The Cable TV Version has many scenes omitted from the home video and laser disc versions. It is also missing the obvious scenes with nudity. Some of the scenes added are:
- Damone and Rattner talk about what to do on a date and Damone telling Ratt to play Led Zeppelin IV. This scene is followed by a scene in which Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh are talking on the phone and they are in their bra and panties (this scene is sometimes omitted when showing on cable depending on how prude the network airing it is.) In this conversation Phoebe Cates warns Jennifer Jason Leigh about Led Zeppelin IV.
- A new scene between Stacey and her brother and his friends where they warn her about Mr. Hand.
- A new scene between Brad and a guidance counselor about his life.
- After Brad gets fired there is a scene where he rips down a Coca-Cola poster in his bedroom.
- Mr. Hand signing people's annuals (yearbooks) at the school dance.
Cable TV version also removes some scenes due to copyright disputes over the songs featured in the soundtrack and is actually 2 minutes shorter than the theatrical release.
The cable-TV version includes scenes from Stacy's abortion that are omitted in the video version.
New (1996) MCA/Universal VHS NTSC issue has all the original music restored except for Timothy B. Schmidt's "So Much In Love", Tom Petty's "All Amercan Girl," and "Goodbye, Goodbye"
Broadcast TV version has an additional scene right after the scene where Mr. Hand rips up Spicoli's card on the first day of school. Spicoli and two of his buddies are in the bathroom and Spicoli is telling a overly fantastic version of the incident, about how he told Mr. Hand not to mess with him or there would be trouble. This probably was to tie in with the joke later where the story gets aroud that he pulled a knife on him.
At least one broadcast version of this movie cut out the scene where Spicoli and his friends open the door to their van and tons of smoke comes out.
1999 DVD version is completely restored and contains all of the music and scenes from the theatrical version. The entire soundtrack has been restored, including Timothy B. Schmidt's "So Much In Love", Tom Petty's "All Amercan Girl," and "Goodbye, Goodbye" which had been omitted in several other versions.
The MPAA originally slapped the film with an "X" rating, stating that the male frontal nudity had to be cut from the boathouse sex scene. This cut, along with a few other trims to that scene, was made and the MPAA gave the film an "R" rating.
In the original television version, there is more dialogue in the "no shirt, no shoes, no dice" scene. Spicoli says "I have uno nickel-ette...and a pick". He then makes up a story of how Mick Jagger gave him that pick.
In the VHS/ DVD print, Brad's boss, Dennis Taylor, is seen only once in the movie. In many TV prints, Dennis appears in a scene following the "no shirt, no shoes, no dice" scene. In that scene, Dennis tells Brad to explain the french fries that were poured in the trashcan.
Brad's Bud (played by Nicolas Cage) has a much larger role in the TV network version whereas in the theatrical version he has virtually no dialogue. His first (and best) line in the TV version is: "Brad, your sister's turning into a fox!" said after Stacy and Brad's conversation about Mr. Hand, plus more dialogue between Brad and Brad's Bud during the cafeteria scene with Brad discussing their plans for the weekend.
The scene with Stacy and Linda in the mall after closing is expanded with a girl approaching Linda asking her about borrowing money to "take care of her problem."
An extra scene of Linda comforting Stacy after she tells Linda that she might be pregnant after her tryst with Mike.
In the broadcast version, the scene where Brad fantasizes about Linda, they only show him looking at her and not when he is masturbating.
The scene where Linda teaches Stacy how to give oral sex is deleted from the broadcast version.
