SBTB 01.14 - The Zack Tapes

Wanna hear me do this episode in a COVID voice? Our video version of the blog is HERE.

Yeah, yeah, this is one of those iconic episodes for Zack's use of subliminal messages embedded in a Bo Revere song (which is a fake band whose song is available on the "Saved by the Bell Soundtrack"). Almost everyone knows how the episode goes. For me, though, this outfit is what makes this episode shine:

And I feel cheated with the guest stars in this episode. For starters, Miss Wentworth has already been introduced here. In that episode she is an animal sex education teacher. Here, she teaches about subliminal messages. I'm not sure if she teaches science, English, or a hybrid. Secondly, the nerd with the laugh has already been introduced here. And the laugh is stolen from Crater Face Charlie Coburn from this episode. Lastly, there is a guy named Derrick credited at the end of the episode. I watched high and low throughout the episode and could not discover who this guy is. Then there was this:

Derrick is supposedly played by Nicholas Read, an actor with decent acting credits with a few recurring roles in television shows. Oddly enough, Saved by the Bell is his first television appearance, one in which he makes absolutely no appearance. (My guess is that he is the victim of a deleted scene.) IMDB does list Nicholas as having acted in "Suburban Commando," a fantastically campy Hulk Hogan movie that I definitely saw in the theater.

Speaking of campy: Mr. Belding. And how about another round of Mr. Belding being creepy?

"We're still meeting with my favorite California girl: your mommy." Either that is a very poorly delivered "Yo Momma" joke or a very, very strange relationship with Zack's mother. The episode tries to deliver it as a pun based on the conversation. I don't buy it.

Shifting gears, Saved by the Bell has a lot of fun with itself. Take this lightbulb Jessie gets as she realizes Zack's subterfuge:

The only issue here is the very awkward tilt and zoom that occurs after the lightbulb leaves. The director should have made the shot shorter so as to do the tilt and zoom as the lightbulb left. As it is, there is all that dead space that lasts for a second or two longer. It feels weird.

Another fun thing is this [seeming] homage to the Star Warks Gonk droid:

Feel free to share what stood out to you in the comments below.