Changed Perceptions

Elementary school mornings are a distant blur of butterfly hair clips, tall glasses of skim milk and Zack and Kelly on Saved by the Bell. The show that helped define my vision of high school was flooded with advice on relationships, friendship and how to befriend your teachers. My favorite actors? I'm not ashamed to admit that I went the all-American route and idolized Mark Paul Gosselaar and Tiffani Amber Thiessen. Their portrayals of Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski made me want that relationship. I obviously turned a blind eye to the bad stuff, but I focused on the good. While I soon learnt that television high school does not mimic real life, I never stopped loving the show.

Fast forward 12 or so years. This university graduate is finally deemed old enough to watch the antics by the rich kids on Beverly Hills 90210. I was hooked from episode one, but little did I know that my two favorite high school shows would soon collide. My beloved Kelly Kapowski is now starring on 90210 as the queen bitch, Valerie Malone.

Tiffani Thiessen may have dropped the Amber, but she lost this fan. Perhaps it was because of her sudden stellar acting, but I now see TT in a whole different light. Gone are the days of teen idolization and here are the days of loathing. When I catch a repeat of Saved by the Bell, I immediately declare Lisa Turtle as my new favorite character.

It may seem petty, but I am pretty nimble when it comes to switching allegiances with televised "friends." Am I alone?