Any ‘90s kids is familiar with the NBC sitcom Saved by the Bell, which aired for four seasons from 1989 to 1993.
Following the stories of a group of high school friends, each fitting into a specific archetype, the show was funny but also tackled serious issues like drug use, homelessness, and women’s rights.
Ushering in a whole new generation of school shows, the series left its mark in pop culture, along with some seriously hilarious lines.
Here are 10 quotes that, even 30 years later, are still hilarious today.
Open Educational Doors
“Go to class. Learn something.”
The school principal Mr. Belding had his work cut out for him when dealing with the excitable and often defiant students at the school. He was always focused on trying to get the kids to actually go to class and stop goofing off. Why don’t they just want to do what they are supposed to, and learn important subjects that they’ll need in their adult lives? It was so frustrating for him!
In this quote, he scolds the kids about always hanging out in the hallways, getting up to trouble, skipping, or whatever else they would do but go to class. And chances are any teachers or principal today can still relate.
Classes? What Are Those?
“I like school. It’s just too bad classes get in the way.”
Zack Morris, played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, was your typical charming, attractive bad boy who didn’t really like school. Well, at least not one aspect of school: those annoying classes that got in the way.
Sociable and fun, he was more interested in interacting with peers, getting up to trouble, and skating through his teenage years. So this statement is a typical one from him. He didn’t want to deal with annoying teachers, assignments, tests, and homework. Can’t high school just be fun?
Clever Analogies
“Zack, I’m not a matador, so take the bull outside.”
Mr. Belding always had some of the best lines, especially when dealing with yet another frustrating incident involving Zack Morris. Balancing his position of authority with his desire to be considered “cool,” he sometimes used analogies that teetered on dad jokes, like this one.
After Zack tried to pull yet another one over on Mr. Belding, he explained that he wasn’t going to put up with the bull. Stay on the straight and narrow—that’s all Mr. Belding wanted for his students.
What Antics Are They Up to Again?
“Hey, hey, hey. What is going on here?”
This was Mr. Belding’s catch phrase, but it had to be spoken with the right cadence. Mr. Belding spoke each word with emphasis: “What. Is. Going. On. Here?”
Inevitably at every turn of a hallway, Mr. Belding would find the kids getting up to some kind of antics that they shouldn’t. Often times it was a brawl or argument. And he’d ask his signature question, always introduced with a “hey, hey, hey!”
Don’t Do Drugs, Kids
“I’m so excited, I’m so excited, I’m so…scared.”
Okay, so this line isn’t so much hilarious as it is troubling when you know the context. But it has become one of the most iconic and well-known quotes from the series. When Jessie the rigid A-student gets caught up in taking caffeine pills to help her stay awake to study for finals, she finally crashes.
She starts singing the Pointer Sisters’ hit, then breaks down in tears as she admits how scared she is, and the drugs take their effect. In hindsight, it was a hilarious scene thanks to the melodramatic performance. But the underlying message was clear and one that should not be forgotten in the hilarity of the rewatch: drugs are bad.
Point for Point
Slater: “Guys are great at math. It’s just a shame you weren’t born a man.” Jessie: “Yeah, it’s a shame you weren’t born one either.”
Some of the best dialogue from the show came when Jessie and her on-again, off-again love interest Slater bantered back and forth, spewing insults at one another.
In this case, Slater thinks he has one up on Jessie by insulting her womanhood as he so often did. A staunch feminist however, Jessie fires right back at him with her witty response.
Oh, Screech!
Mr. Belding: “Screech, you can’t elope.” Screech: “Who are you calling a cantaloupe, you melon head?”
Screech, the oddball of the group, always seemed clueless and silly, even though he was very caring and smart. So when Mr. Belding tells him he can’t elope, Screech mistakenly thinks that the principal is calling him the name of the similarly-sounding fruit and snaps back.
It was a line that was good for the laugh track, and typical of the types of silly things Screech would say all the time.
What’s a Good Education?
“Zack’s idea of a good education is sitting between a pretty girl and a smart nerd.”
Jessie, always sarcastic, and snarky, speaks these words about her friend Zack, who is the exact opposite of her bookworm type.
The words are true, and perfectly describe Zack’s nature: school means meeting hot girls, dating, and copying your homework or tests from any smart nerd who will let you. Of course, this doesn’t describe a real education at all. And Zack eventually does wise up. But a model student, he was not.
Fear Jessie’s Wrath
“I’m dead. Jessie’s gonna rip my eyes out, punch my face in, and then break up with me. It’s her usual pattern.”
Slater loved Jessie with all his heart, even if he was constantly ribbing her. And even though he was the consummate alpha male, it’s clear that she still wore the pants in the relationship and broke his heart whenever she ended things.
This line sums up their relationship nicely: When Jessie gets upset, Slater is fearful of what she’ll do, even if he doesn’t think she’ll do what he describes literally. Jessie is often upset with Slater, yet they still work so well together. And this line is a hilarious description of their tumultuous yet adorable relationship.
Ugh, Midterms
“The three worst things that can happen to a kid are measles, mumps, and midterms.”
Once you graduate high school, you forget the tremendous pressure high schoolers face to get good grades and start their lives on the right track as they prepare to make the next move after graduation.
This hilarious quote lumps midterms, one of the most feared test periods in a high school kid’s life, in with major diseases like measles and mumps. That’s a little overdramatic, but then again, that was the show’s M.O. And maybe for high school kids, midterms really do feel as scary as the possibility of contracting a disease.
