Saturday, January 13

3 Ninjas Reboot (Fan Idea)

  I haven't posted on this blog in a while. In fact, it has been two years. I usually jot my thoughts down on Twitter. But including this post and the last post are my ideas on rebooting franchises. I am just a fan and don't own the copyright to these franchises.


3 Ninjas

3 Ninjas was a 1992 movie with 3 sequels that were about 3 brothers who were trained in martial arts by their grandfather (Legendary Victor Wong) and were 'ninjas.' Fans loved the movies even though critics didn't. The movies balanced comedy and adventure. The actors were changed around. The actor (Max Elliot Slade) who played Colt was in 3 of the 4 movies. 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up was filmed after 3 Ninjas the same year but was released after 3 Ninjas Kick Back. 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain didn't have any of the original cast members and was the least liked by fans, killing the franchise because of low ticket sales. 

My Fan idea for a reboot

Because of the success of Cobra Kai on Netflix, I think a TV series would work out for 3 Ninjas as a reboot. The only problem is the kids that were in the movies, many of them aren't acting anymore. Especially the first two actors who played Rocky, Michael Treanor and Sean Fox. Two actors that are still acting is Max Elliot Slade (Colt) and J. Evan Bonifant (Tum Tum in 3 Ninjas Kick Back). Another actor Michael J. O'Laskey who played Colt in High Noon, has been doing conventions and played young Rocky in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Victor Wong is also long passed away. Anyway, let's put aside the idea that all the actors will return, here is my idea...

10 episodes for the first season, this takes place 30 years or so after the events of the movies, the boys are now in their late thirties and early forties. Samuel/Rocky is an FBI agent like his father, Jeffrey/Colt owns a martial arts studio and was secretly a ninja spy in his twenties, and Michael/Tum Tum is a great chef at a restaurant he owns. Colt honors his grandfather who died in his dojo. Colt and Rocky had a falling out a few years ago, as Colt wanted his brothers to help him in a dangerous mission and Rocky refused. Tum Tum has not done ninja things in a while. Rocky has a son Callen and a daughter Jade, Colt has a daughter Foal, and Tum Tum has two young sons Pancake and Waffle. Colt has been secretly training them in the traditions of his grandfather and this angers Rocky. Colt's daughter Foal acts as the leader of her cousins and feels responsible for them, feeling bad that their being ninjas has torn her father and uncle apaart. Tum Tum finds out about the training and approves and tries helping Colt out mid-way through the series. There is a villain that both Colt and Rocky know. 

If you notice, I gave Rocky two kids, Tum Tum two kids, and Colt one kid, none of them have three. Colt's daughter Foal and her two cousins Pancake and Waffle from Tum Tum can form 3 ninjas or if she is with her cousins Callen and Jade from Rocky, they can form 3 ninjas as well. Notice the names I picked:

Rocky --- Callen  (means rock in Irish and Gaelic ancestry) --- Jade (green stone, to go along with Rocky's color green), their colors can be shades of green. 

Colt --- Foal (baby horse), her color can be light blue. 

TumTum - Pancake (he can flatten his opponents) and Waffle (he is indecisive). Their colors can be red and orange. 

Sebastian the Teenage Warlock (Fan Idea)

 I haven't posted on this blog in a while. In fact, it has been two years. I usually jot my thoughts down on Twitter. But including this post and the next post will be my ideas on rebooting franchises, one not so dead and one that has not had anything in 30 years. I am just a fan and don't own the copyright to these franchises.


"Sabrina the Teenage Witch"

She started as a character in Archie Comics in 1962.  She also had her own 1970 cartoon. Her most popular incarnation is 1996 TV sitcom that aired on ABC and WB, which started as a Showtime TV Movie starring Melissa Joan Hart. Recently there was Chilling Adventures of Sabrina in 2018 that aired on Netflix and ended in 2020. The 1996 series spawned two TV Movies and two animated series. There has been a lot of reboot series of 90s sitcoms like Girl Meets World (of Boy Meets World) and Fuller House (of Full House). 

"Sebastian the Teenage Warlock"

This is just an idea. I am sure Melissa Joan Hart has probably already pitched a reboot of Sabrina. But of course, there are the rights from Archie Comics. Melissa Joan Hart is still acting. The top image is done by AI. Let's say Salem is still a cat, as he has done more crimes to remain a cat forever. Sabrina and Harvey are married and still live in Westbridge, Massachusetts. They own the Spellman house and have three kids: Sebastian (Born Sabrina Jr) and the twins Hilly and Zelly, named after Hilda and Zelda. Sebastian is a 16-year-old transmale, which Sabrina is admittedly not thrilled with the idea but accepting. She is just weary about her son's safety. Harvey is completely accepting of him and owns a chain of auto repair shops. Sabrina is a journalist and chairperson of Witches and Mortals association in the witches' Council. Sabrina is campaigning to be the new head of the witches' council. Sebastian is now gaining his powers and becoming a warlock.

The original show gave a boatload of world-building and lots of spells and memorable characters to reference. Sabrina's aunts Hilda and Zelda can drop in to help out. Also, Sabrina's best friend Valery can always come back too. There are a lot of possibilities. It can keep a balance like Girl Meets World, keep up with characters we love, and also introduce new ones. Also, there is more conflict with Sabrina, the most positive character ever, for Sabrina to be uneasy with her son and him taking over as a witch/warlock, where she expected her daughter to do so. It is not that she is transphobic, but any parent would not agree with their child's choices sometimes. She still loves her son of course. 

Saturday, January 1

Cobra Kai Season 4 Review

Wow, I haven't posted here in six months. I should have talked about this show earlier but I don't think I have enough space or time to go over how great this show is. I am not all about violence or action shows but I do sometimes like action movies. I did grow up with the Karate Kid movies. I love how Cobra Kai balances comedy and drama, and not everyone is a clear-cut hero or villain. But one thing we can agree with is almost everyone has been a bully (except for maybe Miguel and Demetri--if not on purpose). For those who have not seen the show, it was on YouTube Red but now on Netflix. It is set years after the original Karate Kid movies. Karate Kid was about Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) being trained by Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese martial artist that was like his father figure. His rival was Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who started it as the protagonist in Cobra Kai. Daniel has been pretty successful in running a car dealership with his wife and they have two children Samantha (Mary Mouser) and Anthony (Griffin Santopietro). While Johnny, unfortunately, has not been so lucky, having an estranged son Robby (Tanner Buchanan), living single in a rotting apartment, and being a caveman stuck in the 80's. There will be spoilers ahead if you haven't seen the season. 

 
SPOILERS AHEAD
Season 4's premise is that Ying and Yang have joined forces... I mean Daniel and Johnny, who are basically day and night, or The Odd Couple. One is neat and the other not so neat. One practices defense and meditation while the other doesn't---he basically has his students beat each other up and jump between building roofs. It goes stupendously bad as imagined. Johnny and Daniel quit almost every episode and the kids actually get along and want to work under both sensei. Some critics have said this season has been holding back a bit. It does seem at times they are holding back to expand the universe and keep stuff for season 5. Even Xolo Mariduena (Miguel) has expressed he thought season 4 would be last but Netflix has renewed for Season 5 and they are currently shooting it, even shooting in Puerto Rico. Cobra Kai has exclusively shot in Georgia, except for some parts in California for movie legacy locations and Japan for Season 3. That being said, I did like this season I don't see the writing waning at all, it is still crisp. 

The secret is keeping things fresh and this season definitely has. The first three seasons deal with the circle of violence, the cycle of non-bullies becoming bullies and bullies becoming non-bullies and it going around and around again. This is more evident with newcomer Kenny (Dallas Dupree) and Anthony. Kenny is a sweet new kid but he is quickly bullied and tormented by Anthony (who Johnny finally comments on Anthony's weight loss). Kenny goes for help---ending up at Cobra Kai with Robbie, who takes him under his wing. Robbie, at first didn't want to join Cobra Kai but ends up doing so, wanting to get revenge on his father Johnny, Sam, and Daniel. Spoilers of course and Robbie ends up creating a monster. But going back to Anthony, Daniel finally trains his son and learns he created a monster as well. Daniel realizes he can't deal with him like he does with his other students and probably unintentionally learned something from Johnny. It is a harrowing scene where Daniel has to be threatening to his son, later his wife gives credit to Mr. Miyagi but Daniel doesn't correct her. 

Another thing I like is the attention has been given to the women this season. Sam needs help with dealing with Tory (Peyton List) so she goes to Aisha (Nicole Brown)--who gives a special guest appearance, since last appearing in season 2. Aisha gives her solid advice, to make friends and be peaceful, reusing the advice Johnny gave her (Strike First). The subversion is that Sam misinterprets this. Sam ends up striking first and attacking Tory instead of making amends. Tory is made more three-dimensional by actually trying to change. Amanda (Courtney Henggler) actually gets through to her and tries helping her but Sam is not so forgiving. Amanda has Tory agree not to harm Sam in the final battle. A lot of focus is given to the women's final in the tournament at the season finale. I like that we spend more time in the tournament, in 2 episodes. Speaking about women---Unfortunately, Moon (Hannah Kepple) and Yasmine (Annalisa Cochrane) only appear for glorified cameos. More girls are even added to the schools--Devon (Oona O'Brien) and Piper (Selah Austria) respecively. I am almost done and I haven't mentioned Terry Silver (Thomas Ian Griffith). I never saw Karate Kid 3 but from what get from the flashbacks, he was a crazy dude. Here is a charismatic shark, not exactly the subordinate Kreese wants. 

As for the cycle of violence, it does get repetitive. This season there are some beats that did seem old and used like Miguel hurting himself once again. The great parts have to be Hawk (Jacob Bertrand) and Demetri (Gianni DeCenzo). For sure Demetri has gotten taller and much more confident (especially with his girlfriend Yasmine) and he has become less annoying. Hawk has his own mini-arc which is great to kept at a minimum. Hawk and Demetri can easily be saved for a spin-off in college. 




Thursday, July 8

Genera+ion/Elite/HSMTMTS Review and LGBT Reflection

 It's been a while since I have posted on Spanengrish Ramblings, that is an understatement. I have been binge-watching a couple of Teen shows and decided to compare them. Some have been reviewed to death and one has not been. The three shows I am comparing are Genera+ion, Elite, and High School Musical the Musical the Series. One series is much more serious than the others. Two are more of comedies. I am also concerning on how LGBT characters and issues are handled in all three series. Also, Genera+ion and Elite both deal with sexuality more openly, and many of the characters are fluid and switch partners, not depending on gender. 


Premises
Genera+ion streams on HBO Max. It has not been praised enough. It follows teenagers at a school and many are LGBT and or experimenting with their sexuality. The show unapologetically explores the characters and relationships. It has a cavalcade of characters. 

Elite streams on Netflix. It is from Spain, it gets dubbed in English and created by Elite. Elite premiered 4 years prior. It follows rich kids at a prestigious high school with murder, drugs, lies, and the usual teen drama. The series started with 2 gay characters and 1 bisexual character. Soon it blossomed into 3 more bisexual characters and one more gay character.

High School Musical the Musical the Series streams on Disney Plus. It takes place in the school where High School Musical was shot and about the drama club and they performed High School The Musical. It is a comedy. The first season introduced two gay characters and then their relationship is being explored more in season two.

LGBT 
Genera+ion is LGBT all over, that it even has a GSA (Gay Straight Alliance)---which the characters explain is old school. There are about 12 main characters they balance around. Instead of saying how many LGBT characters there are, it is better to just saw which ones have mainly been in heterosexual relationships and there are 4 characters (Naomi, Deliah, J, and Arianna). On top of it that Deliah (Lukita Maxwell) is non-binary and J probably is too but they have mostly been in heterosexual relationships. Genera+ion has been compared to Euphoria but it is much more positive and leans towards comedy than Euphoria does. 

The breakout main character Chester (Justice Smith) is openly gay and flamboyant. Smith does a great job as him, he completely understands this character and embodies it. His storyline is he falls for his school counselor who is also out Sam (Nathan Stewart-Jarret) and later meet-cute D&D geek Bo (Marwan Salama). My favorite characters have to be Riley (Chase Sui Wonders) and Greta (Haley Sanchez), their characters are so sweet and real. Greta is Mexican-American, she is a sweet, quiet, and polite girl whose mother is overwhelming and strict. She has a crush on Riley, a cool girl whose mother has a very uncommon strange story. You have to just watch it to understand it. What is strange is that I didn't even know Greta's aunt was actually a transgender actress Nava Mau (Ana), it is not even referenced until episode 14. Another standout is Martha Plimpton playing Megan, another mother she plays having issues with her son's sexual orientation. But Plimpton is a pro and even if her dialogue can make someone angry, she delivers such passion and legitimacy to her role. 



Elite starts out with the sweet story of Omar (Omar Ayuso) and Ander (Aron Piper). Omar, the child of Muslim immigrants, he has a conflict with his dad but not because of his sexuality but of his strict upbringing. Polo (Alvaro Rico) is later revealed to be bisexual and has a threesome with his girlfriend and a guy. Actually, there are a lot of threesomes in Elite and there is a lot of guys. Polo is in actually in two of the three threesomes. Then we have seemingly bisexual Valerio (Jorge Lopez) who mixes in with Polo and his new girlfriend. I don't say many names because of spoilers. Then in Season 4, a character was straight, then gets in a relationship with another girl, both never been with a girl before. Also in season 4, Patrick (Manu Rios) mixes in with Omar and Ander. 

High School Musical the Musical the Series only has so far two gay characters. Carlos (Frankie A. Rodriguez) and Seb (Joe Serafini) go out on a date in season 1. This is a big deal because there not many LGBT characters on Disney +. Love, Victor was supposed to be on Disney + and then moved over to Hulu, so it is clear they were hesitant to have any LGBT characters in Disney +. Frankie and Joe are even in a relationship in real life. In Season 2, Seb throws a birthday party for Carlos in his farmhouse and they call it a Quinceanero instead of the quinceanera. They only kiss once and in that same episode.

Reviews
I definitely recommend watching Genera+ion, it is a great show. Elite on the other hand is a cup of tea, it depends if you can stomach teenagers being irresponsible and death. If you want to see hot boys and don't care for plot, then watch Elite. HSMTMTS is sweet and everything is okay--kind of series. So if you can put up with cute saccharine stuff, then watch HSMTMTS.


Tuesday, July 21

Saved by the Bell: Zack's Crimes - Season 4

Everyone says Zack Morris has done heinous crimes. Now that there is a revival coming to Peacock, I decided to go over the old Saved by The Bell episodes (no Good Morning Miss Bliss and no College Years) and review his crimes, misdemeanors, or just plain unfriendliness.

Season 4 (Season 5 according to Hulu)
(order according to this link, not by TV airings or Hulu order)

Hawaiian Style
The gang goes to Hawaii to Kelly's grandfather's hotel and help run it as a rival chain is trying to muscle him out. Hijinks ensue.
Jailbait: No matter how old the lawyer Brian is, Kelly is still a teenager and I doubt Harry would hire a teen lawyer. 
Lies: Lies and pranks with the gang to manipulate Belding and the principals out of the hotel to the Hideaway. 
Actions: Exterminator impersonator, lying, stranding hotel guests in the ocean on a small boat, forging documents, forcing Mr. Belding to impersonate a professor and other schemes.
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10
[This TV movie was filmed after the graduation but aired before it, that's why the cast looks older here.]

[I split them up by episodes with Jessie and Kelly and others with Tori.]

5.1 The Fight 
September 12, 1992
Zack and Slater's friendship is put to the test when they both fall for the same girl, creating a nasty love triangle. When the girl accepts separate dates with Zack and Slater, they crash each other's date with her, which leads to a brutal fistfight between the two in the school hallway. In a subplot; Lisa, as a senior, finds herself in an awkward situation when she finds out that her date for the Senior Kick-Off party is only a freshman.
Cheating: Giving answers to the new girl.
Lies: Hires an actress to be his mom and gets Screech to bother Slater at the movies as an usher.
Assessment: A bad friend to Slater.
Bad Friend Meter: 6/10

5.5 The Bayside Triangle 
September 26, 1992
Zack helps Lisa put on a fashion show to impress a visiting recruiter from FIT, the fashion school in which Lisa is interested after graduation. However, Zack and Lisa soon start to fall for each other after they share a passionate kiss at Lisa's house, where Zack was trying on an outfit Lisa designed. 
Good friend Meter: He vouches for Screech and encourages him to go after Lisa
Assessment: He hurts Screech's feelings inadvertently. Zack is willing to give up Lisa for Screech.
Bad Friend Meter: 3/10
[Zack is pretty much the Black Widow of Saved By The Bell. Mark-Paul and Lark were actually in a real relationship for the majority of the series.] 

5.3 Screech’s Spaghetti Sauce
September 19, 1992
After introducing the gang to his grandmother's spaghetti sauce, which they go onto sell, Screech begins to date Robin (Soleil Moon Frye), a rich and pretty girl at school. However, the gang discovers what Robin is really up to, and to make matters worse, they also discover that Screech's grandmother got her spaghetti sauce recipe from a cookbook, forcing them to stop their business.
Lying and stealing: Zack steals beakers and other school recipes worth $1500 to sell the sauce.
Impersonation: Impersonating a buyer of the sauce
Bad Friend Meter: 5/10

5.9 Wrestling With The Future
October 10, 1992
Slater and his dad argue over whether he should join a military academy or go to college, and Jessie fears for her college chances after becoming a cheerleader.
Impersonating Slater and bribery: In order to blow his interview--which gets them detained by the government
Assessment: He did it for Slater. 
Bad Friend Meter: 4/10

5.2 Student-Teacher Week 
September 12, 1992
The gang switches roles with the teachers during Student-Teacher week with Zack acting as principal, and Kelly as a history teacher. However, things go wrong when Zack is caught in the middle between Kelly and Slater and must decide what the right thing to do is.
Manipulating: Manipulates Kelly into canceling a test
Gambling: Bet on a game
Bad Friend Meter: 3/10

5.12 Isn’t It Romantic? 
October 24, 1992
It is Valentine's Day and the gang reminisces about past romances through clips from past episodes.
Assessment: no schemes, just clips, and kisses.
Bad Friend Meter: 0/10

5.17 The Senior Prom
November 7, 1992
The senior prom is coming up and the gang needs to raise money in order for it to happen. However, things go wrong when Zack finds out that Kelly has a date to the prom and sabotages it by telling her would-be date Matt that her family is violent to her boyfriends, thereby scaring her date away. This is also the rare episode where Lisa asks Screech to the prom. 
Lying: Zack tells her would-be date (Andrew Bowen) lies.
Assessment: Lying to her would-be date is pretty bad.
Bad Friend Meter: 7/10

5.15 The Teacher’s Strike 
October 31, 1992
The gang hurts their chances of winning the academic championship after causing a teacher's strike so they can go on a ski trip. 
Schemes: Zack and Slater trick Belding to record something for an interview which he uses against the teachers to do the strike. Makes Lisa, Jessie, and Slater mad there is no academic bowl.
Other Scheme: Slater tricks the Valley team by telling them to concentrate on football.
[Kelly is not present for this episode so that's why Jessie is working at the Max.]
Bad Friend Meter: 6/10

5.4 The New Girl 
September 19, 1992
A new student, a biker girl named Tori (Leanna Creel), is paired with Zack for a school project, but Zack and Tori do not exactly hit it off well at first.
Whining: Upset that Tori has taken his space when student parking spaces aren't enforced.
Bad Team collaboration: Zack and Tori don't get along as a team.
Assessment: He is a jerk to Tori for pretty much the whole episode.
Bad Friend Meter: 5/10

5.6 Teen-Line 
September 26, 1992
After participating in a teen hot-line for the senior class, Zack becomes close to a disabled girl Melissa. Meanwhile, Screech has to take on a rambunctious boy.
Bad advice: Zack gives bad advice to Melissa to turn back the clock at home. Also reacts badly to Melissa being handicapable. "Even though she is handicap" comes up. 
Doesn't follow rules: Supposed to not ask for personal info but meets Melissa.
Assessment: Tori says it perfectly when she says, "She rather be your friend than your cause."
Bad Friend Meter: 5/10

5.16 Slater’s Sister 
October 31, 1992
Zack falls for Slater's sister, but when Slater finds out, he cannot bear his sister being on the receiving end of Zack's womanizing and tries to break them up.
[Ginger is pretty much the 6th member as she is every of the Tori episodes and even works for the Max.]
Assessment: Dating JB does make AC upset since they are friends.
Bad Friend Meter: 4/10

5.7 Masquerade Ball 
October 3, 1992
The masquerade ball is approaching and Zack and Slater both plan to kiss Tori, but she finds out and refuses to see either one. At the ball, Zack reveals that he wanted to lose the bet because he could not bear hurting Tori. 
Betting: Zack and Slater beat on who will kiss Tori first. He doesn't want to kiss her when he discovers he likes her. 
Bad Friend Meter: 5/10

 5.10 Drinking and Driving 
October 10, 1992
After getting drunk at a party and crashing Lisa's mother's car on the way home, Zack and the gang learn the worst thing about drinking and driving: having to face the music from their enraged parents.
Crime: DUI, underage drinking
Scams: Charges per letter on Slater's jersey to fix the car
Lies: Lies to Lisa's mom and his dad about the car, Lisa does the same, they both get in trouble
Bad Friend Meter: 8/10

5.21 Earthquake!
November 21, 1992
Tori, Zack, and Mrs. Belding get stuck in an elevator during an earthquake, but things get worse when Mr. Belding's wife goes into labor.
Gambling: Betting when will Belding's baby be born
Bad Friend Meter: 2/10

5.14 The Will 
October 24, 1992
A favorite student dies and leaves $10,000 in his will resulting in the guys and the girls fighting over who should get the money.
Jerk: Slater and Zack say girl's sports shouldn't get the money and form the boys team to go against the girl's team in a battle of the sexes.
Cheating: Exchanges oven nobs to girl's team for them to lose. He and Slater later admit the team.
Bad Friend Meter: 6/10

5.11 Class Rings
October 17, 1992
Zack is tricked into buying fake rings by a salesman after he is appointed to buy them for everyone in the graduating class. In the end, the salesman gets Zack and Slater the real rings after Screech confronts him.
Scams: Gets rings from a bad salesman
Lies: Lies to Screech that he has a broken heart about Tori.
Assessment: Not his fault the rings were faulty.
Bad Friend Meter: 4/10

 5.24 School Song
November 22, 1992
The gang begins to compete against one another when Bayside holds a contest for who can write the best school song. Zack decides he wants to be remembered for something positive and so begins to sabotage everyone else so that he can win, but later regrets it.
Sabotages: Sabotages the other guys' songs.
Bad Friend Meter: 7/10

5.8 Day of Detention
October 3, 1992
In order to win a trip to Hawaii, Zack needs to get out of detention, but in an attempt to get him out, everyone else ends up in detention as well.
Lies: Lies to his friends for them to help him.
Crimes: Rigging of phone lines
Authority Defiance: Skipping school
Bad Friend Meter: 4/10

 5.26 Graduation 
May 22, 1993
With graduation day approaching, Zack discovers he needs to gain one more credit to graduate. This results in Zack having to be in dance class and perform in the ballet to get his last credit. However, she soon realizes how much valedictorian really means to Screech when Lisa wisely tells her that he puts others before him.
Lies: He paid Big Pete to bow out of the ballet. He lies to Mr. Belding that he can dance. 
Bad Friend Meter: 2/10
[This was shot before the Tori episodes and Hawaii movie.]

5.25 The Time Capsule
December 5, 1992
In 2003, the latest class finds a time capsule on video, so Belding plays it for them. They discover that it's footage of Zack and the old gang with highlights of the ups and downs they went through (through clips from past episodes).
Bad Friend Meter: Zack only appears in clips.

Season Meter: 81/100
This season crimes include skipping school, rigging phone lines, lying, cheating, stealing, bribery, impersonation, manipulations, and scheming for teachers to strike so he could go skiing.

Overall Series Assessment:
His most heinous crimes would be pimping out Lisa to receive unwanted kisses for money, selling tapes of girls with their numbers without permission, taking pictures of the swim team, and selling as a calendar without permission and stealing the Principal's car and endangering the lives of two students. Apparently, his good deeds to outnumber his bad ones.

Sunday, July 19

Saved by the Bell: Zack's Crimes - Season 3

Everyone says Zack Morris has done heinous crimes. Now that there is a revival coming to Peacock, I decided to go over the old Saved by The Bell episodes (no Good Morning Miss Bliss and no College Years) and review his crimes, misdemeanors, or just plain unfriendliness.

Season 3 (Season 4 according to Hulu)
(order according to this link, not by TV airings or Hulu order)

5.18 The Video Yearbook 
November 7, 1992
The gang decides to make a video version of the annual high school yearbook, but Zack has other ideas and decides to use it as a money-making scheme to sell dating videos made from the video clips. However, Zack regrets his plan after Screech mistakenly includes Kelly on the video and she starts receiving calls from other guys.
Exploiting girls, Soliciting, and Selling Private Information: Zack sells dating videos without the people's permission and handing out phone numbers. He does this for a car.
Impersonates a girl
Bad Friend Meter: 9/10 😡

5.20 Snow White and the Seven Dorks 
November 14, 1992
The gang puts on a rap version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". However, when Jessie and Zack find out they have to kiss in the last scene, they start to wonder if they are more than friends and question their feelings for each other (falling out with Kelly and Slater in the process). In the end, Jessie remains with Slater, while Zack rekindles his love for Kelly.
Actions: Kisses Jessie but then assesses that he really loves Kelly and that he is just friends with Jessie. 
Bad Friend Meter: 3/10 😊

4.1 The Last Dance
September 14, 1991
In order to afford a costume for the school's costume ball, Kelly gets a job working at The Max. However, as Kelly spends more time working with her boss Jeff Hunter (Patrick Muldoon), she falls for him and may have to tell Zack that their relationship is over.
Kelly's family: She says 9 people in her family, in a previous episode she said 7 in her family.
Lies: Tries to lie to Jeff about Kelly
Assessment: Jeff kisses her and she likes it. Kelly calls Zack "Jeff" and she dumps him, the fault is all on her in this episode. Does she get points off for crying? I can't stop crying.
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

 4.3 The Aftermath 
September 21, 1991
After catching Kelly and Jeff together at the movies, Zack retaliates by dating other girls and trying to make Kelly jealous.
Retaliation: Retaliates by dating Screech's cousin at the Max and plays their song with Kelly, tells Lisa to disinvite Kelly to her party.
Lies: Lies to Screech's cousin
Authority Defiance: Trashes the hallway, Defiant to Mr. Belding
Assessments: His friends were nice enough to find him blind dates but then he is a jerk to them.
Bad Friend Meter: 6/10 😐

4.10 Fake I.D.’s 
October 19, 1991
Zack falls for a college girl and offers to change Danielle's tire, lies about his age and then makes fake IDs so that he, Slater, and Screech can sneak into The Attic, an over-18 nightclub and spot Jeff with another girl.
Lying: Lied to his mom where he would be and snuck out
Crime: Illegal fake ID, entering the club underage
Authority Defiance: Sleeping in class
Assessment: He is actually truthful to Kelly but defiant to his mom.
Bad Son Meter: 7/10 😠

4.2 Zack’s Birthday 
September 14, 1991
The gang takes summer jobs at a beach resort but has trouble dealing with their boss Mr. Carosi. Meanwhile, Zack hits on the boss' daughter Stacey (Leah Remini). However, Stacy's arrogant attitude toward Zack leads him to have second thoughts--especially when Carosi leaves Stacy in charge and she lets the job go to her head.
Jerk: Zack calls Stacey's dad a jerk in front of her.
Schemes: Zack sells hot fogs on the public beach in order to become a waiter.
Bad Friend Meter: 2/10 😁

[These episodes at the Malibu Sands resort aired the same day as Bayside episodes but I consider them part of their own arc. Plus that Zack and Kelly already broke up at this point. I don't remember this arc being so short.]

4.4 The Game 
September 21, 1991
Zack bets Mr. Carosi (Ernie Sabella) that if he wins a volleyball game, Zack can buy his car. However, Zack's team is short of a player when the star player Gary is injured. Eric Dane (Grey's Anatomy) guest stars as Tad.
Lies: He tells Carosi that his volleyball team can win.
Blackmail: He blackmails Carosi for the car and niceness.
Bad Friend Meter: 0/10 😍

4.6 Fourth of July 
October 12, 1991
The annual Fourth of July beauty pageant at the beach resort is taking place, and Zack is selected as one of the judges. However, he is put under pressure when Carosi tells him that he wants Zack to choose Stacey no matter what it takes.
Soliciting dates from potential contestants 
Assessment: Screech makes Stacey believe Zack wants to get back with Kelly. But Zack didn't actually do anything bad in this episode, it is all on Mr. Carosi. 
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍
[Screech mentions Kelly broke up with Zack, meaning these episodes take place after the episodes taking place in school.]


4.9 Boss Lady 
October 19, 1991
When her father goes away, Stacey is left in charge of the resort. However, she cannot manage by herself so the gang pitches in to help her when things go wrong: gold fever hits the beach, someone accidentally booked two parties at the same time, and the chef decides to quit.
Authority Defiance: Imitates his boss
Bad Friend Meter: 0/10 😍

4.8 My Boyfriend’s Back
October 5, 1991
Zack and the gang enter the annual ATV race. Meanwhile, Zack feels inferior when Stacey's ex-boyfriend Craig shows up at the beach resort from Boston.
Assessment: He gets upset that Stacey doesn't tell him about Craig.
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

 4.12 The Last Weekend 
October 26, 1991
Stacey and her father fight over Zack, Kelly gets hit on by an 11-year-old, Slater meets a girl (Denise Richards), and the whole staff builds an enormous sandcastle. In the end, even Mr. Carosi realizes that goodbyes are hard.
Tricks: Tricks Mr. Carosi and Stacey to talk to each other again during a photo.
Assessment: Carosi finds out about Zack and his daughter. Zack is left heartbroken after Stacey leaves.
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍


4.23 Cut Day 
December 7, 1991
Jessie and her new friend Graham protest the use of polystyrene foam cups at their school. Meanwhile, Zack dodges Belding after betting against Slater that he will be able to ditch all of his classes for Cut Day.
Authority Defiance and Betting: Skips class repeatedly and bets with Slater
Assessment: He is actually a good friend and tries for Jessie and Slater not to spot they are falling for other people. 
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

4.13-14 The Wicked Stepbrother Parts 1 & 2
November 2, 1991
Jessie meets her new stepbrother, Eric, who uses blackmail to get his way. Eric takes a liking to Lisa, and Zack and Slater decide to get their revenge on Eric by setting him up to get caught driving Mr. Belding's convertible while on a date with Lisa. Things go awry, however, when Eric lets Lisa drive the car and she crashes.
Skipping School and lying: He lies about being Jewish and skips school for a baseball game
Actions: Lying, Gambling, vehicular endangerment, stealing the principal's car, endangers the lives of Lisa and Eric
Bad Friend Meter: 5/10 😐

4.15 Date Auction
November 9, 1991
A "date auction" is held by the school to raise money for new cheerleading uniforms. Jessie is not keen on the idea of a "meat market," and forbids the girls to bid on Slater. Meanwhile, when an overweight girl bids on Zack and wins, he has to deal with the consequences when she finds out that he has been making excuses to avoid going out with her. 
Lies: He lies to his date to avoid going out with her because she is overweight.
Assessment: This episode catches a lot of fat-shaming attention but Zack doesn't actually say the word but we already know why he is avoiding her. 
Bad Friend Meter: 6/10 😐

 4.20 Hold Me Tight 
November 23, 1991
Zack falls for a new girl named Kristy who wants to become part of the wrestling team, but is barred from the team because of her gender. The gang decides to help her out, but Jessie soon regrets it when Kristy makes the team and becomes "too friendly" with Slater. 
Assessment: The way he treats Kristy after she saves him from a Valley punk because he felt emasculated. He tries breaking up with her.
Bad Friend Meter: 6/10 😐

4.17 S.A.T.’s 
November 16, 1991
Jessie's chances of getting into her dream college are hurt when she scores 1205 on the SAT, while Zack scores an unlikely 1502. Christine Taylor plays a girl Zack likes. 
Schemes: Hires actor to play a Harvard college rep to convince a Stansbury college rep to go for Jessie. Hires actor to trick Belding into giving him less work.
Assessment: He just tried to help out Jessie so he's not a bad friend in this one. 
Bad Friend Meter: 2/10 😁

3.5 Operation Zack/The Surgery
September 28, 1991
Zack sprains his knee before the big basketball game, and while in the hospital learns that Lisa is a part-time candy-striper, a job that her mom, a surgeon at the hospital, apparently helped her to get. However, Zack also learns that he will need surgery to repair his knee and worries that it may go wrong, but Lisa assures him that everything will be fine, especially since her mom will be performing the surgery.
Actions: Tries to escape the hospital
Assessment: He is not exactly a bad friend here.
Bad Friend Meter: 0/10 😍

 5.11 Love Machine
October 17, 1992
Slater's ex-girlfriend comes to Bayside and Screech and Kelly's love machine shows that she and Slater still have feelings for each other, much to the annoyance and devastation of Jessie.
Manipulation: Zack manipulates Slater into dating Jennifer so he could date Jessie and convince her it is over between him and Jennifer. Zack gets Jessie his date with Jennifer. Screech reveals to Jennifer about the date. 
Scheme: Senior discount with dressed as seniors.
Bad Friend Meter: 2/10 😁

 4.24-25 Home For Christmas Parts 1 & 2
December 7 - 14, 1991
Zack falls for a girl who works at the mall but is unaware that she is homeless. Meanwhile, the gang is busy getting ready for their production of "A Christmas Carol". Zack discovers the true identity of the homeless girl, Laura, and her boss accuses her of stealing a sports coat. This leads to her being fired from her job, prompting the gang to persuade her boss to let her come back. 
Good Points: Gives money to Laura's dad.
Bad Points: Calls Laura's dad a whine-o. Complains about early volunteer work. 
Assessment: For Christmas and dating a homeless girl, he ends up being a good boy.
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

4.7 Check Your Mate 
October 5, 1991
With the annual chess competition between Bayside and their rival Valley approaching, Valley decides to get some dirt on Screech, the school's chess champion. Things turn ugly when Valley steals Screech's lucky beret given to him by Violet. Meanwhile, Zack and Slater try to pull the old switcheroo with Valley's chess jock, a Russian exchange student.
Gambling: Bets with Valley punks.
Kidnapping and Impersonation: Kidnapped the Russian and dressed up as him
Assessment: He did it for Screech but also for his bet.
Bad Friend Meter: 3/10 😊

4.11 Pipe Dreams
October 26, 1991
When the school strikes oil, the kids go crazy for it after they find out how much the well is worth. However, they soon realize the costs outweigh the benefits.
Accident: Hits Becky the duck on the head with a baseball
Invasion of Privacy: Apparently Screech and Zack drilled a hole into the girl's locker room in a "noodle incident" (off-screen)
Lies: Lies to Jessie he will read her research on oil
Actions: Sprays oil on an oil tycoon
Assessment: Pretty good friend to his friends and Becky the duck
Bad Friend Meter: 0/10 😍

 4.18-19 Palm Springs Weekend Parts 1 & 2
November 16-23, 1991
Jessie and the gang are invited to her father's wedding, which is being held at the luxury hotel that her father manages. Jessie is displeased that her father is marrying a much younger woman. Meanwhile, Slater goes on a date with a royal princess, Zack and Kelly begin to rethink their relationship.
Lies: Lies about being on the aerobics team to Mr. Spano's fiance. 
Assessment: Helps Jessie get to the wedding. Jessie is the one at fault here.
Bad friend meter: 1/10 😍

5.22 Best Summer of My Life 
November 21, 1992
Zack takes a day off of school and reminisces, through clips from the Malibu Sands and Palm Springs episodes, about the time he and the gang spent in Malibu Sands and Palm Springs.
Actions: Skips school, says he's sick.
[This aired a year after the Malibu Sands arc and was a clip show. This mentions Kelly and Jessie but they aren't present, probably shot before the Tori episodes.]
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

 4.21 No Hope With Dope
November 30, 1991
Bayside is chosen by a Hollywood teen idol movie star as the location to shoot an anti-drug commercial. The gang later feels deceived after learning that the star himself uses drugs and pressures Kelly to try pot as well. 
Assessment: Zack gets Kelly out of taking drugs with the movie star
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

 4.26 Mystery Weekend 
December 21, 1991
The gang visits a mansion for a murder mystery weekend after winning a competition. However, a real murder attempt is made on the host who soon goes missing, and the gang has to find out who is responsible.
Assessment: Not much then his usual conning here and there. He is framed for stealing prize money and murder. His past crimes (stole principal's car, fake I.D.'s, dognapping, and a noodle incident of tying Screech to rollercoaster).
Bad Friend Meter: 1/10 😍

4.22 Rockumentary 
November 30, 1991
Casey Kasem tells the story of how Zack's band, "The Zack Attack," got together and their rise to fame.
Bad Friend: Quits Zack Attack but this is just a dream. I guess it is still an assessment of Zack's character.
Bad Friend Meter: 8/10 😠

4.16 All in the Mall 
November 9, 1991
After a failed attempt to buy tickets to the U2 concert, Zack and the gang find $5,000 abandoned at the mall, but things do not work out when the gang is chased by mobsters around the mall.
Schemes: His idea to use the money found to buy more tickets and make a profit causing the gang to stay overnight and run from the mobsters.
Bad Friend Meter: 5/10 😐

Season meter: 71/100
Giving there are more episodes (30) this season than season 1 (20) and 2 (17), it seems to be like two separate seasons--there is more evidence for his behavior. They aired 2 episodes per Saturday and had some episodes air on Sunday. Zack was actually good in 16 episodes. His crimes here include lying, gambling, impersonation, trying to use money found to buy more tickets and make a profit out of it, soliciting private information without permission, authority defiance, stealing the principal's car, skipping school, endangering two teenagers in a car accident, lying to avoid a date with an overweight girl, and trying to break up with his girl when he feels emasculated.