22 details you may have missed in the new 'Saved by the Bell' reboot's second season
Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for the second season of the new "Saved by the Bell" series.
Season 2 of the "Saved by the Bell" revival has hidden details and references to the original show.
There's a "Showgirls" reference, a Screech tribute, and a few times where Mac copies Zack's antics.
Max presents a new menu item: Screech's Spaghetti Burger.
The first episode of season two ends by honoring Screech, who has recently passed away within the universe of the show.
In real life, the actor who played Screech, Dustin Diamond, died in February 2021. Screech's Spaghetti Burger is a callback to an episode from the original series where the gang sells "Screech's Spaghetti Sauce" in memorable flask jars.
In that same scene, Screech's robot, Kevin, makes an appearance.
Kevin delivers the burgers to the table. When Kelly says he's looking great, he notes that he's had some work done. It's worth noting that Kevin was also mentioned, though not seen, in season one of the revival — he and Screech both didn't appear in season one because they were together on the International Space Station, naturally.
The Sweetheart Dance is still an important tradition.
This is the one where the students claim their dates to the dance with those big red hearts. In the revival, the dance only lasts a few minutes, as part of one big event that includes all of the key dances that would have taken place while they were all doing remote learning.
Mac must have learned a lot about subliminal messaging from his father and assumed it worked best with one particular song.
Zack recorded a subliminal message on Kelly's cassette tape of the new Bo Revere song, "Don't Leave With Your Love."
That backfired, and yet, Mac is up to same schemes — and in an even bigger way. He has a tape for just about every occasion, but the one he gives Aisha plays that exact same song. It's also a "Saved by the Bell" original song, of course.
That same form of subliminal messaging is still getting the Morris men into trouble, by way of an angry mob of teenage girls.
While Zack's scheme has the girls of Bayside all begging him to be his date (after he's been caught), Mac is faced with an angrier mob of girls who have realized what he's been up to.
Jessie's still mad about those Styrofoam cups.
At least she finally gets her cut day. In high school, she missed out on cut day to try to stop a Styrofoam cup delivery (with Graham). It was on that same episode that she and Slater decided it would best to see other people.
Years later, Slater convinces Jessie to finally take that much needed cut day. Then he makes it a point to take her to a place where they still use Styrofoam cups — all to get her focused on something other than her divorce.
The Bayside students still love a good Teen Line, and they even use the same type of phones.
The original series did something like this twice. Once, it was out of Zack's bedroom as part of a scam. The second time, it was done through the school, much like the one we see in the revival.
A familiar name appears.
While not a reference to the original series, this one's still a great little detail. Zack is reading a book to Mac titled "How to Win Dudes & Influence Babes" by Dashiell Driscoll.
Dashiell Driscoll is not only a writer on the revival, but he's also the cohost of a podcast with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and he's the creator of the infamous "Zack Morris is Trash" videos.
Another character faces a struggle when he has dinner with his rich girlfriend's family.
Granted, this goes much better for Devante — Nadia's parents are more understanding of him than Violet's parents were of Screech. Of course, Devante is much less awkward in this situation than Screech was too.
There's a fun reference to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" here too, when Devante is amazed that his girlfriend's family has their own "Geoffrey."
Mac kidnaps Valley's mascot.
Just like his dad did years ago, Mac kidnaps Valley's mascot. The rivalry between Bayside and Valley remains strong.
Valley is still pulling the same old pranks, too.
Once again, the kids at Valley toilet paper the halls of Bayside as part of a prank war. They also steal Bayside's mascot, though luckily, the mascot in the reboot is a stuffed animal, and not Screech in a costume.
Slater is still upset over the loss of his chameleon, Artie.
Slater mentions this in a therapy session, but he's not ready to talk about it. In high school, he had a really hard time with the death of his best friend and pet chameleon.
Jessie channels confidence from "that time she spent in Vegas."
This is another one that isn't a reference to the original series, but it's one die-hard fans will understand. After "Saved by the Bell," Elizabeth Berkley Lauren starred in the film "Showgirls." The actress clearly has some fun revisiting that here.
Zack still defaults to dressing as a woman if he has to disguise himself.
Zack has never had a problem with disguising himself as a woman, and he's still willing to do just that. This time, his costume is a lot more convincing – he looks like a totally different person until he pulls off that mask!
The oil-spill incident with Becky the duck left a long-lasting impression on Jessie.
Jamie tells his friends that after the BP oil spill, Jessie convinced every executive to adopt a pet duck.
Slater and Jessie get trapped together once again.
This time, it's in an air vent as opposed to a boiler room, but the results are pretty similar. There's something about these situations that bring Slater and Jessie back together every time.
The song "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is still a staple at school dances.
Slater and Jessie sang this Michael Bolton song while Zack and Kelly had their gut-wrenching breakup just outside, in one of the most memorable music moments of the series. In the revival, Slater and Jessie are finding their way back to one another and dance to that very same song.
In Slater's mind, Jessie was around during "Saved by the Bell: The College Years."
She wasn't. And the "other girl who's also anxious with curly hair" that Jessie is referring to, of course, is Alex.
Slater admits he didn't learn Spanish until "The College Years."
In this conversation with Aisha, he tells her it wasn't until "The College Years" that he learned Spanish. He's referring to an episode of "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" where he starts learning more about his Mexican roots, and it's the first time it's even mentioned that he's Mexican.
Principal Toddman sings Zack's version of the school song.
When Zack tried to win a contest for the best school song, his friends outsmarted him and performed something better. But the lyrics "Bayside is the school that's cool and you know that it's true" must have still made an impression.
Jamie is so "excited," just like his mom.
Jamie exclaims, "I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so…" and then he gets sick. This is much more lighthearted than when his mother broke down in tears in that classic scene.
Zack finally says something about going to middle school in Indiana.
He tells Mac, "I went to middle school in Indiana. And one day, I woke up, and I lived in Los Angeles, and no one ever explained why."
He's referring to the earliest season of "Saved by the Bell," which was originally titled "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," a sitcom set in Indiana. That series included Zack, Screech, Lisa, and Mr. Belding. It was later retooled as "Saved by the Bell."
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