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Jimmy Fallon Went to Bayside High with the Saved By The Bell Crew

Mark-Paul Gosselaar's Zack Morris hung out with Fallon, Jessie Spano, and A.C. Slater in the Tonight Show sketch.

By Christopher Rudolph

Saved By the Bell premiered 35 years ago on August 20, 1989 — but when Jimmy Fallon staged a SBTB reunion, the cast looked like they'd barely aged a day (looking at you, Mario Lopez). 

How to Watch

Watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC weeknights at 11:35/10:35c and next day on Peacock

When The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon went to the West Coast to broadcast a week of shows from L.A. in February 2015, Fallon took the opportunity to round up the cast of the timeless teen series.

Not only did Fallon gather the Bayside gang together, he also starred in a sketch with Saved by the Bell characters Zack Morris, A.C. Slater, Jessie Spano, and Kelly Kapowski. The four original actors reprised their roles in a scene that wove in some of the most classic quotes and moments from the show.

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Jimmy Fallon and Mark-Paul Gosselaar during the "Saved by the Bell" skit

Jimmy Fallon's Saved by the Bell reunion rocked Bayside High

The sketch took place in the hallways of Bayside High, a set that should be instantly recognizable to any '90s kid. Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who currently stars in the hit NBC drama Found, entered as Zack Morris to re-introduce the audience to Bayside High, "home of babes, books, and Belding — and right over there is our newest friend, Jimmy Fallon."

Zack spied Fallon leaning against the lockers, dressed in his best outfit of the era down to acid-wash jeans and hair parted down the middle. 

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When Fallon asked Gosselaar's Zack how his day is going, he responded by quoting the lyrics to Saved by the Bell's classic theme song. It's just the beginning of the callbacks and Easter eggs.

Mario Lopez entered as A.C. Slater next, greeting Fallon and Zack Morris with a "What's up, preppies?" Elizabeth Berkley's Jessie Spano descended from the top of the stairs, joining the boys to ask about the upcoming Valentine's Day dance. All the talk of dance moves led Slater to rip off his clothes and reveal a dance leotard underneath, performing ballet for his shocked co-stars — just like he did in the original series.

Jimmy Fallon, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez during the "Saved by the Bell" skit

"Wow, Slater, with those moves you could be a contestant on Dancing with the Dweebs," Zack joked (another in-joke, since Lopez placed second in the third season of Dancing with the Stars.)

Fallon delivered some sad news to the gang: He's not going to the Bayside High dance, because he's moving to New York to follow his comedy dreams.

"I love it here, but I want to be on Saturday Night Live, host my own talk show, and — who knows — maybe one day date Nicole Kidman," he told his friends, who all find the latter notion ridiculous. If they only knew!

RELATED: How to Watch Episodes of NBC's Original Saved by the Bell

The callbacks continue as Jessie quotes her "I'm so excited" moment from the episode when she became addicted to caffeine pills. Zack's comically large cell phone makes an appearance, as does Dennis Haskins reprising his role as Principal Belding.

Finally, Tiffani Amber Thiessen shows up as Zack's girlfriend, Kelly Kapowski, who has a big surprise for her boyfriend.

Jimmy Fallon, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez during the "Saved by the Bell" skit

Though Fallon's stint as a Bayside student was short and sweet, there's time for one final jam out to "Friends Forever," aka the song from when the gang briefly became a teen band known as Zack Attack.

Watch Jimmy Fallon's "Saved By the Bell" reunion above, and watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon weeknights at 11:30/10:30c, streaming next day on Peacock.