Saved By The Bell was considered a staple of 1990s teen and pre-teen shows, and an entire generation grew up with the wisecracking, fun-loving "friends forever" gang at Bayside High. Alas, nothing lasts forever, and soon the gang had graduated and prepared for college life. Not ready to call it quits, sitcom powerhouse NBC commissioned the follow-up series Saved By The Bell: The College Years to pick up where Bayside left off.
This series spoke to an older and more mature demographic who understood college life, and what it meant to grow from a teenager into an adult. Unfortunately, it lasted only one season before getting canceled, but it went out on a high note by wrapping up a long-awaited story arc for main character Zack Morris. Here's the 10 highest rated episodes of the classic one-season sitcom, as noted by IMDb.
"Zack, Lies And Videotape" (7.3)
Professor Lasky and Zack Morris butted heads constantly during the course of The College Years, and Zack wanted nothing more than to drop his class and move on. Lasky decided to make him an offer he couldn't refuse - take on a special project, receive a B, and sleep in for the rest of the semester.
The only catch? Zack had to find out definitively, once and for all what women wanted. At first, the self-described ladies man thought he had it in the bag, but he soon realized that the answer was far more elusive than he realized.
"Dr. Kelly" (7.3)
Lured in by the tips made by waitresses at a nearby sports bar, Kelly decides to take the easy money route, rather than pursue her lifelong (albeit expensive) dream of becoming a doctor. A large portion of her decision was influenced by Zack, who inadvertently discourages her from pursuing her dream.
It's a valuable lesson about the need to go after what you want in life, and fight until you have it, regardless of the naysayers. In the end, both Kelly and Zack learn a valuable lesson about what it means to strive for something better in life, rather than settle.
"Rush Week" (7.3)
"Rush Week" was undoubtedly one of the funniest College Years episodes, thanks to its all-too-familiar subject matter. Zack and Slater have their sights set on joining a popular fraternity, and that means all hands on deck to prepare for a classic initiation ritual.
Things go pear-shaped when uber-nerd Samuel "Screech" Powers asks to join in, but his geeky demeanor and love of balloon animals simply won't fit. Zack and Slater concoct a backstory on Screech's behalf to try and squeeze him in, but things don't go according to plan. The episode does end on a heartwarming and hilarious note, however.
"Teacher's Pet" (7.4)
Things got complicated for Zack Morris when his childhood sweetheart-turned-college-flame Kelly developed a major crush for anthropology professor Jeremiah Lasky. Though he was the object of many a college girl's affections, Lasky never initiated a fling with any of his students until Kelly came onto the scene.
Charmed by her amazing chemistry with his young daughter, Lasky decided to throw caution to the wind. Not only did it almost derail his career, but it nearly threw a monkey wrench into Zack's plans to rekindle his romance.
"Kelly And The Professor" (7.4)
The relationship arc between Kelly and Professor Lasky was meant to throw audiences (who were dying to see her get together with Zack) a tremendous curve-ball, and it worked. Kelly's attraction to Lasky was never fully explained, and it didn't exactly speak well to her character. After all, Zack was pulling out all the stops to win her heart, while she kept passing him over in favor of the professor.
Eventually, Zack got angry and started spreading news of their affair around the school, which nearly cost Lasky his job. It didn't exactly get him in the winner's circle with Kelly either, but it did break the two up and pave the way for what was to come next.
"Guess Who's Coming To College" (7.5)
The pilot episode of The College Years introduced audiences to a brand new, more mature setting for Saved By The Bell, and the differences were immediately noticeable. A lot of the corny fluff had been sliced out in favor of slightly more edgy comedy that was able to stand amongst prime time comedies, at least in theory.
Unfortunately, that episode didn't quite hit the mark, and cast member Essence Atkins was given the boot in order to make room for longtime Saved By The Bell alum Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski in this, the second episode. The sudden change was jarring, but smart in the long run. At least they got it over with quickly.
"A Question Of Ethics" (7.6)
Veteran actor Robert Guillaume guest stars in this episode where he plays a professor teaching an ethics class at the college. The ever-unethical Zack Morris and his crew get into some hilarious hijinks when they nab what they think are the answers to Dr. Hemmings' mid-term test.
In the end, Zack and the gang end up running around like headless chickens before the professor lets them in on the gag. He purposely allowed them to get their mitts on the wrong mid-terms in order to teach them a valuable lesson about what ethics is all about, especially as young kids grow into adulthood.
"A Thanksgiving Story" (7.7)
The College Years went all-in on the gags for the Thanksgiving episode which focuses on the gang getting stuck at the college during the holidays after some car trouble. With nowhere left to go, they decide to lend Mike, Leslie, and Screech a hand in preparing a good will dinner for some unprivileged inner-city kids.
Naturally, everything goes downhill in short order, forcing the gang to think fast on their feet before a TV interview threatens to embarrass them all. The episode is loaded with a wealth of celebrity cameos including Brian Austin Green, Marv Albert, the late Jonathan Brandis, and even Dennis Haskins himself as none other than Mr. Belding.
"Love And Death" (7.7)
The series began coming to a close with this late-season episode focusing on Zack's reaction to a school professor who dies suddenly in the gang's dorm room. Freaked out by the incident, Zack immediately approaches Kelly to find out if she really loves him or not. When she's unable to reciprocate, Zack begins living a life of risk-filled adventure to mask his upset.
It all comes to a hilarious conclusion when Zack convinces Slater and Screech to go skydiving. Before the group jumps, Kelly gets on the radio and confesses her love for Zack which makes him rethink his ways. Unfortunately, they end up falling out of the plane anyway and screaming all the way down to safe ground.
"Wedding Plans" (7.7)
The highest-rated episode of The College Years was undoubtedly the penultimate "Wedding Plans," and the writers pulled out all the stops to deliver one of the best wrap-ups of all time. Audiences had been clamoring to see Zack and Kelly finally tie the knot, and this was the first step in that direction.
It wasn't a perfect episode, however. Slater's upset over the announcement makes little sense, but at least it gets resolved by the end. The episode is notable for the reappearance of Lark Vorhees as Lisa Turtle, a role she'd carry over into the made-for-TV wedding movie, which unfortunately was dead on arrival.