Transfer student A. C. Slater initially enters the scene as a Zack's nemesis and roadblock to lady-love Kelly Kapowski, though the two eventually work their way up to best buds.

Slater was originally written as Zack's rival for Kelly's affection before becoming Zack's best friend in season two, and develops an attraction to the strong-willed feminist Jessie Spano.

Though he loved all the people close to him, Zack's best friend was clearly Jason.

* Dulé Hill as Preston: Zack's the other best friend in school beside Dean.

* Cameron " Cam " Dunleavy ( played by Jake Epstein ): One of Zack's best friends, will do anything to make a quick buck.

Screech and Lisa are two of Zack's friends in these episodes.

Other friends that are regularly featured are Mikey Gonzalez, a close friend who is often tied up in Zack's scheming, and Nikki Coleman, who often butted heads with Zack on many issues.

: When Zack and his friends go on a camping trip, Zack's father decides to join them to give them tips.

: In this clip show episode, Zack loses his memory after his Zack files are thrown out the window of the school and Zack's friends must remind Zack of who he is and his adventures.

Like Jessie and Screech, Lisa has been Zack's friend since grade school and some episodes hinted that she harbored a small crush on him.

Zachary " Zack " Mayo ( Richard Gere ) has been living in the Philippines with his father Byron ( Robert Loggia ), a U. S. Navy chief boatswain's mate, since early adolescence, after Zack's mother committed suicide.

Western critics have praised Zack's character, commenting on his development since Final Fantasy VII.

Other important people in Miles ' life include his grubby ne ' er-do-well father, a rascal who can't resist a handout when it comes his way ; his reformed marijuana smoking brother, who is a talented Empire Grill cook ; his good-hearted ex-mother-in-law, who owns a bar ; the town's wealthiest woman, a condescending matron who owns the Empire Grill ; that woman's daughter, who has loved Miles for many years ; an attractive waitress, a retiring police chief and a dimwitted police officer, who is Zack's father and has known Miles since childhood.

Set in a different continuity from the later series ( though later added to the syndication package ), the one season of the sitcom Good Morning, Miss Bliss took place during Zack's eighth grade year at John F. Kennedy Junior High School in Indianapolis, Indiana ( Saved by the Bell is set in California ).

Despite Zack's playboy persona his main love interest is Kelly ; they have an on-again, off-again relationship throughout high school.

In exchange for doing Zack's homework and being roped into Zack's various stunts, Screech receives protection from school bullies and a general boost in his confidence ; but Zack's affection for Screech is evident in spite of this.

* Paul Walker as Dean Sampson, Jr .: Zack's closest pal ( together with Preston ) and soccer teammate in high school.

* Vernon Mantuelfel ( played by Noah Giffin ): Zack's enemy, the richest kid in school and in love with Gwen.

# Photo Double: Zack gets stuck in his school ID when an old roll of film sucks his soul inside the card, leaving Zack's body in a zombie-like stupor.

In the Season 2 episode " Green No More, Part 1 ", Zack's cousin Curtis was introduced, who would have a small recurring role throughout the middle of the season.

He befriends Zack's younger sister Mac at the prom because they have similar musical tastes.

Zack's father is a hot-shot computer salesman ( with whom his relationship was, for a time, rather distant ) who has been played by two different actors.

Critical response to Zack's character has generally been positive.

Like Lisa and Screech, Jessie is Zack's childhood friend ( despite the lack of continuity with Good Morning, Miss Bliss ).

* The Woman in 302 ( played by Collette Micks ): Downstairs neighbor and sometimes girlfriend of Zack's dad.

; Angela: The girl of Zack's affections, he was constantly attempting to impress and go out on a date with her, much to her annoyance, she would often demean Zack for his attempts.

In fact, these events did not occur as Cloud describes ; rather, they are an amalgamation of Cloud's actual past ( as a member of the Shinra army who failed to enter SOLDIER ) along with his friend Zack's own past, mixed with memories gleaned from Tifa's mind, created out of a combination of shame, Jenova cells and manipulation by Sephiroth.

He is often the voice of reason in the group and has tried to stop the bet between Zack and Dean, as he believes Dean is taking advantage of Zack's vulnerable situation.

Zack's role in Crisis Core has received a mainly positive reaction.

Zack's voice also gets raspier as the series progresses.

A number of Zack's actions from the game were also designed so as to augment the similarities that Aerith finds between him and Cloud in Final Fantasy VII.

" He also praised Zack's English voice actor for doing a good job, noting " his character's maturing and developing over the 15-hour storyline.

Zack's homeroom teacher and history teacher, Miss Carrie Bliss, also helped provide a moral compass for Zack.

The Education department was also expanded in 1989 and a walk-through aviary ( Zack's Aerie, made possible by private donations ) was also opened.

Adam was selected to take Zack's place as the Black Power Ranger when he, along with Jason and Trini, left to attend a World Peace Conference as ambassadors in Switzerland.

Zack's job is being interfered with plenty, but only because Garibaldi is determined that nothing go wrong with the inauguration.

Also, during this period, Security Chief Zack Allan began to fall in love with her, but nothing came of this save heartache, and a strong dislike for telepaths the following season, both on Zack's part.

While not part of the game itself, Zack's later Dead or Alive 4 ending shows the pair robbing an ancient tomb and escaping with a truck filled with gold, suggesting a possible financing source for a sequel.

As a result of her new look and Zack's interest, Laney is nominated for Prom Queen and this begins an uneasy battle with Taylor for the crown.

In the meantime, Dean begins to show an interest in Laney as her popularity begins to soar and Zack's victory becomes more imminent, and tries to invite Laney as his prom partner in an attempt to ruin Zack's attempt to boost Laney's winning chance with his own popularity.

When Laney's ( and hence Zack's ) winning odds becomes prominent, he tries to ruin Zack and Laney's relationship by first revealing the bet in front of Laney, then by trying to seduce and advance on her after the prom, only to be deterred when the ever-vigilant Laney stuns him with her foghorn-loud personal alarm.

When she then wants to get back with Zack, she faces setback due to Zack's new-found chemistry with Laney.

Nomura stated that Zack's name was derived from ' fair weather ' and specifically chosen because it contrasted with Cloud Strife's name.

Zack is the protagonist of Crisis Core, a prequel to Final Fantasy VII, which deals primarily with Zack's backstory.

1UP. com's Jeremy Parish agreed with Clements, arguing that Zack's story contrasted with other RPG plots, calling it " the heart of the game.

On the other hand, PSXextreme's Ben Dutka, felt that Zack wasn't worthy of his own game, believing that only players with " halfway decent memories " and a " hardcore completionist mentality " will be able to remember Zack's appearances in the original Final Fantasy VII.