Episode 122 - SAVED BY THE BELL

Saved by the Bell was a high school sitcom that was never really intended for high schoolers. Each episode was a candy-coated PSA asking tweens to imagine that their teenage years would be full of wholesome hijinks, mild predicaments, and overly attentive principals. Today, it's a rich document for cultural archaeologists curious about the style, slang, and sexism of the American teenager circa 1990.

Kristal Bailey and Kevin Taylor join our clique for a reunion at Bayside High, as we examine some of the show's most indelible--and infamous--moments. Go Tigers!

Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)
Created by Sam Bobrick
Produced by Peter Engel
Starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkeley, Lark Voorhies, Leanna Creel, Ed Alonzo, and Dennis Haskins

Episodes featured in this podcast:
"The Mamas and the Papas" (aired 11/11/1989)
"Save the Max" (aired 9/22/1990)
"Jessie's Song" (aired 11/3/1990)
"Pipe Dreams" (aired 11/26/1991)
"Day of Detention" (aired 10/3/1992)

Episode 121 - THE SECRET GARDEN

A beloved children's story approaches something mystical in the 1993 film adaptation of The Secret Garden. The practice of horticulture heals a sickly boy, comforts a melancholy widower, and introduces a quarrelsome girl to the love of friends and family. Stunted emotions and somber realities slowly bloom into a lush, blissful statement on the powers of intuition.

Special guest Lindsay Marie Mead brings her green thumb and uncanny insights to this totally "wick" episode, which has blossomed just in time for the movie's 25th anniversary!

The Secret Garden (1993)
Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Produced by Fred Fuchs, Tom Luddy, Fred Roos, and Francis Ford Coppola
Written by Caroline Thompson
Based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Starring Kate Maberly, Heydon Prowse, Andrew Knott, Laura Crossley, John Lynch, Walter Sparrow, Irene Jacob, and Maggie Smith