MovieChat Forums > Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993) Discussion > Slater's Ethnicity

Slater's Ethnicity

posted 17 years ago by Ghostwriter14
20 replies | jump to latest

In Slater's War, it's revealed that his last name is actually Sanchez and that his father had changed it to Slater in order to join the army and Slater says that he had never known until then. But, wouldn't he have found that out in the high school ep "Running Zack" when he was doing his family tree project? I mean, he found out that one of his ancestors was a bullfighter and I can't really see his dad changing the name on all the stuff that he owned, even if he DID legally change it to join the army.
Jack drinks jack, Jack drinks jack. Jack's got fans.
Catch ya on the flip side.

[–] Amberlicious26 17 years ago

Also, when he is taking Alex to meet his family for Thanksgiving he says ''And remember when you meet grandma Maria you're Mexican'' so all of his life it never came up from grandma Maria...just one of the many inconsistencies lol

[–] theoutlawtorn1080 17 years ago

and at the beach club he spoke Spanish to the kitchen staff. its funny how each episode has its own continuity.

[–] past_tyme 16 years ago

Yeah, it doesn't make sense that he only just discovered his ethnic identity in college, but I think the process of him wanting to fully embrace it at that age was actually done pretty realistic in a very unrealistic show sense.

[–] seanjacoby 16 years ago

In many of the high school episodes he can be seen wearing an Italian Horn necklace, implying he was Italian

[–] ScarsOnLand 16 years ago

How did he not figure it out when he looked in the mirror?

[–] Anakin_Matai 15 years ago

Also in the high school episodes with his dad... his dad certainly does not look like a "Sanchez"... maybe his mother was Mexican?

Jean Grey is the coolest super hero EVER!

[–] morilee 15 years ago

In the beginning of the high school episodes, he was supposed to be Italian.

[–] b73142 15 years ago

Peter Engel said that the characters of Lisa & Slater were supposed to be Jewish & Italian, but since they liked both Lark & Mario so much, they changed them to suit those 2. So Slater was supposed to be Mexican.

[–] RidiculousPasta 12 years ago

That doesn't really make sense since Lark/Lisa was an original cast member from Good Morning Miss Bliss which was later recreated as Saved by the Bell.

Lisa was black from the start unless they were planning to drop her.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] old_skool_ska_kid 14 years ago

Huh? I don't see how Gerald Castillo, who played Slater's dad, didn't look like a "Sanchez".

[–] Viltrumite 15 years ago

I don't know anything about the US army, but are you telling me Slater Snr. couldn't have joined with the last name Sanchez?

[–] klint_eastwood 14 years ago

Cob u bring up a good point..that whole reason Slater's Dad even supposedly changed the last name is dumb

[–] cowgoesmoo 14 years ago

I just finished watching a rerun of this episode on TBS. Slater was more specific than joining the Army; he said he changed it so that he would be accepted into "the military academy" (presumably he meant West Point, which is officially known at the US Military Academy, but they probably couldn't say that on the show.)

If this show had been set in the 1920s, I'd find it believable that "Sanchez Sr" would try and pass as a "Slater" in order to fit in better, but in the late 60s/early 70s (I'm guessing that's when Sanchez Sr would have attended) that would have been unnecessary.

[–] AugustGorman 15 years ago

Gee, I always thought he was Italian

[–] ny756 14 years ago

im watching the epsiode right now and thwat lil back and forth between him and Zack always bothered me. How is Slater gonna get mad at Zack when he himself just had this Chicano epiphany a hour or so earlier?!?

[–] ItsEddieHaskellBeyotch 13 years ago

YES!!^^ Totally, Slater was such a friggin hypocrite in this episode. You never saw him stick up for La Raza or the barrio til this ep.

"You win some, you lose some. But you live, you live to fight another day."

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Wicked_Genius 13 years ago

Wasnt he was Mexican in high school, but Chicano in college????

[–] BigBadDolemite 11 years ago

LOL!!! Classic ^^^^