]

vivalaultra's contributions in GC and Music make him a worthy addition to this place, even if he's a stinkin' Astros fan.

[Mole 0]

This is probably the best thing Adult Swim has done.