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"From Nurse to Worse"
Saved by the Bell episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 16
Directed byDon Barnhart
Written byBennett Tramer
Featured musicScott Gale
Production code6333
Original air dateDecember 15, 1990 (1990-12-15)
Guest appearances
  • Pamela Kosh as Miss Simpson
  • Nancy Valen as Jennifer
  • Justine Lenore as Nurse Butcher (uncredited)
  • Mark Neal as Kyle Kapowski (uncredited) (voice)
Episode chronology
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"The Fabulous Belding Boys" 		Next →
"Breaking Up is Hard to Undo"
Saved by the Bell (season 1)
List of episodes

"From Nurse to Worse" is the sixteenth episode[1][2][3] of the second season[4] of the American teen sitcom Saved by the Bell,[5] originally airing on December 15, 1990 on NBC. The episode was written by Bennett Tramer[6] and was directed by Don Barnhart.

In this episode, Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) asks Kelly (Tiffani Thiessen[7]) to go steady[8][9] with him, but while she is thinking it over, he falls[10] for a (supposedly) new student (Nancy Valen[11][12][13]), only to discover that she is actually the new school nurse.[14] Meanwhile, Slater (Mario Lopez) is afraid of getting his flu shot.

Plot[edit]

Zack and Kelly arrive back at Kelly's house[15] after their date to the movie Ernest Goes to Jail.[16] While at the front porch, Zack first ask Kelly that he wants to go steady with her before being interrupted by the voice Kelly's meddling little brother Kyle (Mark Neal) from upstairs. Kelly tells Zack that going steady is a big decision that she has to sleep on. The next day at Bayside, Screech (Dustin Diamond), Lisa, Jessie and Slater are discussing the upcoming school physical with Nurse Butcher (Justine Lenore[17]). While Screech prepares by exercising in the hallway, Jessie (Elizabeth Berkley) is emphatic that she's already in perfect health. Slater, meanwhile confesses that he doesn't like the annual physical, but won't further elaborate. Zack soon walks in and tells the gang about his intent on asking Kelly to go steady with him. The news is so hot, that Lisa (Lark Voorhies) plans to spread it all around school.

As students clear out upon the ringing of the school bell, Zack approached by a beautiful[18] young woman named Jennifer[19] (Nancy Valen) who asks him for directions to the nurses office. Zack is suddenly so enamored by being in the woman's presence, that he is left literally speechless. Next in Miss Simpson's[20] (Pamela Kosh) classroom, she informs her students about the poems that they were supposed to write for English class. Right after Screech and Lisa read their respective poems, Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) addresses the students on the intercom to remind them of the annual physicals and flu shots. When Belding himself volunteers for a shot, he is overheard shrieking in pain, much to the discomfort of Slater. Finally when it's Kelly's turn to read her romantically themed poem, Zack imagines his new found crush,[21] Jennifer addressing it towards him. Soon, Mr. Belding comes back on the intercom to tell Jessie and Zack to report to the nurse's office.

While taking an eye examination, Nurse Butcher tells Jessie that she's afraid that she might need glasses. After Butcher and Jessie leave, Jennifer walks in, now wearing her white medical coat and nurse uniform. To Zack's surprise, Jennifer tells him that she will be taking over from Nurse Butcher full-time the following month. Meanwhile, Kelly and Screech are in the hallway waiting for the end of Zack's physical. Kelly soon lets Screech in on her intent on saying yes[22] to going steady with Zack. But as soon as Kelly sees Zack return from the nurse's office, he is completely oblivious to Kelly's feelings at the moment. Meanwhile at The Max, Slater is trying to persuade Lisa or Jessie to forge his mother's signature to get out of having to take the required flu shot at Bayside. Afterwards, an upset Kelly walks in and addresses to Lisa and Jessie her concerns about Zack not wanting to go out with her anymore. Jessie tries to calm Kelly's fears by telling her that she'll personally talk to Zack about the matter.

In Zack's bedroom, he is practicing flirting with Jennifer while in front of a mirror and wearing a suit and tie. Soon, Jessie arrives via the open window and begins to inquire Zack about whether or not he's backing out on asking Kelly to go steady with him. Zack immediately confesses to Jessie about being in love[23] with Jennifer, the new school nurse.[24] When a disgusted Jessie asks Zack if he somehow plans on dating Kelly and Jennifer at the same time, Zack begins to fantasize about being a surgeon with Jennifer and Kelly[25] as his nursing assistants. Although Jessie notes to Zack about how upset Kelly is going to be, Zack reminds Jessie that she promised not to tell anybody. While back in Miss Simpson's classroom, Zack feigns illness as a means of going back to the nurse's office to see Jennifer. Mr. Belding then walks in to tell Slater to report to his physical. In the nurse's office, Zack tells Jennifer that his head is feeling hot despite it feeling cool when Jennifer touches it. Shortly after Jennifer leaves the room to get her thermometer to take Zack's temperature, Slater walks in for his dreaded flu shot. But with the curtain drawn forward, Zack mistakenly believes that Slater is Jennifer. It is there that Zack inadvertently confesses to Slater his true feelings about Jennifer. Slater proceeds to blackmail Zack into another flu shot so that he won't tell Kelly or anybody else about his feelings for Jennifer.

At The Max, Zack desperately asks Screech if he knows anybody who could take Kelly's mind off him for a while so that he can pursue[26] Jennifer. Screech then tells Zack about a new kid at school named Melvin Nerdly, who is a substitute on is chess team. Shortly thereafter, Kelly walks in and is told by Zack that they should date other people for the time being. When Jessie, Slater and Lisa see Kelly suddenly leave in a huff, Lisa wonders what is troubling Kelly. Lisa though is immediately able to decipher Jessie and Slater's secret language regarding the promise that they made to Zack about not telling anybody about his infatuation with Jennifer.[27] So Lisa then, leads the way in telling Jennifer about Zack's neglect of Kelly. Jennifer when informed of this tells Jessie, Slater and Lisa to leave everything to her as she has had plenty of experience dealing with "sick people".[28] Meanwhile, Jessie is emphatic that she didn't fail her initial eye exam under Nurse Butcher. Jennifer tells Jessie that the reason why she's retiring is due to her own failing eyesight and thus, Jessie doesn't need glasses after-all.

The next day, Zack enters the nurse's office upon Jennifer's request. When Zack sees Jennifer, she dressed decidedly more provocatively than her usual white nurse uniform: A purple T-shirt, black tube miniskirt, pantyhose, a black western waist belt, shoulder pads, hoop earrings and black pumps. Shortly thereafter, Jennifer locks the door, sensually takes off her white coat, and takes out the stick that was holding her hair in a bun.[29] Zack then nervously listens while Jennifer tells him about how she can't stop thinking about him[30] and how he's sweet unlike her fictional husband. Zack proceeds to panic when Jennifer tells him that her "husband" is a professional wrestler with a violent temper. When Zack attempts to leave, Jennifer immediately corners him and tells him about how they should not only run away together, but also get married and have lots of children. Zack then tries to tell Jennifer that he already has a girlfriend in Kelly and that one girl is all that he can handle. Before finally allowing him to leave, Jennifer grabs Zack by the collar and boldly asks him if he wants a girl or a woman.

That evening, Zack is back at Kelly's front porch, where he finds finds Kelly on a date with Melvin Nerdly. Not only does Melvin play chess, but also football and hockey while also modeling a little. Zack tries to tell[31] Kelly that he really does want to go out with her and nobody else only to be immediately shut down by her. As Zack pleads to Kelly to take him back, Kyle upstairs warns Zack that he should leave or he'll be sorry. When Zack tells Kyle to mind his own business, Kyle retaliates by dumping a bucket a water on top of Zack's head.

Production[edit]

Before Nancy Valen[32][33] was cast as Nurse Jennifer,[34] supermodel Kathy Ireland was going to play[35] the part. Ireland was however ultimately fired[36] during rehearsals after a disappointing table read and a similarly disappointing dress rehearsal. “She must have dazzled us in the office, because I hired her on the spot,” recalled co-creator Peter Engel.[37] Engel soon called Ireland’s manager[38] to inform him that she couldn’t do the part.

Kathy Ireland would right in her book Powerful Inspirations: Eight Lessons That Will Change Your Life that upon reading the script, she thought that her part was a little silly and she really couldn't connect with her character. Ireland added that she started asking herself a lot of questions, which resulted in her losing her focus. When the director kept telling her to just read her lines and to flirt with the boy (Zack) in a fantasy scene, Ireland attested that she didn't feel comfortable coming on[39] to a teenager. Ireland proclaimed that she just wasn't good enough of an actress to be able to give the director something that would make him happy without compromising her beliefs.

Meanwhile, Jennifer calls Zack "Loverboy" when she tells Jessie, Slater and Lisa about getting him in her nurse's office and letting him see a side of her that he has never seen before. One year prior, Nancy Valen appeared in the 1989 film Loverboy also as a woman named Jennifer (or Jenny in this case).

Reception[edit]

Larry Fitzmaurice of Vulture.com[40] ranked "From Nurse to Worse"[41] at #74 among the 81 episodes (discounting its prequel, Good Morning, Miss Bliss, clip-show episodes, and combining two-part episodes into one) produced. Meanwhile, Rob Fee of Thought Catalog[42] ranked "From Nurse to Worse" at #30 among the top 30 greatest Saved by the Bell episodes. Uproxx[43] complied a ranking of episodes by IMDb users and "From Nurse to Worse" received a score of 7.1 from 57 users (10), thus coming in #25 out of 86 episodes.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Episodes sixteen and nineteen". Saved By the Bell: An analysis. December 9, 2009.
  2. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (November 2, 2015). "Every Episode of Saved by the Bell, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture.
  3. ^ "31 From Nurse to Worse". Saved by the Bell with Millennials. November 21, 2017.
  4. ^ "Saved by the Bell - Seasons 1 & 2". DVD Talk. September 2, 2003.
  5. ^ "'Saved By the Bell' Turns 25: Look Back on the Show's Best Fashions". ABC News.
  6. ^ Morris, Derek (July 29, 2010). "From Nurse to Worse". The Summer of Morris.
  7. ^ "SEASONS 1 + 2 SCREENCAPS". Tiffani Thiessen Photo Gallery. December 17, 2006.
  8. ^ "Classic SBTB: From Nurse To Worse". ABCs wth RSP. March 14, 2011.
  9. ^ Weber, Korey (January 20, 2011). "From Nurse to Worse". KKTY Bayside.
  10. ^ "SbtB Reviewed Episode 35: From Nurse to Worse". SbtB Reviewed. December 8, 2014.
  11. ^ "Nancy Valen (Baywatch, The Heavenly Kid, and "Nurse Jennifer" on Saved by the Bell)". Reliving My Youth. May 17, 2019.
  12. ^ "Eleven people you might not know were on 'Saved by the Bell'". Stars and Celebs. September 27, 2010.
  13. ^ "SBTB- From Nurse to Worse (S2 E13)". SAVED BY NOSTALGIA PODCAST. July 5, 2019.
  14. ^ 45 - Saved By The Bell - S3E16 - From Nurse to Worse on YouTube
  15. ^ "SBTB - From Nurse to Worse". netchic.tripod.com.
  16. ^ "Nurse Wretched". The Saved by the Bell Blog. January 8, 2014.
  17. ^ "SBTB 02.16. - From Nurse to Worse". Epic Saved by the Bell. February 21, 2014.
  18. ^ Pan, Alexander (August 21, 2019). "30 Years On, Zack Morris Is Still The Most Problematic Character In Saved By The Bell". Goat.
  19. ^ Villegas, Omar (October 17, 2014). "A Definitive Ranking Of Guest Characters On "Saved By The Bell"". Buzzfeed.
  20. ^ "SBTB 02.16. - From Nurse to Worse". Saved By The Bell Episode Reviews Thread. December 29, 2014.
  21. ^ "Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: Hellooooo Nurse". Jumped The Shark. February 21, 2011.
  22. ^ Porter, Joseph. "Moments That Prove Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris Was a Homicidal Maniac". Guff.
  23. ^ Fee, Rob (November 13, 2013). "Ranking Saved By The Bell's Zack Morris' Love Interests". Thought Catalog.
  24. ^ Payne, Daniel (September 12, 2014). "Yo, Slate, Get 'Saved By The Bell' Right". The Federalist.
  25. ^ "SAVED BY THE BELL -- "From Nurse to Worse" Episode 16 -- Air Date 12/15/1990 -- Pictured: (l-r) Nancy Valen as Jennifer, Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zack Morris, Tiffani Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski -- Photo by: Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank". Getty Images.
  26. ^ Fee, Rob (October 28, 2013). "The 30 Greatest Episodes Of Saved By The Bell". Thought Catalog.
  27. ^ Driscoll, Dashiell (October 12, 2018). "The Time Zack Morris Dumped His Girlfriend To Harass The School Nurse". Funny or Die.
  28. ^ Levis, Jamie (February 16, 2020). "What ever happened to the women of Saved by the Bell?". Worldnation.
  29. ^ Nancy Valen lets her hair down. American actress takes stick out of her hair to drop bun. Beautiful on YouTube
  30. ^ "Power Ranking Every "Saved By The Bell" Character". Post Grad Problems. November 2, 2015.
  31. ^ Stevens, Stephanie (April 23, 2017). "The cast of Saved by the Bell: then & now". Kiwi Report.
  32. ^ Splat From The Past #16- Nancy Valen on YouTube
  33. ^ Reid, Ken. "TV Guidance Counselor Episode 382: Nancy Valen". TV Guidance Counselor Podcast.
  34. ^ "13 Things You Didn't Know About Saved By The Bell". eBaum's World. September 30, 2014.
  35. ^ Gerstenberger, Tim. "10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Saved by the Bell'". TV Overmind.
  36. ^ Ireland, Kathy. Powerful Inspirations: Eight Lessons That Will Change Your Life.
  37. ^ "10 Things You [Probably] Didn't Know About…Saved by the Bell". Truffle Shuffle. January 17, 2015.
  38. ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know About 'Saved by the Bell'". Fox News. August 20, 2014.
  39. ^ "Inconsistencies on Saved by the Bell".
  40. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (November 2, 2015). "Every Episode of Saved by the Bell, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture.
  41. ^ "Saved by the Bell Season 2, Episode 16: "From Nurse to Worse"". Saved by the Bell...Reviewed!. August 22, 2014.
  42. ^ Fee, Rob (October 28, 2013). "The 30 Greatest Episodes Of Saved By The Bell". Thought Catalog.
  43. ^ Cormier, Roger (August 18, 2014). "All 86 'Saved By The Bell' Episodes, Definitively Ranked! (By IMDb Users)". Uproxx.

External links[edit]


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