But alas, these are pipe dreams indeed. As was expected, the oil spills during some test drilling,
with all of the spilled oil apparently going directly onto the wildlife refuge next to the school that is mentioned only in this episode and never before or again. Becky, the duck that Zack for some reason cared about, was one of the casualties.Upon realizing that Becky is in fact dead (I don't know how he could tell it was Becky with all that valuable oil all over her), Zack is uncharacteristically distraught. Luckily Screech was there to provide the following words of comfort: "Zack, don't worry about Becky. She's where the oil can't hurt her." No laughs from the audience, but I sure thought it was funny and ironic -- you know, since ducks go to hell.
Not all is lost, though. The gang convinces the school board not to drill for oil. In what is probably the most-remembered final freeze-frame in television history, they all come together for a sweet six-way high five. You see, folks, they fought against a big company and their school for something they believed in. And because of their powers of persuasion, Bayside will never have air conditioning throughout the school, an Olypmic-sized swimming pool, separate boys and girls basketball arenas, high-priced call girls in every classroom, a drivers' ed 2-mile race track, or the money to fund biology class trips to save hundreds of more animals than they lost in that one little spill. Short-sighted at best.
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1 comment:
How has no one commented on this?? You have chosen the greatest SBTB line of all time, and I commend you for it. I have seen this episode somewhere in the 100-150 times range (as I have all SBTB episodes in the last 15 years). My problems always with this episode are:
1. Why do the students fantasize that they will get the money from the oil, and to top that, the teachers would be their servants? The teachers at least are closer to the potential gains than the students, who would not benefit at all under any scenario presented.
2. Per #1, why the hell would the school board care about what the students think anyway? Sure, the school will have more money, the teachers may get better pay, the tax revenue in the district will be helped, etc., but some kid who will be gone in a year and had more episodes about him trying to skip school rather than go (I include the Miss Bliss years), he will convince us to forego the huge benefits because some flying rat died. Didn't they drain the same swamp of frogs for dissection just a few years before?
3. Per #2, since when does the school board determine what to do with government land. The state owns the land, and I am pretty damn sure they want the oil revenue. They will kick a bunch of high school kids to portables if it means oil revenue or even the company buying the land. Screw the school board input, they are only there to determine whether Miss Bliss can give vacation days to other teachers and that is it . . .
4. Mr. Belding never seemed to have budget worries at his school--although this is a common theme of other TV principals. But, he had no office for a secretary, although she called him on his phone a lot. He had only two bathrooms in the entire school and one of them was out of order (per the fight episode where Screech has to go). The teachers have had a history of striking over pay. Funding forced him to cancel the Washington DC trip. The radio station couldn't stay on the air without a telethon. They never had cheerleading outfits or any money for girls sports, the list goes on and on. Yet why is he happy that the meddling kids killed the oil funding?
5. This event did nothing to change Zack's social consciousness. He went on to exploit the Miss Bayside pageant, give no sympathy to the Chicano student association at college, and made fun of Jesse and the other nerd for their social handwringing during senior skip day. I guess a duck has to die everytime for Zack to give a crap.
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