Originally, there was only going to be two female main characters: Lisa Marie and Kelly. We’ve already heard about how Lark Voorhies got the producers to retool Lisa Marie’s character, but Elizabeth Berkley one-upped her pretty quickly. Berkley originally auditioned for the Kelly Kapowski role, but Tiffani Thiessen proved the better actress for that role.
However, Berkley did so well, the producers decided they needed her on the show so badly they went to the drawing board and created the character of Jessie Spano, the grade-obsessed burgeoning feminist who gets on plenty of soapboxes as the series goes on.
Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years
The show got its start with the title "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." Only the pilot was aired, on NBC, and the show wasn't picked up. The series made its way to the Disney Channel, which aired it for a single season. The show was retooled, went back to NBC, and the rest is history. The focus was on the teacher Miss Bliss, but Zack, Lisa Marie, and Screech were all part of the show.
The show was later released on syndication as "Saved by the Bell: The Junior High Years," adding Zack's narration, changing the music, and replacing the opening and closing credits.
Love on the Set
As you can imagine with attractive actors and actresses on the set all the time, sparks flew. Yet Mark-Paul's first wife wasn't any of the famous actresses who were on the show each and every week – it was an extra. In fact, it was an extra from "Saved by the Bell: The College Years."
Lisa Ann Russell played an unnamed female student during a single episode, but that was enough to catch Mark-Paul's eye. The two remained married from 1996 to 2011. Russell went on to appear in a number of other shows and is a recurring crew member on "The Jeff Probst Show." She is, in fact, married to Jeff Probst.
One Hundred Percent
Only two characters appeared in every episode of the storyline, from "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" all the way to "Saved by the Bell: The College Years." It was only Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris and Dustin Diamond as Screech who never missed a week.
They, along with Lark Voorhies' character Lisa Marie were on "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," and Lisa Marie ended up being the least-developed of the main six during the high school years, with some episodes not having her at all. Zack and Screech also appeared in every episode of the relatively short-lived College Years series.
Popular and Short
While "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" ran for a mere nineteen episodes – not even a full season by today's standards – it was still one of the most popular comedies on television when it ran. It brought in an average of 7.2 million viewers every week. However, ratings began to crash near the end of the series, and the show was canceled.
It left everyone with a big cliffhanger, as Zack and Kelly were preparing to get married, and plenty of chaos and conflict about who will be the maid of honor, a bachelor party that goes wrong, and more. However, the second film (Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas) wrapped everything up.