Zachary "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 was portrayed by Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Though the character appeared in several different television programs, Gosselaar made a concerted effort to keep the character fundamentally the same through its various incarnations.

Background

Zack was born on March 18, according to several episodes.

In the 1992 TV movie Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style Zack reveals he was born "on a smoggy July day in Los Angeles," placing his birthday in July 1975, given that he graduated from high school in 1993. He is the only child of Derek and Melanie Morris. Derek is a hot shot salesman for a computer company and is seen as somewhat serious and intense unlike Zack, which causes them to have an distant relationship at times. Melanie is a stay-at-home housewife who seems to have a clever side, possibly where Zack got his penchant for schemes.

However, his background story on Good Morning, Miss Bliss is slightly different. While most of Zack's personality remains the same, he is from Indianapolis instead of Los Angeles. He is not an only child, Zack mentions that he scammed his sister in one of the episodes, but you never get a chance to see her. but his father's name is Peter Morris. Unlike Derek, Peter is a divorced bachelor with a much more laid-back attitude. Zack's mother is never seen or mentioned in this series. Peter ran into a bit of trouble on an episode when he wanted to date Zack's teacher Ms. Bliss when they had met on the weekend and then ran into one another at a parent teacher conference.

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 Palisades, California. For the majority of that show, his core group of friends consists 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. They often mention that they are both best friends throughout the show.

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. However, in Saved by the Bell, the two reminisce about being friends since they were young. Zack had a crush on Kelly, but it was not 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 toward common goals. Slater often calls Zack "Preppy." At first, this seemed to be derogatory term when the two were fighting, but it eventually stuck as an affectionate nickname that Slater continues to use.

Throughout junior high (Miss Bliss) and high school (Bell), Zack's authoritarian foil was the principal, Richard Belding. Zack was often seen in Mr. Belding's office for discipline. For example, Belding gives Zack a detention for selling the school to the Japanese. Despite these conflicts, Mr. Belding sometimes played a fatherly role in Zack's life, offering him advice or helping him with his relationships.

As revealed in the episode "Running Zack", Zack Morris is of Native American descent.

Junior high and Miss Bliss

Set in a different continuity from the later series (though later added to the syndication package), 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 (Saved by the Bell is set in California). 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 Carrie Bliss, also helped provide a moral compass for Zack.

In this series, Zack was already doing much of the scheming, betting, and manipulation for which he became known in the later series. 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, 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.

High school and college years

Academics

Zack demonstrated a flair for business throughout his teen years (Saved by the Bell). However, in many subjects (notably history and literature), he is often seen receiving poor grades or displaying lack of interest. And it has to be mentioned that he outclassed Jessie in "The Election" for student president another area he demonstraded his natural talent for leadership.

Despite this, Zack achieved a very high score of 1502 on his SAT and got accepted to Yale 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 (who had planned on attending Iowa to join their wrestling program), and later on, Kelly (who joined the cast after the pilot episode). 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 share the suite with them were Alex Tabor (an aspiring actress), Leslie Burke (the daughter of a university donor) and Danielle Marks (the daughter of a federal judge).

Danielle quickly transferred to a different school. This allowed Kelly to move in after she was accepted from California University's waiting list. Screech met with Kelly, and he suggested that she move in to the suite. Assigned to watch over Zack and his friends was Mike Rogers, a former football player for the San Francisco 49ers. He worked as a resident adviser, while also 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. Generally though, 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.

Extracurricular activities

Zack was a particularly involved high school student. Athletically, 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 win without Zack. Despite this success, Zack sometimes felt athletically overshadowed by Slater, who was the star of the school's football and wrestling teams. While working at the Malibu Sands Beach Club, Zack mentions that Slater is, "All-City in four sports."

Zack was also very musically talented. He was the lead singer and lead guitar player for a band called The Zack Attack (In a dream). 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. The Zack Attack, however, offered to play for free at a school dance so that more money could be spent on decorations. This line-up 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, when they broke up 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 (a reference to the real-life group The Four 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 (a hangout that appears regularly in the show). 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 JROTC program, and together with Screech, ran the Year Book committee to produce a video-Year Book. At one point, Zack takes over as manager of the school store, and is also on the student council.

Gambling

Throughout the series, Zack is shown as an avid proposition bettor who often makes 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 was not seen gambling (the reason being he was only 19 at the time and in Las Vegas one must be 21 to gamble).

Jobs

Throughout most of high school, Zack is not seen holding any jobs, unlike some of his classmates. 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.

Cell Phone

Zack is often cited as the first television person to carry a cell phone. In fact, you can see this very cell phone on display in Roy, Washington at The Frank House.

Fight Against Drugs

Following an incident in which Zack discovered the presence of illegal drugs at Bayside High School, Zack filmed a public service announcement with his friends and the late Chairman of NBC, Brandon Tartikoff. Mr. Tartikoff appeared on the show as himself. The PSA read as follows: [Tartikoff]: "Hi, I'm Brandon Tartikoff, Chairman of NBC, and I've got a hit new idea for the Fall season. Don't do drugs." [Group]: "There's no hope with dope!"

Love life

Throughout the sitcoms that featured Zack Morris, he had numerous flames:

Junior high (Miss Bliss)

• 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; played by Carla Gugino)
• 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 JFK, and does end up getting a kiss from Colleen without knowing at the time that it's the same girl.)

High school (Bell)

• Long-term relationships:
  • Kelly Kapowski (Zack and Kelly are an on-again, off-again couple throughout their high school years.) And they eventually ended up getting married in Las Vegas.
  • Stacy Carosi (Zack and Stacy grew close during their time working together at the Malibu Sands Beach Club; played by actress Leah Remini)
  • 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; played by Leanna Creel)
• 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. Played by Nancy Valen)
  • 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. Played by Julie St. Claire)
  • Wendy (episode "Date Auction" - Wendy wins the right to go to a dance with Zack during a date auction and Zack initially lies in order to blow her off because she is fat, he ends up rethinking his sizist attitudes and sharing a dance with her.)
  • Kristy Barnes (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. Played by Rena Sofer)
  • 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. Played by Jennifer Blanc)
  • Jennifer Wade (episode "Love Machine" - Slater's ex-girlfriend from school in Germany transfers to Bayside, and after Slater and Jennifer realize they do not have romantic feelings for each other any more, Zack dates Jennifer)

• Crushes
  • Rhonda Robestelli (Early on in the High School years, she unrelentingly pursued Zack and wound up on a date to a dance with him).

College

• 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.)
• Kelly Kapowski (During their first year of college, Zack and Kelly get back together, survive some rocky times, and end up getting engaged. When Zack proposed to Kelly, she was unsure at first, and said she needed time to think about it. This occurred shortly before Kelly was scheduled to leave and spend a summer studying at sea. However, just before the ship left on the day she was set to depart, Kelly realized she did want to marry Zack and did not want to wait any longer. The wedding, and the events immediately prior to it, were featured in the TV movie, Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Mark-Paul Gosselaar appeared on the late night talk show in character as Zack in response to Fallon's ongoing attempt to reunite the original cast. During the segment Zack explained that he and Kelly were divorced. The segment also implied he was still interested in Stacy Carosi. Whether or not this appearance is considered canon is unclear.

Environmental advocacy

Zack 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 Dan Grayson to make a point about the dangers of oil exploration. In an attempt to arrogantly display his wealth and affirm his high-standing in the CalStar Oil corporation, Grayson used an expensive scale model of the Bayside campus and also donned an antiquated bolo tie, similar to the ones used in classic Western films of yesteryear.

Student government

In Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Zack was the 8th grade student representative, although he attempts to resign this position in the "Summer Love" episode. In Saved by the Bell, 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.

Breaking the fourth wall

In Saved by the Bell, Zack broke the fourth wall on numerous occasions. 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 would not get punched by Slater. Slater instead punched Mr. Belding because Zack moved out of the way. On June 8, 2009, Zack appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon where he again broke the fourth wall numerous times by calling "Time Out" and interacting with the studio audience. Zack also agreed to do a class reunion with his former classmates from Bayside High School.

References

1. Teen line, this is Nitro Back in Zack - Arts
2. Student Life
3. 750 math, 752 verbal, an impossible score since SATs are scored in intervals of 10. At the time of the airing, 1600 was the maximum possible score

External links