Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Mondays, I will be reviewing Hang Time, which ran on NBC from 1995 to 2000.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

The championship is approaching, yet again!  Hang time!

Episode 4.19 “Rocky Road To The Playoffs”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 14th, 1998)

It’s that time of year again!  The team just has to win one more game to make it to the playoffs.  Unfortunately, because Michael has been distracted, it’s starting to look like it might not happen.  It turns out that Michael has gotten a really bad report card, one that has more C’s than B’s.  His father has said that Michael can only play basketball as long as he keeps his grades up.  Technically, C’s are passing so I’m not really sure what the problem is but whatever.

After Michael has a shouting match with his father, Coach K says that, while he sympathizes with Michael, he can’t let him play in the big game because Michael has got too much on his mind.  As a result, the Tornadoes finish the first half of the game with the score tied!  Fortunately, Michael’s father shows up during halftime and has a conversation with his son.  Michael agrees to go to summer school and his father says that Michael can keep playing.  Michael enters the game during the second half and — yay!  The Tornadoes win!

Actually, that’s not a surprise.  The Tornadoes haven’t lost an important game since the second season.

While this is going on, Mary Beth and Kristy play a game of one-and-one basketball in order to win a car.  It wasn’t a terrible B-plot.  Megan Parlen and Amber Barretto were always at their best when they got to do something ridiculous together.

This wasn’t a bad episode.  I don’t think there was ever any doubt that the Tornadoes would win that game but the episode finally gave Adam Frost something to do and Frost proved himself to be a better actor than one might have previously expected.  All in all, this was a good episode.  Even Julie was a little less self-centered than usual.  Way to go, Hang Time!

Episode 4.20 “Kristy Nightingale”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 14th, 1998)

Meanwhile, back at the camp….

KRISTY NEARLY KILLS RICO!

Well, seriously, can you blame her?  I mean, what do we know about Rico?  First, he got addicted to marijuana.  (Seriously, do you have any idea how much weed you have to smoke to get addicted to a non-addictive drug?)  Secondly, he freaked out because he was dating a tall girl.  Finally, at camp, Rico got stung by a bee.  Kristy, who is apparently now working as the camp’s nurse, removes the stinger but she doesn’t realize that you’re supposed to keep an eye on someone after they get stung by a bee.  Instead, she sends Rico back to his cabin, where Rico nearly dies as a result of an allergic reaction!  Luckily, there’s a real doctor at the camp and she gives Rico a shot that saves his life.

Kristy feels terrible.  Everyone tells her that she’s being too hard on herself, despite the fact that Kristy did nearly kill someone.  Kristy worries that she might not be cut out to be a doctor and, again, that would seem like a fair assessment considering that she nearly killed someone.  Still, all the members of the team start faking injuries so that Kristy can fix them.  Awww, that’s nice of them!  Unfortunately, Kristy overhears everyone talking about how they faked all of their injuries and she loses her confidence again.  Fortunately, Michael makes himself useful by breaking his arm for real and Kristy gets to help him and regain her confidence.

WAY TO GO, MICHAEL!

While all of this is going on, the counselors engage in a prank war and remind me of why I’m glad to have never gone to any sort of camp.

As far as the basketball camp episodes are concerned, this was an okay one.  But Hang Time is a show that is at it’s best when it focuses on high school.  Hopefully, this is the last of this season’s camp episodes.

We’ll find out next week!