There is a web series from Funny or Die called Zack Morris is Trash, which is dedicated to exposing Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s Saved by the Bell fourth-wall-breaking character for the selfish, conniving, and time-freezing menace that he is. However, he is not all bad.
In fact, he and the rest of his close-knit group of friends at Bayside High School – namely Kelly Kapowski (Tiffany Thiessen), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley), Samuel “Screech” Powers (the late Dustin Diamond), and Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies) – have been known to defy expectations with the occasional mature decision on the beloved TV sitcom. See for yourself by revisiting some of the Saved by the Bell cast’s proudest moments.
Zack Chooses Jessie As His Dance Contest Partner
In the first episode of Saved by the Bell, "Dancing to the Max," Zack enlists Jessie's help to teach him how to dance for an upcoming competition so he can impress Kelly enough to be her partner. However, he decides to team up with Jessie after learning she was going to refrain from entering the contest since she is taller than most other men who want to partner with her and is afraid of getting made fun of. Kelly ends up partnering with Slater, but it is Screech and Lisa's original dance they call "The Sprain," that wins.
The Gang Shoots Its Own Anti-Drug PSA
In one of Saved by the Bell's many "very special episodes," "No Hope with Dope," the gang is at first excited to shoot an ad promoting a drug-free lifestyle with a famous actor, until they discover he is a user. Instead, Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) calls upon the help of a friend who works as a news anchor to help them shoot their own PSA.
Zack And Tori Deliver Mrs. Belding's Baby
In the Season 4 Saved by the Bell episode, "Earthquake!," the eponymous natural disaster breaks out at Bayside, causing Zack and Tori (Leanna Creel) to become trapped in an elevator with Mr. Belding's pregnant wife, Becky (Louan Gideon). When she starts to go into labor, it is up to Zack and Tori to help deliver the boy, who, as revealed in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, ends up being named Zack.
The Gang Tries To Save The Max
In "Save the Max," Mr. Belding relaunches the KKTY radio station, which the gang starts to work at in various on-air positions. When they discover that The Max might be going out of business, they use their radio program to help raise funds and keep the lights on at their favorite hangout spot.
Zack Creates A Private Prom For Him And Kelly
One of the most memorable and endearing couples in '90s TV history is Zack and Kelly, and an essential Saved by the Bell moment that spells out why comes from the Season 2 premiere episode, "The Prom." When Kelly is unable to go to the dance due to money troubles, her date, Zack, sets up their own celebration right outside the school, complete with a special meal and a slow dance that results in a tender kiss.
The Gang Put Friendship Over Business
In Season 1's "The Friendship Business," the gang's business class divides them into two different groups with the intention of becoming the most successful amateur entrepreneurs. The competitive nature of the project almost tears the friends apart until they learn to put their beef behind them and become partners instead.
Zack Helps Kelly Win Homecoming Queen
In "Cream for a Day," Zack comes close to ruining Kelly's chances of achieving her dream of being crowned Homecoming Queen, just like her mother, when he sells her a miracle acne product that, initially unbeknownst to him, temporarily turns the user's face maroon. However, that turns out to be one of the school's colors, giving him the idea to explain her complexion as a case of school spirit.
Screech Gives Up Being Valedictorian
In the Saved by the Bell series finale, "Graduation," Mr. Belding reveals that Bayside's valedictorian is Screech, who refuses to accept the honor, knowing that it is more important to Jessie. After learning her friend gave up the title for her, she finds a way to show her appreciation for him at the ceremony.
Zack Helps Jessie Get Off Caffeine Pills
One of the most famous "very special episodes" of Saved by the Bell is "Jessie's Song," in which Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills (which was originally speed in the script) in an attempt to juggle her many priorities. However, when Zack discovers her addiction, he not only refuses to let her take another pill but also refuses to let her sing for a special performance that could have potentially earned the gang a record deal. He put her health before his own success.
The Gang Helps A Homeless Family Around Christmas
In Saved by the Bell's two-part holiday episode, "Home for Christmas," Zack discovers that a girl working at the local department store, Laura, is the daughter of a homeless man he previously met. After Laura accidentally loses her job, Zack and the gang persuade her boss to give her a second chance, and he and his mother allow her and her father to stay with them until he can find a job.
The Gang Tries To Rescue Pond Animals
In Season 3's "Pipe Dreams," an oil spill breaks out on the Bayside campus, prompting Zack, Slater, and Screech to try to rescue the pond animals they adopted for a class project from the pollution. Unfortunately, they are too late, and Becky, a duck whom Zack had grown fond of, tragically passes away.
Zack Defends Screech From A Bully
At times, it seems unlikely that Zack and Screech would be such good friends, but it makes sense when you learn they have been tight since the characters originated in the precursor to Saved by the Bell, Good Morning, Miss Bliss. One episode of that Disney Channel sitcom saw Screech tormented by a merciless bully, and one of the few classmates who steps in to stand up for him is none other than Zack Morris.
The Gang Helps Zack Graduate
Just as Zack is about the graduate, Mr. Belding reluctantly informs him that he is one credit off and will have to go to summer school. Luckily, he comes up with a plan to get the gang to help him perform in Bayside's production of a ballet called Swan Pond, which ends up counting for the one credit he needs.
Zack Accepts Kelly's Feelings For Jeff
Zack and Kelly's romance eventually results in wedding bells, but there was a time when their relationship hit a snag in Season 3's "The Last Dance." After discovering that Kelly has developed feelings for her boss at the Max, Jeff (Patrick Muldoon), he maturely decides that it is best for them to break up.
Zack Helps With Lisa's Financial Troubles
An early Season 1 episode of Saved by the Bell sees Lisa overwhelmed after she racks up an unforgivably huge bill on her father's credit card by buying items that prove non-returnable. Coming to her rescue is Zack, who whips up a variety of ideas to help pay the difference, including selling off her clothes.
Slater Saves Zack And Kelly's Wedding
Before the Saved by the Bell franchise was revived in 2020 with Peacock's reboot, it came to a close (not counting Saved by the Bell: The New Class) with the 1994 special, Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. In it, Zack and Kelly decide to marry in Sin City and come close to tying the knot in a cheap wedding venue before Zack's parents suddenly appear and promise to help pay for a proper ceremony. Their dream nuptials would have never happened, however, if Slater had not called Zack's parents.
Zack Gets Nikki To Accept Her Love For Baseball
Not all of the characters from Good Morning, Miss Bliss returned for Saved by the Bell, such as Nikki (Heather Hopper), who was the central focus in the B-plot of an episode called "The Mentor." In it, Nikki is encouraged by Lisa to embrace her more traditionally feminine side when boys start making fun of her for being a talented baseball pitcher. However, Zack ends up being the one to encourage her to follow her passions and be herself.
The Gang Shows Their Appreciation For Mr. Belding
In Season 2's "The Fabulous Belding Boys," the gang meets Mr. Belding's brother, Rod (Edward Blatchford), who fills in as their substitute history teacher and immediately earns their admiration, much to the principal's dismay. However, after Zack discovers that Rod was planning to bail on the class' planned camping trip, he and the gang come to realize that they have the better Belding to spend it with.
The Guys Warn Kelly About Her Boyfriend's Infidelity
While the Season 3 episode "Fake I.D.s" begins with Zack, Screech, and Slater indulging in a troublesome act by faking their way into an 18-and-over club called The Attic, it leads to a heroic act on their part. The gentlemen spot Kelly's current beau, Jeff, mingling with another woman, prompting them to rat him out to their friend. This is an especially mature act for Zack, considering Jeff is the one who caused his break-up with Kelly.
The Gang Pulls A Fast One On A Con Artist
In Season 4's "Class Rings," Zack is put in charge of buying his graduating class' commemorative jewelry and believes he has found a great deal through a jeweler aptly named Gem Diamond (Gary Beach). However, when Zack and the gang discover he sold them phony merchandise, they decide to give him a taste of his own medicine and coerce him into giving them authentic rings.
Zack Dances With Wendy
In Season 3's "Date Auction," a plus-size student named Wendy (Judy Carmen) wins a date with Zack, who tries every trick he can think of to get out of it because of her looks. However, he eventually comes to realize how unfairly he was treating this young woman and, at a school dance, shares the last dance of the night with her.
Zack And Jessie Help Kristy Join The Wrestling Team
In a Saved by the Bell episode similar to the Good Morning, Miss Bliss episode involving Nikki's baseball career, a student named Kristy wants to be on Bayside's wrestling team, but is rejected for being a woman. Defending her honor are Zack and Jessie, who campaign for her ability to join her athletic team of choice regardless of her gender.
Zack Flips The Script So Jessie And Slater Can Kiss During A Play
In a Season 4 episode that I imagine Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda would enjoy, Bayside puts on a show reimagining a classic fairytale as a hip-hop-infused musical called Snow White and the Seven Dorks, for which Jessie, in the lead role, is meant to kiss Zack's royal character. After this causes Kelly and Slater to grow jealous, Zack decides to change the ending so that Jessie gets to kiss her beau, Slater, instead.
Zack Gives Screech The Chance To Win An Athletic Competition
In Season 2, Zack tries to get out of detention by joining a high school military program called the California Cadet Corps, which he quickly comes to regret. After forming an agreement with Lt. Chet Adams (Cylk Cozart) that he can leave scot-free if he wins an athletic tournament, Zack gives his geeky good friend Screech the chance to earn their team the gold, and the decision proves victorious.
Zack Drops His Class President Campaign For Jessie
In Season 1's "The Election," Jessie initially runs for class president unopposed before Zack shows interest in running, but only because the winner also gets a cross-country trip. However, he eventually comes to realize that the position and the power to improve life at school genuinely mean a lot to Jessie, inspiring him to step down from the race.
Screech Helps Violet Sing
Screech had a crush on Lisa that dated all the way back to the Good Morning, Miss Bliss days, but there was a time when Saved by the Bell gave him a different love interest in the form of Violet (Tori Spelling). In Season 2's "Glee Club," she has trouble finding the confidence to sing until Screech helps her.
Zack Votes For Kelly In The Malibu Sands Beauty Pageant
In "Fourth of July," an episode from Saved by the Bell's Malibu Sands story arc, Zack is appointed to be a judge for the resort's annual beauty pageant and his boss, Leon Carosi (Ernie Sabella), urges him to rig the event in favor of his daughter, Stacey (Leah Remini), whom Zack is also dating at the time. However, Zack also knows that Kelly is truly deserving of the title, and is in desperate need of the prize money that comes with it, inspiring him to follow his heart and vote fairly for his friend.
Zack Chooses His Friends And Bandmates Over Solo Success
Season 3's "Rockumentary," which features Casey Kasem in his second appearance on the show, is framed as a Behind the Music-style telling of how the gang's band, Zack Attack, acquires fame, but almost costs them their friendship when Zack is given the chance to fly solo. Of course, in the end, Zack chooses to be, reflecting the title of their signature song, "Friends Forever" with the gang... right before the episode is revealed to be a dream sequence. Still, a fantasy in which Zack chooses others over himself counts for something.
Zack Babysits Kelly's Baby Brother
Years before Zack raised a family with Kelly, Peacock's Saved by the Bell reboot introduces their son, Mac Morris (Mitchell Hoog) – he got some early practice in the original series with her infant brother. He turns out to be such a good babysitter that the baby's first word is "Zack."
Screech Accepts Zack And Lisa's Blossoming Romance
In Season 4's "The Bayside Triangle," an unexpected love connection begins to form between Zack and Lisa, which deeply upsets Screech. He eventually comes to accept the feelings that his best friend and longtime crush have for each other, but this episode is ultimately the only time Zack and Lisa's romance is even acknowledged.
Zack And Slater Team Up To Save Their Relationships
In "Breaking Up Is Hard to Undo," the unlikely trio of Zack, Slater, and Mr. Belding relies on each other to cope with their respective romantic troubles, but Zack and Slater, rightfully so, feel the need to get Belding off their backs. So, they discreetly help their principal win back his wife and then win back Kelly and Jessie by putting on performances representing how they should have acted in the moments that broke them up in the first place.
Zack Prevents Screech From Being Taken By The Government
In Season 2, Zack tries to pull a scheme by taking photos of Screech dressed as an extra-terrestrial to win a competition, but the façade ends up proving too convincing when the government threatens to take Screech away for experimentation. Eventually, Zack makes sure his friend is not taken away by coming clean about the prank and having his friends also dress as otherworldly creatures to prove it was all a hoax.
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