Since
we learned about the reboot of the late '80s Saturday morning classic
Saved By The Bell, we have been anxiously anticipating the return of Zack, A.C., Jessie, and Kelly (Screech’s invite must’ve been lost in the mail…). Now that it’s finally here, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren and Mario Lopez joined Jimmy Fallon via video-chat on
The Tonight Show (weeknights at 11:30 p.m. ET on CTV) to talk about how the reimagining of the show for a modern audience actually can trace its roots to Jimmy.Five years ago, the cast reassembled for
a short skit on
The Tonight Show, and according to Elizabeth, that helped them realize that yes, a reboot is possible.
“I think all of us getting dropped back into that iconic hallway with those red lockers, in that garb again, and with you, it was kind of epic,”
Jessie Spano Elizabeth explained. “And I think it kind of sparked interest, especially because reboots were kind of coming back. But something about it was kind of magical with you. And I think we all were kind of thinking, if it could be done right, you know we wanted to do it justice, but if it could be done right, then we may be all in.”In the new series, Zack Morris (Gosselaar) is now the governor of the state, and institutes an order where kids from underprivileged areas are bussed in to Bayside High, where the “preppy” kids finally get a dose of reality. Zack and Kelly (Thiessen) are still married, but A.C. (Lopez) is now the gym teacher, and Jessie (Berkley Lauren) is the guidance counsellor armed with a warning against caffeine pills (because of course she is).[video_embed id='2084795']MORE REUNIONS: The Cast of Veep to reunite for a political fundraiser [/video_embed]But of course, to understand where they are now, Jimmy wanted to make sure they remembered where they came from, so he showed them some of the most legendary clips from the old show (something that Mark-Paul described as “pain and torture”). First up was
that brutal hallway fight between Zack and A.C., which the boys insisted wouldn’t fly today on a production set.“It’s so funny because that fight would never happen in our time now,” Mark-Paul explained. “Like two kids on a set? We’d have stunt doubles, we’d have stunt coordinators, padding, there would have been cuts… That was legit! Like you and I,” he said to Mario, “We pushed each other, we fought each other, it was like real deal!”Next up was
the first kiss between Zack and Kelly, something that both Tiffani and Mark-Paul remember as being nerve-wracking, but of course Mark-Paul had a little added pressure. “I didn’t have a resume of people that I had kissed up until that point,” he said. “I made sure I was wearing two-ply underwear that day.”“TMI!” Jimmy laughed. Uh, ya think?!Of course, they couldn’t take a trip down memory lane without bringing up *
that* iconic scene between Jessie and Zack. Yes you know the one. Turns out, those little caffeine pills were in reality just Red Hots. “So we were popping those between takes!” Mark-Paul laughed.Friends don’t let friends do Red Hots, kids. Say no to sugar highs.Watch
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon weeknights at 11:30 p.m. ET on CTV.[video_embed id='2076479']BEFORE YOU GO: Baby has an adorable reaction to family's new puppy [/video_embed]
