Fourth wall-breaking Zack Morris represented the coolest kid in school, which was exactly what every other high school student wanted to be. He had the looks, the charm, and the rebelliousness that made him cool in the eyes of his peers, and attractive to the girls. However, Zack was loaded with a bevy of personality flaws, some of which were inherent to every teenager, and others specific just to himself.
As such, there were times when he simply went too far to get what he wanted. Some of his actions were morally reprehensible, while others were simply juvenile. Although the critically praised Saved By The Bell found fun ways to punish Zack for all of his misdeeds, they were nonetheless problematic. Here are just a few examples of how Zack Morris crossed the line in the worst ways possible.
The Friendship Bracelets
Zack and the gang stumbled upon a virtual gold mine when they developed the fashionable friendship bracelet accessories. They quickly spread like wildfire throughout the school, but it wasn't long before all the success went straight to Zack's head. His pushiness led to his friends abandoning him and starting their own competing line called Buddy Bands.
From there, things got worse when Zack declared financial war on his rivals by utilizing every dirty trick in the book to put them out of business. By sabotaging their work, both sides ended up losing far more than they anticipated. It was a good wake-up call for Zack.
Making Fake IDs
The concept of a fake ID is nothing new to teenagers. After all, they've been creating them since time began in an attempt to enter adult-only venues. It only made sense that Zack Morris, of all people, would create some in an attempt to impress an attractive young college student.
Things worked out well until the student called up his place and got Zack's mother on the phone, instead. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world for Zack to turn around and see her standing over them at a table, ready to pass judgment.
Abusing His Authority As Principal
The students at Bayside managed to have a little fun during Student/Teacher week when the faculty switched places with the kids. When Zack mouthed off at how cushy the Principal's job was, Mr. Belding decided to teach him a lesson by giving him the role.
He immediately began abusing his authority as Principal in every conceivable manner, but he crossed a line when he undermined Kelly's teacher role, which was something she took quite seriously. He soon learned that being Principal wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Being A Terrible Father
Yes, it's true - Zack was a high school father, at least in theoretical terms. It all started when the gang was paired up as part of a social experiment to see how well-equipped they were for adult married life. Zack got the girl of his dreams in Kelly - a fantasy he was all too eager to fulfill.
However, things got rocky when the tragically nerdy Screech was assigned as their young "son," who became a monkey wrench in his plans. It was all part of Slater's plan to drive a wedge between the two, but Zack fell right into it. As Mr. Belding put it, Zack and Slater made a "mockery out of mock marriage."
Using Subliminal Messaging
After learning about the powers of subliminal messaging in corporate advertising, Zack decided to see if it would translate into other areas of life, as well. Together with Screech, he created and tested his own subliminal messaging tapes by convincing beautiful girls to fall hopelessly in love with the school nerds.
Ultimately, their plan was for Screech to win Lisa's affections, while Zack won Kelly's. As payback, the girls joined forces with their teacher to feed Zack fake stories about subliminal messaging gone horribly wrong, including one about an Italian election where the voters rioted and sliced up the candidate into twelve equal pieces.
Sabotaging His Friends During A Song Contest
When Bayside High was ready to ditch their school song in favor of something fresh and original, the students were asked to participate by handing in their own compositions. Zack believed he had the killer tune that would win over everyone, and he was willing to sabotage everybody else's song to make it a success.
When the gang figured out what he was up to, they decided on a little payback involving pouring pure lemon extract into his pre-ceremony drink. When it came time to sing the song, the ingredient worked its magic by turning his lips numb and ruining his voice, to hilarious effect.
The Fistfight With Slater
Nothing comes between two hot-headed teenage guys like a beautiful girl, and that's the predicament Zack and Slater found themselves in when they both began romancing the same new student at Bayside. It took a while for them to figure out what was going on, but when the cat came out of the bag, it was all about competition between the two.
Zack and Slater tried to derail each other as much as possible to hurt the other's chances, which ended up breeding animosity. It led to a one-of-a-kind fistfight in the hallway at Bayside that nearly ruined their friendship.
Tormenting Kelly With Another Girl
Zack was more than a little upset at Kelly choosing Jeff over him, and although he tried to pass it off as nothing, it quickly became apparent that the relationship was eating away at him. After catching Kelly and Jeff at a movie together, Zack got angry and decided to get revenge by dating a bevy of women to see if he was compatible with any.
Eventually, he ended up firing things up with Screech's attractive cousin Kimberly, and their chemistry proved to be just what was needed to enact his plan. He flaunted their new romance right in front of Kelly in an attempt to hurt her and make her jealous, which seemed awfully petty.
Bugging Jessie's Room
This one would have potentially landed Zack in the slammer if he were an adult, and his friends weren't so easygoing. It all started when Zack wanted to figure out whether Kelly was going to pick Zack to go to the dance with or Slater. He decided to get a little inside dirt by having Screech bug Jessie's room so he could listen in on the girls during a sleepover.
When Kelly said she would pick Zack, if forced to decide on the spot, he erupted with so much joy that they could hear him from his house. When they discovered the bug planted in his room, the girls devised a plan to get back at him and teach him a funny lesson about the invasion of privacy.
Driving Drunk
Without a doubt, this was Zack's worst moment on the show. There's no excuse for driving while intoxicated, but that's exactly what he decided to do during an alcohol-infused toga party to celebrate Lisa becoming Homecoming Queen. After having one too many, Zack mistakenly thought he was Okay to get behind the wheel and drive everyone home.
He ended up crashing Lisa's mom's beautiful Mercedes into a telephone pole, but that wasn't the end of it. Rather than 'fess up to what happened, Zack crafted a series of complex lies that caught up with him and the rest of the gang. It turned out to be an episode with a very important life lesson.