Derek Morris is the father of Zack Morris.
Series[]
He appears in Rent-A-Pop when Mr. Belding makes Zack tell his dad to meet with them. When Zack informs his dad of this, he is interrupted by a business call, but afterwards says that he would ground Zack for life if he was having trouble in school. Zack takes this literally, thinking his father is going to be furious when he meets Mr. Belding. Not wanting that to happen he hires an actor to play his dad and according to Mr. Belding it went so well that he wants him to go on the ski trip so he writes them a letter when Zack's dad goes to the school, Mr. Belding is distracted by Screech while the actor plays Mr. Belding but when Zack's dad goes outside to the carnival and Mr. Belding taunts him attracting the of Zack’s true father (who likely figures out that was a stunt Zacque would pull).
At home Mr. Morris is upset with everything. He does not like what transpired with Mr. Belding, and said it all could been avoided if Zack was forthcoming about his academic problems. Zack claims that it is because his dad is too involved in business that he is losing touch with his son. Mr. Morris says this is what puts food on the table, to which Zack there is more to being a family than having a roof over your head. They then start to reminisce about earlier times, and suggest spending some time together on a camping trip. It gets interrupted by a client who assures Mr. Morris a big payoff, but Mr. Morris declines, saying he going to be with his son that weekend. Zack is glad he is doing something with his dad, but is told to finish his homework before they go.
He also appears in Drinking and Driving, when Zack, Slater, Screech, and Lisa are driving home in Lisa mother's Mercedes, from a Homecoming party having had some alcohol (minus Screech), and get into an accident. They hide the car in Mr. Morris's garage and tell him the accident was caused by them swerving to avoid a dog, and Mr. Morris simply expresses gratitude that no one is hurt. Eventually after further attempts to hide the truth, it all comes out that there was drinking involved, and Lisa has to face the wrath of her mother, Mr. Morris tells Slater (who was injured in the accident) to inform his parents about what happened, before he does, and Zack is left to face the wrath of Mr. Morris. He expresses his feelings of anger and extreme concern over Zack's thoughtless actions, and grounds Zack for a few weeks, and suspends his driving privileges for an even longer time, but he also tells Zack that he loves him and doesn't want anything bad to happen to him.
He’s also depicted in Good Morning, Miss Bliss, where he is shown as a divorcee who dates Miss Bliss. This was retconned in Saved by the Bell, where he is shown as only being married once.
Mr. Morris plays a slightly bigger role in Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas. Zacque announced his plans to marry Kelly, which is met by disapproval from Mr. & Mrs. Morris, as they feel he has his life ahead of him. Zack elopes to Las Vegas, but his parents rush in and voice their objection. Zack figures this is another lecture, but Mr. Morris says that if Zack is truly devoted to Kap, he has his blessing. The objection was that Zack's wedding should not be in a cheesy location like a Las Vegas chapel known for cookie-cutter weddings. Mr. & Mrs. Morris then work with Mr. & Mrs. Kapowski into paying for a nice wedding, where Kelly and Zack are married before an ordained minister.
Background Information and Notes[]
- In Good Morning, Miss Bliss, Zack's father was named Peter Morris. Played by actor Robert Pine, he was divorced and briefly dated Miss Bliss. This background was completely changed when the show was reworked into Saved by the Bell.