Before there was The Max, there was a quiet junior high in Indianapolis. Long before Zack Morris was the king of Bayside High, he was just a kid in Indiana trying to navigate the eighth grade. If you grew up in the nineties, you probably remember those "Lost Episodes" of Saved by the Bell that felt just a little bit... off. You're not crazy. Those weren't actually Saved by the Bell episodes at all. They were Good Morning Miss Bliss episodes, and the history behind them is a chaotic mess of network shuffling and identity crises.
It's actually kinda wild when you look at the footage now. The lighting is dimmer. The set for the school looks more like a standard eighties sitcom than the neon-soaked playground we eventually got in California. And, honestly, Mark-Paul Gosselaar sounds like he hasn't even hit puberty yet. Because he hadn't.
The NBC Pilot That Wasn't Really a Teen Show
Most people think Saved by the Bell was an NBC original from the jump. Nope. The journey of Good Morning Miss Bliss episodes actually started as a pilot for NBC in 1987, but the network passed. They didn't see the vision. Or maybe they saw too much of it. The original pilot featured Hayley Mills—yes, the Parent Trap legend—as the titular teacher. Interestingly, that pilot also featured Brian Austin Green (long before 90210) and Jaleel White (before he became Urkel).
NBC said no, but Disney Channel said yes.
Disney picked up the show and aired 13 episodes between 1988 and 1989. This is why the show feels so different. It wasn't designed for the "Must See TV" Saturday morning crowd; it was a wholesome, slightly slower-paced show about a teacher trying to survive her life while managing a group of kids. The focus was 50% on Miss Bliss and 50% on the students. Once the show moved back to NBC and rebranded, the adults were basically relegated to the background while the teens took over the world.
A Cast That Disappeared Into the Void
If you sit down to watch a marathon of Good Morning Miss Bliss episodes, you'll notice some faces that just... vanished. We all know Zack, Screech, and Lisa Turtle. They made the cut. Mr. Belding survived the transition too, though his personality underwent a massive shift from a somewhat stern principal to the lovable, "Hey, hey, hey, what is going on here?" goofball we know.
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But what happened to Mikey and Nikki?
Mikey Gonzalez (played by Max Battimo) was Zack’s best friend. He was the grounded one. Then you had Nikki Coleman (Heather Hopper), the outspoken, slightly cynical girl who often clashed with Zack’s schemes. When the show was retooled into Saved by the Bell and moved to the fictional Palisades, California, Mikey and Nikki were never mentioned again. They weren't even given a "they moved away" explanation. They just ceased to exist. In their place, we got A.C. Slater and Kelly Kapowski. Honestly, it was a brutal trade-off for those actors, but for the history of pop culture, it was the pivot that made the show a juggernaut.
And then there was Milo Williams. Played by T.K. Carter, Milo was the school's maintenance man/supervisor. He was funny, high-energy, and felt like a predecessor to the kind of "cool adult" characters that would populate later teen shows. But when the show left Indiana, Milo stayed behind.
The Continuity Nightmare of the "Lost" Season
When Saved by the Bell became a massive hit, NBC realized they didn't have enough episodes for a solid syndication package. They needed more "inventory." Their solution was both brilliant and incredibly confusing: they bought the rights to the 13 Good Morning Miss Bliss episodes, filmed new intros with a slightly older Mark-Paul Gosselaar explaining that these were his "junior high years," and aired them as the first season of Saved by the Bell.
This created some of the most hilarious continuity errors in television history.
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- Location: The Bliss episodes are explicitly set in Indianapolis, Indiana. The rest of the series is in Pacific Palisades, California.
- The Names: In the Bliss era, Zack's dad is played by a completely different actor and has a different vibe.
- The Personalities: Zack Morris in Indiana is a bit more of a "lovable loser" who gets caught. Zack Morris in California is a sociopathic mastermind who can freeze time.
- The Turtle Factor: Lisa Turtle in the early episodes is much more of a "square" compared to the fashion-obsessed icon she became later.
Watching these back-to-back is like watching a glitch in the Matrix. One minute Screech is a nerdy but relatively normal kid, and the next he’s wearing a neon hat with a propeller and living in a different time zone.
Ranking the Essential Good Morning Miss Bliss Episodes
If you’re going to subject yourself to the Indiana years, you shouldn't just watch them at random. Some are genuinely good sitcom writing; others are just weird relics.
1. "The Showdown"
This is arguably the best of the bunch. It deals with Zack trying to navigate a rivalry and highlights the chemistry between Gosselaar and Dustin Diamond that would eventually carry the franchise for a decade. You can see the seeds of "Zack Morris is a Trash Man" being planted here, though he’s much more innocent.
2. "The Math Teacher"
Miss Bliss falls for a guy who turns out to be a bit of a jerk. It’s a very "Disney Channel" plot. What makes it interesting is seeing Hayley Mills actually get a B-story that isn't just about the kids. It reminds you that this was originally her show.
3. "Stevie"
This episode is a total time capsule. A teen pop star (the fictional Stevie) comes to the school. It’s the classic "celebrities are just regular people" trope that every 80s and 90s show was legally required to produce. It’s campy, it’s dated, and the music is exactly what you think it sounds like.
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4. "The Dueling Group"
Lisa and Nikki end up in a fight over a project. This is one of the few episodes where you get to see Lisa Turtle's character development before she became a one-dimensional "fashion girl." It’s actually got some heart to it.
Why the Indiana Years Failed (But Succeeded)
The truth is that Good Morning Miss Bliss episodes failed because they were too balanced. It was a "nice" show. It felt like a Friday night sitcom you'd watch with your parents. When Peter Engel took over for the NBC reboot, he realized that kids didn't want to watch a show about a teacher; they wanted to watch a show about themselves, but cooler.
They cranked up the saturation. They added the electric guitar riffs. They replaced the "Indiana gray" with "California gold."
Yet, without those 13 episodes, we wouldn't have the foundation. Screech’s weirdness was honed in those hallways. Zack’s ability to talk his way out of a locker was practiced there. Even the iconic "The Max" was essentially a replacement for the more subdued hangout spots seen in the Bliss era.
How to Watch Them Today
Tracking down Good Morning Miss Bliss episodes can be a bit tricky depending on which streaming service has the Saved by the Bell rights this month. Usually, they are tucked away as "Season 0" or "Season 1" of the main series. If you're watching on a platform like Peacock, they are often integrated right into the main feed.
Be warned: the theme song is different. It’s a soft, piano-heavy ballad that sounds like the intro to a soap opera. It’s a far cry from the "it's alright 'cause I'm saved by the bell" earworm we all know by heart.
Actionable Next Steps for Fans
- Check the Credits: When you watch, look for the name Peter Engel. He produced both, but his influence is much heavier on the California episodes. Notice how the "pacing" of the jokes changes between the two eras.
- Spot the Sets: Keep an eye out for reused props. Even though the school changed, low-budget 80s TV often reused lockers, desks, and even background actors.
- The Pilot Hunt: Go on YouTube and search for the "Good Morning Miss Bliss NBC Pilot." It’s a fascinating look at what the show could have been if it had stayed on a major network with a completely different cast.
- Compare the Beldings: Watch the first episode of Miss Bliss and then watch the first episode of the Vegas wedding or the College Years. The evolution of Richard Belding is one of the most drastic character arcs in sitcom history, moving from a legitimate authority figure to a man who basically needed the teens to help him tie his shoes.
- Listen for the "Time Out": Notice something? Zack doesn't use his "Time Out" power nearly as much in the Bliss episodes. It’s a power he seemingly developed upon crossing the California state line.