The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story

Background

In 2009, actor Dustin Diamond wrote Behind the Bell, a memoir that purported to reveal what life was like on the set of Saved by the Bell, NBC’s 1989–93 Saturday morning teen sitcom.

Buzzfeed's Jarrett Wieselman reported that "hours of brand-new interviews [were] conducted for this film (obtained independently of Diamond and his book)."

Plot

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story delves into the experiences of six unknown young actors placed into the Hollywood spotlight, exposing the challenges of growing up under public scrutiny while trying to maintain the squeaky-clean image of their popular characters both on and off-screen.

Cast

Broadcast

The film premiered on September 1, 2014 on Lifetime and M3.

DVD release

The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story was released on DVD in Region 1 on November 4, 2014. and on DVD in Region 4 on April 20, 2016

Reception

The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story received negative reviews from critics and has a score of 33% on Metacritic.

Variety was critical of how it placed emphasis on exaggerated dramatic events rather than depicted events as they happened, saying "So it turns out “The Unauthorized Saved by the Bell Story” is really just Lifetime for “Sharknado.”"

Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast was also highly critical of the film, saying "The Unauthorized Saved By the Bell is really an avant-garde meta examination of Saved By the Bell. That it is a dramatic deconstruction of the worst elements of the hit ’90s children’s series. That the bad acting, wooden dialogue, elementary plotting, and impotent dramatic tension are actually an artistic wink at those very elements in the original series."

Pilot Viruet of The A.V. Club critisced how the film's ending hinted at a sequel, saying "The Unauthorized Saved By The Bell Story doesn’t make a compelling case for a sequel. It doesn’t even make a case for its own existence."

Entertainment Weekly called the film "horrendous and unmoving time-waster" and compiled a list of one-hundred elements it depicted that they found to be unconvincing. TV Guide compiled a similar list of eight elements and said that it "seemed more parody than biopic"

After the film aired, many fans of Saved by the Bell expressed their disdain for it on Twitter.