Un equipo con clase

During the first season of "Hang Time," it was a terrific show. Honest, well acted, and it didn't descend into a predictable formula like "Saved by the Bell: The New Class." Now, it's exactly like "Saved by the Bell: The New Class," only not as annoying.

I find it strange that Julie Conner and Mary Beth Pepperton are still in high school after 4 years despite the fact that they were sophomores when the show began. Even stranger: Whether Julie was a freshman or sophomre when the show began doesn't matter, either way, she ended up playing at the varsity level all through high school. New players (new cast members) go from JV to varsity, yet Julie never played at the JV level.

I still watch it though, mainly because Danielle Deutscher and Megan Parlen are so darn pretty :)

BK

This show is bland, trite and predictable... perfect for TNBC. If for some bizarre reason you're ever up early enough to watch this on a Saturday morning, go ahead and do so. It's not really intelligent or well-acted, but it's the kind of show that you don't get sick of because there's nothing there that you don't like, it's exactly like all those other teen/high school sitcoms except this one has sports stars so the girls have more spine and aren't as brain-dead and girly (except for rich kid Mary Beth). They even show a cheerleader who isn't just another dumb blond chick! Amber Baretto does a great job as the token fiery red-head on this show and her character brought on more realistic plots such as interacial dating. However, Julie, the first girl on the sports team, which apparently is a necessary device for any teen show is (barely) played by Daniella Deuschter who couldn't act her way out of a parking ticket. Julie could have been a great character, but Daniella's portrayal has caused the character to become completely one-dimensional since she is unable to portray any emotion beyond confusion. (However, she's pretty good on the court). If you're a fan of the original Saved by the Bell, you'll be disappointed. But if you're in the market for a cute non-thought-provoking way to spend a half-hour on Saturday mornings between SBTB: The New Class and One World, this is perfect for you.

Hang time was a highly rated show. It was amusing and always enjoyable, but the first season was when the show was at it's highest point. It was different than the rest, the characters, the plots, everything. But then they had to change it around so much and it's not as good. But this show still is cool, and they should bring back the reruns.

A friend commented to me once that they were sad that there aren't any more cartoons on Saturday morning. This came as news to me since I don't usually crawl out of bed until at least noon on Saturdays. But after a Friday night term-paper session stretched out longer and longer until I noticed (as the paper was screeching it's way out of my old-fashioned printer) that it was Saturday morning, I decided to test the TV waters.

What I found was "Hang Time", which I pegged instantly as a clone of "Saved by the Bell". In this teen-oriented sit-com, we follow the daily hi-jinks of students at Deering High School involved in the basketball program. While it was good for a chuckle, I was initially unimpressed enough to change the channel when I noticed something...or someone to be exact.

Amber Barretto plays the cheerleader of the group, a stunning young lady with a mane of red curly hair the likes of which I've never seen before. Thankfully the writers of the show resisted the temptation to make her character a ditz just because of her cheerleader status. In fact, Miss Baretto (along with Megan Parlen) would make good candidates for a spin-off since they usually get the goofy subplots. They make a pretty good team.

And Daniella Deutscher (that's a hard name to spell) as Julie, the lone girl on the basketball team, is a nordic beauty who practically puts Natasha Hendstridge to shame with her lovely eyes.

No more sleeping in for me. This sure beats Ag Day.

"Hang Time's" first seasons were decent, most certainly better than "Saved By The Bell: The New Class" or that dreadful "City Guys" the first few seasons featured lots of NBA guest stars, a great actor, Reggie Theus, playing the coach, and the kids who played the High School basketball players were, in general, decent actors. Then came the fallout. They got rid of all the great members of the cast, including Theus as the coach and replaced him with Dick Butkus, who couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. But until NBC abandons the idea of "TNBC" I believe Hang Time will remain the best show in the lineup, middle ground from the once great Saved By The Bell: Original class, and the horrible New Class.