Tiffani Thiessen Reunited With 'Bayside' Principal, Explains Why No 'SBTB' Reunion Planned
Tiffani Thiessen was briefly reunited with Dennis Haskins, her co-star on "Saved By The Bell" during an appearance on the "Today" show. It was an awkward moment, given that Thiessen has avoided doing a "Bell" reunion for the public, but she made the most of it.
"I have always supported a reunion of any kind including all of us," Haskins previously told TMZ. "Honestly, the fans still love us and our show so much … they deserve it!"
Haskins played the fictional Bayside High's principal, Mr. Belding, on the series and is eager to get the entire gang back together for a final reunion. "Saved By The Bell" was a hit series in the '90s and featured such stars as Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, and Thiessen. The original series led to the spin-off series: "Saved By The Bell: The College Years" and eventually two made-for-TV movies.
Yet the gang from Bayside High has not worked together since. Thiessen has been one of the most vocal about her opposition to a reunion and wants to move on with her own career. She currently stars on USA's "White Collar" and was featured on "Beverly Hills, 90210" after her work on "Bell."
Haskins crashed her segment on the "Today" show, leading to a sense of awkwardness for Thiessen. He played game show host for Thiessen and the rest of the "Today" crew and quizzed them on their knowledge of sitcoms.
When asked why she was holding out on a "Bell" reunion, which she knows would make fans happy, Thiessen explained, "It's a matter of timing and finding something that everyone wants to do. It's not like something is holding it up. There are some issues with Dustin (Diamond). He wrote a book that wasn't real positive."
Series star Gosselaar has said that he would be happy to do a reunion and even appeared, in character, on the Jimmy Fallon show. Last week he told a TMZ photographer that if the new "Boy Meets World" series works out, "maybe we'll do a reunion as well."