Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Saved by the unauthorized Bell clip

New Lifetime “movie” goes behind-the-scenes at Bayside High

Not the real thing, but an incredible simulation.
Not the real thing, but an incredible simulation.

If confession is good for the soul, here’s a blast of Multidimensional Cellular Healing (MCh): I’ve yet to make it through a Satyajit Ray film, but I’ve seen and own DVD copies of all seven seasons of Saved by the Bell.

That includes The College Years, The New Class, two made-for-TV features, and listening to every word of show developer/executive producer Peter “Der Viser” Engel’s nasally DVD commentary tracks. “Wow!” Engel exclaims, his eyes moving across the scripted ad libs. “How about that Lisa Turtle? She sure knows how to get the best of Screech Powers.” What insight! What savoir faire!

Sponsored
Sponsored

Why would anyone want to watch impoverished Indian children suffer endlessly when there are good times to be had at Bayside High School and The Max? SBTB was the best Saturday morning hangover cure known to humankind. Forget what I had smoked, snorted, threw back, or ingested the night before: The bell of my body clock’s alarm was set to give out a warning every Saturday morning at 9:58 am. No matter the condition, I told myself, “Put your mind to it; go for it” as I broke a sweat crawling from the bedroom to the living room Trinitron. Screech was the caffeinated hair of the dog that bit me. One 30-minute fix, and I was ready to greet the day.

Camp is not made, it’s born, and anyone who intentionally sets out to make a bad movie (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Myra Breckinridge, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra), is wasting our time.

Does anyone think on-the-skids noir-master John Brahm turned to Dana Andrews on the set of Hot Rods to Hell and whispered, “Here’s your motivation: You’re a dialogue-slurring, washed-up movie star — so deep into the bottle that you need a board up the back of your shirt to keep you from tipping forward while seated — who’s signed on for a punks-with-trunks hot-rod picture starring opposite a gang of terrorizing, albeit spotlessly well-groomed, teenagers in their twenties.” Of course not! He just called “Action!” and let the magic begin.

Video:

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story: Sneak Peek

The announcement that production was underway on a Lifetime Channel biopic caught me off guard. Should I be so excited or so scared? Everything about the original Saved by the Bell remains perfect. It’s perfectly cast, perfectly written, perfectly staged, perfectly lit, and perfectly awful. This is one soufflé that won’t be reheated.

Who cares what went on behind the scenes, particularly in light of Dustin “Screech” Diamond’s scandalous-sounding tell-all autobiography. Say what you will about the Bayside’s comic relief turned porn actor, but short of giving Screech’s corpse the El Cid treatment on Bayside Beach, Diamond (and his season six and seven paramour, Dennis “Mr. Belding” Haskins) was prescient enough to ride to glory through all of the show’s various incarnations.

As if by way of compensation for another Jerry Lewis-less Labor Day, director Jason Lapeyre’s Lifetime Channel biopic, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, will belabor this year’s celebration on Monday, September 1. NoDoz is optional.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Not the real thing, but an incredible simulation.
Not the real thing, but an incredible simulation.

If confession is good for the soul, here’s a blast of Multidimensional Cellular Healing (MCh): I’ve yet to make it through a Satyajit Ray film, but I’ve seen and own DVD copies of all seven seasons of Saved by the Bell.

That includes The College Years, The New Class, two made-for-TV features, and listening to every word of show developer/executive producer Peter “Der Viser” Engel’s nasally DVD commentary tracks. “Wow!” Engel exclaims, his eyes moving across the scripted ad libs. “How about that Lisa Turtle? She sure knows how to get the best of Screech Powers.” What insight! What savoir faire!

Sponsored
Sponsored

Why would anyone want to watch impoverished Indian children suffer endlessly when there are good times to be had at Bayside High School and The Max? SBTB was the best Saturday morning hangover cure known to humankind. Forget what I had smoked, snorted, threw back, or ingested the night before: The bell of my body clock’s alarm was set to give out a warning every Saturday morning at 9:58 am. No matter the condition, I told myself, “Put your mind to it; go for it” as I broke a sweat crawling from the bedroom to the living room Trinitron. Screech was the caffeinated hair of the dog that bit me. One 30-minute fix, and I was ready to greet the day.

Camp is not made, it’s born, and anyone who intentionally sets out to make a bad movie (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Myra Breckinridge, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra), is wasting our time.

Does anyone think on-the-skids noir-master John Brahm turned to Dana Andrews on the set of Hot Rods to Hell and whispered, “Here’s your motivation: You’re a dialogue-slurring, washed-up movie star — so deep into the bottle that you need a board up the back of your shirt to keep you from tipping forward while seated — who’s signed on for a punks-with-trunks hot-rod picture starring opposite a gang of terrorizing, albeit spotlessly well-groomed, teenagers in their twenties.” Of course not! He just called “Action!” and let the magic begin.

Video:

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story: Sneak Peek

The announcement that production was underway on a Lifetime Channel biopic caught me off guard. Should I be so excited or so scared? Everything about the original Saved by the Bell remains perfect. It’s perfectly cast, perfectly written, perfectly staged, perfectly lit, and perfectly awful. This is one soufflé that won’t be reheated.

Who cares what went on behind the scenes, particularly in light of Dustin “Screech” Diamond’s scandalous-sounding tell-all autobiography. Say what you will about the Bayside’s comic relief turned porn actor, but short of giving Screech’s corpse the El Cid treatment on Bayside Beach, Diamond (and his season six and seven paramour, Dennis “Mr. Belding” Haskins) was prescient enough to ride to glory through all of the show’s various incarnations.

As if by way of compensation for another Jerry Lewis-less Labor Day, director Jason Lapeyre’s Lifetime Channel biopic, The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story, will belabor this year’s celebration on Monday, September 1. NoDoz is optional.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Next Article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader