Hang Time

This was better than the other TNBC shows as well as the highest rated. Although many of the plots were recycled by all of the TNBC shows, "Hang Time" was the best since the original "Saved By The Bell." Much of the credit belongs to Megan Parlen who played Mary Beth. Megan and Daniella Deutscher were the only people to appear in every episode. Megan, gifted with both comedic and dramatic talent managed to elevate the show to a higher standard. After Amber Barretto joined the cast, Megan had someone closer to her talent to work with. Megan and Amber made a good comedic team and provided the best laughs for the show. It would have been nice if the cast hadn't been changed so much, which is my only complaint. Just when you got to know a new character they would be replaced. It would be nice to see this show more often, it needs to go into syndication or be released on DVD.

Of all the american-high-school-coming-of-age-in-a-funny-way this is probably the best, or more correctly the least bad of them. The cast isn't picked by pure looks alone, but their talents (more basketball than acting though). Of course many of the jokes are identical to those of other Peter Angel productions, but still an enjoyable show.

Hang Time has continued to become a world-wide success for teenagers. Already in its 4th season, the show continues the formula for which it began, a teen-oriented program that deals with the situations that our teens face today, HIV, drugs, and teen sex. While dealing with those issues, the show has it fair share of humor and comedy mixed in with romance.

Special credit must go to two people: Peter Engel, the executive producer, and Patrick Maloney, the show's director. These two people have made Hang Time one of the most successful and informative teen-oriented shows that will continue their success into the 21st Century and beyond.

Credit also must goto the cast of Hang Time. These actors are incredibly gifted, and have portrayed their characters with the utmost confidence, especially Daniella Deutscher & Megan Parlen, who have been with the show since its initial premiere in September 1995. Both them and many other cast members give us a standout performance in dealing with teen-oriented situations.

"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.

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.