Rating the "Tori Episodes" of "Saved by the Bell"

Among the many things that fascinate me about Saved by the Bell is the fact that the show, in its many forms, has "themed" episodes. We all know the themes. The series started with a theme: Good Morning, Miss Bliss. We're also familiar with the "Malibu Sands" episodes; the six episodes from Season Three where the group worked at the Malibu Sands resort. Even New Class, which aired from 1993 until 2000, had some themed episodes. But we all know what the most known themed group of episodes was, and how this came to be wasn't exactly pretty.

We all know who this is. So the original series run ended with the "Graduation" episode, which aired on May 22, 1993. However, that was not even close to being the last episode to be filmed. Turns out, NBC received an order for 11 more episodes of the show. Eleven! That was the good news. The bad news: Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley were done. They had no plans on returning to the show for those extra episodes. So they had a void to fill, as Lark Voorhies' Lisa Turtle was left as the only girl on the show. That's when they brought her in.

Leanna Creel was brought into the fray as Tori Scott, the tough-talking, biker girl who was instilled to fill some of the void left by the absences of Kelly and Jessie. She appeared in 10 of the 11 extra episodes from Season Four (the eleventh episode was the "Best Summer of My Life" compilation episode), which have since been known simply as the "Tori episodes." In the three decades that have passed since the Tori episodes aired, they have been quite a topic of conversation by fans of SBTB. Some actually like the episodes, others don't. It's the ultimate acquired taste. As for myself, well, I said this before: I don't dislike the Tori episodes, but I'm not crazy about them, either. I do think they have their moments, though.

So here are the 10 Tori episodes, and I will rate them on a scale of one to ten (rating in parentheses).

"The New Girl" (6)

Tori Scott's debut came in Season Four's fourth episode, simply titled, "The New Girl." Tori quickly antagonizes Zack, as she parked in a space he felt was his. The antipathy continues, but despite this, Zack and Tori are partners on a school project, which starts to fall apart until Tori's appearance made the save. Though things remained chilly, they warmed up in true SBTB fashion. Overall, I thought the episode was OK, and had its moments, hence why I rated it a 6--no higher, no lower.

"Teen Line" (7)

Tori's second episode was "Teen Line," which was episode 4.06 of the show, though she wasn't that much of a focus. The centerpiece was the students' teen hotline, and the focus on that was Robyn, a disabled girl who Zack bonds with. Well, maybe "bonds" isn't exactly the right word. This was another one of those "Zack is tone-deaf" episodes, and in this case, Zack pretty much only sees Robyn's disability and not much else, portraying her as being helpless and in need instead of what she is: a human being. Of course, the episode did have a humorous side story: Screech being owned by a rambunctious boy. I rated this a 7 because of the Zack/Robyn storyline, and because of the appearance of Jennifer Blanc as Robyn.

"Masquerade Ball" (6)

The following episode, "Masquerade Ball," was yet another episode where Zack and Slater make a bet with each other. The centerpiece of their contest in this episode: none other than Tori Scott herself. The guys competed to see which one would kiss Tori first, and Zack did have a chance with his romantic setting at The Max, but Zack backed out--because he really loved Tori. Things get interesting when Tori finds out, so she decides to mess with both of them, but Screech inadvertently gets caught in the crossfire. That hilarious scene of Screech and Slater (both in costume) cuddling before realizing who they were? That was Tori's doing. Oh, and Zack confesses, says he wanted to lose because he actually loved Tori, and a match is made. Good moments, but I did rate it a 6, because I still think that "Teen Line" was just a hair better.

"Day of Detention" (2)

I hated this episode. "Day of Detention" was the third straight episode to feature Tori, and the fourth overall, and I absolutely hated this episode. The episode centered on Zack looking to win a trip to Hawaii by calling in to The Ken Kelly Show, but there's a snag: he's caught one too many times by Belding using that phone of his. So Zack ended up in detention. Here's the thing: when Zack has a scheme, usually I pull for him to succeed (if the scheme is within reason and doesn't damage anyone). Zack enlisted for help from his friends getting him out of detention. Boy, did they suck at it. Lisa, Tori, Screech, and especially Slater, all ended up in detention. The last gasp was Screech posing as Zack, but the real McCoy appeared, but came up short in winning. Even crazier, Belding won the trip. Wow.

Literally the only thing I liked about this episode was Jeremiah Burkett's appearance as Ken Kelly. Burkett is known to Seinfeld fans for his one-shot appearance as Jean-Paul in a Season Seven episode, and he's definitely known to Lucifer fans as Mr. "Said Out Bitch," appearing in several episodes. Honestly, his appearance is the only thing keeping me from rating this a 1.

"Drinking and Driving" (4)

"Drinking and Driving" was the 10th episode of Season Four, but for the most part, it was one of those "special" episodes. In this episode, a Homecoming party ends in disaster, when Zack gets behind the wheel after downing a couple, and a crash happens. The car belongs to Lisa's mother, Dr. Judy Turtle, who makes her second appearance on the show, so they work fast to cover up the truth. Of course, it doesn't end well. We also get an appearance from Zack's father, Derek Morris, who lets Zack have it for his recklessness. It was nice seeing the parents in this, but other than that and the drama involved, there really wasn't anything else there. So this episode gets a 4, not enough for a 5, but definitely better than "Day of Detention."

"Class Rings" (5)

"Class Rings" (episode 4.12) also didn't have too much standing out, except for one thing that I have to praise. In this episode, Tori actually called out Lisa for being needlessly mean to Screech, and I do beam whenever I think of this. There are times where Lisa really steps up for Screech, the main moments being "The Senior Prom" and the Graduation finale, and there are times where Screech can be pesky, but Lisa--at many times--tends to go way too far with her nastiness to Screech. So Tori and Lisa have a side bet; Tori is enlisted to go on a movie date with Screech, as Lisa wants Tori to see how grating he can be. If Tori doesn't blow up at Screech at all during the date, then Lisa has to be nice to him. It wasn't easy for Tori, but she did survive the date, much to Lisa's consternation.

Of course, the main plot was Zack buying class rings from some slick hustler, and the result left Zack's face green... along with the wearers' fingers. That problem does get solved thanks to Zack, Screech, and Slater running their own trick on that salesman. Regarding the rating, I put this a hair above "Drinking and Driving," giving it a 5--no higher, no lower.

"The Will" (9)

Without question, this is my favorite out of the Tori episodes. "The Will" was episode 4.14 of the series, and in the episode, Belding informed his students that Frederick Field, a known Bayside alum, had passed on and left the school $10,000. The students were excited over this, and had plans for using the money for the sports program. However, the excitement changed when Zack and Slater said that the money would only go to boys' sports, saying that girls' sports didn't matter. Naturally, Tori, Lisa, and the other girls wouldn't stand for it, and as a result, a competition was set up to determine who gets the 10 Gs.

It was a best of three format; first up, each group had to solve a puzzle, with the boys winning that. Second, both groups had to repair a car engine--the girls won that (the shock on the boys' faces was priceless). The third and final challenge was a bake-off, and that one went to the boys, but only because of chicanery. The girls' oven was sabotaged, and they found out because Screech showed off the evidence right in front of them. The girls decided to boycott the boys during the dance unless the truth came out, and it finally did that night. It was decided that a limbo contest would finally settle it, and the girls ended up winning.

I absolutely love this episode, mainly because it was a "battle of the genders" episode; a lot of these popped up in the 90s. Another reason was because of the prominent uses of Season Four's key side characters: Ox and Ginger. The Archie Comics fan in me couldn't help but love Ox--he reminds me so much of Big Moose. Ginger was hilariously ditzy, played wonderfully by Bridgette Wilson, later of Billy Madison fame. I had to give this a 9; not quite a 10, but still a very awesome episode.

"Slater's Sister" (6)

Next up in the collection is "Slater's Sister," which gave us the lone appearance of A.C. Slater's little sister, J.B., who Zack has feelings for. Slater's not crazy about this, because he knows Zack. The irony and hypocrisy is not lost on me. Both Zack and Slater play the field, yet it's when Zack has feelings for Slater's sister that he acts like he's a gentleman all of a sudden. Holy moley. This was quite the episode, mainly because of Slater's sudden indignation, as well as that scene where Belding leads a retreat that consists of most of the main male students, which sees Screech and Ox bond--that was funny. Because of those attributes, I'll rate this a 6.

"Earthquake!" (5)

After the "Senior Prom" episode, and three straight episodes that were originally supposed to air during earlier seasons, we were treated to "Earthquake!," which served as one of the central plots of the episode. The other central plot: the Beldings were expecting. We were finally introduced to Richard Belding's often mentioned wife, Becky Belding, who was played by the late Louan Gideon, and she was close to giving birth in the episode. Of course, the shaking takes place while Mrs. Belding is stuck in an elevator with Zack and a very panicky Tori, and it's during this moment that Mrs. Belding welcomes her new baby boy into the world, which Mr. Belding names "Zack." Just under two years after this episode, Louan Gideon began her regular run as main villainess Danielle Atron on Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack.

I'm rating this a 5, though I admit it's generous. It's mostly because of Mrs. Belding's debut, as well as the earthquake plot and the fact that the Beldings' baby was born safely during the disaster.

"School Song" (7)

The 10th and last of the "Tori episodes" was "School Song," which aired after "Best Summer of My Life" (the 11th extra episode; a compilation piece) and an episode that was supposed to be part of Season One. In the episode, the students were tasked with composing an official song for Bayside, all the while, Zack (with graduation looming) faces only being known and remembered for his scheming and jerkiness. Zack decides that he'll try to win that school song competition, but in a completely detrimental move to prove that he's not a schemer, he schemes to sabotage his friends. Of course, the others find out, and get him back, as his performance of "Cool School" doesn't go as planned.

Zack confronts the others, realizes he had it coming, and then joins the others in a rewritten rendition of Screech's song. That exact song ends up becoming part of the show's prestige, and it is sung once again--seven years later--in the true finale of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Regarding rating, I give this a 7, it was a pretty good one.

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So adding up all of the scores for each episode, out of a maximum 100, the Tori episodes have an overall score of 57. It results to an average rating of 5.7, so yeah, the episodes are just a hair above "meh." In spite of that, the Tori episodes did have some moments for sure, and Amazon Prime's Saved By the Bell live channel airs the Tori episodes after the "Graduation" episode, with "Best Summer of My Life" airing in between "Earthquake!" and "School Song."