Customer Reviews

Saved by the Bell - The New Class: Season 5

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're a collector of the SBTB series, you'll get this DVD just to fill the collection. But if you're deciding whether or not this is a show worth watching, this probably isn't the season that is going to help.

One of the biggest pros for this season was the introduction of the new character Liz Miller, who replaced Rachel adequately. While it was a shame to see Rachel go, in this series Liz is often the conscience of the group and you quickly learn to like her character. Personally I find her character a lot more tolerable over Maria, who in this season often seems to need a conscience, and Katie, who in this season has too many personalities too keep up with.

I found that there were two big downfalls to this season of SBTB. The first are the characters of Screech and Mr Belding. Mr Belding used to be the wise principal who was always ready to offer an ear and some advice. However in this season he's flat out stupid most of the time and is more like trying to be part of 'the gang' as opposed to a mentor who is loved and respected. Screech also seems to have been 'dumbed down' a lot this season, his voice has become incredibly more nasal and he's more of a clown then he's ever been before- both in the original TV show as well as the new class.

The second downfall of this season is that there are real inconsistancies in the screening of the episodes. It's almost like the entire season was filmed and then the tv show people decided to randomly screen them to the public and mix up the order. Liz has already become part of the gang before she is introduced as a character. The Habitat house that the gang is working on is finished before it actually starts, there is a lot of mix between the regular school episodes and the working at the mall/French trip/camping episodes.

It seems that the script writers were getting a little stuck for ideas here, so a lot of old storylines from the original series were recycled with a new location. However to keep positive, SBTB in general was a great tv show. This season covered a few real world issues including love, addictions and competitiveness that make up for the corny parts.

This is the best season of the new class period. This season took on a much more serious tone than the previous four seasons of the new class i.e. the Ryan, Nicky, Liz love triangle. Speaking of Liz, she was a wonderful replacement for Rachael and the show, in my opinion, did much better with the Liz character than with the Rachael character(although Rachael was great). The only downside to this season was the moronic duo of Mr. Belding and Screech. By now they are such a joke it's not funny anymore. However the gang in this season overshadows the faults of Mr. B and Screech on all fronts. I highly recommend this season to anyone who is a fan of the original series, new class, or any Saturday morning TNBC shows.

When you stop to consider the Saved By The Bell franchise spans 15-seasons across multiple spin-offs (Good Morning Miss Bliss, The College Years, The New Class and so on), it can be a bit confusing to put a sense of order into the many releases.

That said, The New Class Season 5 is, as the name suggests, the fifth season of The New Class and the eleventh season of Saved By The Bell if you're using 1988's Good Morning Miss Bliss as a starting point.

TNC Season 5 originally aired between 1997-1998 Saturday mornings on NBC and is typically regarded as a slight improvement over the fourth, which had been a slight improvement over the third and so on. When the original gang moved on, NBC had contracted just two seasons of The New Class as well as two seasons of The College Years for prime time. By the time Season 5 of the New Class had come about, The College Years had already been history.

Season 5 broke the tradition of replacing half the main cast and instead made only a single character swap: Rachel Meyers (Sarah Lancaster) was replaced by new blonde beauty Liz Miller (Ashley Lyn Cafagna). Perhaps credited to the fact that the cast was so similar to the season preceding it, it's apparent that the writers had reached a point where they were able to capitalize on the dynamic of this particular group.

The Liz Miller character feels slightly out of place in the initial episode but quickly falls into rhythm in the episodes following. Taking a cue from the old Zack/ Slater rivalry for Kelly's attention, Liz actually finds herself the target of both Ryan and Nicky's affection. The series of episodes centered on her having to chose between the stepbrothers actually attempts a slight serial vibe; with low scale cliffhanger endings.

The rest of the cast shows signs of maturing as a group as well, with the Katie Peterson and Maria Lopez characters coming into pretty unique identities. The Eric Little character really starts to show some moments of brilliance this season as well. We are spoon fed his musical abilities on multiple occasions but his is some of the most genuine humor to be found here (particularly when playing opposite Nicky).

Perhaps most notable is the show's creative staff finally (after 4 seasons of floundering) seemed to have figured out how to make the Screech/ Belding duo a bit less annoying and more comedic. One particular sequence where Screech imagines Belding running away with the French teacher is nearly worth the price of admission in and of itself!

As always the case with The New Class, prepare for a multitude of out-of-school episodes/ sequences. This time around it's the part time jobs at the mall (again), a class trip to Paris, a Habitat for Humanity construction site, and strangely enough, a season conclusion that takes place in the woods as part of a wilderness survival training (with some moments that nearly undoes the praise I just heaped on to the Screech/ Belding tag team).

In all it's pretty safe to say Season 5 manages to improved upon the formula of the three seasons preceding it by coming up with some fresh situations/ dilemmas and a cast that was clearly becoming quite comfortable with each other. The humor is a bit more genuine and certainly the heavy-handed lessons of the prior seasons were toned down.

One odd fact worth mentioning is that while this DVD release contains 26-episodes just like all of the others before and after it, it is the only one of the lot spread across four discs (opposed to three). The reason for this is never made clear as transfer appears identical and is presented in its original 1:33:1 aspect ratio just like the other sets.

It's goodbye Rachel Meyers and hello Liz Miller as Ashley Lyn Cafagna joins the cast on Saved By The Bell: The New Class - Season 5. As Liz, Bayside's new swim champ, Cafagna replaces Sarah Lancaster's Rachel who has "moved to Boston". This move does a number on boyfriend Ryan who's "Suddenly Ryan" after Rachel's long-distance breakup call. It's not long though before he and step-bro Nicky are locked in "A Tale of Two Siblings" over new cutie Liz who is put in the awkward position of choosing between the two brothers. The Max (from last season's "Fire at the Max" finale) gets a new and improved makeover complete with The Max.net computer terminal. Extracurricular activities this season include the gang helping a local family build a house with Habitat For Humanity, and a three week trip to Paris, France. Other outside the school activities include jobs at the mall with Maria still at the Teen Machine, Eric and Katie at a gym called Pumped, Ryan and Nicky at Media Maniac video store, Liz at The Cookie Jar, and Screech (weekends only) as mall security.

Guest stars include: Olympic gold medalists Shannon Miller and Janet Evans in "Desperately Seeking Work" and "It's Not About Winning" respectively; Harley Rodriguez (Sweet Valley High) as Maria's irresponsible, younger brother Tino in "Her Brother's Keeper"; and James Lesure (Las Vegas) as Lieutenant Griffin in "Private Peterson". Look for a cameo appearance from series composer Rich Eames as Albert in "Screech and the Substitute".

Saved By The Bell: The New Class - Season 5 is a 4-disc (single-sided) set featuring all 26 episodes from the 1997-1998 season in Full-Frame (1.33:1) video and Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio. The audio is fine and consistent with the previous set while the video quality (seemingly improved, though still could be better) is apparently the best that Image Entertainment can muster. The discs are housed in a 4-disc black amaray case which firmly holds the discs in place without scratching and without strain to remove. Here are the episodes (as listed in the DVD menus) and how the discs will be configured.


Disc 1:
Desperately Seeking Work (episode 92)
Suddenly Ryan (episode 93)
It's Not About Winning (episode 94)
Football & Physics (episode 95)
Highs and Lows (episode 96)
Letting Go (episode 97)
The Great Stain Robbery (episode 98)


Disc 2:
Boy II Man (episode 99)
Big Sister Blues (episode 100)
Her Brother's Keeper (episode 101)
Friends Behaving Badly (episode 102)
Secrets & Liz (episode 103)
A Tale of Two Siblings (episode 104)


Disc 3:
Liz's Choice (episode 105)
State Champs (episode 106)
Screech and the Substitute (episode 107)
Love, Bayside Style (episode 108)
Foreign Behavior (episode 109)
Thanks For Giving (episode 110)
Foreign Affairs (episode 111)


Disc 4:
Putting Up Walls (episode 112)
Goodbye Paris (episode 113)
Private Peterson (episode 114)
Into the Woods (episode 115)
Mission: Control (episode 116)
Forget and Forgive (episode 117)

This season is great. I really enjoyed most of the episodes. This cast is my favorite as far as chemistry and how well the cast plays off each other. My favorite character from the new class series is Ryan Parker and this season he shines brightly. One of the worst things about this season is Screech. He's grown his hair out, changed his voice, and has become a cartoon character basically. Just about everything he and Mr. Belding do this whole series is ridiculous but besides them, this is defintely one of the stronger seasons.

This was the only season I was missing from my complete collection of the original Saved by the bell, college years, Vegas and hawiaii movies, and the new class. I have read some of the other reviews and I have to say, Saved by the bell is what it is! It's a kids/teen style show that addresses situations that kids and teens come across. Yes the new class recycles most of the episodes plot points but the new class hit a new generation of kids who watched it probably without seeing the original first. My compliant was the cast changes across the series, I liked Scott from the first season, but when Ryan arrived by season three, be did a good job takin the "zack" role. This (season 5)was probably his best season, but it was sad to see him go after this one. I would say this season was the climax of the new class series, as the last two seasons really winded down as the end was near. I would have to say this was a good season, no better or worse than any of the others. I would suggest anyone who wants to watch the new class watch it from the first season to truly appreciate what the new class has to offer, comedy, drama, and the type of high school everyone wishes they could attend.

Saved by the Bell - The New Class: Season 5 is a great start of a new series with new classmates. All the savedby the bell series are and were great an kids of all ages, including Adults still love Saved By The Bell SERIES!

I'd like to bash these Saved By The Bell Videos as brainless but the fact of the matter is these shows are a much better option for pre teen children than many other shows that are on television today. I doubt if any adults would want to buy these but they are acceptable for children viewing. These are good for the family sitting down and viewing together.

lets really be honest people? did you really like the first three seasons? if you did, you really are immune to anything being funny, because the first three seasons sucked. this season & the fourth were so far the best. the last two seasons weren't quite as great as this and the fourth. so i would buy this season and the fourth. if you cared more about the quality of the show. the jokes, the stories, and the lessons. this is why i would rather buy than the others. but it's only my opinion.