On This Day in 1989, Saved by the Bell Introduced Us to Bayside High
By Alexus Mosley
Photo Credit: NBC
On August 20, 1989, Bayside High officially opened its doors to television audiences, and Saturday mornings would never be quite the same. Saved by the Bell premiered on NBC with “Dancing to the Max,” introducing viewers to the colorful halls of Bayside High and a group of teenagers who would become some of the most recognizable faces of ’90s television. There was charming troublemaker Zack Morris, all-American dream girl Kelly Kapowski, fashion-loving Lisa Turtle, jock A.C. Slater, overachiever Jessie Spano and lovable oddball Screech. Presiding over all the teenage chaos was Principal Belding.
Photo Credit: NBC
Of course, Bayside wasn’t technically the very beginning. Zack, Lisa, Screech and Mr. Belding had previously appeared on Good Morning, Miss Bliss, a short-lived Disney Channel series. The concept was later reworked, relocated to California, and transformed into the Saved by the Bell audiences came to know and love. And there was plenty to love.
Between the school dances, dating drama, very colorful clothes, and Zack breaking the fourth wall, there was enough teenage schemes to keep Principal Belding perpetually suspicious. But underneath all the neon and Saturday-morning fun, Saved by the Bell occasionally ventured into more serious territory, tackling everything from academic pressure to drinking and drug use. Who could forget Jessie Spano’s infamous caffeine-pill breakdown and four words that have lived in television history ever since: “I’m so excited! I’m so scared!”
Photo Credit: NBC
Photo Credit: NBC
The original series eventually ended in 1993, but Bayside wasn’t going anywhere. The franchise continued through Saved by the Bell: The College Years, The New Class, television movies and, decades later, a revival. Thirty-seven years after we first walked through those Bayside halls, Saved by the Bell remains one of those shows that instantly transports you to another era of television.
The hair was big, and the cell phones were even bigger.
Happy 37th anniversary, Bayside.