At the height of it's popularity, any hit series targeted toward teens would be remiss if they didn't film an episode specifically devoted to the subject of drugs. Saved By The Bell, a show I grew up with and possibly the greatest and most influential teen-oriented sitcom of all time was no exception. In fact, during it's time on the air SBTB devoted (by my count) two shows dealing with the dangers of drugs. The first, and perhaps most famous, centered around Jessie's addiction to caffeine pills. (What SBTB enthusiast could ever forget that pivotal scene when Zack climbs through Jessie's window, wakes her up, and then very patiently weathers her crying rendition of "I'm So Excited" - "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so .... scared!"?)

But the anti-drug episode that may have slipped through the cracks of your memory (and incidentally through the cracks of my Digital Video Recorder) featured fictional movie star "Johnny Dakota". Mr. Dakota was the Bayside equivalent to Tom Cruise. Everything he touched turned to gold (well, at least for resident schemester Zack Morris, who sold everything Johnny touched, mostly to star-struck Lisa Turtle). Johnny and his manager were looking for a high school to film an anti-drug spot for NBC, and after meeting Kelly Kapowski, captain of the cheerleading team, Johnny's search was over.

Johnny befriended the Bayside crew and even offered them a spot in the commercial. But things went awry when a "roach" was found in the boys' bathroom (This later lead to a hilarious citizen's arrest scene featuring pop-culture icon Dustin Diamond. Does anyone think Dustin might be interested in doing an interview with thedustin.com?) After some hesitation, Johnny decided to keep the commercial at Bayside and invited the gang to a party. At the party, everyone's night was ruined when Screech hurt himself pretending to be a stunt man - everyone except for Kelly that is, who was coaxed into staying with Johnny. Things really took a turn for the worse when Johnny offered Kelly a hit off of his joint. (Great message here that shouldn't be lost. Johnny tries to bait Kelly with the "Come on, everyone's doing it" and Kelly respondes with a resounding "Not me". Nice)

The gang unleashes its fury towards Johnny, a scene which climaxes with Zack shoving Johnny's jacket back at him in a show of utter disgust and disappointment. Next we see the gang in Mr. B's office, lamenting their lost opportunity at fame when Beldo suddenly remembers he knows the President at NBC (played by the real NBC President at the time, Brandon Tartikoff, who has since passed away). The next scene shows the group filming the end of the commercial and then Tartikoff remarking what an interesting idea it would be for a TV show about a principal and his students, then quickly shrugging the idea off saying "Nah, it'll never work."

Finally, viewers are treated to the actual commercial. And while the rhyme was elementary and the concept was hokey, the final message stood out loud and clear. "There's no hope with dope!"