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- If you were a guy you wanted to be Zack Morris and date Kelly Kapowski. If you were a girl you wanted to be Kelly Kapowski and date Zack Morris.

- You can still recite the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme, and you remember when the show moved to CBS and went downhill.

- You can relate to Doug Funny is so many ways.

- You remember when Polly Pocket actually could fit in your pocket

- You owned a Walkman

- At point you were sure Laserdisc would be the next big thing

- You know how to get to world 8 from world 4…and you know what game I’m referring to

- You knew Michael Jackson as the guy who did the song on Free Willy

- You ate a Flintstones Push-Up Pop

- You wore your pants backwards to be just like Kriss Kross (“The Daddy Mac will make you…”)

- You remember when MTV actually played music videos

- You remember when the worst show on TV was Beavis and Butthead

- Vanilla Ice…striped sideburns…enough said

- You drank “Surge”

- You’ve corrected someone by stating that Tommy was in fact the Green Ranger and the White Ranger

- You’ve owned a pair of shoes that you have to “pump” up

- “Clap on…clap off”

- You remember when you actually wanted to stay home on Friday nights to watch TGIF

- You can recite the Saved By the Bell graduation song word for word and it still makes you cry

-  You considered naming your first daughter Topanga

- You know Cuba Gooding Jr. as the guy whose brother Omar was on Wild and Crazy Kids

- You can Skip-It

- You’re still mourning from the loss of Mr. Hooper

- Your LA Gear shoes lit up while you walked

- You remember when Arnold Schwarzenegger was an actor

- When someone says, “Who should we call?” your first instinct is to yell “Ghostbusters!”

- You can name all of the New Kids on the Block

- Your teacher showed you the OJ verdict during school

- At one point, you really wanted a MiniDisc player

- You thought one of the girls in Hanson was cute

- You know what a “busy signal” sounds like

- You needed to use Microsoft Encarta for research

- You bought a slap bracelet…only to find out a few days later they weren’t allowed at school

- Your family’s first cell phone looked like an Army walkie-talkie

- You owned the board game Mousetrap, set up all the pieces, but never played the actual game

If you’re in your 20s and maybe even your 30s, I’m willing to bet you’ve seen your fair share of episodes of Saved By the Bell. The teen sitcom ran from 1989-1993 and focuses on the lives of several high school students. If you’re like me, you’ve seen every episode 67 times and can quote every episode. (Sad, I know!)

The show was rated TV-G and was even given granted the E/I (educational and informative) logo because it dealt with many teen social issues of the early 90s, but never crossed the line into too much controversy. 

The show definitely has a cult following, and is still a favorite among twentysomethings. With so much success, could Saved By the Bell be critically acclaimed and watched in today’s world? My opinion: Not a chance!

Saved By the Bell touched on moral and social issues of the 90s, but when compared with today, the show seems 50 years behind. Does that mean there’s a problem with the show? Not at all. Does that mean there’s a problem with society? That’s an interesting question!

When you compared Saved By the Bell with teen shows of today, you see a drastic contrast. It’s interesting to see how far society has come since 1993. It’s actually very scary. Here’s some examples:

- Saved By the Bell walked tight line when discussing drug use. As you may remember, the biggest issue with drugs came when Jessie was taking caffeine pills. No, not crack. Caffeine pills. However, the show made it seem as though she was on heroin. Later on, the show had a “celebrity” on named Johnny who was supposed to be a spokesman for a “say no to drugs campaign.” Instead, Johnny was asking a pot smoker, which lead to the main characters giving a “There’s No Hope with Dope!” message at the end of the episode. Cheesy or not, SBTB made drug use look wrong, inexcusable, unpopular, and morally unacceptable. I applaud the show for taking that stand. Unfortunately, that’s not the same stance TV shows take today. Today’s shows display drug use as something everyone does, not just the outcasts. High school teenagers smoke cigarettes, marijuana, and participate in other things as well. 

- One of the most controversial episodes of SBTB was when the “gang” drank alcohol at a party and had an accident on the way home. The show went out of its way to let viewers know not only was drinking and driving unacceptable, but teenage drinking was unacceptable as well. You don’t see this anywhere on TV. Look at any teen drama or comedy and you’ll see teenage drinking as a commonly accepted part of life. 

- Saved By the Bell never touched on the topic of sex. The most intimate moments occurred when Zack and Kelly kissed and the crowd would scream “Woooooooooooooooooo!!!!” Today, you can see more graphic depictions on a promo poster for Gossip Girl. On television, teenage sex is “in.” It sells, teens like it, and it heats up the screen. It’s interesting that 15 years ago sex wasn’t needed to bring in viewers. It wasn’t needed, nor was it asked for. Today, teen shows might not be able to survive without it.

- Many people assume Tori (a late addition to Saved By the Bell) was the token homosexual on the show. She wore a leather jacket, rode a motorcycle, and threatened to beat up Zack many times. However, the show never addressed the issue of homosexuality. In fact, despite her tomboyish ways, Tori’s character was written as a heterosexual female. She dated Zack up until the time she was booted off the show. Despite only 6% of the population being homosexual (with numbers even lower for high schoolers), every teenage show has to have a token homosexual. TV today wants you to think that’s how society really is. Well, that’s not how society really is. If Saved By the Bell was recreated today, the writers would be forced to include a homosexual character to be politically correct.

Here’s a few side things that aren’t as serious, but fun to think about:

- The “popular” kids don’t hang out with science dorks named “Screech.”

- How many cool kids hang out with their principal on the weekend? You’d be disowned by your friends if you tried to do that now.

- Try wearing an Italian mullet to school and see if you don’t get made fun of.

- Purple shirt tucked into acid washed jeans, no belt, white tennis shoes. Sound like the heartthrob at your school? Didn’t think so.

- The Saved By the Bell kids: middle class. Today’s TV teens: rich snobs