The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story Review

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story

*Disclaimer*
Typically, I don't review shows based on real people's lives. It's not that I don't watch them, because I watch a ton including W Networks newest addition Shannon & Sophie (Which I really enjoyed and I hope it get's picked up for a season 2). My reviews are pretty opinion based and I don't feel as though I should be giving my opinions on celebrities personal lives. It's not my business if Kim Kardashian told Brody he couldn't bring a plus one to her wedding, or if Tori decided to stay with Dean after the cheating scandal. I don't appreciate when people give their opinions on my life choices, so I make it a priority to keep my opinions about others to myself. 

The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story is based on Dustin Diamond's (Screech) book "Behind the Bell" which was released in 2009. My main problem with this TV movie is that because it's only based on one cast members stories and memories, it comes off very one-sided. I could basically sum up the movie in two words: Poor Screech. It seems like the rest of the cast was having a good ol' time while poor Screech was either being left out or mistreated. Again, I wasn't there so I don't know what really happened but you can't base the past events on one person idea of how it was. Time changes your memories and the feeling towards your memories. My other criticisms are smaller things like people didn't say "douchebag" in the 90s and the group of people that were cast weren't exactly accurate either. I know it must have been a really hard group to cast because they are playing characters that people watching the TV movie grew up with. My biggest beef is just that in the beginning of the Good Morning Miss Bliss, Screech is visibly younger than the rest of the cast. He was smaller and still had his high pitched voice. I noticed right away at the beginning of the TV movie that his voice was a lot deeper because this actor was older. I also noticed that at the end of the movie when Screech is having a heart-to-heart with Zach, they are almost the same body type which wasn't accurate either. Zach had a bigger build and more muscles than Screech whereas Zach and Screech were made to look the same size in the TV Movie. 

Basically, this TV movie just had me longing to watch the show itself. I grew up in the last years of the 80s, so I actually grew up with Saved by the Bell: The New Class and didn't realize it wasn't the original version until 2003 when season 1 & 2 got released on DVD. After watching the original series, it became my clear favorite over the series I grew up with. 
Instead of having a movie based on one cast members opinion, I would have much preferred to have a reunion of the cast in more of a DVD commentary style where we would see clips and hear stories from ALL the cast members on their best times, their worst times and their memories. Or I would love to see a reunion episode (which I'm sure will never happen). This TV movie may have had a lot of hype, but the series had so much heart and was groundbreaking. So many shows today may have never been if Saved by the Bell hadn't paved the way for "tween" sitcoms. I'm taking everything in this TV movie with a grain of salt and it will in no way impact my feelings or my memories of being part of the world at Bayside High. 



***Versions of Saved by the Bell ran from 1988-2000***
- Good Morning, Miss Bliss! (1988-1989) (Which thanks to iTunes in Canada, I've been recently able to purchase and watch for the first time!)
- Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)
- Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (TV Movie) (1992)
- Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993-1994)
- Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (TV Movie) (1994)
- Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1993-2000)

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