For fans of particular TV shows, Wikis are a means of making sure everything you love about a series is out there for the world to discover. It helps others learn about the show, while simultaneously providing a wealth of detail you may have overlooked. And while messing with Wikipedia is kind of annoying in general, what’s happening to the Saved By The Bell Wiki is a thing of genuine beauty. Some good samaritan has taken it upon themselves to start improving the show by making it the darkest, most existential howl of despair ever seen in a multi-cam teen sitcom. It starts in little ways: For example, in the description page for the season one episode “Screech’s Woman,” everything is normal, right until you hit the bottom of the page, where the “Quotes” section lists a single sample:
Screech: I think we are just insects, we live a bit and then die and that’s the lot. There’s no mercy in things. There’s not even a Great Beyond. There’s nothing.
Truly, the character of Screech is Saved By The Bell’s sentient heart of darkness. Or at least he would be, if it didn’t turn out the show itself was descending into despair. Just take a look at the sample quotes from “Save The Max,” the third episode of season two:
Max: To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That’s what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul – would you understand why that’s much harder?