When I wake up in the morning
And the ‘larm gives out a warning
I don’t think I’ll ever make it on time
By the time I grab my books
And I give myself a look
I’m at the corner just in time to see the bus fly by
It’s alright ‘cause I’m saved by the bell
This is the first stanza of one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time, that ofSaved by the Bell, which is being revived by Peacock next week. However, as a major fan of the original show, I have to say that it’snotalright, ‘cause this updated theme song is so bad, it can’t be saved by anything, let alone a bell.
The new theme song is performed byLil Yachty, which is a ridiculous moniker that I cannot allow to go unmentioned in good conscience. For starters, there are too many rappers named Lil Whatever to begin with, and Lil Yachty sounds like a small child’s bath toy, but I digress.
Lil Yachty’s new theme song is not good because it sounds like it was recorded underwater. The singer’s voice is drowning in auto-tune effects, and there’s way too much emphasis on the repetition of “it’s alright.” I understand Peacock’s desire to update the classic theme song and hire a famous rapper to do it, but that kind of gambit rarely ends well, as comparisons between the two tracks do this new version no favors.
As much as I love its OG theme song lyrics, the new Saved by the Bellmight’ve been better off going in a new direction, if only to forge its own identity. Then again, this show still has one foot firmly planted in the past thanks to the return ofMario Lopezas A.C. Slater andElizabeth Berkley Laurenas Jessie Spano, so Peacock is trying to pull off a tricky balancing act here. We’ll see if the fledgling streaming service can pull it off.
I have a few more notes on these opening titles. For starters, it runs less than half as long as the original theme song, which played for just over a minute. Does Peacock think our attention spans are so short, we can’t handle anything longer than 30 seconds? The truth is that these days, most shows don’t even have theme songs anymore, while those that do keep it short and sweet (thinkTed Lasso). Viewed through that prism, we’re actually getting spoiled here, though I do wish the new cast was afforded video backgrounds featuring footage of them, just like the returning stars here and the original show’s credits. I mean, who didn’t love seeingDustin Diamond’s Screech in a pineapple bikini top each week? And where is that ‘geek’ character among the ensemble? Everyone here looks like they just wrapped a CW series!
The newSTTBclass featuresHaskiri Velazquez(The Forty Year-Old Version),Mitchell Hoog(Freaky),Josie Totah(Other People),Alycia-Pascual-Pena,Belmont Cameli,Dexter Darden(The Binge) and veteran character actorJohn Michael Higgins. Created bySam Bobrickand developed byTracey Wigfield, the show will premiere Nov. 25 on Peacock, and you canclick hereto watch the official trailer, which also features an appearance fromMark-Paul Gosselaar’s Zack Morris. Naturally, he’s the governor now, because politics is a disaster zone in fictional TV shows too!
