Saved By The Bell: 5 Best Friendships (& 5 Worst) | ScreenRant
Adults today grew up thinking Zack, Kelly, Slater, Lisa, Jessie, and Screech were friendship goals. Looking back on the series, however, it’s clear that not all of those friendships were actually good for the people involved.
10 Best: Jessie And Zack
Though a lot of attention is paid to the entire group of friends in Saved By The Bell, Jessie and Zack had a special connection. They lived close enough to one another, and were close enough, that Zack could climb in her window to hang out whenever he wanted.
Arguably, Jessie spent more time with her female friends as the series progressed than she did with Zack. That didn’t stop Zack from being the one to help her when she started relying on caffeine pills to keep up with her studies and social obligations. It takes a real friend to get you to understand when you’re making a big mistake.
9 Worst: Zack And Slater
Saved By The Bell really wanted fans to believe that these two were best friends. They hung out all through high school, roomed together in college, and Slater even gave the toast at Zack’s wedding. The problem is that the two spent more time making each other’s lives difficult than they did actually being friends.
Zack and Slater constantly competed with one another. When they started the series, they competed over Kelly. They also competed for grades, social standing, and jobs. The one major fistfight on the show was even a result of the two of them coming to blows over another girl. Zack and Slater just seemed like the worst friends.
8 Best: Screech And Kevin
It’s sad to say, but in the context of Saved By The Bell, Kevin was Screech’s best friend of all. Kevin was a robot Screech developed and kept in his home.
He wasn’t just a subservient robot. Kevin was developed with artificial intelligence, so he could learn and grow. He gave Screech advice in his few appearances on the show, but he also helped him. Kevin helped Screech tutor Kelly when she had trouble in class, acted as Screech’s assistant in a magic show, and even participated in Screech’s job as hall monitor. He was one of the few characters who was always there for Screech.
7 Worst: Zack And Mr. Belding
Zack and Richard Belding aren’t friends. That’s probably what a lot of fans are thinking right now, anyway. The truth, however, is a bit more complicated than that.
Mr. Belding spent all of Zack’s high school career putting the teenager in detention and being annoyed by him, right? Not exactly. When he needed a friend, had trouble with his wife, or made a mistake at school, it seemed Mr. Belding didn’t have friends his own age to lean on. Instead, he leaned on Zack. He even showed up at Zack’s house a time or two. This strange principal-student relationship wasn’t like the mentor-mentee of Boy Meets World, so it just seemed strange.
6 Best: Screech And Violet
Violet is Screech’s one steady girlfriend in the Saved By The Bell series. She’s sweet, smart, and a talented singer. Violet also happens to be one of the few people who sees Screech as more than Zack’s annoying sidekick.
Screech and Violet ran in some of the same social circles and were able to keep up with one another academically. They’re friends before they became an item, and that’s why they land on the list. Violet stood up for Screech when her parents weren’t sure about him, and it’s a shame their relationship - romantic or friendly - didn’t continue with more appearances.
5 Worst: Lisa And Screech
Lisa and Screech were members of the same group of friends in high school, but would we ever really label these two as friends? Sure, Lisa felt badly that no one was going to take Screech to the prom and took him as her date, but that’s about as friendly as they got as a result of Screech’s own behavior.
Screech had a romantic interest in Lisa that was plain creepy. He followed her around, knew her schedule, and constantly tried to get her to notice him as a potential partner. It didn’t matter how many times Lisa turned him down - and not gently - Screech continued to pursue her without being able to just be friends with her.
4 Best: Lisa, Jessie, And Kelly
Whereas Zack and Slater got into plenty of schemes without Screech, it didn’t seem like the girls paired off into separate best friend outings. Instead, these three were nearly inseparable in high school.
Lisa, Jessie, and Kelly were all members of the school glee club together, had all the same classes, and helped one another out on different extracurricular activities. When Lisa and Kelly needed another cheerleader, they convinced Kelly to do it. When Jessie’s dad (or Kelly’s grandfather) needed help with the family business, she got her other friends to help out. Even after attending separate colleges and losing touch, Lisa and Jessie were both on hand to be Kelly’s bridesmaids at her wedding at the last minute.
3 Worst: Tori And Everyone
It’s hard to say if Tori was ever really friends with anyone. Slater and Zack both wanted to date her. Lisa and Screech hung out with her because she was there. Jessie and Kelly? Never interacted with her on screen.
Tori was brought into the show when NBC ordered additional episodes after already filming the main cast’s graduation episode. With Tiffani Thiessen (Kelly) and Elizabeth Berkley (Jessie) unable to film, Tori became a new member of the group, but she didn’t have the same level of closeness to the other characters. When her episodes were sprinkled throughout the final season before the graduation episode aired, they just felt out of place.
2 Best: Zack And Kelly
Kelly and Zack are the romance most remembered from Saved By The Bell. They weren’t always a couple. In fact, they didn’t get together until season two, and broke up in season three, only to get back together (and break up) a few more times over the course of the show. Before they dated, they became friends.
When Zack led the friends into bad behavior, Kelly got to play the voice of reason, tempering just how far the antics would go. Zack was always there to help Kelly get out of trouble as well. Though Zack had a crush on her for what seemed like forever, he never pushed her too far, still maintaining a friendship with her and allowing their bond to grow without romance.
1 Worst: Zack And Screech
Like Zack’s relationship with Slater, the audience is supposed to be believe that Zack and Screech are best friends. If they’re really the best of friends, why does it seem like Screech always gets the short end of the stick?
Zack never stood up for Screech when he was being pushed into lockers or made fun of. In fact, Zack joined in. His attempts to help Screech in social situations usually just ended with Screech getting laughed at or hurt. Why exactly did Zack and Screech maintain a friendship for so long? It doesn’t make sense, even by Saved By The Bell standards.