Saved By The Bell

Saved By The Bell - August 1989 to May 1993

The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which later retconned into the history of Saved by the Bell. The series follows the exploits of several students at Bayside High School, along with their principal. The show stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies and Dennis Haskins, who appeared in Good Morning, Miss Bliss, as well as Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez, who joined the cast for Saved by the Bell. The show brought fame to the cast members and launched most of their careers.

The fact that the show often incorporated dramatic elements into episodes by dealing with "real teen social issues", such as drug use, drinking and driving, homelessness, financial issues, divorce, first love and love lost, graduating, college, sibling rivalry, taking responsibilities for one's actions, being bullied, death, and environmental issues made it a precursor (with other teen sitcoms of the time like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) for networks of more recent shows such as The O.C. and Dawson's Creek to introduce young target audiences to critical moral matters. Notably, sexual relationships were alluded to but not actually dealt with. (See also Very special episode.)

The show's popularity allowed for two spin-off series: Saved by the Bell: The College Years, which follows several of the original characters' college experiences, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which follows a new group of students at Bayside High School. The series also spawned two TV movies and a short-lived comic book series.