In my eyes, one of the most creatively successful TV revivals in recent years was definitely Peacock's modern-day take on Saved by the Bell, which delivered on all the expected high school hijinks (and callbacks) while also updating the humor to reflect current social norms. One of the more unexpected changes involved Zack Morris' patented world-freezing Time Out power being transferred to Haskiri Velazquez's lead character Daisy Jiménez, as opposed to Zack and Kelly's son Mac Morris, as portrayed with blonde perfection by Mitchell Hoog. And Velazquez has the perfect idea for how to reconcile that character-shifting change in Season 2, which you can read lower.
After Saved by the Bell debuted on Peacock, where it has become the most popular original series on the still-growing streaming service, CinemaBlend had the pleasure of talking to Haskiri Jiménez. During our talk, I asked the actress about any conversations that were had about transferring Zack's reality-bending powers to Daisy instead of to Mac, and here's what she told me:
There wasn't talk but I think Daisy deserves those kinds of powers. She's just such an amazing character, and I think, you know, throughout this whole series and her journey, you see it through her lens, through her eyes, and you put yourself in her shoes. And I think it was such a smart idea for them to give her those kinds of powers. It's almost like interacting with the audience in a way of, like, waking them up, making sure they're paying attention to what's going on, to see how almost ignorant or sidetracked that these Bayside kids are. To kind of just make sure they're paying attention to the conversations and the actual words that are coming out of their mouths. So I think it was just so brilliant for them to do it for Daisy. I wish I could be a writer on the show. I would give everyone the Time Out power. Because I really want to know what's going on in all the characters' heads. But yeah, I don't know why they didn't give it to Mac. Maybe he ends up having them. I don't know.
By all means, considering Daisy is essentially the main character in this iteration of Saved by the Bell, with Mac in more of a passenger-seat role, it definitely made sense for her to be the one who could freeze all the other characters. Plus, she uses her Time Outs in ways that call attention to what's happening around her, as opposed to Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Zack usually using them when his plots are failing and he needs to buy time. I can't help but feel like Mac would full-on take advantage of people in their suspended states if he had those powers, assuming he didn't already inherit them from his Governor father and is just keeping them a secret from the outside world.
Though Mark-Paul Gosselaar did make a few appearances throughout the Saved by the Bell revival's first season – along with Tiffany Thiessen as his beloved fictional wife Kelly – Zack wasn't seen utilizing his Time Out power, so it's worth questioning whether he even still has it or not. If he does, though, Haskiri Jiménez has a hilariously excellent way for the show to bring it back in Season 2, which Peacock officially ordered up this week. In her words:
I would really hope for us to have more scenes together, Zack and I – or, you know, Mark-Paul and I – because he's just such a brilliant actor, too. I would love just to kind of play off of that Time Out and have the whole, like, everyone in The Max in Time Out, except for him and I, and we kind of look at each other and I'm like, 'Hey, why didn't you freeze?' And he's like, 'No, why didn't you freeze?' Or something like that. That would be really fun.
Assuming the entire universe wouldn't collapse in on itself if that moment actually did happen, it would potentially be one of the coolest Saved by the Bell moments of all time. Especially if they then tried to test the limits of their Time Out powers to see how widespread their functionality is. Today, The Max, but tomorrow, the entire world! [Cackles evilly while rubbing hands together.] Ahem. Or, you know, something more small-scale.
Haskiri Jiménez gives a lot of credit to showrunner Tracey Wigfield and the Saved by the Bell writers for finding a way to give Daisy her Time Out abilities in a way that didn't disrespect longtime fans, and also didn't make it feel like they were being stripped away from Zack in any way. Here's hoping Season 2 will give fans an even deeper (and weirder) look into how those powers manifested, both within Daisy and within Zack. Was Max's magic involved? We need answers, people!
Saved by the Bell's first season is available to stream right now on Peacock, as are all the seasons of the original series from the '90s. While waiting to see where things go next with Season 2, be sure to stay current with our Winter and Spring TV premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows that will be popping up soon.
