I (heart) Zack Morris

While I'm on the subject of true confessions, for a disturbingly long period of time, I had a minor obsession with Saved By the Bell. I blame some college friends for the extended portion of this obsessions (I'm being nice and not naming names, but you know who you are).

I watched Saved By the Bell and the hours of syndicated reruns as a high school student. My sister and I were known to do our homework in front of it on a Saturday morning. I knew the words to the theme song. I thought Zack was cuter than Slater and Jessie was cooler than Kelly. I felt a certain brotherhood with Screech.

But it was said college friends that took a happy liking to the level of obsession. My housemates and I were into list making and we kept a list on the coffee table of cheesy sitcoms produced by Peter Engel. (Complete list: Good Morning, Miss Bliss (starring Haley Mills and later repackaged as Saved By the Bell), Saved By the Bell, California Dreams, Hang Time, USA High, City Guys, several extra versions of Saved By the Bell, Malibu, CA). We watched any one that came one. We quoted lines, especially "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so...scared!" We sang theme songs. We relived favorite episodes.

I know, deep down, that it was kind of sad. But it was fun. It was a very...college...thing to do. Five people living under one roof with one bathroom were no strangers to conflict, but this was something we could bond over. D and I were continuously at each other's throats for the entire three years we lived in proximity to one another, and he and I could find common ground over two things: Ready, Set, Cook on FoodTV and the genius of Peter Engel.

After that year in that crazy house, I moved to Cincinnati to go to graduate school. One Saturday morning, feeling lonely and homesick, I turned on the TV to see the final episode ever of Saved By the Bell. I cried a little as Mr. Belding went off to teach at UT-Chattanooga.