Screech: Bayside’s Underdog
The best thing about an underdog is that we can all identify with one at some point. Whether he’s vying to win the girl or whether she’s itching to claim the title of prom queen, pitted against a popular favorite, underdogs know a thing or two about grit. Dustin Diamond, 44, popularly remembered as Samuel “Screech” Powers from the 90s sitcom, Saved by the Bell, passed away February first from lung cancer. Not unlike Chadwick Boseman, Naya Rivera, and Kobe Bryant all in 2020, another icon— yet from a slightly different era— has died suddenly and, really, too soon.
Quirky, odd, annoying, and dressed to the 90s hilt, Screech spent his days at Bayside High School with a group of friends who’d later graduate and remain poised in the television spotlight for decades to come. Zack (Gosselaar) established a few successful revamps of the original series, later finding his stride in TV drama. Slater (Lopez), the sinewy Latin beefcake found success in the fitness and health industry, later producing a cookbook and finding work across network television and cable TV. Personally, I can watch him as Dr. Hamoui in the racy FX drama Nip Tuck for all eternity—happily slo-mowing every second of his soapy, sultry shower teaser with jealous and brooding Dr. Christian Troy… siiigh. Then there was Jessie (Berkley). Who can forget her voluptuous maturity into the topsy-turvy, taboo world of Vegas nightlife, as the fledgling dancer and one of the Showgirls? Lisa (Voorhies) found work in the soap operas, and Kelly (Thiessen) followed suit and later found success in TV, eventually returning to Bayside in the remake that helped bring cast members back together. Even Principal Belding (Haskins), would leave the set of 7th Heaven to join his familiar crew. Almost everyone. Yet… no, Screech; where has he been this entire time?
I get the sense that there was turbulence between cast mates off set, or at the very least a lot of misunderstanding. The damning tell-all quasi written by Diamond is, apparently, nothing shy of scandal. Page after page of shaming claims that would make any person think that Bayside, was actually a cesspool of thieves, rapists, drug heads, and good old-fashioned harlots. The cheapest copy of Behind the Bell I found on Amazon was $109.65— not only rare, but it must also be fairly titillating. Rumor has it that the book also opted for a Lifetime movie deal too. In another odd collection of events Diamond later gets involved in a stabbing— yes, like in real life, like with weapons— in a bar and he is arrested. Another tell-all is published in the newspapers to detail his side of the story once again and gives account of what happen that evening in Ozaukee County Wisconsin with his girlfriend and a surly group of men. Thank Heaven no mortal wounds, but Diamond does land in jail for four months.
It couldn’t have been easy to be Screech, especially in a high school like Bayside. All the typical high school cliques were in full predatory force, and to make matters harder Screech was either the butt of several passive-aggressive jokes, or simply trying to get Lisa to just look at him. Come to think of it, Screech didn’t win a lot either. He rarely got the girl. He was picked on often, and even among his group of friends he was taunted and other-ed pretty frequently. Screech had a lot more to prove than everyone else, and he constantly had to stand up for himself in ways that the others did not. He didn’t have Beauty or the assets of Brawn. Instead, he had brains, pimples, and an overbite, which in high school isn’t going to get a person remembered for the kindest reasons. Screech wasn’t unlikable— sure he dressed funny, had a really annoying voice, and did a lot of things that weren’t the coolest, but he was a Bayside staple and when we saw him— whether it was with compassion or sympathy— we just wanted him to come out on top. He spoke to our own inner underdog and was the embodiment of insecurity, awkwardness, and the tangible growing pains we’ve all lived through. I think this is why Diamond’s death is especially heartfelt, as if one of our favorite fighters never got the chance to completely hoist the trophy overhead.
Smart TV always includes an underdog and the reason is simple. Underdogs allow us to feel like we are needed, like we are connected beyond mere dialogue and a catchy theme song. And since we love to feel needed, well… voilà, the perfect formula for adoring fans and consistent ratings. As an underdog, Screech came to represent a lot of what life is actually like— winning far less than we want to, but simply pressing forward until we can try again.
The lines of TV and life can sometimes blur from time to time and the question, ‘does life mimic art or vice versa’ tends to rear its head. Completely the odd ball, Samuel “Screech” Powers was a quirky piece of the puzzle that somehow didn’t fit, but he was absolutely necessary for the big picture— the one on the box cover, representing just how complex relationships, and especially life, can be.
Thank you Dustin Diamond. You were a character, both off and on set.
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[ photo, originally color: The Everett Collection ]
