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 School Set 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 (portrayed by
Tiffani Thiessen) 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 ("Breaking Up is Hard to Undo"). 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 (
Patrick Muldoon), 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 (The Attic) 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." (meaning Kelly) 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 (portrayed by
Dustin Diamond) 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 (guest star
Ruth Buzzi). 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 (played by
Tori Spelling), 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!" (an utterance originally made famous by
Shaggy Rogers from
Scooby-Doo). 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 (and final) season of the revival series, without mentioning how the character died.
A.C. Slater Albert Clifford "A.C." Slater (portrayed by
Mario Lopez) is a popular
jock who excelled in most sports (particularly
football and
amateur wrestling). An
Army brat, he is an outsider, having transferred to Bayside in the first filmed episode (which aired later as a flashback). A.C. mentions that he has been to Bolivia, Italy, Iceland, and Berlin among other places. He becomes the school's star athlete, excelling as a wrestler and the
quarterback of the football team, but does not excel in the classroom. His father, Martin (a Major in the U.S. Army), appears in two episodes. His mother, Loretta, however, never appears onscreen. He also has a younger sister named J.B. whom Zack briefly began dating, much to Slater's chagrin. In the season four episode "Love Machine," his ex-girlfriend from Berlin visits and calls him by his real name, "Albert Clifford". Much like Voorhies winning a role originally intended to be Jewish, Lopez was able to captivate the show's producers into casting him in a role that was originally written to be of Italian ancestry. Slater's ethnicity is discussed in the episode "Slater's War" during The College Years, where it is revealed that 25 years earlier A.C.'s father changed his last name from Sanchez to Slater so he could get into the military academy. Although the episode establishes that A.C. does not fluently understand Spanish, A.C. is seen speaking some broken Spanish to the kitchen staff of the Malibu Sands Beach Club. At the start of freshman year in
Saved by the Bell, Slater arrives as a transfer student, immediately making an enemy of
Zack Morris by attempting to make a move on Kelly Kapowski. Both boys end up in detention after schemes to be with Kelly backfire on both of them. While in detention, Slater reveals to Zack that he had transferred in and out of various schools throughout his life due to his father being a Major in the army. Their mutual understanding of a father putting something else before his son would serve as an ice breaker between the two (Zack's own father was too busy with his job and never paid attention to him or his academics). By the end of the first season, Zack and Slater find themselves bonding over their similar social standing, popularity among women, and athletic abilities. During Season 2, after Kelly officially chooses Zack as her boyfriend, the rivalry between the two tones down and they begin to become friends. Early on, Slater grew into the habit of calling Zack "
Preppy", which was originally intended as an ongoing insult. However, once they became friends, Slater continued to use the term as an affectionate nickname for Zack. Slater goes on to date feminist Jessie Spano on and off for the remainder of high school. Their clashing views on feminism, stemming from Slater's
machismo, are a source of conflict and comedy throughout the series. Throughout the course of the show, Slater and Zack compete for many other girls which often puts a strain on their friendship (one instance culminating in a brawl between the two during their senior year). In the end though, their friendship is more important to them than any girl that would possibly come between them. In
Saved by the Bell: The College Years, Slater is accepted into California University, along with Zack, Screech, and Kelly as suitemates and begins dating Alex Taber, one of Kelly's roommates. While there, Slater continues his passion for wrestling and works in the University's main restaurant. Along with Screech, Slater serves as Zack's best man at his wedding to Kelly in
Las Vegas in
Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. Slater makes two return guest appearances in
Saved by the Bell: The New Class, firstly in "Goodbye, Bayside" Part 2, along with Zack and Lisa when a millionaire alumnus J. Walter McMillan plans to buy the school and tear it down for the purpose of constructing a condo, and in "Fire at the Max: Part 2", where he reminisces on fond memories he had with his friends at the diner after it was accidentally burned down by student Ryan Parker, who forgot to turn off the Christmas lights. He becomes the gym teacher and coach of Bayside High in
the 2020 revival.
Jessie Spano Jessica "Jessie" Myrtle Spano (portrayed by
Elizabeth Berkley) is a lifelong friend of Zack, Screech, Lisa and Kelly. She and Zack live next door to each other, and Zack regularly visits Jessie by climbing through her window. Her parents are divorced. She lives with her mother, who remarried in the third season, providing Jessie with a stepbrother, Eric (played by Joshua Hoffman) from New York City, seen in only two episodes. Jessie's father, David (played by George McDaniel), is the owner and manager of the Marriott Desert Springs in
Palm Desert, California. He gets remarried in the hour-long "
Palm Springs Weekend" episode to Leslie (played by Barbra Brighton), a much younger woman whom Jessie does not initially get along with and is against him marrying. She eventually accepts Leslie for who she is and becomes friends with her. Jessie is portrayed as a liberal (she critiqued then-president
George H. W. Bush), with strong
feminist views. She is often the first to speak up when she feels something is unjust. Although seen as intelligent, Jessie has a somewhat neurotic streak. Jessie is the class president. In a close election, she initially lost to Zack. However, Zack used underhanded techniques to win the election in order to get a free trip to
Washington, D.C., but upon realizing that being class president would be a much better fit for his friend Jessie, Zack stepped down from office, naming Jessie the president. Jessie remained president for the remainder of her time at Bayside. From sophomore year until the end of the series, Jessie dates athlete A.C. Slater on-and-off in an "opposites attract" relationship, which causes friction between the both of them. Slater's pet name for Jessie is "Mama", and Jessie's pet name for him is a "Pig" when she gets annoyed by his masculinity. Jessie and Slater's relationship is put to the test several times over the course of the series. Jessie experiences a brief romantic attraction to Zack when the two endure a kissing scene in the school play, but they ultimately realize that their feelings for each other are purely platonic. Additionally, she develops a crush on one-time character Graham (played by David Kriegel), with whom she spends
cut day. (This last encounter ultimately leads to her and Slater's
break up). Most notable is Jessie's struggle with addiction to over-the-counter caffeine pills in the episode entitled "Jessie's Song." Pressure from school and social obligations, along with her desire to be accepted into
Stanford University, drive Jessie to take caffeine pills obsessively in order to stay awake. Lulled into a false sense of security by the pills' legal status, she eventually gets hooked on them and has an emotional breakdown in front of Zack. Zack is ultimately able to calm her down and Jessie is able to get help before her self-medicating becomes too dangerous. Another ongoing issue is Jessie's height. She often considers herself too tall and has therefore developed a bit of an insecurity complex, especially when it comes to shorter boys, and sometimes superficially judges men based on their height. Additionally, she is even known as Jessie "Legs" Spano to some. Jessie becomes a bit less judgmental of men's height when she begins dating Slater. In an early episode, Jessie reveals that she attended dance camp as a child and, as such, is an experienced dancer. Jessie is also on the swim team. Jessie later joins Kelly and Lisa on the cheerleading squad (because she believes it'll look good on her college applications). Before graduation, Jessie has her hopes on becoming
valedictorian, but ultimately loses out to Screech. However, realizing how important it is to her, Screech secretly refuses the honor. After discovering what he did, Jessie recognizes just how much Screech deserves to be valedictorian and gives the title back to him. After graduation, Jessie goes off to attend
Columbia University. In
Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, Jessie, with Lisa, returns as one of Kelly's bridesmaids at Zack and Kelly's wedding in
Las Vegas. This was her final appearance in the franchise until Berkley signed on to return for the
2020 sequel series, where Jessie serves as Bayside High's guidance counselor. Jessie got a Ph.D. at Columbia University and was a best-selling author of parenting books before she became a guidance counselor. She has a teen son named Jamie.
Lisa Turtle Lisa Marie Turtle (portrayed by
Lark Voorhies) is the rich girl of the group, whose parents both worked as
physicians. She is frequently seen wearing designer clothing. In her first appearance in
Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Lisa plays a more secondary role than she would in the later incarnations of the series. She attends John F. Kennedy Junior High with Zack Morris and Samuel "Screech" Powers. Throughout her high school years in
Saved by the Bell, Lisa spends most of her time fighting off the affections of Screech, who is relentless in pursuing her (and eventually wins at least one date with her) and has been doing so since they were in Kindergarten. Despite her irritation with Screech, she does value him as a friend, and eventually comes to admire Screech's nobility when he abdicates his position as the class valedictorian in favor of Jessie Spano, who had a slightly lower grade point average than he did, but valued the position more. Lisa even went to the senior prom with Screech when she felt sorry that no one would go with him. He had promised to respect her comfort zone and not ask her, but she ultimately decided that she, actually, wanted him to be her prom date. Most of Lisa's time is spent in the company of schoolmates and fellow cheerleaders Kelly Kapowski and Jessie Spano. Unlike the rest of her friends, Lisa does not have a long-term relationship during high school (despite having countless dates), although she has a short term romance with Zack Morris in the episode "The Bayside Triangle," much to the chagrin of Screech. However, this is forgotten about in following episodes. "Screech's Spaghetti Sauce" involves Screech on a date with a girl who is impressed by him, causing Lisa to be in a state of disbelief. Upon graduating, Lisa is accepted into the
Fashion Institute of Technology in
New York City. Lisa only makes one guest appearance in
Saved by the Bell: The College Years when she visits her former classmates Zack, Screech, Kelly, and A.C. Slater at California University in the episode "Wedding Plans", after hearing of Zack and Kelly's engagement. In
Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas, Lisa and Jessie were Kelly's bridesmaids for her wedding to Zack. Lisa returns to Bayside High along with Zack and Slater in "Goodbye Bayside: Part 2" (from
Saved by the Bell: The New Class), where they are reunited with Screech (now working at Bayside on a work-study program) and their principal
Mr. Belding when the school is under threat of being torn down by an alumnus. In the
2020 sequel series, it is revealed that Lisa became a successful fashion designer and is living in Paris. She receives a video phone call from Jessie, Slater, Zack, and Kelly while they are all attending Bayside High's homecoming dance.
Mr. Belding Richard Belding (portrayed by
Dennis Haskins) is the
principal of Bayside High School. In his first appearance in the pilot of
Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Mr. Belding's first name was
Gerald, and the character was played by
Oliver Clark. Other than Miss Bliss, the character of Mr. Belding was the only one carried over when the show began production. The character also appeared in
Saved by the Bell: The New Class and guest starred in "A Thanksgiving Story" (from
Saved by the Bell: The College Years). He is one of only two characters to remain from the beginning of the franchise until the end (the other being Samuel "Screech" Powers). Mr. Belding's name is a
pun referencing the
onomatopoeia "ding" that comes from a bell, (a "bell ding"). His signature catchphrase is "Hey, hey, hey, hey! What is going on here?", usually uttered after walking in on something ridiculous occurring at the school. Mr. Belding's most frequent nemesis is
Zack Morris; however, throughout the series, it is abundantly clear the two like and respect each other, arguably because in "Save the Max" it is revealed that when Belding was a student himself he was a
disc jockey and one who would rebel against school authority, prompting the comment that he was "the Zack Morris of the 1960s". On at least one occasion, Belding has even called Zack Morris "the son [he] never had". A small joke was also that Belding was open about his past failures with women prior to his marriage, such as when he was in the
U.S. Army and in love with a
North Vietnamese girl, where "even she was with the enemy!" Belding's family has appeared in the series on many occasions. The most frequent appearances were by his infant son, named in honor of Zack. When Belding's wife (Becky) went into labor in an elevator, Zack Morris, along with classmate Tori Scott, helped deliver him. Much of Belding's humor comes from his attempts to make jokes, sing or being generally tricked and scammed by Zack. Despite Zack's ideas that he knew Belding inside and out, occasionally Belding would reveal that he had other ideas to deal with issues, thus outfoxing Zack. He also was against the Bayside-Valley High prank war and in spite of his best efforts to call a truce with Valley High's principal, the war continued until the end of the cheerleading competition when one of the students from Valley was exposed. Belding also has a small rivalry with fellow teacher Mr. Tuttle, who was also in line for the position of Principal at Bayside. He, previously, had a friendly rivalry with
Brandon Tartikoff over courtship of Belding's wife, but Tartikoff accepted that he got the short end of the straw and accepted the eventual presidency of
NBC (an implicitly meta reference, since Tartikoff actually was president of NBC at the time) while Mr. Belding was "happily married and got to be principal of a school of great kids." Belding remains the one constant between all the series and in the second season of
The New Class, he is reunited with Bayside High alumnus Samuel "Screech" Powers, who is studying to become a teacher. Screech becomes Mr. Belding's administrative assistant until the end of the series, when Belding decides to take a job as the dean of the University of Chattanooga in
Tennessee. In 2012, Dennis Haskins reprised his role as Mr. Belding on the hit
Nickelodeon series
Victorious in the episode "April Fools Blank". He has since retired by the time of the 2020 revival.
Tori Scott Tori Scott (portrayed by
Leanna Creel) arrives at Bayside during senior year, making an immediate enemy of
Zack Morris by parking her motorcycle in his usual parking space on her first day. Eventually, things thaw between Tori and Zack and they later begin dating, but broke up in the episode "The Will" due to Zack's insensitive behavior. After the episode "School Song," she is only mentioned once by Zack in the
2020 sequel series to Kelly, but she does not remember her. ==Bayside faculty==