If you’re an 80s or 90s kid, chances are you not only watched Saved By The Bell, but you are a fan. Growing up it was one of my all-time favorites, and I never missed an episode. As we all know, the reboot is coming sometime (no release date has been announced at this time) on NBC’s new streaming service Peacock. While I am mildly curious about it, I would be lying if I said I was not just a tad upset that Lark Voorhies will not be returning to play Lisa Turtle.
I feel like Lark Voorhies has not gotten the recognition she deserves, and at times it feels like she was not part of the show. There really has not been much mention of her and in a recent Newsweek article that mentioned which of the cast would be in it, while it pointed that Dustin Diamond who played Screech would not be returning, they completely glossed over even saying Larks name!
This upset me, because if you’re an OG Saved By the Bell watcher then you know Lisa Turtle has been around since Good Morning Miss Bliss which later became Saved By The Bell. I get it, there are lots of decisions made behind the scenes I could not possibly know about but, a little recognition would have been nice.
Being a young black girl growing up and seeing another black girl in a sitcom in a major role meant a lot to me. Love her or hate her, Lisa Turtle was an iconic character. She had a keen fashion sense, was a great friend to Zack and she didn’t take crap from anyone. One of the greatest things though, was that her race was never a focal point, at least not as far as I could tell while watching the show. Lisa just go to be a teenage girl surrounded by her friends, and I loved that.
This video sums up some of my favorite moments including when she was a candy striper and the time she and Zack kissed. By the way, I am still upset they never explored that even for a few episodes.
Saved By The Bell is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
