List of Saved by the Bell characters
The American television sitcom Saved by the Bell, that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993, follows a group of six high school students and their principal, Mr. Belding.
Cast timeline
Main characters
Zack Morris
Zachary "Zack" Morris is a fictional character from the sitcoms Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He makes a guest appearance in the spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The New Class. He is portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Though the character appeared in several different television programs, Gosselaar made a concerted effort to keep the character fundamentally the same through its various incarnations.Incarnations
;Junior High SchoolSet in a different continuity from the later series, Good Morning, Miss Bliss took place during Zack's eighth grade year at John F. Kennedy Junior High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Screech and Lisa are two of Zack's friends in these episodes. Other friends that are regularly featured are Mikey Gonzalez, a close friend who is often involved in Zack's scheming, and Nikki Coleman, who often butts heads with Zack on many issues. His best friend Mikey is a good student and is often supportive of him, and helps him with schoolwork a lot. Mr. Belding was the principal of JFK Junior High, and often had to deal with problems Zack had caused. Zack's homeroom teacher and history teacher, Miss Carrie Bliss, also acts as a moral compass for Zack. In this series, Zack is already doing much of the scheming, betting, and manipulation for which he became known in the later series.
;High school and college years
Zack demonstrates a flair for business throughout his teen years. However, in many subjects, notably history and literature, he is often seen receiving poor grades or displaying a lack of interest. Despite this, Zack achieves a very high score of 1502 on his SAT and gets accepted to Yale in his senior year. At the end of Saved by the Bell, Zack is planning on going to Yale. However, in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, we see Zack attending Cal U, along with Screech, Slater and, later on, Kelly, who joined the cast after the pilot episode. Their dorm was a suite, with the three guys in one room, three girls in another room and a common area in-between.
Assigned to watch over Zack and his friends was Mike Rogers, a former football player for the San Francisco 49ers. He works as a resident adviser, while also working towards a graduate degree. Mike often steps in to keep Zack in line. Dean McMann, however, is a more authoritative figure for whom Zack often causes problems.
Athletically, Zack participated in cross country, basketball, and track. He experienced some success in each of these sports. Zack is musically talented. He one time offers to play for free at a school dance so that more money could be spent on decorations. The band line-up featured Zack as a main vocalist while playing guitar, Jessie as a featured vocalist, Lisa on bass guitar, Screech on keyboard, and Slater on drums.
Zack helped restart the school radio station, and hosted a radio-thon to save the local teen hangout. He created a carnival to raise money for a school ski trip, and helped with several dances. He was also a member of the school's Junior ROTC program, and together with Screech, ran the Yearbook committee to produce a video yearbook. At one point, Zack took over as manager of the school store, and is also on the student council.
;Governor of California
By 2020, Morris has been elected Governor of California and is the father of Bayside High student Mac Morris. Zack admittedly ran for governor as a way to get out of a $75 parking ticket and he later cut $10 billion in education funding from the state budget, which forces the closure of poorly funded schools, including Douglas High, whose students must now attend Bayside as well. Zack is married to his high school sweetheart Kelly Kapowski.
Kelly Kapowski
Kelly Kapowski is the most popular girl in school and is head cheerleader and captain of the volleyball, swim, and softball teams. Though a hardworking student and role model, Kelly did find herself sentenced to detention on a couple of occasions. She is also a big fan of George Michael. She also is the love interest and later wife of Zack Morris. In contrast with her friends, she came from a more modest working class family and her father went through periods of unemployment. Kelly was the middle child in her family. She had three older brothers, a younger sister named Nicki, and two younger brothers named Kyle and Billy.At the start of Kelly's freshman year, Zack had been trying to go out with her for as long as she could remember. For a while, a feud began between Zack and fellow student A.C. Slater over who would be her boyfriend, which caused her great stress, but a lot of fun at the same time. Kelly blushed numerous times when both Zack and Slater would hit on her, especially when it was done in front of other students. During her sophomore year, Slater conceded defeat to Zack and she and Zack began dating, whereas Slater thereupon pursued his interest in Jessie Spano.
Eventually, Zack wanted to go steady with Kelly, but she wasn't sure at first. She thought it over but by the time she decided to accept Zack's offer, he had already become infatuated with a young school nurse. That turned out to be a dead-end and when he tried to apologize to Kelly, she brushed him off. However, they were back together by the following episode. The following school year, marked the end of Kelly's relationship with Zack. Kelly began working at The Max as a waitress and fell for her boss, Jeff Hunter, much to Zack's disappointment. This caused her and Zack to break up. Kelly dated Jeff for a while, until he is caught at an 18-and-over club with another girl.
Subsequently, Kelly and Zack became closer friends, while they dated other people. While vacationing in Palm Springs for Jessie Spano's father's wedding, Zack and Kelly flirted with the possibility of getting together again but ended up remaining friends.
In her senior year, she is once again pursued by Zack to accompany him to the prom. She agrees, and they get back together. As graduation approached, Kelly stated she could not afford to go to an out-of-state university and instead would attend community college. She and her friends graduated from Bayside High in 1993 and went their separate ways.
In Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Kelly is accepted into California University on a scholarship, joining Zack, Slater, and Screech as suitemates. She also became the new roommate of Leslie Burke and Alex Taber. While at Cal U., Kelly engaged in an affair with her anthropology professor, Jeremiah Lasky. Zack makes a final attempt to win her over when she decides to go on a "Semester on the Sea" program through the Mediterranean for three months. Zack proposed to Kelly, and she accepted.
Without much support from their families, Zack and Kelly had planned to get married in Las Vegas in Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. The couple managed to bring Slater, Screech, and Lisa Turtle with them for the event. Just prior to the exchange of vows at the ceremony at a cheap wedding chapel, Zack's parents showed up and stopped the wedding. They told Zack and Kelly that they would give them the wedding of their dreams. A few days later, Zack and Kelly had an elaborate outdoor wedding in the Las Vegas area. Lisa and Jessie stood as bridesmaids while Screech and Slater stood as groomsmen. The newlyweds then went on a honeymoon.
When Zack and Slater made guest appearances on Saved by the Bell: The New Class a few years later, Slater asked Zack how "the Mrs." is doing, Zack replied, "Good."
By the time of the 2020 revival, Zack and Kelly have respectively become the governor and first lady of the state of California, and have a teen son named Mac.
Samuel "Screech" Powers
Samuel "Screech" Powers is one of only two characters to appear as a series regular from the beginning of the franchise to its end. He appeared in Good Morning, Miss Bliss; Saved by the Bell; Saved by the Bell: The College Years; and Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Screech is seen as the geek of his peer group. He is particularly interested in insects and electronics/computers. While he is clearly a high academic achiever, Screech lacks common sense and social skills. Even though his theoretical knowledge of many subjects is quite high, his practical knowledge is often extremely low. For example, he builds an apparently sentient robot, yet he does not understand how babies are made. Screech's friends, who are more attractive and cooler than he is, still like him anyway and always include him in their plans.In Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Screech is much like he is in all of his other incarnations, only younger. He mentions he has a brother in one episode, but since Good Morning, Miss Bliss takes place in an alternate continuity, this fact does not apply to the main Saved by the Bell series.
In Saved by the Bell, Screech is the only child of an unseen father and an Elvis-obsessed mother. In addition, he has a dog named Hound Dog, and a robot pal named Kevin, whom he built and programmed himself and who exhibits artificial intelligence. He often exhibits low self-esteem when it comes to girls, in contrast to his more popular friends.
During his years at Bayside High, Screech frequently pursues classmate Lisa Turtle and is consistently turned down by her. However, she does agree to date him in one episode, only to spoil the date by talking through the movie. She also attends senior prom with him, after she is moved by his honesty about how hurt he is that no one wants to go to the prom with him and impressed by his willingness to stand by his earlier promise not to ask her.
It is revealed in the episode "Running Zack" that Screech is of Italian ancestry.
Screech does eventually end up with a girlfriend, Violet Anne Bickerstaff, and dates her for several episodes, even managing to win back the support of her upper-class parents after losing it on a disastrous dinner date.
Screech is frequently roped into scams by his best friend, Zack. As a running gag, he often unwittingly sabotages them. In spite of all his faults, Screech remains well liked by his friends.
Upon graduating, Screech and his friends Zack, Slater, and Kelly, attend California University in Saved by the Bell: The College Years. Screech remains there until his sophomore year, when he begins a work-study program at his alma mater, Bayside High, alongside Principal Richard Belding.
In Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, Screech attends Zack and Kelly's wedding. He served as Zack's best man in the wedding along with Slater. This is mentioned in an episode of Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which aired around the time of the movie's release.
From season two in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Screech is initially in the role as Belding's administrative assistant as part of a work-study program. Screech retains the same bumbling tendencies he did as a teenager, often irritating Belding and leading to his new what-did-I-do catchphrase "Zoinks!". However, Screech remains at Bayside in this capacity until the end of the series. Mr. Belding leaves to pursue a new job at the University of Chattanooga at the end of the series.
He is mentioned to have become an astronaut in the International Space Station in the 2020 revival. Diamond died of cancer on February 1, 2021 at the age of 44 without appearing in the revived series. He was honored in the first episode of the second season of the revival series, without mentioning how the character died.