HANG TIME
(NBC, September 9, 1995-December 16, 2000)
NBC Productions/NBC Studios, Peter Engel Productions (season 2-6)
MAIN CAST:
Daniella Deutscher – Julie Connor
Megan Parlen – Mary Beth Pepperton
Chad Gabriel – Danny Mellon (season 1-3)
Reggie Theus – Coach Bill Fuller (season 1-3)
David Hanson – Chris Atwater (season 1)
Hilary Tuck – Samantha Morgan (season 1)
Christian Belnavis – Michael Maxwell (season 1)
Robert Michael Ryan – Earl Hatfield (season 1)
Kevin Bell – Josh Sanders (season 2)
Paige Peterson – Cindy Amy Wright (season 2)
Michael Sullivan – Vince D’Amata (season 2-3)
Anthony Anderson – Theodore “Teddy” Brodis Jr. (season 2-3)
Adam Frost – Michael Manning (season 3-6)
Amber Barretto – Kristy Ford (season 3-6)
Mark Famiglietti – Nick Hammer (season 4, guest 5 & 6)
Dick Butkus – Coach Mike Katowinski (season 4-6)
Danso Gordon – Kenny “Silk” Hayes (season 4-6)
James Villani – Roco Bosco (season 4)
Jay Hernandez – Antonio Lopez (season 5-6, recurring season 4)
Phillip Glasser – Eugene Brown (season 5-6)
Hang Time was another attempt by NBC to duplicate the success of Saved by the Bell for their Teen NBC programming block. Created by Troy Searer, Robert Tarlow, and former Bell writer Mark Fink, the series was basketball-centric (coinciding with the network’s then-current association with the NBA), taking its title from the term referring to how long a player stays in the air after leaping for a slam dunk. It centered on the exploits and lives of the Deering Tornados [sic] boys’ varsity basketball team from the fictional Deering High School in the equally fictional Deering, Indiana.
Julie Connor (Daniella Deutscher) transferred into the school after moving with her family from Chicago. Julie had been in love with the game of basketball since her father taught it to her when she was three. Since the school lacked any girls’ teams, she decided to try out for the boys’ team…which was met with much resistance from the other players. However, her skill and drive eventually earned her their respect and a place on the team as their point guard. Also new to the school was the team’s coach, former professional basketball player Bill Fuller (played by real former player Reggie Theus). Fuller was hired to replace the previous coach who had led the Tornados through a disastrous season.
Other members of the team included their forward and captain Chris Atwater (David Hanson), who was also their star player and eventually Julie’s boyfriend; guard Danny Mellon (Chad Gabriel), a goofy kid with dreams of basketball greatness who developed an instant crush on Julie; forward Michael Maxwell (Christian Belnavis), whose playing was only overshadowed by his overconfidence in his skills; and very tall center Eartl Hatfield (Robert Michael Ryan), a country-bred yokel that lived on a farm with his family and drove their tractor to school. Other characters included head cheerleader Mary Beth Pepperton (Megan Parlen), who came from a wealthy family and was a bit ditzy, as well as Chris’ original girlfriend, and Samantha Morgan (Hillary Tuck), the overzealous team manager with aspirations of becoming a coach herself and eventually Danny’s girlfriend. When not on the court or in school, the kids could be found hanging out at the local mall, where some of them also had part-time jobs; particularly at a sporting goods store called The Sports Shack.
Hang Time debuted on NBC on September 9, 1995, running for six seasons and airing two episodes a day for the 3rd and 4th. Following the first season, producer Peter Engel, co-creator of Bell, was installed as showrunner. With his appointment came heavy changes to the series. Storylines increasingly incorporated a balance of topical teenage issues and life lessons with wacky comedic plots (earning a Prism Award for its accurate depiction of drug use in season 4). Hanson, Tuck, Belnavis and Ryan were let go, with the explanation that Chris went to college and Samantha moved to Chicago (the other two were just vaguely explained as being gone). Their characters were replaced by Josh Sanders (Kevin Bell), a Little League veteran who had given up competitive sports when his former coach urged him to hit another kid with the ball; Vince D’Amata (Michael Sullivan), another transplant from Chicago that served as an alternate on the team, was a bit of a dimwit, and eventually Mary Beth’s boyfriend; and Theodore “Teddy” Brodis Jr. (Anthony Anderson), Fuller’s godson that just moved to town and whose father was also a professional basketball player (played by former player Marques Johnson). Cindy Amy Wright (Paige Peterson), who went by Amy as she hated her first name, became the new head cheerleader while Mary Beth was promoted to team manager to learn responsibility (and get a new car from her father if she made it the year). Unfortunately, Mary Beth tended to screw up often (such as ordering the team’s uniforms in the wrong colors because the old ones weren’t “flattering”), resulting in her eventually being demoted to assistant team manager. Fuller also gained a bit of a temper, having little tolerance for shenanigans amongst his players. While the kids still hung out at the mall, their primary spot was now a sports-themed diner called The Stadium (similar to The Max from Bell); which replaced the school’s outdoor cafeteria set.
As with fellow TNBC series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, Hang Time became synonymous with frequent cast changes every season. Season 3 added Michael Manning (Adam Frost), a new transfer student that would be the team’s new star player and Julie’s eventual on-again/off-again boyfriend, and Kristy Ford (Amber Barretto), the new head cheerleader replacing Amy after her unexplained departure. Kristy ended up constantly being drawn into Mary Beth’s shenanigans and would eventually be promoted to team manager to replace her.
After the third season, Theus decided to leave the show with the explanation that Fuller took as the athletic director job at Florida University after having previously turned it down in the season finale. Sullivan, Anderson and Gabriel also left, with Teddy and Vince having said to be attending that same college, and Danny going to NYU while also following his dream of performing stand-up comedy. The new coach was Mike Katowinski, played by former football player-turned-actor Dick Butkus. He had a tendency to tell dad jokes and was a bit intimidating, but was new to high school coaching and especially to coaching a girl. New members of the team included Nick Hammer (Mark Famiglietti) who was always addressed mostly by his last name, wore a lucky leather jacket, and eventually became Mary Beth’s boyfriend; Kenny “Silk” Hayes (Danso Gordon), who exuded the same overconfidence as Michael Maxwell from season 1; and Rico Bosco (Jams Villani), whose diminutive stature tended to come up frequently.
With season 5, Rico was dropped; said to have left basketball to join the wrestling team. He was replaced by Eugene Brown (Phillip Glasser), a player who spent the entirety of the previous season on the bench and took over as the goofy comedy relief. Hammer was also written out; his character being given the only on-screen sendoff of being accepted into Duke University’s pre-admissions program and would have to move to North Carolina. Hammer would be the only departed character to make a return appearance the following season. Additionally, Antonio Lopez (Jay Hernandez), a recurring character in season 4 that became Kristy’s long-distance boyfriend, was upgraded to a series regular with his character having moved to Deering from San Antonio, Texas. Hang Time’s 5th and 6th seasons were filmed together, meaning they were the only ones to not have any cast changes between them; emulating The New Class’ final seasons.
Because of the network’s association with the NBA, the league provided the athletic gear used in the series. Additionally, a number of actual NBA personnel made appearances on the show. They included Alonzo Mourning Jr. and Tim Hardaway of the Miami Heat; Francis “Chick” Hearn, the Los Angeles Lakers’ play-by-play announcer and one-time assistant general manager; Ahmad Rashad and Willow Bay, the hosts of sports magazine-style show NBA Inside Stuff on NBC; Grant Hill, then of the Detroit Pistons; Mitch Richmond, then of the Sacramento Kings; Cedric Ceballos, then of the Lakers; Muggsy Bogues, then of the Charlotte Hornets; Juwan Howard, then of the Washington Bullets (now the Wizards); Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks; Glenn Robinson Jr., then of the Milwaukee Bucks; Damon “Mighty Mouse” Stoudamire, then of the Toronto Raptors; Gary Payton Sr., then of the Seattle SuperSonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder); Kobe Bryant of the Lakers; Shareef Abdur-Rahim, then of the Vancouver Grizzlies (now the Memphis Grizzlies); and Sheryl Swoopes, then of the Houston Comets. Additionally, there was an appearance by Florence Griffith Joyner, a track and field athlete and the fastest woman ever recorded; The Moffatts, a Canadian pop/rock country band comprised of brothers Scott, Clint, Bob and Dave; Dr. Drew Pinsky, an internist, addiction medicine specialist and media personality; The Atomic Fireballs (shortly before breaking up), a swing revival band from Detroit; and Dustin Diamond reprised his role as Screech Powers from the Saved by the Bell franchise (Mary Beth and Amy also appeared on an episode of The New Class, “The Kiss”).
The series was written by Jeff Ferro, Cindy Begel, Ken Kuta, Bernie Ancheta, Ronald B. Solomon (also an executive producer), Brett Dewey, Tony Soltis, Sheldon Krasner (also a story editor), David Saling (also a story editor), Noah Taft, Jeffrey J. Sachs (also an executive producer), Jordana Arkin (also a story editor), Scott Spencer Gorden, Richard Albrecht, Casey Keller, Peggy Nicoll (also a producer), Barry Stringfellow (also a producer), Carl Kurlander, Todd J. Greenwald, Renee Paylo, Karen Russell (also a story editor), David Garber, Rob Hammersley, Mark Scherzer (also a story editor) and Jay J. Demopoulos, along with Fink and Tarlow in the first season and Searer in the first and final two seasons (the last of which he was also a producer). The first series theme was composed by Stan Meissner and Fred Mollin, with the rest of the music done by Alan Ett. Bill Shortridge handled the main title design. For the second season, a new theme was composed by Mark Heyes and John Parker, with Heyes handling the rest of the music and new main titles designed by Geoff Nelson. Along with the Prism Award, the series was nominated for an ALMA Award and Parlen was nominated for three YoungStar Awards, winning one.
The series last aired in reruns on ABC Family (now Freeform) in 2004. To date, it hasn’t been made available on home video or streaming officially, however fans have uploaded the entire series to YouTube. While the show may be a footnote in the history of TNBC, it did have one lasting impact: Deutscher and Hernandez began dating and married in 2006.
07-27-2025, 03:15 AM
Saturday Mornings Forever: Hang Time
