YMMV / USA High

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Some believe that Miss Dupree is actually a Troll that rather enjoys the attention she gets from the students - and is sometimes deliberately winding them up.
• Base-Breaking Character: Ashley. Fans either love her for her Cute and Psycho and Dumb Blonde moments - or hate her for those very same reasons.
• Ethnic Scrappy: Winnie at first was a horrifically stereotypical Sassy Black Woman who dropped "girrrrrl" like it was a comma. She did get a little better as the show went on, but the first episode is cringe worthy by modern standards.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: It was rerun on Nickelodeon in the UK in the early 2000s and enjoyed a successful run there.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Any time Lazz gets put on restriction and indeed Mr Elliot says it as a joke when he leaves. In the first episode of Band of Brothers James Madio's character is the first of the men to have his weekend pass revoked.
  • Elena Lyons plays the straight woman to a Cute and Psycho friend. Watch her appearance on 8 Simple Rules where she's the psycho.
  • In the episode "The Car," Jackson is put on restriction for redirecting the satellite to get the Baywatch Channel. There is now an actual Baywatch Channel on Pluto TV.
  • Kirsten Warren would later use her Ashley voice playing Lady Godiva on an episode of Charmed (1998).
• Hollywood Homely: Lazz who is treated as if he has Geek Physiques (though he is at least much shorter than the others). He's played by James Madio, who Damian Lewis has been quoted as saying "If I could have man love for another man's body, it would be for Jimmy Madio".
• Narm: The attempts at European accents by some of the cast. Notably Miss Dupree's thick French accent to begin with. Thankfully she switched to just having a hint of an accent after a couple of episodes.
• Narm Charm: Not to the extent of Saved By The Bell but it also has a nostalgic value for anyone who was a fan when it was on.
• Replacement Scrappy: Excess for Lazz.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • When Lazz left USA High, he joined the paratroopers and jumped into Normandy with the 101st Airbourne.
  • Winnie's romantic rival in one episode is Harmony Kendall.
  • In two episodes, we see Lazz's mom being played by Carol Ann Susi, better known as the voice of Howard Wolowitz's mom.
• Rewatch Bonus: "Goodbye Lazz" gives one for "Love Is Blind". Why is Lazz so depressed about not getting asked to the dance? The girl he's pining for has asked six other guys and not him. Likewise why does Ashley overcompensate with six guys and not ask Lazz? She's terrified of him rejecting her.
• So Bad, It's Good: The main reason people would enjoy such a show.
• Tear Jerker:
  • When Lazz leaves. Ms Dupree hugs him and says she'll always remember him (even in spite of his rather Squicky crush on her). Mr Elliot actually hugs him too and jokingly says "you're on restriction" one last time. Lauren says "I know I always gave you a hard time but I think you're the sweetest guy I've ever known". Jackson is reluctant to say anything but eventually cracks "I'm not used to saying this to another guy...but I really love you, man" followed by a hug. Ashley bids goodbye to "the best boyfriend I never had".
  • It ends with Lazz saying he composed a letter for her, but his mother showed up before he could finish. All the letter says is "Dear Ashley" but Lazz says that he thinks that sums everything up perfectly. And after he leaves, Ashley collapses crying in Lauren's arms.
• Values Dissonance:
  • Winnie's Slap-Slap-Kiss tendencies. While it's usually a bit of bluster and she's never outright violent to anyone, it can be a bit hard to take with the awareness of abusive girlfriends these days.
  • Lazz's crush on Ms Dupree is tamer than Screech's stalking of Lisa, but one episode does have him stealing perfume from her room just so he can smell it. He's called out for it later but it's still treated as harmless.
  • When Winnie has her own talk show and turns into a raging diva, her friends try to discredit her by claiming she's really a man called Winston. Such a thing would never fly on network TV these days. What's more is that in The New '10s, revealing Winnie to be transgender would in fact get her more publicity and probably make her career.
• Values Resonance:
  • Jackson's romance with the blind girl. It manages to not be Anvilicious and holds up far better than the SBTB episode where Zack dates a girl in a wheelchair. Notably Catherine's blindness is pretty incidental, and Jackson freaks out about the relationship because he's afraid of commitment rather than her condition.
  • One episode has Winnie dealing with PG-rated Slut-Shaming when the other girls advise her to wear a modest dress on a date with a prince - convinced he'll be conservative, and she'll face harassment from his family. After an episode of trying to force herself to be more modest, Winnie wears the more revealing dress she had originally planned to and the prince has no problem with it. With greater awareness of sex positive feminism, this moral comes across rather well these days.