Rena Sofer had her breakthrough in "A Stranger Among Us", won a Daytime Emmy for her role on "General Hospital", and has appeared on numerous TV shows, from "Seinfeld" to "Melrose Place" to "24" to "Two and a Half Men".
But we're not gonna talk about that.
We're gonna talk about "Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style". You didn't see that one coming, did you?
In short, SBTB:HS was a TV movie that saw "the gang" go on a trip to, obviously, Hawaii. And there, hijinks ensued! Kelly's grandfather was in danger of losing his hotel, Mr. Belding led a group of traveling principals (of course Mr. Belding had to be involved!), and Screech was found to be some kind of a Hawaiian god. We wish we didn't remember any of this. Yet...
Yet the most fascinating part was the budding romance between Zack and a businesswoman named Andrea, played by Sofer. Now, this movie took place after Zack's junior year in high school, making him about 17 (Mark-Paul Gosselaar was 18 at the time). While Andrea's age was not revealed, Sofer was 25... and her character had a five-year-old daughter. Yes, really.
Now, we know what you are wondering: the age of consent in Hawaii is 16. So it looks like Zack and Andrea were fine as far as that is concerned. But still... a high school kid and a sizably older businesswoman, one with a five-year-old daughter? What were the writers thinking? If baffles the mind! It baffles the mind!
Oh, and in real life, Sofer is a daughter of an Orthodox rabbi.
But what fun is it to talk about that?