“Saved by the Bell” Peacock TV Review by Stephanie Chapman
November 29, 2020 6:59 am |
The time has come for the long awaited reboot of the beloved and classic 90’s teen comedy “Saved By The Bell”. Peacock has taken the liberty of gathering some of our old gang and bringing them back to Bayside High School with a new group of teenagers. Before long,shenanigans ensue. I’m sure it was just an oversight when they left out humor and good writing.
Viewers won’t need to look any further for their disappointment than the Governor of California, Zach Morris (played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar) and his son “Mac Morris” (played by Mitchell Hoog) whose nickname “Preppy” will ring a bell for fans of the original show. 90’s Slater (played by Mario Lopez) is the PE Teacher and Jessie Spano (played by Elizabeth Berkley) is the school’s guidance counselor.
Mac is joined by a diverse group of friends that the creators seem to use in an attempt to bring this ensemble together and create a small fraction of the magic from the original 90s run.Unfortunately, they fall short. The main premise of the pilot is hinged on a stereotypical storyline that the writers attempt to embellish with some old running jokes from the 90’s run that no longer land. Along with current pop culture references that often feel forced or simply unfunny. As a result,there is little authentic chemistry amongst the castand the entire show ends up feeling like a lazy copycat of the original.There is a small glimmer of hope amongst some of the fresh faces like overachiever “Daisy Jimenez” (played by Haskiri Velazquez) and “Lexi” (played by Josie Totah).
Created by Sam Bobrick and Tracey Wigfield the premise seems promising and with some tweaking it could have the bones for a decent remake. Unfortunately simply using stars from the original run andforced pop culture references may not hold up over time. For the younger audience who may not be familiar with the original “Saved By The Bell” this may feel fresh and light. Unfortunately, for those of us looking for the warm feeling brought on by their original Bayside pals, don’t set the bar too high.
PCL Rating: Toss It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: ROTTEN
Tags: peacock streaming service, pop culture leftovers, saved by the bell 2020, saved by the bell peacock, Saved by the Bell Reboot, saved by the bell revival, Television Review, tv
Categorised in: Television Reviews
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