SBTB 02.10 - Model Students

HERE is the video version of this blog post.

It's one thing to have a boom mic in one of your shots. It's another to have one in many shots. Behold:

Boom! The show barely starts when the snafu goes down.

Boom!! It can't even stay away during a key scene.

Boom!!! Oh, wait for it. (Look in Kelly's mirror over Zack's right shoulder.)

Boom!!!! Yup, they move the mic towards Zack and get caught in the mirror. Mighty fine work, boys.

Another brilliant (read: "production failure") is Screech's state of affairs after taking photos of the girl's swim team.

Am I supposed to believe that perfectly dry Screech had pool water in his snorkel? As much as I am to believe that he got candid shots of the girls, right?

I can understand, though. Dustin Diamond would have been miserable doing take after take if he had to stay in sopping wet clothes. Just like he would be miserable combing out his 'fro for every take in the last scene.

That's right, Screech. Don't let that confetti in your hair! (If you'll recall, he tries to walk completely around the fallout radius.)

And now for the part of the blog that I am growing to hate: Guest stars. My objective was to point out guest stars that may have made a name for themselves in other places in which Saved by the Bell was simply a spring board. Sadly, hardly any guest stars so far have made a name elsewhere. Our nerds have been prime examples (minus that Tori Spelling stint). So, I will avoid the nerds here - I may have even covered one or more of them in previous posts.

Greg Kean

Adam Trask, the creepy-yet-insightful photographer, is played by Greg Kean. You may know him if you have sat in on your mother watching TV movies. Or you may have seen him in his only recurring role as Clancy Lass in "Dead Like Me." Or, if you are like me, then you have never seen him in anything memorable, even though I have seen that one episode of Smallville he was in briefly.

And that is how this one will end. Kind of a dud ending. We'll get over it.

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

SBTB 02.09 - Jessie's Song

This post has been video-ified and can be seen HERE.

I was so excited and I just couldn't hide it. I thought I would get through this whole episode without finding a curiosity to point out. There wasn't even a Molly the Troll sighting! The episode was going to be a fun, classic one to just sit back and watch. The girls could do their Hot Sundae dance, Jessie could do her pills dance, and I could do my "I Ain't Got Nothing to Write About" dance -- but then I saw this:

What is wrong with this? Look closer at the right.

In the words of "The Lion King": Everything the light touches is Jessie's kingdom. But what about that shadowy place? That is beyond Jessie's borders. You must never go there, for you will fall off the set of the show.

Yes! That step down is where the set ends! You are literally seeing the edge of the Saved by the Bell universe where it meets that of the real universe where real people like us really live. On one side, Jessie is in a caffeine coma. On the other side, a director is barking orders to crew members while a pretty boy fetches him coffee while watching a little dog. (Sorry, I'm thinking of director Kenny Ortega.)

Kenny Ortega

In all my Saved by the Bell watching, I never thought I'd see the edge of the set. Boom mics are one thing, but this is monumental.

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

SBTB 02.08 - Miss Bayside

Do you like videos better? This blog is now one. Find it HERE.

Kevin, it seems, was the only creditable guest star in this episode. But we have already spotlighted that robot. So we move on.

A question arises as to why this girl wasn't credited as a guest star:

This is Jeannie Tyler. At least the character is. I don't know who she is in real life. The girl twirls batons, wears a swim suit, answers a question in the formal gown segment, yet gets no respect in the credits. My guess is that she is merely an extra that got promoted for one episode, a la Molly the Troll. Thanks for showing up, dear. Now get back to the ranks.

Now, I'd like to teach you younger folks a little something about the 90s.

You see the squiggles on Screech's shirt? That isn't part of the shirt's design. That is glow-in-the-dark paste. For some reason, it was considered cool to spread this on your clothes so that you could glow when the lights went out. (You know the Vanilla Ice lyrics: "Turn off the lights and I glow." Now you know why.) Knowing what the lines were on Screech's shirt, I fully expected the lights to go out on the show. It didn't happen. But now you know something my may not have known before.

Lastly:

Molly the Troll! Any guesses as to why she wan't in the pageant? Troll!

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