Matthew Reine
Peter Engel. You might have seen or even heard that name in the past. That’s because Engel produced one of the most memorable sitcoms of all time, “Saved by the Bell”. The success of the show’s five seasons helped him propel a Saturday morning television block full of teen-targeted programming on NBC entitled “Teen NBC or “TNBC” for short. While the block technically got its start in the late 80’s with the SBTB prequel series “Good Morning Miss Bliss”, it truly didn’t take off until SBTB’s original run ended in 1993 running for nine years before ending in 2002. It changed Saturday morning programming for the better with shows that are still remembered today.
Now admittedly, Engel’s shows were pretty basic and mostly carbon copies of his most successful series. Normally, you had three guys and three girls in a usually sunny setting (think California or Florida) dealing with typical teenage angst, school (Bayside), and the world around them. They always had a food establishment to hang out in (The Max) and they always had an older character to provide them with wisdom (Mr. Belding). Yeah, these shows for the most part were pretty run of the mill but I’ll be damned if 12-year-old Matthew Reine didn’t wake up bright and early every Saturday morning and love the hell out of all them. Let’s take a look:
#1 Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Zack Morris and the gang may have graduated from Bayside High in 1993 but a new creed was taking over the school shortly thereafter.
Hoping lightning would strike twice, NBC tried to ride the coattails of the popular show. Often times using the same storylines as its predecessor and trying to recreate the magic of the Zack Morris character, “Saved by the Bell: The New Class” didn’t have a whole lot of new things to offer. Dustin Diamond, better known as Screech, actually returned to the series at the start of season two and stayed throughout the remaining show’s run. In attempt to keep the show fresh, the cast was switched around every season but this gave audiences little time to invest in certain people. Also, I don’t know what kind of money the school board was pouring into Bayside but the students had the coolest high school experience ever. The halls of Bayside were becoming phased out and semesters took place in places like Paris, aboard a cruise ship, a military academy, and space camp among others.
I enjoyed this one a lot but it was pretty tedious to watch at times and ran a lot longer than it should have (seven season, longer than the original).
SBTB:TNC was one of the first comedies that I saw deal with marijuana use among teenagers. Sure, I had seen it in movies and more prime time shows but a Saturday morning sitcom? I was like “what the fuck?”
#2. California Dreams
Believe it or not, “California Dreams” actually aired alongside the original Saved by the Bell. Premiering in 1992, this coming-of-age series followed a teenage Californian rock band dubbed the “California Dreams” who were joined by their slick, weaselly manager. To this day, I believe “California Dreams” had one of the best and catchiest themes:
Music was the sitcom’s central theme with a lot of its predicaments being about the complications of the music industry such as booking gigs, writing new music, and musical differences among the band members.
In the first two seasons, they rehearsed in the garage of the show’s main character, Matt Garrison, and his sister, Jenny. Music videos portraying the band were also present during this time. The mood of the music portrayed in these videos depended on what the character was going through.
Jenny was written out during the second season and by season three, the Garrisons had moved on and the new rehearsal/hang out spot was the house of the wealthy Lorena Costa. The cast famously reunited on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” in 2010.
Out of all the generic TNBC sitcoms, this one may actually be my favorite. The characters are a lot more likeable than its contemporaries and I loved the music growing up though 95% of it doesn’t hold up well today.
#3. Hang Time
What do you get when you put Saved by the Bell on a basketball court? “Hang Time”. This series started in 1995 and centered around a fictional Indiana high school basketball team, their friends, and their coach.
The coach was portrayed by former NBA star, Reggie Theus, in the first three seasons and famed NFL legend, Dick Butkus, thereafter. The show frequently had cameos by other NBA players.
I have to give the show credit for raising awareness on gender discrimination. The series’ female lead, Julie, was allowed to try out for the team and successfully does so, becoming their first female player.
This was also the world’s first taste of Anthony Anderson, who went on to be a star in television and film.
I’m a huge fan of NBA basketball so watching a show for my age demographic showcasing the sport really held my interest. It was awesome seeing Grant Hill and rookie year Kobe Bryant show up.
#4. City Guys
With a more urban flavor, “City Guys” took place in New York City and followed the lives of six teenagers, all from different social classes. The kids were led by the wise principle of Manhattan High School (or Manny High for short) appropriately named Ms. Noble. The show kicked off in 1997 and ran for four seasons. It actually featured more male characters in the principle cast than female with four boys and only two girls.
The issues that the show dealt with were a bit harsher than all the other teen sitcoms on TNBC. One episode dealt with one of the main characters, Jamal, becoming more militant with his African-American heritage making himself a total racist. One even dealt with gun control, where Jamal buys a gun after he is robbed. To date, City Guys is the only show that I’ve seen that had an episode about sexual harassment but having the guy as the victim and not the woman when other main character, Chris, is unwillingly pursued sexually by his boss at his internship.
One of my favorite wrestling superstars, Rob Van Dam, when he was still in ECW and had not arrived yet in WWE, appeared as himself in one episode:
I would constantly hum the show’s theme and dug a lot of the New York references dropped by the cast. I grew up in Queens so when I was finally old enough to hang out without parental supervision, I always imagined I would go out in a group like the City Guys gang. I didn’t of course, but it was a nice look at teens coming-of-age in the sometimes dangerous streets of NYC.
#5. One World
In 1998, Engel decided to move things out of the classroom and into a loving household with “One World”. Six orphaned teens, all from very diverse backgrounds, are all brought in by a married couple and share one roof in Miami as they try to tackle their pasts along with brightening their futures.
In the show’s pilot, the family take in another wayward teen named Jane, a huge troublemaker with a bad attitude. After realizing how obnoxious she’s being and seeing how much her new family cares about her, she decides to stay and act less crazy. Former “All That” cast member, Alisa Reyes, played one of the siblings.
I actually loved the premise of “One World”. Siblings of different races and upbringings coming together in harmony and loving one another like a real family breathed some life in the sitcom game. I also liked the kids never hesitating to call their foster parents “mom” and “dad” foregoing any politically correct garbage. Just because you’re not blood doesn’t mean you’re not family.
#6. Just Deal
In 2000, TNBC experimented with a drama in “Just Deal”. This shockingly wasn’t produced by Engel which is obvious by watching the opening minutes of any episode. It was a stark contrast to what was showing on the block at the time. It focused on three teens living in a small town outside Seattle who struggle with problems such as alcohol abuse, religious faith, divorce, and eating disorders. No high school cliches or cheesy storylines present and as a result, it portrayed teenage life in a more realistic and less humorous way. It also deserves points for portraying youth life outside of a big city.
I actually didn’t watch “Just Deal” in its original run and only caught it a few years later on the “N” network (which aired a lot of past teen programming). I was huge into skateboarding back them and since the two male leads, Dylan and Jermaine, loved to skate, I couldn’t help but be sucked in. I was also intrigued by the issues portrayed by the actors playing characters my age. It was in 2003 when I was catching up with JD when I was 16-17 and I was in full teenage mode. I dealt with a lot of this stuff and was glad it wasn’t played out with a cheesy laugh track in the background with a corny one-liner. Peer pressure can be a bitch!
Honorable Mention: USA High
USA High technically wasn’t apart of TNBC but it was still an Engel-produced show and followed his exact blueprint. Airing on the USA (hah) network in on Sunday mornings and weekday afternoons starting in 1997, six ( is there really any other number?) teenagers attend an American boarding school in Paris. All types of hijinx ensue.
Engel tried to add a little international flavoring and differentiate this one by also having non-American characters such as the German hunk, Christian and the dimwitted British women, Ashley. You also had the beautiful French professor, Ms. Dupree who was constantly pursued by the academy’s headmaster, Mr. Elliot. The gang spent a lot of time hanging out in what was obviously not the Eiffel Tower.
I always wanted to visit Paris as a kid (still do) so naturally I liked the European influence on the show even though a lot of the places they visited were very clearly sets and a lot of the things about Paris they talked about probably don’t exist. I also had a thing for Ashley’s accent even though it was hilariously phoney.
There were actually a few more shows that I didn’t cover here such as “All About Us” (an awkward comedy with no laugh track and an all female cast) and “Malibus, CA” but those came by right as I stopped with watching TNBC. If you remember those shows, shoot me a comment!
TNBC was canned in favor of Discovery Kids in 2002, a block aiming more towards children. Peter Engel himself hasn’t produced any teen programs in over a decade but he made his legacy with teenagers in the 90’s.
