No Hope with Dope

Get comfy because this one's an all-time fave. While Saved by the Bell is great with normal episodes, when they get preachy, whoa baby! Sitcom heaven!

In this episode, imaginary celebrity Johnny Dakota comes to Bayside to let Zack wear his cool purple jacket and develop an inappropriate relationship with Kelly. Oh and Johnny is clearly in trouble with the law (this remains unspoken) and has to do community service in the form of an anti-drug ad, so, also, Don't Do Drugs!

Only, Johnny likes pot, and he especially likes to uncomfortably force pot on high school students. So, Bayside says bye-bye Johnny, and hello Brandon Tartikoff, who I guess is more famous than an imaginary celebrity. But only a little.

Today's Quote

Screech: I hate drugs, but my doctor says I gotta keep taking them if I want to get rid of my post-nasal drip!

SBTB Quote Hall of Fame

Brandon Tartikoff: Hi, I'm Brandon Tartikoff and I've got a hit idea for the new fall season: Don't Do Drugs!

The Whole Gang: There's no hope with dope!

Most Implausible Moment

You see, Mr. Belding and Brandon Tartikoff went to high school together, right? And Mr. Belding wanted to work in entertainment and Brandon Tartikoff wanted to be a principal (What?). But Mr. Belding won the heart of Becky, the superintendent's daughter, and so he gets to be principal (is that how the California public school system really works?) and Brandon Tartikoff is Chairman of NBC Entertainment (What?). So that is why something something...

SBTB Subtly Imparts a Message

Rhonda: "You wanna know what's dumb? My brother used drugs to get high and drive to the beach. Now I have to drive him. He's in a wheelchair."

Whoa.

Imaginary Celebrity Math

Stone Sutherland = Keifer Sutherland

Luke Diamond = Lou Diamond Phillips

Continuity Watch

For this episode, and this episode alone, Ox is named Scud. I don't know why.