New Season of "Hang Time"
Ian J. Ball
Well, it looks like me fears have been mostly confirmed: "Hang Time" (HT,
for short) has been "Engelized"! What do I mean?...
Well, let's look at the cast changes. Gone are Sam (Hillary Tuck), Chris
(David Hanson), Earl (Robert Michael Ryan) and Michael Maxwell (Christian
Belnavis). Now granted, some of these actors may have left on their own
(Hillary Tuck, for one, already had a somewhat established acting career
before "Hang Time").
But what do you want to bet that Chris (Hanson) and Earl (Ryan) were
dumped when NBC (presumably) forced out Producer/Creator Mark Fink, and
brought in SbtB/CD Producer Peter Engel and his crew? In the case of
Chris, the main romantic lead, I'll bet that Engel and crew wanted someone
"sexier". After all, *no* mention was made last season that either Chris
or Earl were seniors (indeed, why else end the season with Mary Beth as
Julie's rival for Chris, if he wasn't supposed to return?!!!). And we know
that Michael Maxwell was a *freshman*, so where did he go? At least in
Sam's case they came up with the plausible "moved to Chicago" scenario.
Too bad, because both Sam and Michael were perhaps the most crucial
characters, along with Mary Beth, in making HT so good in its first
season. Their absence is keenly felt.
So, who do we get in return? For Michael, we get Teddy Brodis (Anthony
Anderson), the Godson of Coach Fuller. Unfortunately, this looks to be a
fairly marginal replacement for the very funny Michael; Belvanis will
definitely be missed. For Earl, we get the completely obnoxious, unfunny
Vince D'Amata (Michael Sullivan). Please... Earl was a *much* better
character than this D'Amata guy! Why'd they do this?! For Sam, we get the
*weakest* trade of all: cheerleader Amy Wright (Paige Peterson), who's
like a dumber and more uninteresting copy of "California Dreams" character
Tiffani Smith. At least Tiffani, has a personality! This Amy Wright
character seems to have *0* dimensions, in contrast to the Sam character
who had many.
Finally, for Chris Atwater, we get Josh Sanders (Kevin Bell). Now I hate
to admit is, but this may be the one change which is an improvement over
the original. The character of Josh is, initially at least, much more
interesting that Chris. And Kevin Bell seems to probably the best actor on
HT, after Megan Parlin who plays Mary Beth. But this is the only area that
looks promising...
Unfortunately, the "tinkering" with "Hang Time" didn't stop there. Chad
Gabriel's Danny seems to be much the same, as does Reggie Theus' Coach
Fuller. But the formerly quiet Julie Conner seems to be much more brash
and outgoing, and change that clashes with Mary Beth's character. In
addition, Mary Beth, who used to get a lot of the best lines, wasn't given
much to work with in the premiere, and her character is somehow less
interesting. To make matters worse, they *improbably* made Mary Beth the
Team Manager! The old Mary Beth would *never* have taken this job, and
it's a terrible change to the show. And, as sign of Engel dominance, the
formerly pleasant opening sequence of the show has been traded for the
trademark Peter Engel, loud, semi-animated opening. (I hate it!) And
finally, they've changed the lighting and filming of the show: now it
looks exactly the same as the other T-NBC "product", and HT has now lost
the former individuality it had in the T-NBC lineup.
So what does it look like HT has become? To my thinking, "Hang Time" is
better than "The New Class" (but then again, anything is!), but far worse
than the show was in season #1. Basically, what were left with is a pale,
much less funny copy of "California Dreams". But why go for the
diet-"Dreams" of HT, when you can have the real stuff?
I'll continue the HT FAQ & Guide through this season. But if HT doesn't
improve soon, don't expect this viewer to continue watching T-NBC after
"California Dreams" goes off the air at the end of this season.
Looks like NBC made a mistake in forcing out HT Creator Mark Fink after all...
--
Ian J. Ball | Want to get the rec.arts.tv FAQ, or my other TV
Grad Student | episode guides? Try:
IJB...@aol.com | http://members.aol.com/IJBall/WWW/IJBall.html
i...@ucla.edu | ftp://members.aol.com/IJBall3/FTP/
Gilles Coughlan
Ian J. Ball wrote:
>
> Well, it looks like me fears have been mostly confirmed: "Hang Time" (HT,
> for short) has been "Engelized"! What do I mean?...
>
I'm glad I'm not the only one who was disappointed with the season-
opener of HT. The "If it ain't broke, fix it" syndrome. Good enough
should have been left alone; instead they've turned the show into
a "Saved" clone, which it wasn't before, and are potentially ruining
the show.
> Well, let's look at the cast changes. Gone are Sam (Hillary Tuck), Chris
> (David Hanson), Earl (Robert Michael Ryan) and Michael Maxwell (Christian
> Belnavis). Now granted, some of these actors may have left on their own
> (Hillary Tuck, for one, already had a somewhat established acting career
> before "Hang Time").
>
Why is it that Peter Engel seems to insist on cast changes? Granted, after the
awful first and third seasons of SbtB:TNC, changes were needed, but not
after its second season.
HT did not need any of those changes, changes which have made the show
weaker, not stronger. I'm starting to get a very low opinion of Engel.
And, once again, Engel has kept up his habit of getting rid of the ones
who should stay, instead of the ones who should leave. (In this case,
though, they were not too many on HT who were horrible. Most of them
could act, at least, even if they were not all funny.)
> But what do you want to bet that Chris (Hanson) and Earl (Ryan) were
> dumped when NBC (presumably) forced out Producer/Creator Mark Fink, and
> brought in SbtB/CD Producer Peter Engel and his crew? In the case of
> Chris, the main romantic lead, I'll bet that Engel and crew wanted someone
> "sexier". After all, *no* mention was made last season that either Chris
> or Earl were seniors
It's been a while since I've seen the first season episodes. Who was Earl again.
Was he the farm-boy? Him, and Danny, were probably the two most funny ones
on the show. Of the ones that are gone, I'll miss the farm-boy the most.
As for Chris, I seem to remember him has somewhat weak, both as a character
and an actor. But he should not have been cut, because even if he was weak,
he could still carry the show, unlike Screech or Lindsay (sp?) in the New Class.
[snip]
> So, who do we get in return? For Michael, we get Teddy Brodis (Anthony
> Anderson), the Godson of Coach Fuller. Unfortunately, this looks to be a
> fairly marginal replacement for the very funny Michael; Belvanis will
> definitely be missed.
Did anybody else found it strange that Coach Fuller did not know what his
godson looks like. Looks like this one is going to be worse that those bad
"The New Class" characters we had to endure last year. I already have no
interest in Teddy.
> For Earl, we get the completely obnoxious, unfunny
> Vince D'Amata (Michael Sullivan). Please... Earl was a *much* better
> character than this D'Amata guy! Why'd they do this?! For Sam, we get the
> *weakest* trade of all: cheerleader Amy Wright (Paige Peterson), who's
> like a dumber and more uninteresting copy of "California Dreams" character
> Tiffani Smith. At least Tiffani, has a personality! This Amy Wright
> character seems to have *0* dimensions, in contrast to the Sam character
> who had many.
>
She also looks like a weak actress. Bad character, bad casting.
[snip]
> To make matters worse, they *improbably* made Mary Beth the
> Team Manager! The old Mary Beth would *never* have taken this job, and
> it's a terrible change to the show.
Being improbable never stopped Engel before. After all, shoudn't Belding
have fired Screech a thousand times by now.
But I agree with you on this point. Mary Beth is not believable as
Team Manager. She cannot replace Sam.
And the new team colours she introduces are totally wrong. Another
changes that should not have happened.
>
> So what does it look like HT has become? To my thinking, "Hang Time" is
> better than "The New Class" (but then again, anything is!), but far worse
> than the show was in season #1. Basically, what were left with is a pale,
> much less funny copy of "California Dreams". But why go for the
> diet-"Dreams" of HT, when you can have the real stuff?
>
Actually, I found the season opener for this year's New Class to be much
better than HT. It is unfortunate. As you've said, it looks like it's going
to be a bad season for HT. The season when this show should have grown
and developped seems to turn into the season where it becomes another
Saved by the Bell clone. Case in point: the scheming to get the loner
to try out for the team. Sounds like something Zack and the gang
would have done. (Except they would have done it better)
With the originality Engel has shown lately, I guess we can expect
a wheel-chair basketball game, perhaps an "injury-I'm-afraid-of-hospital"
episode, or other recycled episode.
Gilles
--
LES ALOUETTES SONT DE RETOUR /
THE ALOUETTES ARE BACK!
Gilles Coughlan
bq...@freenet.carleton.ca
or
coug...@magmacom.com