Saved by the Bell: The College Years is a sequel to the Saved by the Bell series which ran from September 14, 1993 to February 8, 1994, lasting one season. It was the third incarnation of the franchise.
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired (U.S. dates) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season premiere | Season finale | |||
| Good Morning, Miss Bliss | Pilot | July 11, 1987 | ||
| 13 | November 30, 1988 | March 18, 1989 | ||
| 1 | 16 | August 20, 1989 | December 16, 1989 | |
| 2 | 18 | September 8, 1990 | December 23, 1990 | |
| 3 | 26 | September 14, 1991 | December 21, 1991 | |
| 4 | 26 | September 21, 1992 | May 22, 1993 | |
| Hawaiian Style | 4 | November 27, 1992 | ||
| The College Years | 19 | May 22, 1993 | February 8, 1994 | |
| Wedding in Las Vegas | 4 | October 7, 1994 | ||
Cast
- Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris
- Mario López as A.C. Slater
- Dustin Diamond as Screech Powers
- Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski
- Anne Tremko as Leslie Burke
- Kiersten Warren as Alex Tabor
- Bob Golic as Mike Rogers
- Patrick Fabian as Professor Jeremiah Lasky
- Holland Taylor as Dean McMann
Additional cast
- Jake Grace as Stingray
- Diana Tanaka as Dr. Wong
- Mindy Sterling as Clara Meade
- Essence Atkins as Danielle Marks
Special Guest Stars
- Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle
- Dennis Haskins as Mr. Belding
- Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano
About the show
In Saved by the Bell: The College Years, the cast dealt with college life at the fictional California University, generally understood to be University of California, Berkeley. The show's premise was very similar to the original Saved by the Bell series, with the six characters getting into different situations each week while remaining under the watchful eye of their resident director and later the Dean of Students.
Originally, the six main characters on The College Years were Zack Morris, A.C. Slater, Screech Powers, Leslie Burke (Anne Tremko), Alex Tabor (Kiersten Warren), and Danielle Marks (Essence Atkins). After the pilot, Tiffani Thiessen decided to return to play Kelly Kapowski. Atkins' character was written out of the plotline as having transferred to another college.
Zack's original love interest was Leslie at the beginning of the series, but after Kelly transferred to Cal U, Zack developed feelings for both girls. Eventually, Kelly became Zack's sole love interest. However, his plans to win Kelly back were put to a halt somewhat when Kelly had an affair with her anthropology professor, Jeremiah Lasky (Patrick Fabian).
Although Professor Lasky did not want his relationship with Kelly exposed, Zack caught the two of them making out in Kelly's dorm room. Later, Zack made it known to the whole class that Lasky and Kelly were dating (though Kelly dropped out of Lasky's anthropology class to prevent risking Lasky's job). Lasky eventually rejected Kelly, but Kelly still harbored feelings for him until she realized just how committed Zack was to winning her, and she went back to Zack permanently. And almost as fast as Zack and Kelly got back together, the two became engaged.
Zack, Kelly, Slater, Screech, Leslie, and Alex's dorm advisor was Mike Rogers (Bob Golic), a former San Francisco 49ers player. Although he looked and acted tough, he did have a softer side, as seen in some episodes. In one episode, he took a liking to a laboratory mouse named X97, and also revealed some of his problems with women, including the fact that he never had a date in high school.
During the latter part of the series, Dean Susan McMann (Holland Taylor) joined the series as its authority figure and instantly developed a dislike for Zack, knowing about his scheming ways.
Episodes
| # | Image | Title | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  |
Pilot | May 22, 1993 | |
| Zack Morris, A.C. Slater and Screech Powers enroll at California University near Berkeley. They stay in a co-ed dorm and meet new friends | ||||
| 02 |  |
Guess Who's Coming to College? | September 14, 1993 | |
| Zack's pursuit of his suitemate Leslie is complicated by the arrival of a new transfer student -- his old high school girlfriend, Kelly. | ||||
| 03 | |
Zack Lies and Videotape | September 14, 1993 | |
| Zack gets an anthropology assignment to die for by the new anthropology professor Lasky: conduct a field study of women's wants. Meanwhile, Slater tries to gain weight to be a heavyweight wrestler, while Rogers offers to help Screech as his personal weightlifting trainer. | ||||
| 04 | |
Rush Week | September 21, 1993 | |
| Zack and Slater worry that Screech might ruin their efforts to join a fraternity. | ||||
| 05 | |
Slater's War | September 28, 1993 | |
| Slater's involvement with an student activist leads him to embrace his Hispanic heritage. | ||||
| 06 | |
The Homecoming | October 5, 1993 | |
| Zack is invited to a homecoming banquet by the guest of honor, a football hero who could help him score in some business, while Kelly is threatened with come-ons by the alumni. Meanwhile, Slater feels embarrassed being with Alex who shows off her mascot uniform at the banquet and Leslie asks Screech to go with her to shock her visiting snobbish parents. | ||||
| 07 | |
The Poker Game | October 12, 1993 | |
| Zack, Slater, and Screech try to set Rogers up on a date with a lit female professor to get him out of the dorm so they can have a poker game. Meanwhile, Kelly, Leslie, and Alex develop a crush on their new karate instructor, John Hammer, and vie with each other to try to win his affections. | ||||
| 08 | |
Prof. Zack | October 19, 1993 | |
| While the girls put together a male pinup calender in order to buy a big screen TV, Zack poses as Lasky in order to date an admirer of the professor's. | ||||
| 09 | |
Screech Love | October 26, 1993 | |
| Zach gets Screech to tutor a tennis star he is dating, only to find an attraction developing between the two of them. | ||||
| 10 | |
Dr. Kelly | November 2, 1993 | |
| Kelly's well-paying job as a waitress has her reconsidering her thoughts of becoming a doctor. | ||||
| 11 | |
A Thanksgiving Story | November 23, 1993 | |
| After car trouble strands them at the college, the gang helps Mike, Leslie, and Screech prepare Thanksgiving dinner for a group of inner-city kids. | ||||
| 12 | |
Teacher's Pet | December 7, 1993 | |
| While Screech hides a lab monkey destined for the zoo, Zach discovers Kelly's crush on Professor Lasky. | ||||
| 13 | |
Kelly and the Professor | December 14, 1993 | |
| A jealous Zack strikes back at Kelly and Professor Lasky with a vengeance by spreading the word about their May-December affair, which climaxes at a costume ball. Meanwhile, Rogers gives the rest of the gang papers to fill out on a perfect mate profile for a psychology project, and Screech ends up getting the same mark as Alex. | ||||
| 14 | |
A Question of Ethics | December 21, 1993 | |
| After a new professor takes over their ethics class, the gang face a dilemma when Zach gets his hands on a copy of the midterm. | ||||
| 15 | |
The Rave | January 4, 1994 | |
| With Mike gone and in need of money for a trip to Cancun, Zack and the gang stage a rave in the dorm. | ||||
| 16 | |
Bedside Manner | January 11, 1994 | |
| With Kelly still pining over Professor Lasky, Zach tries to find ways of getting her attention. | ||||
| 17 | |
Love and Death | January 22, 1994 | |
| The death of a popular professor leads Zach to adopt a new attitude towards life -- one filled with risks. | ||||
| 18 | |
Marry Me | February 8, 1994 | |
| When Zack finds that Kelly is planning to go on a three-month cruise abroad for the summer, he desperately tries to cling on to her. He tries to make Screech drop out of traveling on the trip so he can take his place. But Zach eventually and makes a big choice to hold onto Kelly: he asks her to marry him. Meanwhile, Slater feels guilty when he sees another girl behind Alex's back since she shares the same interest as he, while Leslie finds out and tries to make him come clean with Alex about his dissatisfaction with their romance. | ||||
| 19 | |
Wedding Plans | February 8, 1994 | |
| Lisa Turtle arrives and wants to be the Maid of Honor at Kelly and Zack's coming wedding, as do Leslie and Alex. Meanwhile, Zack and Kelly discus their future as they confront the possibilities of marriage, while Slater is against Zack's marriage plans, while Screech wants to be Zack's best man and throws a bachelor party which goes wrong. | ||||
DVD releases
Saved by the Bell: The College Years was released on DVD by Image Entertainment. The 3-Disc set was released on August 17, 2004. Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas are currently available in both Britain, and the USA. The hourlong series finale, originally aired with various interstitials by the cast, is presented in its syndicated two-part episodes, with the interstitials small pieces of dialogue cut out. The end credits of the final episode originally ran over behind the scenes footage introducing the cast to the audience, but it has been replaced with a scene cut from syndication (Professor Lasky spit-take when Slater reveals Zack and Kelly are getting married).