For anyone who grew up on ’90s television, Jimmy Fallon’s tenure as host of The Tonight Show has quickly become must-see material.
Similar to his Fresh Prince of Bel Air-themed opening to the show that aired earlier this week, Fallon used Wednesday night’s show to reunite the cast of Saved By The Bell, the hit high-school sitcom that aired from 1989-1993 on NBC. The skit brought together cast members Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dennis Haskins, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez, who poked fun at both Fallon and their own post-Saved By The Bell endeavors.
The premise of the skit had Fallon recalling his high-school days as a classmate of Zack Morris (Gosselaar), Kelly Kapowski (Thiessen), A.C. Slater (Lopez), and Jessie Spano (Berkley), before he decided to move to New York City in the hopes of becoming a comedian, Saturday Night Live cast member, and talk-show host.
“Who knows? Maybe one day (I’ll) even date Nicole Kidman,” joked Fallon, alluding to his recent interview with Kidman, in which the actress revealed that Fallon had unknowingly ruined a shot at dating her.
“Jimmy going on a date with Nicole Kidman is like Jessie becoming a stripper,” joked Gosselaar, poking fun at Berkley’s post-sitcom starring role in the 1995 film Showgirls.
Conspicuously absent from the Saved By The Bell reunion were Screech (Dustin Diamond) and Lisa (Lark Voorhies), who have been famously at odds with their co-stars in the years that followed the series’ cancellation.