The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story (2014 Lifetime)

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story (2014 Lifetime)

Cast: Sam Kindseth, Dylan Everett, Tiera Skovbye

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Synopsis (via Lifetime)

After being cast in the hit teen sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989), six unknown young actors must deal with the Hollywood spotlight and the challenges of growing up under public scrutiny.

Thoughts

The movie begins in 1990 with the cast of Saved by the Bell, nervous that no one will show up to their mall tour. Teenagers mob them as they get out of a limo. Zack Morris does his timeout/ time freeze thing and starts to tell the story, but Dustin Diamond (Screech) jumps in and insists he will be the narrator because he was there from the start of the show to the end. (He also wrote a tell-all book.)

Mark-Paul, Dustin, and Lark Voorhies are cast in the Disney Channel show “Good Morning Miss Bliss.” The show would center around the teachers and TV/Movie Veteran Hailey Mills and Principal Belding. Everyone thinks Dustin Diamond is hilarious. (Because he recalls the story. Haha. I think he is annoying.) The show is canceled and rebooted for Saturday mornings on NBC. It is the first live-action show to air in a timeslot reserved for cartoons.

Recasting happens, and Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, and Tiffani-Amber. Thiessen is cast. They get a lecture about acting professionally on set. It doesn’t go well, and the executives are nervous. The actors get “glam” makeovers. The show taping goes well, but the reviews are terrible.

Dustin wants not to portray a geek because his co-stars are becoming teen idols. The show is low in the ratings at first, but it becomes a huge hit over the summer. The network executives keep a close eye on their starts and keep anything negative or scandals out of the press. Lark and Mark-Paul start making out of roofs because they have to hide their interest in one another. Mark-Paul and Tiffini Amber are cast as love interests in the show and also practice kissing in their dressing room. Lark becomes jealous of Tiffini Amber. The cast all start dating each other behind the scenes. Dustin starts drinking because he is an outcast.

Elizabeth starts asking for more challenging material. They give her the “I’m so excited.” pill-popping scenes, but it isn’t enough, and she decides to leave to make a sexy movie called Showgirls. Tiffini Amber leaves also. They are replaced with Leah Remini.

Now, young adults, the remaining cast, start to party a lot. Dustin smokes weed with his clingy friend, who ends up blackmailing him with a video.

The original cast comes together for the Saved by the Bell graduation episode. It is like the actor’s graduation into adulthood. Blah Blah Blah. Dustin does another time freeze and gives recaps on all the actors. The end!

Side Note

Minority Report: Lark, Teacher, Mario, Dustin’s friend

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Overall rating

🔪 (1 Knife)

🍷🍷🍷 (3 glasses of wine required.)