bittenbythedancingbug

IMDb member since May 2005
    Lifetime Total
    1+
    IMDb Member
    18 years

Reviews

California Dreams
(1992)

Another great show produced by Peter Engel
I have to say I loved watching this show when I was a kid. It has to be one of the better shows that Peter Engel came up with that followed the same sort of story lines, characters and plot structures set out by Saved By The Bell (another great one that should be checked out is Hang Time).

While it followed the format set out by Saved By The Bell it differed slightly with the concept of it being about a band. Some of the songs are a little corny while others are really great and I still love them now.

Great programme that I would love to watch again but it can never match up to its predecessor: SBTB.

Saved by the Bell
(1989)

One of the best shows ever made!
There are not many television shows that I like to refer to as classics, but this has to be one of them (along with IMO Watching, Press Gang, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Quantum Leap).

Looking back on the episodes as an adult some of them may seem slightly far fetched and corny (subliminal messages in music tapes for example) but I really couldn't imagine my childhood without it. I'm not sure when exactly I started watching the show or how I came to watch my first ever episode (does anyone know when exactly it was first aired in the U.K?) but right from that first viewing I was hooked. I think it might have also helped that I had a humongous crush on Zack (I think he may have been my first celeb crush and I remember distinctly his face was the first male poster I had on my bedroom wall - a picture if I remember correctly which was from an old Bunty magazine). At school my friends and I used to play SBTB and fight over who got to play Kelly because we all wanted to be the object of Zack's affections. I followed their romance until the end as I became Zack and Kelly obsessed.

I know some people complain about the various plot holes and the whole Tori episodes (which I really can't abide), but the programme is pure gold. Yes there may be some corny lines or story lines but just remember it was for kids - and to be honest I think its corniness and cheese is what makes it so great.

SBTB paved the way for other teen sitcoms. Exectutive Producer Peter Engel thought he was onto a winner with this show that he used the same format to produce countless other shows but they never seemed on par with that of the original (California Dreams and Hang Time are worth a watch though).

The College Years and Wedding in Las Vegas are also worth a watch to see what happens to the lovable Zack Morris and whether he eventually gets his girl in the end. However, both aren't as good as the original series.

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