Good Morning, Miss Bliss was a short-lived television series shown on The Disney Channel in 1988 and 1989. Peter Engel began his career of producing shows featuring teen-agers with this series. After its first season Good Morning, Miss Bliss was sold to NBC and spun-off as a new and far more successful show, Saved by the Bell. The original Miss Bliss shows were shown in syndication and appeared with a new name, Saved by the Bell - The Junior High Years. In the syndicated version the Zack Morris character appears at the beginning of each episode in a monologue explaining that the following show happened back in Junior High.
The show revolved around the life of progressive teacher Miss Bliss, played by Hayley Mills (of The Parent Trap fame). The setting of the show is JFK Junior High in Indianapolis, Indiana. We watch as Miss Bliss struggles to be an effective teacher to pranksters Mikey and Zack, nerd "Screech" (who she always refers to as Samuel), fashion queen Lisa, and idealist Nikki. Miss Bliss is also often seen interacting with Principal Belding and other teachers Ms. Palladrino and Milo Williams.
The follow-up show Saved by the Bell is set in Pacific Palisades, California at Bayside High School. Only 3 students remain - Zack, Lisa, and Screech. Mr. Belding also stays on board as Principal at Bayside. I don't believe the new show ever explains how all these characters managed to move at the same time from Indianapolis to the Palisades.
Good Morning, Miss Bliss was similar to Saved by the Bell in that each 30 minute episode the kids are taught some moral lesson and the problems are always resolved in a positive manner by the end of the show. The main difference (besides the new characters) is that the Miss Bliss shows played out more as a serious drama -- the story lines were more realistic and not quite as preposterous as those on Saved by the Bell.
All-in-all the show was filled with a lot of moralising tripe, but it still managed to be a fun diversion for kids.
Cast
Character Actor
Mikey Gonzalez...............Max Battimo
Milo Williams................T.K. Carter
Samuel "Screech" Powers......Dustin Diamond
Zachary "Zack" Morris........Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Mr. Richard Belding..........Dennis Haskins
Nicole "Nikki" Coleman.......Heather Hopper
Miss Carrie Bliss............Hayley Mills
Tina Palladrino..............Joan Ryan
Lisa Turtle..................Lark Voorhies
Episode Guide (with original air dates)
Pilot
Season 1
- 30-Nov-88 -- Summer Love -- Zack gets caught lying to his girlfriend.
- 07-Dec-88 -- Love Letters -- Zack gets caught having Screech write a report for him.
- 14-Dec-88 -- Wall Street -- Zack gets caught investing the class' money in potatoes rather than stocks.
- 21-Dec-88 -- Leaping to Conclusions -- Belding thinks Miss Bliss is going away as Nikki protests frog disection.
- 28-Dec-88 -- Parents and Teachers -- Zack's father begins and ends a romance with Miss Bliss.
- 04-Jan-89 -- The Showdown -- An illiterate bully picks on Screech.
- 04-Feb-89 -- Save the Last Dance for Me -- The kids convince Mr. Belding to allow a school dance.
- 11-Feb-88 -- The Boy Who Cried Rat -- Zack caught releasing Screech's rats as Miss Bliss is awarded teacher of the year.
- 18-Feb-89 -- Let's Get Together -- Zack and Nikki are fighting as Ms. Palladrino and Miss Bliss are fighting. Peace prevails.
- 25-Feb-89 -- Practical Jokes -- The kids attempt pranks on Miss Bliss and she teaches them about the judicial system.
- 04-Mar-89 -- Stevie -- Zack gets caught lying whilst trying to gain the attentions of "Stevie" a popular rock star.
- 11-Mar-89 -- Clubs and Cliques -- Zack learns about true friendship while pledging for a secret club.
- 18-Mar-89 -- The Mentor -- Miss Bliss's former teacher pays a visit and shows how teaching can be fun and entertaining.