"The Mamas and the Papas"
Airdate: November 11th, 1989

I’ve been told on several occasions that I have a more-than-healthy appreciation for the late 80s to early 90s series, Saved By the Bell. I say it’s perfectly healthy. However, my excitement to see the show on both DVD and iTunes was probably slightly skewed in comparison to "healthy." From the cheese-encrusted credits sequence to the caricature portrayals of California dudes and dudettes (and nerds), Saved By the Bell was both the best and the worst of the era. The show gives me great joy. Cock-a-doodle-dudes!

[THE SERIES IN A NUTSHELL]

Predating another similar (in premise) show covered by iPodObserver.com, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Saved By the Bell is the story of Zack Morris and his friends. All residents of the fictional town of Palisades, California, and all (as of the high school series of which I write...the Miss Bliss and college years shall be forgotten) students at Bayside High School. Zack is the schemer, AC Slater is the meat-head jock with a heart of gold, Screech Powers is the nerd (let’s not talk about the actor who plays him, who has currently reached a certain level of online notoriety), Kelly Kapowski is the dream girl cheerleader, Jesse Spano is the feminist smart girl, and Lisa Turtle is the fashionista.

Episode Quote
Mr. Belding: "Button it Zack, or you’ll be honeymooning in detention."

One of the first shows to have the main character consistently breaking the fourth wall, Zack sets the stage for each episode. Here, with "The Mamas and the Papas," we’ve got the makings of a sitcom thriller! Required by a school project, the six main characters pair off into fake marriages: Zack with Kelly, Slater with Jesse, and Screech with Lisa. This being season one, it does set up the future couples of the show, Zack/Kelly and Slater/Jesse. In fact, their banter, common while a couple, really begins here. Jesse liked to call Slater a "macho pig," and here he responds with a snarky "oink oink, baby."

Many of the major locations are used here. Including the school, the Max set is the location of the first outside-school encounter, and we get a rare look at Lisa’s bedroom. Lisa wears late 80s era spandex, and she does some jazzercize in her bedroom. We also get a classic dream sequence, launched by some overacting and facial ticks.

Conflict! At school, Mr. Belding puts them through their paces as a couple. The Jock-Feminist marriage is--gasp!--fraught with strife as their scenario is set. Slater comments that "the women’s movement" can be best met if Jesse will "put on something cute and move on into the kitchen." Zack sucks up to Kelly, who crashed his imaginary Ferrari. There’s a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Joke in there, which Mr. Belding calls upon the Turtle-Powers, and the (SBtB version of) classic line, "Lisa no en casa."

Ahhh, but the plot sickens when Screech and Lisa can’t stay married due to Lisa’s allergy to Screech. Instead, the two remaining couples get to adopt teenagers, who are, of course, Screech and Lisa. This can’t go well. Screech takes his divorce and demotion from husband to teenager poorly, but Slater, ever the thinker, takes up Screech’s cause in order to get closer to Kelly. (The lack of clearly defined couples at the show’s onset was part of the charm. Zack and Slater as rivals were definitely more interesting than them as pals.) Screech, ever the bumbler, gives up the secret in front of the class.

How do we solve this? By turning The Max into a swanky restaurant where Zack and Slater take their "families" for reconciliation.

Episode Quote
Mr. Belding: "You have made a mockery out of mock marriage!"

[SCATTERSHOT]

• I have to ask...what kind of grades did the other kids in the class receive for watching our six main characters participate in the mock marriage?
• How many versions of the "OooooOOOOooohhh!" did they have on tape? One of Kelly if she came out in a dress, one for kissing, one for a romantic moment...
• Why is the principal teaching their class? Convenient much? And what class is this?
• Slater wore Z.Cavaricci pants like no one else.

• "Dancing to the Max"
• "The Gift"
• "Slater’s Friend"

iTunes Links:

Saved by the Bell series
Saved by the Bell season 1
"The Mamas and the Papas"

Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.