It's Alllllright.......

1989. The Berlin wall was crumbling, President Bush was older and wiser, and the WWF was still called the WWF. Amidst this landscape of order and hope (forgetting that whole Tiananmen thing), the world was about to be subjected to an entertainment revolution the likes of which had never been seen before. When Zack, Screech, Kelly, A.C., Lisa and Jessie started high school in the fall of 1989, nobody expected that they were beginning an educational journey that would last for nearly 20 years. But it has...and they're not the only ones who have been learning.

Saved By The Bell has achieved a status in pop culture that is at the same time epic and sadly understated. Though everyone has seen the episodes, few will venture to quote them in daily dialogue. While it's perfectly acceptable to start a bar stool conversation with "do you remember that Seinfeld episode where..." - brave are the few who would have the guts to rehash the horrors of the death of A.C. Slater's pet lizard (Artie) on a first date.

Somehow...some way...Saved By The Bell has come to occupy on unspoken vacuum in our society and for this we should all be ashamed. While many of Generation Next (or X, or Now or Nintendo, or whatever the hell we're called) could recount virtually every trial the gang from Bayside faced, few would confess to owning the DVDs, carrying the lunch box, or secretly believing that Lisa was actually the hottest cast member. While other 80's teen hits such as The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles are now labeled "classics", Screech is reduced to shooting porn and selling his house on the internet.

I ask you readers - is this right? Aren't you ashamed? Do you realize how much you've taken from this show? Don't you feel inclined...no...don't you feel obligated to give back? As a teen in the mid-90's how would you have judged the opposite sex without the images of Zack and Kelly that were dancing in your head? Would you ever have supported the local cheap burger joint run by a magician if you hadn't had the shining example of our six favorite Bayside Tigers? Could you honestly have put down the caffeine pills if you hadn't tuned in for that "very special" episode?

The poignant moments on Saved By The Bell came fast and furiously. Rarely did the credits roll without leaving the viewing audience with a profound lesson on life. The examples are endless - but here are ten that illustrate well:

• Homeless Girls Are Hot - Zack at one time had a relationship with the finest looking homeless girl in California. I believe it was a holiday episode. She didn't even talk to herself.

• A Good Costume Can Save Your Life - You could always count on a Baysider to blend into the crowd once they donned a fake mustache. It's doubtful any of the male cast members ever went a 5 episode stretch without cross dressing - and it was cool!

• Polish Women Have a Timeless Beauty - Her post Saved By The Bell career aside, Kelly Kapowski still has the power to set hearts aflutter amongst pre-teen boys (and their fathers). She's a close tie with Jennifer Aniston in the "re-run chicks that will still be hot in 50 years" race.

• Driving is Easy - Or so you would think...particularly when you are taught to drive in a weird looking golf cart that is driven around inside the school. What the hell was that?

• Principals ARE Your Pals - The only cast member to span all the incarnations of the series, Mr. B was the kind of guy who could discipline with a smile - even if you just one upped him by having your fast food waiter impersonate your father.

• Smaller is Better - At least when it comes to education. Don't have enough textbooks to go around? Why not take the Bayside approach by having every class in the same room with a maximum of 8 students per class.

• The Grass is NEVER Greener - Despite any well meaning intentions, one must NEVER replace their star hot high school actress with a tomboy in a leather jacket. Not even for one episode - and certainly not for half a season. [fingers in ears trying to block out the memories]

• Adults Are Gullible...With a Capital D - It doesn't matter who it is (reporters investigating aliens, Harvard recruiters, school nurses, and of course principals), any adult can eventually be fooled if your scheme is outlandish enough. You will of course never succeed, but that will only be because your good natured honesty will ultimately become your undoing.

• Teachers Are Strange Individuals - Well...that one is mostly true. Was there a reason that Miss Bliss had a British accent?

• Neon Colors are Fine...As Long As You Accessorize With a Nice Sport Jacket - That's just damn good fashion advice.

The list could continue (please - feel free to add), but the point is clear. Isaac Newton once wrote "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." The kids of Bayside have blazed a pop culture path that permeates every aspect of our lives. We owe them the respect they have earned through the years of positive influence they have contributed. Remember that the next time you wake up in the morning and your alarm gives out a warning. You probably don't think you'll ever make it on time. But it's alright. It really is.