Trivia for
"Saved by the Bell" (1989) More at IMDbPro »

• Elizabeth Berkley originally auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski and was turned down in favor of Tiffani Thiessen, but the producers liked Elizabeth so much that they created the Jessie Spano character especially for her to play.
  
  
• Jennie Garth auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski
  
  
• This show follows "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (1987) which takes place at John F. Kennedy Junior High School, in Indianapolis, Indiana. When several of the students and Mr. Belding move up to Bayside High School in this series, it was suddenly set in Pacific Palisades, California.
  
  
• The segments where Zach remembers his junior high school years were added to the beginning of "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (1987) episodes that were re-edited from the Disney Channel as "Saved by the Bell" episodes for syndication.
  
  
• The show originally was going to have three guys and two girls, but the character of Jesse was created when Elizabeth Berkley had a successful audition.
  
  
• Dustin Diamond was three years younger than the rest of the cast. Other actors considered for roles of main characters include Jaleel White, Jonathan Brandis, Brian Austin Green and Jennie Garth.
  
  
• One of the degrees in Mr. Belding's office is for Kung Fu. It is above the filing cabinet next to his desk.
  
  
• Lisa Turtle was originally written as a white Jewish princess from Long Island who moves to California, but the producers liked Lark Voorhies, and gave her the part.
  
  
• The original role of Miss Bliss of the pre-Saved by the Bell "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (1987) (called Saved by the Bell in the reruns) was written for Sandy Duncan. Duncan was busy with "Valerie" (1986), so Hayley Mills was cast instead.
  
  
• When the original series "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (1987) was being developed, producers were considering casting Brian Austin Green, Jaleel White, and Jonathan Brandis.
  
  
• Dustin Diamond is the only actor to appear in all "Saved by the Bell" episodes, spin-offs and movies.
  
  
• The final "Graduation" episode had already been shot when the network ordered additional episodes. Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley were attached to other projects by that time, necessitating the creation of a replacement character Tori, played by Leanna Creel. The Tori episodes aired in the middle of the other final season episodes to sidestep continuity problems (though the disappearance and later reappearance of Kelly and Jessie, as well as for Tori, went unexplained). - and vise versa for Tori- went unexplained).
  
  
• Casper Van Dien made several uncredited appearances throughout the show's final year. He had one line in one show, and was often seen just as a simple background extra, mostly in the hallway scenes by the lockers.
  
  
• Mark-Paul Gosselaar had to dye his hair blonde every two weeks while shooting the show.
  
  
• Scott Wolf and Denise Richards made cameo appearances before making it to stardom. Tori Spelling ("Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990)) also made an appearance as a recurring character named Violet Bickerstaff - who was Screech's love interest.
  
  
• Ed Alonzo's last episode was "Save the Max".
  
  
• According to producer Peter Engel, at a meeting before the show had been created, NBC President Brandon Tartikoff suggested the show be given a name that used the word bell (such as "When the Bell Rings"). One of Engel's colleagues then suggested the name "Saved by the Bell", which Tartikoff liked. Engel disliked the name but, believing that someone else probably owned the rights to the phrase "saved by the bell", went along with it. As luck would have it, NBC's legal department discovered that in fact nobody owned the rights to the phrase, and by the next day Engel's office was covered in large banners that said "Saved by the Bell".
  
  
• In the episode "Home for the Holidays," the Santa Claus in the show was credited as Himself.
  
  
• Lisa's last name is Turtle, Jessie's middle name is Myrtle, and Zack's pet turtle's name is Myrtle.
  
  
• Throughout the show, Screech had different lockers. In the first two seasons, his locker was near Belding's office; in the later seasons his locker was near the stairs.
  
  
• The nerd characters usually had a last name that contained the word "nerd" or some synonym of it, such as Nerdstrom, Poindexter, Geekman, etc.
  
  
• In every show the same classroom was used just rearranged for the subject being taught
  
  
• Originally, Zack and Slater were written as bitter rivals for Kelly's romantic affections. Off screen however, Mario López and Mark-Paul Gosselaar were (and continue to be) very close friends. The writers, sensing the obvious chemistry between the two actors, had the characters re-written as best friends, and they remained that way for the rest of the show.
  
  
• The character Tori was named after producer Aaron Spelling's daughter, Tori Spelling.
  
  
• The "A.C." in A.C. Slater’s name stands for Albert Clifford.
  
  
• There are many incongruities between "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" (1987) and "Saved by the Bell." For one Zack's father is divorced in GMMB but happily married to Zack's mother in SBTB. Zack also had a sister in GMMB but in SBTB he was an only child.
  
  
• Though Kelly was scripted as Zack's girlfriend for the show, the actress who played the role of Lisa, Lark Voorhies, was Mark-Paul Gosselaar's real-life girlfriend up to and during the Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992) (TV) movie for three years, according to several interviews given by Gosselaar.
  
  
• The set of the school was never struck down completely after the show stopped production. It has been used and redressed on many shows that air on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon since then, such as "That's So Raven" (2003) and "iCarly" (2007).
  
  
• Mr. Tuttle taught four subjects: business economics, drivers' education, music appreciation, and physics. He was also the coach of the school decathlon.
  
  
• Mr. Dewey taught mathematics (Geometry and Algebra).
  
  
• Ms. Simpson taught English Literature.
  
  
• Singer Michael Damian performed an alternate rendition of the show's theme song, which was used during the first season.
  
  
• Zack, Slater and Screech are the only characters to appear in all the segments.
  
  
• A.C. Slater's one-episode sister, J.B., was his younger sister on the show. In real life, Rana Haugen is 5 years older than Mario López.
  
  

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