Redemption at the M-Shop

Erin Randolph

The Maintenance Shop was packed Monday night with people wanting to see the guy who spent nine years in high school.

“Who came out here to get shitty drunk and make fun of Screech?” said Dustin Diamond, better known as Samuel “Screech” Powers from “Saved By the Bell.”

“You bastards,” he said to the few hands that were raised.

Diamond, now a stand-up comedian, told jokes to a sold-out crowd with topics such as public restrooms, gambling in Las Vegas and “Saved By the Bell” cast members.

“Here’s my impression of Kelly,” Diamond said in reference to his former co-star as he posed spread-eagle on a stool.

Diamond even slipped into his Screech persona, reviving the familiar shrill of yore. A lot of Diamond’s schtick was his role on “Saved By the Bell,” which he said aired from 1988 to 1998.

“That’s a long time to play a geek on a show,” Diamond said. “When I started I was, like, a fetus.”

Diamond mocked the length of time the show stayed on television, joking “The Prison Years” and “Geriatric Years” are now in the works.

“I thought Screech was the hunk of the show. Any Zack fans out there?” Diamond asked.

The crowd yelled.

“Zack was gay,” Diamond joked. “Come on, everyone knew that.”

Vince Kube, freshman in history, said Kelly Kapowski used to be his favorite character, but after seeing Diamond, he’s changed his mind.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to see `Saved By the Bell’ the same way,” Kube said. “It will just be better.”

John Meyer, senior in industrial engineering, and his girlfriend Danielle Brase, senior in graphic design, attended because they’re “old school `Saved By the Bell’ fans.”

“After `Saved by the Bell: the College Years,’ [Diamond] redeemed himself,” Meyer said.