Zack Morris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section may fail to make a clear distinction between fact and fiction. Please edit this article, according to the fiction guidelines, to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. (talk, help) |
Zackary "Zack" Morris is a fictional character from the sitcoms Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Saved by the Bell, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He is portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
|
In the 1992 TV movie "Saved By the Bell: Hawaiian Style" Zack reveals he was born "on a smoggy July day in L.A.," placing his birthday in July of 1975, given that he graduated from high school in 1993.
The character of Zack Morris is most well known from Saved by the Bell, which takes place while he is attending Bayside High School in (fictional) Palisades, California. For the majority of that show, his core group of friends consisted of his classmates Kelly Kapowski, Samuel "Screech" Powers, A.C. Slater, Jessie Spano, and Lisa Turtle. Screech Powers has been tagging along with Zack since they were young. Zack's relationship with Screech initially had an unbalanced leader-follower dynamic where Zack (the cool kid) let Screech (the nerd) hang out with him in exchange for participating in his schemes and doing his homework. Over time, Screech's undying loyalty won Zack over and they became true friends (although Zack still exploits Screech in a good-natured way). Zack and Lisa have been friends since they were both young. Jessie, Zack's next-door neighbor, did not appear in Good Morning, Miss Bliss, but they reminisce back to being friends since a young age. Zack had a crush on Kelly from afar for a long time, but it wasn't until freshman year of high school (the beginning of Saved by the Bell) that he got the chance to know her well and start pursuing her romantically. A.C. Slater, who transferred to Bayside during their freshman year, was initially Zack's rival. During Slater's first few days at Bayside, they fought over who would get to go to a school dance with Kelly, and this feud over Kelly continued for a while. By the beginning of their sophomore year, this feud is basically over, and Slater begins an on-again, off-again relationship with Jessie. Zack and Slater become best friends who often team up to work towards common goals. Slater often calls Zack "Preppy." At first, this seemed to be derogatory nickname when the two were fighting, but it's a nickname that Slater continues to use.
Throughout junior high and high school, Zack's authoritarian foil was Bayside principal, Richard Belding. Zack was often seen in Mr. Belding's office after breaking one school rule or another. Despite these conflicts, Mr. Belding sometimes played a fatherly role in Zack's life, offering him advice or helping him with his relationships.
While many of Zack's schemes are down-to-earth (if a little wishful), others, mainly referenced as happening unobserved from the audience, are downright absurd and practically insult the viewer's intelligence. For instance, Belding references a scheme in which Zack sold the school to the Japanese, but it is noted that he only received a detention for this. Another time, Zack relayed the scheme in which he rigged Mr. Belding's office to shake every ten minutes, a feat that would take no less than an amazing construct of hydraulics and machinery, not to mention massive excavation under Belding's office. Even Mr. Belding's brother Rod mentions off-handedly that when he was in high school he would lease the school parking lot to a Ford dealer on the weekends, a plot that would undoubtedly have attracted massive law enforcement presence, not to mention having a car salesmen both competent enough to staff a dealership and oblivious enough not to realize the legal ramifications that could occur as a result of using a high school parking lot to sell trucks. Couple that in with the massive amount of transportation required to place and remove the cars each weekend, and one begins to realize the full scope of the Saved by the Bell universe's take on scheming.
[edit] Junior High and Miss Bliss
The one season of the sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss took place during Zack's eighth grade year at John F. Kennedy Junior High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Screech and Lisa are two of Zack's friends in these episodes. Other friends that are regularly featured are Mikey Gonzalez, a close friend who is often tied up in Zack's scheming, and Nikki Coleman, who often butted heads with Zack on many issues. Mr. Belding was the principal of JFK Junior High, and often had to deal with problems Zack had caused. Zack's homeroom teacher and history teacher, Miss Bliss, also helped provide a moral compass for Zack.
During his junior high days, Zack was already doing much of the scheming, betting, and manipulation that he became known for. Examples include: selling the stock the students had bought as a class project and investing the money in potatoes; setting rats loose in the school in order to get a test postponed, because his father had promised a ski trip if he did well on the test; using a relationship between his father and Miss Bliss to get out of doing homework; betting Nikki that he could kiss a rock star who was coming to the school; and getting Screech to write his history report by promising a date with Lisa, even though all he actually does is write love letters to Lisa from a secret admirer, on Screech's behalf.
[edit] High School Years
[edit] Academics
Zack demonstrated a flair for business throughout his teen years, so it can be assumed that he excels in subjects related to math and economics. However, in many other subjects (notably history and literature), he is often seen receiving poor grades or displaying lack of interest.
Despite this, Zack achieved a very high score of 1502 on his SAT and got accepted to "Stansbury University" in his senior year. At the end of Saved by the Bell, Zack is planning on going to Yale. However, in Saved by the Bell: The College Years, we see Zack attending Cal U, along with Screech, Slater, and later on, Kelly.
[edit] Zack's Morals
Zack displayed a natural tendency to resist peer pressure, turning down a joint from high-profile movie star Johnny Dakota at a Hollywood party. However, Zack (along with Lisa and Slater) did drink beer at a toga party during senior year, and while driving home after the party, Zack crashed Lisa's mother's car. This traumatic event shook the gang into straight-edged abstinence, and apart from this incident there are no other recorded events of Zack abusing his body in any way.
[edit] Extracurricular Activities
Zack was a particularly involved high school student. Athletically, we know that Zack participated in cross country, basketball, and track. He has experienced some success in each of these sports. In 9th grade, Zack finished in 3rd place at a cross country meet. He was one of Bayside's better basketball players, and it hurt the team when he sprained his knee in the locker room before a big game. When Zack was possibly not going to compete in a track meet, Mr. Belding and Zack's team members were downtrodden because they thought there was no way they could beat Valley without Zack. Despite this success, Zack sometimes feels overshadowed athletically by Slater, who is the star of the school's football and wrestling teams.
Zack was also very musically talented. He was the lead singer and lead guitar player for a band called The Zack Attack. The other members were Kelly (vocals), Lisa (bass guitar), Slater (drums), and Screech (keyboard). While this band never achieved the success that it did in Zack's dreams, it was good enough to get paid to play at local events. Zack was also a member of another band (or another version of the same band) that offered to play for free at a school dance so that more money could be spent on decorations. This band featured Zack and Jessie on vocals, Lisa on guitar, Screech on keyboard, and Slater on drums. However, when Slater had to take over the lead vocals during the dance because Zack was outside talking to Kelly, Ollie (a minor character on Saved by the Bell) took over on drums. Zack was also the lead singer of a 1950s-style doo-wop group, The Five Aces, that sang during a school sock hop. The other singers were Slater, Screech, Lisa, and Tori Scott (a student who transferred to Bayside during senior year). He was also a member of the glee club for a short time. He could also play the trombone.
Zack was also involved in various other activities throughout high school. He helped re-start the school radio station, and hosted a radiothon to save The Max. He spearheaded a carnival to raise money for a school ski trip, and helped sponsor countless dances. He was also a member of the school's ROTC program.
[edit] Gambling
Throughout the series, Zack is shown as an avid proposition bettor who often make bets with Slater on the outcome of his schemes. Zack also occasionally placed bets with students of Bayside's rival school, Valley. He has gambled on football, chess, the future, whether he could skip school, and even on the day that Mr. Belding's baby would be born. However, when Zack went to Las Vegas to marry Kelly, he wasn't seen gambling.
[edit] Jobs
Throughout most of high school, Zack is not seen holding any jobs, although some of the other characters are. However, during one summer, Zack worked at The Malibu Sands Beach Club with his friends. During college, Zack is seen working at the cafeteria in the student commons, in order to raise money for a trip he had promised as a prize in a raffle contest that was designed to get students to fill out a survey.
[edit] Love Life
Throughout the sitcoms that featured Zack Morris, he had numerous flames:
Junior High:
- Karen (episode "Summer Love" - Zack meets Karen over the summer, but because she's older, he lies about his age, which leads to complications when school starts again.)
- Shana (episode "Save the Last Dance for Me" - Zack and Mikey both like the same girl, and both want to go to the dance with her.)
- Colleen Morton, aka Stevie (episode "Stevie" - Zack bets that he can kiss Stevie, a young rock star and former student at their school that will be performing at Bayside, and does end up getting a kiss from Colleen without knowing at the time that it's the same girl.)
High School:
- Long-term relationships:
- Kelly Kapowski (Zack and Kelly are an on-again, off-again couple throughout their high school years.)
- Stacy Corosi (Zack and Stacy grew close during their time working together at the Malibu Sands Beach Club.)
- Tori Scott (After Tori transfers to Bayside, she and Zack butt heads, but after making a bet with Slater about who could kiss Tori first, Zack starts to realize he actually likes her.)
- Short-term relationships:
- Penny Belding (episode "Blind Dates" - Mr. Belding coerces Zack into going on a blind date with his niece, but Zack sends Screech in his place.)
- Nicki Kapowski (episode "1-900-Crushed" - Kelly's little sister who has a crush on Zack, and after he mistakes her voice for Kelly's and says that he loves her he has to straighten things out.)
- Jennifer (episode "From Nurse to Worse" - Zack temporarily falls for the hot new school nurse, even though he was about to ask Kelly to steady with him.)
- Jessie Spano (episode "Snow White and the Seven Dorks" - Zack and Jessie have to kiss in a play, and for a while they think they may actually have feelings for each other, making the kiss awkward.)
- Danielle (episode "Fake ID's" - Zack falls for a college girl, and gets a fake ID made so he can go to the over-18 club with her.)
- Wendy (episode "Date Auction" - Wendy wins the right to go to a dance with Zack during a date auction, and although he initially blows her off because she's not attractive, he ends up dancing with her.)
- Krystee (episode "Hold me Tight" - Zack grows to like this female wrestler, whom he dates partially because Jessie was jealous that Slater and Krystee were spending too much time together.)
- Mindy Wallace (episode "Rockumentary" - As part of Zack's dream about hitting the big time, he has a fling with his publicist, which leads to him splitting from the group for a while.)
- Laura Benton (episodes "Home for Christmas" part 1 and 2 - Laura catches Zack's eye at the mall, so he tries to woo her, then helps her and her father when he finds out they're homeless.)
- Andrea Larson (TV movie "Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style" - While in Hawaii for a summer vacation, Zack falls for a local and pursues a relationship with her.)
- Joanna (episode "The Fight" - A new girl comes to Bayside, and Zack and Slater fight over who will get to go to the dance with her.)
- Lisa Turtle (episode "The Bayside Triangle" - These two long-time friends begin to think they might have feelings for each other, and share a kiss.)
- J.B. Slater (episode "Slater's Sister" - When Slater's sister comes to town, Zack dates her for a while, which upsets Slater.)
- Kimberly (Screech's sexy, albeit adopted, cousin who was meant to ease Zack back into the dating world after his split with Kelly)
- Melissa (episode "Teen Line" - Zack sets up a date with a girl he talked to on the school's advice hotline, and after meeting her it takes him a while to get past her disability.)
College:
- Leslie Burke (After arriving at Cal U, Zack quickly falls for Leslie and talks her into going on a date with him, but when Kelly shows up, Zack is torn between the two girls.)
- Kelly Kapowski (During their first year of college, Zack and Kelly get back together, survive some rocky times, and end up getting engaged.)
- Jennifer Williams (episode "Professor Zack" - Zack pretends to be a professor to impress Jennifer, but this causes problems because she's the chancellor's daughter.)
- Linda Addington (episode "Screech Love" - Zack starts dating a tennis star, but after he asks Screech to tutor her, it turns out she likes Screech better.)
[edit] Political Advocacy
Zack effectively lobbied against putting oil derricks on the school's football field after errant test well drilling by CalStar Oil killed the animals in the school pond, including Zack's beloved duck, Becky. Zack sprayed oil on CalStar company spokesman Derek Grayson to make a point about the dangers of oil exploration. Zack also was a political advocate of what would benefit him...he was neither blue or red, but independent in terms of his own interpretation of beneficial political advancement.
[edit] Student Government
In 9th grade, Zack ran against Jessie for Class President. Zack only wanted the position to get a free trip to Washington, D.C.. He defeated Jessie by one vote, but after realizing how much the position actually meant to Jessie (and her college application), he resigned from office, allowing Jessie to become president.
[edit] Breaking The Fourth Wall
During his high school years, Zack broke the fourth wall numerous times. During many episodes, he would introduce the episode, or speak his opinion on different topics, such as Slater, Kelly, etc. Perhaps the most popular times Zack broke the Fourth Wall was when he would take a "Time Out." Zack would say "Time Out," and make a motion with his hands similar to a basketball player requesting a time out from the referee, and everyone around him would freeze. Then, Zack would offer his opinion, and when he was finished, he would say "Time In," and the episode would continue. In one episode, Zack had to use the "Time Out," to make sure he wouldn't get punched by Slater. Slater instead punched Mr. Belding, because Zack moved out of the way.
[edit] Accessories
Zack Morris has lent his name to brick-style cellular telephones, which are often referred to as Zack Morris-phones.
[edit] College
Thanks to the SAT score of 1502, along with the many extracurricular activities mentioned above, Zack gained admission to Yale, and, at the end of "Saved by the Bell" was planning on attending. But Zack apparently had a change of heart about his choice of college, and at the beginning of "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" he joined fellow high school classmates Screech Powers, A.C. Slater (who had planned on attending Iowa to join their wrestling program), and Kelly Kapowski (who joined the cast after the pilot episode) at California University.
During his first year in college, Zack shared a room with his friends Screech and Slater. Their dorm was a suite, with the three guys in one room, three girls in another room, and a common area in-between. The girls originally assigned to shared the dorm with them were Alex Tabor (an aspiring actress), Leslie Burke (the daughter of a university donor) and Danielle Marks. However, Danielle quickly transferred to a different school, and Kelly moved into the room when she transferred into Cal U.
Assigned to watch over Zack and his friends was Mike Rogers, a former football player for the San Fransisco 49ers, who was working as a resident advisor while working towards a graduate degree. Mike often had to keep Zack in line, since Zack was still up to many of his high school tricks, but generally Mike and Zack got along well.
Other university faculty and staff that were regularly featured in "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" were Professor Jeremiah Lasky and Dean Susan McMann. Zack generally got along well with Professor Lasky, with the exception of a short period where Professor Lasky was dating Kelly, which upset Zack because he realized he still had feelings for her. Dean McMann, however, was a more authoritative figure whom Zack often caused problems for.
Zack was originally romantically interested in Leslie, but shortly after Kelly moved in, Zack realized he still had feelings for her. After spending some time dating again, they realized they still loved each other. Near the end of their first year on campus, Zack proposed to Kelly. She was unsure at first, and said she needed time to think about it, but she ended up skipping her chance to spend a summer studying at sea because she realized she did want to marry him, and didn't want to wait any longer.
In a TV Movie, Zack and Kelly finally got married in Vegas in a wedding put together by his parents.
