The Great 'Saved by the Bell' reboot got me good

I watched the new Saved by the Bell reboot last Tuesday expecting to hate it, but I actually laughed out loud twice. The scene where Mac Morris tries to explain TikTok to Principal Belding felt like a real moment that got the old show's spirit right. Has anyone else found a reboot that surprised them like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

henryreed12d ago

The trick with reboots is you gotta set your expectations at rock bottom so anything decent feels like a win. Sounds like you nailed that strategy. I did the same thing with the Fresh Prince spin-off and was shocked when I actually finished the whole season. Your Belding example reminds me of how they updated the character without making him a total parody. Sometimes the old guard adapting to new tech plots just works if they let the actors breathe.

sammurray9d ago

EXACT opposite actually. Lowering your expectations just guarantees you miss the REAL problems with these reboots. The Fresh Prince spin-off was a mess of nostalgia bait wrapped in lazy writing, and people only finished it because they had nothing better to do during quarantine. Belding being "updated" was just a cheap trick to make you forget how they COMPLETELY botched the show's tone - turning a show about social issues into some weird tech comedy. Rock bottom expectations let studios keep pumping out garbage like the Saved by the Bell reboot that tried WAY too hard to be woke and funny at the same time. You're basically rewarding them for doing the bare minimum when you go in with that mindset. Call it what it is: corporate laziness dressed up as a "fresh take" on your childhood memories.

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