We very clearly remember the moment that we fell for The Office, the NBC stalwart that closes up shop at Dunder Mifflin tonight after nine mostly great seasons. It was the fall of 2005, when The Office was starting to find its legs after a rocky and uneven six episode first season, and we in our first autumn post-college, back at our parents’, and for the first time since we were four-years-old not attending school. We were at our best friend and future roommate’s house, hanging out, maybe barbecuing, maybe drinking a few beers, maybe watching the first season of Lost on DVD, which dominated much of our time (and thoughts) during that period. We knew about the The Office, another blatant attempt to import a UK hit stateside, but missed its brief run earlier that year, as was the case with the aforementioned Lost, as the only shows we watched religiously during our final year of college (and last few months before true adulthood) were The Simpsons and Survivor. We did, however, recall reading that it was an imperfect translation of the original, and the Steve Carell-led vehicle – who was then best known as the other Steve from The Daily Show – was not likely to resurrect NBC Thursday night Must See TV, let alone make it past Season 2. So with the middling reviews in mind, and the fact that we were unfamiliar with the original Ricky Gervais version, we didn’t go out of our way to watch the show. But that night changed everything.
Tag Archives: Zack
Branch Closing – A Farewell to ‘The Office’
Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: Two Wisemen (Including One Westman)
In an effort to continue with this week’s Saved by the Bell theme for our Gratuitous Search Term Bait, we’re going to put a new twist on a classic, that being “tom westman.” As Survivor‘s elder statesmen, Westman was a strong, reliable father figure, a role model for the younger contestants. He conducted himself with dignity and honor, showing respect and compassion for others. Just playing the game the right right way. And the guy looked pretty damn good in a beard. Which reminds us of someone from Saved by the Bell. No, not Mr. Belding. But Mr. Derek Morris, as played by the terrific John Sanderford. Here he is, like Westman in a salt and pepper beard, in his standout Saved by the Bell moment, educating Zack on the dangers of drunk driving, doling out equal parts wisdom and love. We’re just going to stand back for a moment and let Sanderford’s work speak for itself.
Do they give belated Emmy’s for “Guest Actor on a Saturday Morning Sitcom?” Because they should. For this.
Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: Hellooooo Nurse
We’re inclined to make this an all Saved by the Bell week of Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day, in celebration of finally finishing our (prolonged) SBTB marathon. We don’t know what Tuesday through Friday will hold, but we’re going to start off in that direction with today’s bait “nurse jennifer saved by the bell.”
If you’ve already read our Saved by the Bell Season 2 semi-live blog you’ll know that, despite our eternal affection for Kelly Kapowski, we’ve also always harbored a crush on Nurse Jennifer, as portrayed by Nancy Valen in the episode “From Nurse to Worse” (oddly enough, if we had to name five girls that we had a thing for as a young man, the list might include three ladies from Saved by the Bell: Thiessen, Valen and Rena Sofer, who played Zack’s love interest in Hawaiian Style). It was a very brief role, but Valen left an indelible impression on us, a lasting impact that stays with us today. Indeed, we remember Valen more for her turn at Bayside than her one season on Baywatch. And normally we hated any of Zack’s love interests other than Kelly, abhorring anyone who might get in the way of their eternal happiness. But this particular time we didn’t mind so much. We weren’t happy that Zack was risking his relationship with Kelly for Nurse Jennifer, but we certainly couldn’t blame him.
We mean, c’mon, what sophomore wouldn’t fall for this school nurse? (just another example of how everything was better at Bayside)
Saved by the Bell Project Update: Graduation
Well kids, what started as a two to three day marathon has turned into a weeks long journey. But we’ve finally reached the end of the Saved by the Bell line, “Graduation.” With the benefit of time we know what eventually happens to the gang, but when we first saw this episode we didn’t know if Zack and Kelly would end up together or if this was it for them. It was the end of their youth, and we like to think that for the actors, from Mark-Paul to Lark to Dustin, it felt like they were actually graduating. It was truly a milestone moment for all of us.
Alright, let’s get to it. Get your tissues ready.
What a face, eh? The kind of visage you could set your clocks to.
Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: What Happens in Vegas Stays in a TV Movie
Short and sweet tonight because we have to go watch Survivor (and eat pizza!): “saved by the bell wedding screen images.” You want it, you got it!
Filed under Gratuitous Search Term Bait, Saved by the Bell
Valentine’s Day: Zack and Kelly’s European Vacation
Happy Valentine’s Day! As usual, Jumped the Snark is going to live vicariously through Zack and Kelly, a love for the ages. But even though Zack and Kelly eventually ended up together, we always felt that Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Thiessen were destined to emulate their on-screen love. If we couldn’t have Thiessen, then the next best thing, really the only other acceptable outcome, would have been Gosselaar winning her. But, alas, they went their separate ways, and found love elsewhere. But there was a brief window at the end of Saved by the Bell when they did date and for that brief time, at least, everything was perfect.
Somehow this YouTube user found photos from Gosselaar’s and Thiessen’s European vacation (we’re going to assume/hope it wasn’t by going through their personal photo albums), and the chemistry between the two is undeniable. While this is a record of a romance that didn’t make it, it’s better to have loved and lost Tiffani Thiessen than to have never loved Tiffani Thiessen at all.
Some things can be too good, and we understand that now.
Filed under Lady Holiday, Saved by the Bell
Parting Shot: Three Broken Hearts
“It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Not for us.”
Filed under Freak Out Control, Parting Shot, Saved by the Bell
“The Last Dance:” Zack and Kelly Break-Up and We Were Never the Same
A special video update after “The Last Dance,” the episode in which Kelly cheats on Zack with that jerk Jeff and our world comes crashing down. Not to get too Kevin Arnold on you, but when we first watched Zack and Kelly break-up a little bit of our childhood slipped away.
Filed under Nostalgia Corner
Jumped The Snark 