In defense of: Saved by The Bell: The New Class

On September 11, 1993, Bayside High welcomed in a new set of students with the premiere of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. The spin-off lasted for 7 seasons and spanned 143 episodes, but despite outlasting the original by multiple seasons, it never received the same love as its predecessor. Most people seem to have forgotten about it, and the ones who do remember aren't exactly fond of it. I think the show is better than most people give it credit for and I'll explain why.

1 - The "revolving door" of students

One of the main critiques I've seen about The New Class was that the students were constantly being swapped out which made it difficult to truly connect with them as characters. I get why people feel this way, but I think it helped the show more than it hurt.

Firstly, it allowed for The New Class to help distinguish itself from the original. The first season is arguably the weakest in the entire show for plenty of reasons, and I think the main reason is that they tried way too hard to emulate the original. It felt like a cheap knockoff instead of something that could stand on its own. Having an influx of new students gave the show a different feel and I think that it was the better move in the long run.

Secondly, it allowed for different dynamics within the group to be explored. Such as the premiere of season 3 when the three new transfer students from Valley clashed with the existing core of students, or when newcomer Liz felt inadequate because her new friends kept bringing up Rachel who left the season before. This constant shuffling of the deck gave writers more flexibility in terms of storylines and kept things from getting too stale.

2 - The "special location" episodes

The New Class had numerous episodes with the students in unique settings and environments. There was the country club from Season 2, a cruise ship in season 3, space camp in season 4, and a wilderness expedition in season 5, among others. I liked that the writers were willing to shake things up and not be confined to the school all the time. I think this was helpful with separating The New Class from its predecessor . Some of these locations worked while others, not so much, but I appreciate them at least trying something new.

3 - The students

A lot of the criticism that I've seen about The New Class stems from the characters themselves, that they're just not as memorable as the original high school group. While I wasn't crazy about all of new students that roamed Bayside, I think they brought in some memorable characters as well. Characters like Ryan Parker and Maria Lopez injected new energy to the show, and the episode "Welcome to Bayside" where they make their debut is one of my favorites. The argument that the students from The New Class are just carbon copies of the original Bayside core doesn't really fit either. The first season definitely applies, but I feel like the writers did a better job as the show went on bringing in new characters who were different from the original group.

In the end, The New Class may have its flaws, but I think people dismissed it too easily. It recovered well from the subpar first season and hit its stride largely because they stopped trying so hard to copy the original formula. I feel like the show really did improve as time went on, and I'll always like it even if nobody else seems to.