10 Reasons I Love "Saved By The Bell"

1. Kelly Kapowski. Yep, numero uno. I'm not ashamed to admit that Kelly Kapowski/Tiffani Thiessen (previously Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) was my very first celebrity crush as a pre-pubescent lad. Cute, sweet, and oh so hot in those '80s clothes

2. The antics. School was never that much fun for me, or anyone, really. That was the point, right? Escapism. Living vicariously. Suspension of disbelief. But it sure was entertaining.

3. The locations. Sure, most of the action took place in the same hallway at the base of the stairs by the classroom where all their classes took place and by Belding's office and by the bathroom. But there was the aforementioned classroom that seemed to have a thousand different arrangements and functions (English class, math class, chemistry, etc.). There were their homes, specifically their bedrooms, which were as large as the entire upper floor of the house I grew up in, and nicer. And, most importantly, there was The Max, the student hangout that was like a '50s soda shop reborn as a pizza place in the '80s: where everyone from school (and town) gathered and spent loads of time without parental supervision. I don't know about you, but our school/town didn't really have one of these places, not until Starbucks moved into town during junior year. There was the back parking lot and the bleachers behind the football field, but those were a little different, in both ambiance and the delinquent activities that took place there... at night.

4. The laugh track. The "oooooooooh"s when people kissed. The "oooooooooh"s when someone get in trouble. And the perfectly placed laugh to let you know that what you just heard was funny. Even when Screech was involved.

5. Speaking of which, Screech Powers/Justin Diamond. In what school was the nerdiest kid around, annoying voice and irritating misunderstandings and all, friends with the good-looking prankster and the buff jock? This show was a weekly "Breakfast Club" where everyone could identify with someone and everyone got along. For some, Screech represented the unattainable reality, a geek who - though not cool - hung out with the cool kids. I'm sure lots of young dorks aspired to be like Screech (though I imagine that if they tried to remain friends with their cool pals from elementary school, they were likely ditched by eighth grade). Screech was an aspiration and an anomaly, and while his whole absurd character was unreal, it was also grounded in the painful realities of high school: shoved in lockers, and couldn't get the girl. Still, score one for Mr. Powers - despite it all, he was one of the gang.

6. The issues. Ridiculous a show as it was, SBTB dealt with serious issues, from friendship and sibling rivalry to divorce and drug use. Not quite as dramatic as 90210 or The OC, but in many ways this show paved the way for those later primetime teen soaps. (Good thing or bad? You decide.)

7. Adaptation. When the show first started, it was about the teacher, Miss Bliss, and featured only three of the main characters from the well-known version. This alternate version, which lasted only one season, featured the leather-jacket-wearing Nikki and the opening sequence which had Zack talking directly to the camera. When NBC picked up the show, the focus switched to the students, Nikki was dropped, and enter Kelly, Jessie, and Slater. And because the show featured real people who would grow up (except Mario Lopez, who was already grown up when he joined the cast), the show progressed through the years. Of course, when Thiessen and Berkley refused to sign a contract for a season, a new cute female character was brought on to fill the void, and magically disappeared when the other actresses returned. Just when you thought the show would end once they graduated high school, SBTB brought back your favorite gang for college, where they all (coincidentally) ended at the same school! New hijinks ensued, but not for long - SBTB: The College Years ended after just one season. (I haven't watched SBTB: The New Class, out of respect for Zack, Kelly, Jessie, Slater, Lisa and Screech.)

8. Breaking the fourth wall. Like Ferris Bueller and Shakespearean characters before him, Zack Morris would address the audience directly, acknowledging the fact that there were viewers. A small thing to some, but a really smart way for the show to bring the viewer in on the action, and to mix things up from the usual sitcom. (This was in the era before the now-ubiquitous "voice over" - used by most single-camera comedies and many dramas today.)

9. Did I mention Kelly Kapowski?

10. The lasting effect. While, honestly, this show didn't dramatically impact me like some other shows (superhero cartoons, Disney Afternoon, and "Friends" linger more prominently in my childhood memories) it nevertheless remains a true point of nostalgia - for me and arguably most people of my generation. Unless you grew up without television, nearly all people around the age of 30 can bond over memories from episodes of SBTB. And somehow we all remember more than we thought we did about the plots.

Saved By The Bell isn't something I think about often (I saw it on TV the other day while flipping through, which inspired this post) but it's still this significant marker of my growing up and a reminder of my still-intact innocence: before I knew what high school was really like, before I could understand the complexity of the storylines, and before I knew that Tiffani-Amber Thiessen was unattainable. Good times. Thanks, SBTB.