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And you thought Zack Morris from Saved By The Bell would end up pumping petrol in Beverly Hills. Well, he's now a lawyer. Take that, Mr Belding!
At least Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who played Zack, is now playing a lawyer.
In Raising The Bar, Gosselaar is Jerry Kellerman, an idealistic public defender who sticks up for the poor huddled masses and frequently locks horns with the imperious and somewhat crazy Judge Trudy, played by Malcolm In The Middle's Jane Kaczmarek.
Oh, and his classmates from law school, including his girlfriend, are on the opposite side of the system.
"My character is reflective of series co-creator David Feige, who was a public defender for 15 years in South Bronx," Gosselaar told Today over the phone from Los Angeles.
"I shadowed David and acted as if I were an intern. It was really important for me to see how these individuals do their jobs because my education on the criminal justice system came from watching Law & Order."
But just in case you think Jerry Kellerman is anything like Zack Morris grown up, he's not.
"They are two completely different characters and two characters that I am not," said the 35-year-old, who recently appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon dressed as his Saved By The Bell character.
"Jerry is extremely idealistic and I think he's a much better person than I am.
"He's righteous and loud and has a point of view that he doesn't mind sharing. I tend to sit on a fence and teeter to either side depending on how convenient it is for me at the time."
Speaking of lawsuits, Dustin Diamond, who played Screech on the '80s show, is writing a tell-all about the secret scandals behind Saved By The Bell.
The relatively scandal-free Gosselaar claims he's not worried, though. "I'm still waiting to see if it's going to be fiction or non-fiction. I don't have skeletons in my closet. It's like asking a 12-year-old if they have dirty little secrets. It's inappropriate. He's being a bit... He's trying to make a living. I hold nothing against him."
The worst thing that could possibly be written about Gosselaar? "I had to get my hair dyed for six years."
Well, if push does come to shove, at least Gosselaar has had enough practice to represent himself in court.
Catch Raising The Bar on Wednesdays at 9pm on Sony Entertainment Television (SingTel mioTV Ch 20)
- TODAY/yb
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