Saved by The Bell, one of the most popular sitcom television shows from the late ’80s and early ’90s, is coming up on its 25th anniversary. The show’s main story follows the exploits and high jinks of six high school friends: Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani Thiessen), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), Samuel “Screech” Powers (Dustin Diamond), and Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley). From relationships to rivalries, Saved By The Bell is a hilarious and heartwarming journey through each character’s high school career.

Originally broadcast on the Disney Channel under the original name of Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the show followed a teacher known as Miss Bliss, as she helped guide her students (some original cast members of Saved by The Bell starring) through school and life, while also trying to manage her own life. The show struggled on Disney, and would be canceled after just one season. Fortunately, the show would be picked up and rebranded by NBC in 1988, and became the long-lasting success that audiences still know today, and spawning multiple spinoff shows and TV movies. Here are all five seasons of Saved by the Bell, ranked.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

5 Good Morning, Miss Bliss (1988)

     NBC Productions & Disney Channel

The original incarnation of the show, Good Morning, Miss Bliss ran for one season on the Disney Channel before being canceled. The show starred Hayley Mills as Miss Bliss, along with Gosselaar, Haskins (Mr. Belding), Voorhies, and Diamond all appearing in the first interpretations of their beloved characters. Good Morning, Miss Bliss follows Mills, as she tries to balance her personal life, while also wanting to help her students. One episode even has Zack Morris at her house, asking for girl help, while Miss Bliss tries to make sure her own date goes well. Sadly, this iteration of the show was not a success, with a score of just 6.8/10 on IMDB.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

4 Season Four (1992)

     NBC Productions

The show’s final season suffers from a multitude of problems that puts it at the bottom of the list. First and foremost, Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkeley left the show to pursue other opportunities and were not at all a part of the final season’s plot. To make up for the loss of the two, producers cast Leanna Creel as Tori Scott as a new character. Tori couldn’t make up for all the problems, as she was inconspicuously in and out of episodes, and never mentioned by other characters. Her relationship with Zack Morris was certainly not loved, with audiences wanting the missing Kelly to get back with Zack, after all the ups and downs the characters went through in their relationship. The final season did do a good job of wrapping up the main group’s time in high school, especially with the beautiful graduation song that the show came up with. Season four did contain the extremely well done, and extremely deep anti-drunk driving episode.

3 Season One (1989)

The official first season of the show under the revival of NBC, reintroduced and revitalized the premise of the show and the characters, to give audiences what they know and love today. Bringing back Zack Morris, Screech Powers, Mr. Belding, and Lisa Turtle; along with introducing Jessie Spano, A.C. Slater, and Kelly Kapowski. A new setting for the show was established with Bayside High School. Directed by the duo of Don Barnhart and Gary Shimokawa, the show runners at NBC do a good job bringing the wacky high jinks of the school group, with star episodes such as “King of the Hill”, “The Election”, and “Dancing to the Max”. A show much more focused on the students was going to be more relatable to the target audience, and this creative change is what made the early reboot so successful.

2 Season Two (1990)

After letting the new cast and crew mold together and build rapport, the second season of Saved by The Bell ups the stakes and antics in a very satisfying way. With director Don Barnhart returning to direct most of the episodes, season two dives fully into the world of early ’90s high school life. From the stereotypical episodes of “House Party” (with one of the best lip-sync recitals in television), and “Glee Club” (With Screech’s love interest, Violet Bickerstaff); to some of the more heartbreaking and meaningful episodes in the series, such as “Jessie’s Song”, which deals with overcoming the obstacles of addiction. Season two was full of growth and journeys for Saved by the Bell and its characters, creating some very memorable television.

1 Season Three (1991)

If season one was reintroducing and revitalizing Saved by the Bell, and season two was NBC getting the show up and running, then season three was Saved by the Bell at full strength. With the cast fully integrated, and the show established as veteran TV, NBC gave audiences the best season of Saved by the Bell, complete with overarching storylines, drama, and beach-related excitement. Season three alternates between two separate story arcs, the first being the main six characters getting summer jobs at their local beach club, and the second being their junior years at Bayside High. The beach story gives the show a new, fun location that serves as a breath of fresh air from the regular setting, and allows for some fun episodes, such as “The Game”. Meanwhile, the Bayside story takes the biggest risk of the show, having Kelly Kapowski cheat on Zack Morris, leading to a break-up. Though it wasn’t a good idea to have Kelly (at 16-years-old) fall in love with her boss (who was 25), the overall story arc and its repercussions created some of the better dramatic episodes of the show, and helped create the best overall season.

The show didn’t end there, with the main cast returning in a spinoff show titled, The College Years, and two spinoff movies, Hawaiian Style and Wedding in Vegas. There was also a complete reboot in 2002, with a different cast of characters, that was titled, The New Class. None of them could compete with the original series. With the comedy and charisma of the original set of characters, the fun and occasionally meaningful episodes, and the all-too relatable journey through high school, Saved by the Bell has cemented itself as one of the better shows in television history.