http://www.savedbythebellreviewed.com/2017/01/09/saved-by-the-bell-the-new-class-reviewed/
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Saved by the Bell: The New Class
TMC-4 — 9 years ago(January 10, 2017 01:39 AM)
http://www.savedbythebellreviewed.com/2017/01/09/saved-by-the-bell-the-new-class-reviewed/
In philosophy, there is a theory that says all possible worlds exist in the same way ours does. So, there is a possible world out there somewhere in which The New Class was not cancelled after season seven. Instead, it continued with Screech as principal and a consistently rotating class, and is still airing to this day. In this possible world, critics look at The New Class as an icon of television in the same way they do The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park, Law & Order, Gunsmoke, and other long running shows. Also, Dustin Diamond is a sex icon and all the ladies yearn to be ****ed by him.
Fortunately, that is not the possible world we exist in and, on January 8, 2000, the final new episode of The New Class aired, marking an end to the official Saved by the Bell franchise. Its hard to believe that the franchise which always seemed a decade behind in its fashion and music managed to squeak into the twenty-first century, but it happened.
Meanwhile, in my world, I was blissfully unaware of how horrible a show Id managed to miss. After all, I was nineteen at the time the show went off the air, so, not only am I as old as some of the cast, but I was the target demographic. Fortunately, I was busy getting into anime and B-movies so I had no time for what seemed like a stupid and brainless American teen comedy.
Was I right to skip this series? Oh, **** yeah! I had much better things to do with my time and much better shows to watch. But The New Class was still hanging around, waiting for a reviewer with a high tolerance for pain to review every stinkin episode. Id like to say it was because Id watched so much Mystery Science Theater 3000 growing up, but I would rather watch most of the movies on there any day without Joel, Mike, and the bots riffing them than ever watch another god damned second of this stupid ****.
And, so, Ive done what no other reviewer I know of has ever done: Ive reviewed the complete official franchise, including The New Class. Plenty have done the original series, and many, including my reviewing idol, Billy Superstar, have included Good Morning, Miss Bliss and The College Years, but none that I know of have ever tackled this **** stain of a show. Oh, how I envy them. I cant unsee the last three years of my life, no matter how much I would like to.
So how did a franchise that was once a guilty pleasure so-bad-its-good type show that is fondly remembered by many turn into this? Well, Ill give you three guesses, and, if you say anything other than Peter Engel and NBC wanted to keep the cash cow that was Saved by the Bell going, you lose. It actually made sense for the original Saved by the Bell to go off the air after four seasons. But it had become a cult favorite by that point and NBC wasnt so willing to let it go.
And so we got the horrible spin-offs that were The College Years and The New Class. Fortunately, they got rid of The College Years after a season. But why did The New Class stick around so long? Ive had people argue to me that the reason was because it was good. No, the real reason was a Saturday morning show didnt need the type of ratings a prime time one did, and The College Years just couldnt compete while The New Class didnt need to because kids can be stupid and will watch any old ****. So, no, I do not consider seven seasons of this show a real success when it was carrying the Saved by the Bell brand.
It wasnt helped by its constantly revolving cast. I have no idea for sure why so many teenagers graced the halls of Bayside on The New Class. If I had to guess, though, I would say that, at least in some cases, the cast got too cocky and wanted more money. Dustin Diamond claims in his book that Peter Engel was unforgiving when it came to money, and this is why Kelly and Jessie didnt return for the final episodes of Saved by the Bell. If this is true (and it is admittedly difficult to tell what that comes out of Diamonds mouth is real), I would say some of them demanded raises and then walked when they didnt get them. How else do you explain that Maria was with the series for four filmed seasons, but no one else made it past three? I could especially see this with, say, Bianca Lawson and Richard Lee Jackson, Bianca because she probably genuinely deserved a raise, Richard because he thought he deserved more as Jonathan Jacksons brother.
The real test is how well the show is remembered today and, as my commenters have pointed out, its really not. Many people remember Peter Engels other shows such as California Dreams, Hang Time, City Guys, and even USA High. But how many really remember The New Class? Not a lot. In fact, it hasnt been in syndication in at least a decade, and the DVDs are out of print now. For a show that lasted so long, The New Class has had virtually no staying power, and that really says a lot to me about how forgotten this series is.
I mean, people talk about Zack Morri -
irehawk — 9 years ago(February 01, 2017 06:54 AM)
The New Class should not be in Bayside High and not also in Valley High. It should be in a new public co-ed high school which is not considered ableist. Both Bayside and Valley are considered ableists. so that means, that new public co-ed high school is where both recycled Bayside plots and special needs should have, but Belding should be in that non-ableist public co-ed high school.
I think the New Class needed to be in Bayside to also recieve public attention, but I think the New Class should be moved that new non-ableist public co-ed high school between season 3 and 4 to be in safe condition.