Jimmy Fallon finally accomplished his dream of a Saved by the Bell reunion while taking the Tonight Show on the road to California. Nearly the entire cast made an appearance for a skit filled with Easter eggs for fans of the 90s sitcom.
It opens with Zack Moriss (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) recounting his difficulty getting to school with a spoken version of Saved by the Bell theme song. Jimmy informs him that he won’t being going to the Valentine’s Day dance because he’s leaving Bayside High School to move to New York to become a talk show host and date actress Nicole Kidman. Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley) tells Jimmy she’s “so excited” for him. It’s a reference to an episode dealing with drug addiction. The serious subject turned silly when she sings the The Pointer Sisters song “I’m so Excited” during an emotional breakdown. They continue to poke fun of the actress with a nod to her role as a stripper in the Showgirls movie.
Zack receives a call on his brick cellphone from his girlfriend Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), who reveals she’s pregnant as is the actress playing her. Zack mulls over his options by declaring a timeout that literally freezes time and the actors (mostly). This frequently used campy effect epitomized show, that and a little sex appeal from A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez), who tears off his clothes for the dance to reveal a black leotard exactly like the one he wore over two decades ago.
Principal Belding (Dennis Haskins) tries to soften Jimmy ‘s departure by playing the song “Friends Forever” by Zack Attack, a garage band created by the friends. Zack’s best friend Screech (Dustin Diamond) did not make an appearance. Diamond was presumably not welcome after writing a tell-all book and Lifetime movie exposing the seedier side of the show. Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies) was also a no-show for unknown reasons.
There were more subtle references such the posters that correlate to episodes about a rafting field trip, a charity drive to save the kid’s favorite restaurant The Max and Jesse’s aforementioned drug addiction, which features the cast in a PSA called “No Hope with Dope.”
