"Saved By The Bell" bridged the pop culture gap between the end of the 80s and the mid-90s. The show created a fantasy about life for American teenagers. At Bayside High School everyone seems to be living the glamorous life, except Screech. He's the beloved misfit of the show's central cast. Zack Morris claims to be his best friend but Screech is often treated as less than a buddy. He's been lied to, profited from, and jerked around in almost every episode. It's not easy to decide which of all the rotten things long-suffering Screech has been through is the worst.
A Stolen Kiss
Love is hard, especially when you're in high school. Add on being a socially awkward nerd and you have a recipe for a broken heart. Screech's undying love for the beautiful and popular Lisa is a staple of the show. Several plotlines have centered around the unrequited crush. When a recruiter from a school of fashion design announces their arrival at Bayside, a plan is hatched to throw a fashion show of Lisa's designs. Zack somehow uses this to manipulate Lisa into making out with him backstage. Predictably Screech happens to walk in on the kiss and is crushed. There are some unspoken rules of friendship, one of them is that you don't steal kisses from your best friend's crush.
Lend A Friend
There can be no doubt that Zack Morris is not the best friend. After starting a business as a school project, Zack manages to conscript not one, but two of his friends into unpaid labor. The first is Lisa whom he asks to stay up all night making friendship bracelets for free.
Once the bracelets are made and the whole school is interested, Zack lends Screech out as a free friend with every purchase. Poor Screech who already struggles with social situations must now feign interest in anyone and everyone who buys his buddy's bracelets.
Chemical Exploitation
One of the many thrills of high school chemistry class is never knowing when you might blow up a dangerous mixture directly into your own face. Screech got to experience this totally reasonable classroom outcome first hand. After combining three mystery ingredients, the concoction explodes all over the unsuspecting Screech. Does Zack show any concern for his best friend's safety? Of course not. What he does care about is that the terrifying explosives seem to have dried up Screech's pimple. Zack sees an opportunity to exploit his friend's misfortune to make money. He sells the mixture that could have killed his buddy as a pimple cream to the rest of the students at Bayside.
Creepy Calendar
When Zack takes over the school store and profits are low, he knows exactly what to do. Exploit all of his friends for personal gain of course! Zack decides to make a calendar of some of the most beautiful and popular students at Bayside. A plan is then developed to snap provocative photos of the young girls without their permission or knowledge. Does Zack take personal responsibility for his crooked plot? Of course not. Instead, he ropes his good buddy Screech into the madness. Screech is then convinced to photograph the girls while they're at a swim meet. When the girls see their photos made into lifesize cutouts they're reasonably upset. Zack is quick to point out just who took the photos throwing poor screech under the bus.
What A Drag
Screech is a lover, not a fighter. He's always had an eye for the ladies but hasn't had much luck with romance. His crush on Lisa never really turned into anything serious. Enter meddling Zack Morris. In a hairbrained scheme to get Screech to finish his science fair project, Zack decides to impersonate a female and feign romantic interest in his gifted buddy.
You can imagine how this made poor Screech feel. Not only did he suffer the humiliation of dating Zack in a dress, but he had to come to grips with the fact that his own best friend manipulated him in such an intimate way. All to extort help with a school project that Screech would probably have been happy to help with anyway, since he is a lover of science and would have probably enjoyed bonding with his friend over a nerdy project.
Tutor Time
Kelly wins herself some sweet George Michel tickets and Zack immediately begins his greedy scheming to get one for himself. Zack fears that if Kelly flunks an upcoming science test she'll be grounded and miss the big show. He formulates a plan to take advantage of his buddy Screech yet again. Knowing hat Screech is in love with Kelly's best friend he manipulates Screech's delicate heart for selfish gains. He convinces him that helping Kelly will impress Lisa so Screech agrees to help. What Zack didn't expect was how Kelly would respond to positive attention and respect. She develops feelings for Screech and ends up too broken hearted to even go to the show.
Saucy Plot
Inexplicably, the gang is put in charge of a cable access show as a school project. Instead of listening to a bright woman's idea to do something fresh and innovative, Zack steam rolls the conversation and dictates that they should produce a stale morning show. This leads to a segment in which Screech prepares his signature spaghetti sauce. Zack's entrepreneurial spirit takes over and the kids begin embezzling school resources to mass-produce the sauce. Screech's name and face are on the label, it's his recipe but Zack is pocketing all the profits. It turns out the recipe isn't even original. When a cease and desist order is presented to the group, poor Screech is saddled with the blame.
A Shocking Development
Slater outwits Zack and wins his prized HAM radio. Instead of dismantling it himself, he sends Screech to do the heavy lifting. While Screech is on the roof, lightning strikes. Screech is almost killed. You would think this would win him some sympathy from his best friend but you'd be wrong.
Zack barely seems to register the strike and sends Screech to continue doing his bidding. It's only after Screech discovers that he has gained mild psychic abilities that Zack shows any interest in his near-death experience. He, of course, exploits Screech for personal gain.
Cadet Corps
There's something deeply satisfying about watching Zack Morris be outsmarted. When he signs up for the cadet corps, the facilitator sees right through Zack. He puts Zack in charge of forming two balanced competing teams, knowing Zack will unfairly split the skills and ability to favor his own team. As soon as he finishes his selections there's a twist. Zack must now trade teams with his opponent. Zack has roped Screech into this from the beginning and pushes the punishment even further. The deciding event comes down to two opponents. Instead of stepping up and facing the challenge for his teammates, Zack sends in Screech. Talk about pressure.
Alien Encounters
"Saved By The Bell" featured plenty of completely unbelievable plots but this one takes the cake. Zack and the gang borrow an expensive video camera from the school to shoot a terrible science fiction movie. Predictably they cast Screech as the disgusting alien. He's victimized several times in this episode starting with chipping his tooth during filming. After he leaves the dentist, Screech notices he can pick up radio waves with his mouth. No one cares about his pain or annoying problems. In fact, the gang tries to sell him to the government to be dissected for a measly $10,000.