Jimmy Fallon reunites most of the ‘Saved by the Bell’ cast

That popping you’ve been hearing since Wednesday night is the sound of a generation’s minds being blown by Jimmy Fallon’s long-promised “Saved by the Bell” cast reunion, which happened on “The Tonight Show.”

Taking advantage of his week of shows in Los Angeles, Fallon recruited Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley and Dennis Haskins for a “Saved by the Bell” sketch that rebuilt the famed set of Bayside High and even gave a part to Fallon as a new cast member.

The sketch had everything for hard-core “Bell” fans. There were references to the infamous caffeine pills episode, Lopez’s dancing career, Berkley’s “Showgirls” role and even the lyrics of the famed “Saved by the Bell” theme song.

What’s incredible about the sketch is how well most of the cast has aged, especially Lopez, who appears to look almost the same as he did 22 years ago.

Conspicuously absent were Lark Voorhies and Dustin Diamond. Voorhies’ mother told People magazine in 2012 that the actress was dealing with bipolar disorder and has withdrawn from the spotlight.

Diamond, meanwhile, keeps appearing in the news, most recently last December when he was arrested on suspicion of possessing a switchblade knife that was allegedly used in a bar fight. However, Diamond seemed to be there in spirit in the form of a background extra whose dress and appearance seemed to evoke Diamond’s character, the nerdy, outgoing Screech.

After the publication of Diamond’s tell-all book, “Behind the Bell,” perhaps it was fine with everyone that the actor was far from the set.

Fallon has been trying to get the cast together on his show since 2009, when he was host of “Late Night.” Guess it finally took a move up by an hour to make the magic happen.

Twitter: @patrickkevinday