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.
A Brand New Character
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.
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.
The Steps That Have Been in More Episodes than Anyone
If you go back and watch the show nowadays, you may feel a sense of familiarity as the kids are walking the halls. At first, you may think that it's just nostalgia, but there's more – the hallway and locker set was originally built for "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," which was used all the way through "Saved by the Bell," and was never torn down.
It's been used and reused in all kinds of high school shows that followed after 'Saved by the Bell,' starting with 'That's So Raven,' but the list also includes recent Disney shows such as "iCarly" and "Victorious."
A Friendship too Strong for Writing
One of the original ways the producers got conflict from the show was the love triangle of Zack Morris, Kelly Kapowski, and A.C. Slater. Zack Morris eventually wins out and even gets married to Kelly down the line after College Years, but it was touch-and-go for a while who Kelly would choose.
This conflict was originally going to tear Zack and Slater – good friends on the show – apart for further conflict, but the friendship between the two actors was so strong it bled too much into the show, and the writers decided to drop the idea.