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Saved by the Bell
*Elizabeth Berkley originally auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski and was turned down in favor of Tiffani Thiessen, but the producers liked Elizabeth so much that they created the Jessie Spano character especially for her to play.
*Jennie Garth auditioned for the role of Kelly Kapowski
*This show follows Good Morning, Miss Bliss which takes place at John F. Kennedy Junior High School, in Indianapolis, Indiana. When several of the students and Mr. Belding move up to Bayside High School in Saved by the Bell the series is suddenly set in Pacific Palisades, California.
*The show originally was going to have three guys and two girls, but the character of Jesse was created when Elizabeth Berkley had a successful audition.
*Dustin Diamond was three years younger than the rest of the cast. Other actors considered for roles of main characters include Jaleel White, Johnathan Brandis, Brian Austin Green, and Jennie Garth.
*The segments where Zach remembers memories of junior high were added to the beginning of "Good Morning Miss Bliss" episodes that were re-edited from The Disney Channel as "Saved By the Bell" episodes for syndication.
*Some episodes are actually re-edited episodes of Good Morning, Miss Bliss.
*Singer Michael Damian performed an alternate rendition of the show's theme song, which was used during the first season.
*Lisa Turtle was originally written as white Jewish girl, but the producers liked Lark Voorhies, and gave her the part.
*The original role of Miss Bliss of the pre-Saved by the Bell Good Morning, Miss Bliss (called Saved by the Bell in the reruns) was written for Sandy Duncan. Duncan was busy with The Hogan Family, so Hayley Mills was cast instead.
*When the original series Good Morning, Miss Bliss was being developed, producers were considering casting Brian Austin Green, Jaleel White, and Jonathan Brandis.
*Dustin Diamond is the only actor to appear in all Saved by the Bell episodes, spin-offs and movies.
*The final "Graduation" episode had already been shot when the network ordered additional episodes. Tiffani Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley were attached to other projects by that time, necessitating the creation of a replacement character Tori, played by Leanna Creel. The Tori episodes aired in the middle of the other final season episodes to sidestep continuity problems (though the disappearance and later reappearance of Kelly and Jessie-and vise versa for Tori- went unexplained). (I didn't like those episodes, the Tori character was corny as hell)
*Mark-Paul Gosselaar had to dye his hair blonde every two weeks while shooting the show.
*Scott Wolf and Denise Richards made cameo appearances before making it to stardom. Tori Spelling (Beverly Hills, 90210) also made an appearance as a recurring character named Violet Bickerstaff - who was Screech's love interest.
*According to producer Peter Engel, at a meeting before the show had been created NBC President Brandon Tartikoff suggested the show be given a name that used the word bell (such as "When the Bell Rings"). One of Engel's colleagues then suggested the name "Saved by the Bell", which Tartikoff liked. Engel disliked the name but, believing that someone else probably owned the rights to the phrase "saved by the bell", went along with it. As luck would have it, NBC's legal department discovered that in fact nobody owned the rights to the phrase, and by the next day Engel's office was covered in large banners that said "Saved by the Bell".
*In the episode Home for the Holidays, the Santa Claus in the show was credited as Himself.
*Lisa's last name is Turtle, Jessie's middle name is Myrtle, and Zack's pet turtle's name is Myrtle.
*Mark-Paul Gosselaar has an interesting ancestry. His father was Dutch and his mother was Indonesian. He actually speaks fluent Dutch. He met his wife "Lisa Ann Russell" on this series.
*Lark Voorhies also appeared on the series, "Good Morning Miss Bliss (1987)". She also starred on the daytime dramas, "Days Of Our Lives (1965)" and "The Bold and the Beautiful (1987)". She has also done TV commercials and appeared in many music videos. Her mother named her "Lark" after a character she saw in the movie, "Cool Breeze (1972)" when she was only 14 years old.
*Since leaving the series, Elizabeth Berkley who played Jessica Spano has appeared in several movies including "Showgirls" which disappointed some of her fans because she played the role of a stripper. She has stated that she sometimes has felt like the woman wearing the "Scarlett Letter" since doing that film. And, surprisingly, she only received $100,000 in salary for her role in the movie! Elizabeth once said that she sat on an airplane next to a guy watching "Showgirls" and he never even recognized her! She also earned a degree from UCLA in English Literature! She is a vegetarian and has two differently colored eyes! Her right eye is half-green, half-brown and her left one is all green.
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