VERSUS // telethons: full house vs saved by the bell

In all honestly there are about 39029 comparisons I could do between these shows alone. I'll probably hit them all eventually but I am trying to spread them out so that things don't get tedious. Thank you for listening.

It was rather common in the 90's to have telethons. Sometimes you need to get a bunch of dough for an important (or semi-important) cause and the only way to do it is with some entertainment and a lot of phones and I can already tell you who the winner is here (because they had talented people and children and connections who will work for free) but just for kicks lets see. Both in 1990 just a few months shy of one another Saved by the Bell hosted a radio-thon in Save The Max (S02E03 according to IMDB but everyone knows the actual order and air dates of SBTB are a myth) and then Full House's Our Very First Telethon (S03E24) was a wonderful closer to that season.



Plot

The reason for the "-thon" in Saved By The Bell is that their beloved hangout joint The Max is going to be turned into a parking lot of the owner doesn't come up with $10,000 in back rent. The Max is owned by the school board so they hold a radio-athon, utilizing their newly discovered school radio station to get people to raise money. Consider they're in dire straights they use their own radio personalities to entertain the crowd. Lisa talks gossip, screech pulls out his impression of Al Bundy and Mr. Belding reincarnates his alter-ego The Big Bopper but despite all of that they're still doming up short. In the end, it is their boring sportscaster Slater that comes in, pumps everyone up and motivates the crowd so that they meet and barely surpass their goal.

Full House hosts a telethon to raise money for children in need. They have a much heftier goal of $1,000,000 in a 24-hour period. Danny Tanner and Rebecca Donaldson of Wake Up, San Francisco are in charge of hosting and they have a slew of actual talent lined up: Jesse and the Rippers, Joey's comedy routine, each of the daughters doing a little something but for them the clincher is Mike Love of the Beach Boys stopping in last minute to sing Be True To Your School and help them surpass their goal as well!

Characters



Zack Morris vs Danny Tanner - The Ring-leader. Zack. I mean, he doesn't totally fall asleep like Danny does. He comes close, but he dozes for only a mere moment instead of entire segments.



Joey Gladstone vs Screech Powers - The Comic Relief. Sorry Screech, Joey for this one. He has a legitimate act prepared, granted that's career. And his impression of Steven Tyler will never not be hilarious.

The Breakdown
The reason we're here. It's kind of hard to rate this one. Saving children or saving a place that feels like a second home to many? Now seriously you're probably going wow you're an asshole if you don't vote for children but here me out. Slater has moved around for a long time and for the most part when he arrived at Bayside Zack tried to send him packing. It didn't work and Slater started feeling like he belonged. I have a soft spot for that so I'm going with Saved By The Bell here. I have to.

The entertainment. I can't not go with Full House on this one. Sure they have connections and probably a budget, otherwise all these talented folks are willing to work for free (well, it is for the children after all). And plus, Kimmy Gibbler rode her unicycle.

The final kick. I'm going rogue. Saved By The Bell gets this one. I mean for real. Yes, a Beach Boy showed up and rocked out and that was pretty epic, but the downtrodden sportscaster that was all but kicked in the face before being kicked to the curb shows up because hello, it's his second home, and rallies the troops to wake the hell up and save the Max! He looks at that microphone like he is speaking to all the other bad sportscasters out there as if to say "this one is for you." I have to respect that.


Full House only by 1??? What kind of situation is this, I thought they'd have it by a landslide, but oh I like surprises.