I'M TELLING!

 

I’M TELLING!
(NBC, September 12, 1987-March 5, 1988)
 
DiC Enterprises, Saban Productions

 

MAIN CAST:
Laurie Faso – Host
Dean Goss – Announcer

  

In 1987, DiC Enterprises partnered with Saban Productions to co-produce several shows, which Saban would then handle the international distribution of. Together, they entered into an agreement with NBC to provide them several programs for their Saturday morning line-up. One of them was the live-action game show, I’m Telling!, marking Saban’s expansion into the medium.

The contestants ready to play.

Created by Ellen Levy and developed by Levy and Saban co-founder Haim Saban, I’m Telling! was essentially a kid version of The Newlywed Game. However, instead of romantic partners, I’m Telling! was played by three pairs of siblings—typically a brother and a sister, outside of special “Brothers’ Day” or “Sisters’ Day” episodes featuring siblings of the same sex. That comparison, by the way, didn’t go unnoticed by Newlywed Game producer Chuck Barris, who filed an injunction against Saban. Notably, Fast and the Furious franchise star Paul Walker appeared as a contestant with his sister, Ashlie, very early into his career.

A sister selecting a category.

The game featured three rounds. The first two rounds saw one of the siblings “teleported” to the “isolation zone” via special effects and video editing. In actuality, they were taken from the stage and placed in a soundproof room. The remaining sibling randomly selected one of three pun-laden categories by hitting a button and were asked a question loosely based on that category about their offstage sibling. Much like its inspiration, the questions were often designed to lead to humorous and embarrassing answers. After the three siblings answered every question, the isolated sibling was brought back out and the teams were awarded points for how many of their answers matched; gaining 25 points for matching the first, 50 for the second, and 75 for the third. The roles were then switched for the second round with the points increased to 50, 75 and 150, respectively.

The consolation prizes.

The team with the most points, or with an uncatchable substantial lead, won a $1,000 savings bond and advanced to the final round, while the other teams received consolation prizes that included Huffy bicycles, a 7-Eleven coupon book, and a copy of the I’m Telling! home game by Pressman Toy Corporation (now Goliath Games). In the event of a tie, the winner was selected from the team that came closest to guessing how many objects were placed into the “I’m Telling! Fun Box” or a jar without going over before the show.

The Pick-A-Prize Arcade.

The final round was the Pick-a-Prize Arcade, which was played after the set rotated 180 degrees to reveal 20 prizes in 2 rows of 10 on color-coded podiums; pink for the girls, yellow for the boys. Before the show, each sibling had to make a guess as to what 6 prizes the other would go for during this round. They then took turns selecting their 6 desired prizes from their designated rows. If their choices matched what their sibling selected beforehand, a light would flash after they hit a corresponding button. The team then took home every prize they matched (or, rather, a Service Merchandise gift certificate of equivalent value). If they matched a combined total of 10 prizes, they then won all 20 prizes.

Scoring a prize match.

I’m Telling! debuted on NBC on September 12, 1987. The game was hosted by actor Laurie Faso, with actor and veteran game show announcer Dean Goss announcing. Saban and partner Shuki Levy provided the series’ music. NBC would also have various stars from their shows appear in interstitials leading into a commercial break. Two episodes were populated by young NBC stars and their siblings, including Shannen Doherty (Our House) and her brother, Sean; Mackenzie Astin (The Facts of Life) and his brother, Sean; Heidi Zeigler (Rags to Riches) and her brother, Chuck; Chad Allen (Our House) and his sister, Charity; Benji Gregory (ALF) and his sister, Becky; and Ami Foster (Punky Brewster) and her brother, Shawn. For these shows, the equivalent of any winnings was donated to charity on top of a guaranteed $500.

Faso with that episode's winners.

Unfortunately, the show didn’t perform well on NBC’s already struggling Saturday morning lineup. The final new episode aired on March 5, 1988 and remained in reruns through August. On September 9, 1989, reruns aired on The Family Channel (now Freeform) for a year. It would return for two more runs on August 29, 1994 through September 30, 1995, and on October 30, 1995 through March 29, 1996. Notably, plugs for 7-Eleven and the commercial break between rounds 1 and 2 were edited out, and the credits were redone and presented over the descriptions of the prizes won. In the years since, several episodes of varying quality have found their way onto video sites like YouTube. This would be DiC’s only foray into game shows, while Saban would produce another for syndication, Treasure Mall, reusing several sounds and a reworking of the theme from I’m Telling!

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE

 

COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE
(NBC, July 16-October 8, 1955)
 
Republic Pictures

 

            Commando Cody was a rocket-powered science-fiction action hero appearing in serials produced by Republic Pictures. Cody (George Wallace) was a civilian researcher and inventor from the near future assisted by Joan Gilbert (Aline Towne), Ted Richards (William Bakewell) and Dick Preston (Gayle Kellogg) and often tasked by the government to defend the world from alien invaders. The characters first appeared in Radar Men from the Moon, where Cody discovered the Earth was under attack by Retik, the ruler of the moon (Roy Barcroft). The 12-chapter serial began in theaters on January 9, 1952. It would be re-released in 1957 and on television under the title Retik the Moon Menace in 1966. The serial would often be confused with 1949’s King of the Rocket Men due to its liberal use of that serial’s flying sequences and costumes to save money.

Cody with Joan and Ted.

            Republic’s next Cody project was a television series that would serve as a prequel to Radar Men. Cody (now Judd Holdren) was tasked by the U.S. government to investigate strange climate changes affecting the planet. Joan and Ted (now William Schallert) applied for jobs with Cody as the story began, and together they discovered that the disasters were being caused by space alien forces led by The Ruler (Gregory Gaye) from the planet Venus. However, production on the series was put on hold after the first three episodes to work on a direct sequel, Zombies of the Stratosphere. While the serial still starred Holdren and Towne (Schallert was replaced by Wilson Wood due to availability), it was decided shortly before shooting to completely rename the characters--with Cody now “Larry Martin”--and make the film its own distinct thing. It was also released in 1952 to a cooler reception than its predecessor, and was later edited down and re-released as the 1958 feature film Satan’s Satellites. Notably, Zombies marked one of the earliest film appearances of actor Lenoard Nimoy. Production resumed on the television series, with Schallert having been replaced by Richard Crane (future star of Rocky Jones, Space Ranger) as Dick Preston, and The Ruler gaining a new henchwoman played by Gloria Pall.

The Ruler getting an update from his men.

            Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe ended up having to receive a theatrical release due to contractual issues. It debuted in 1953 and ran as a typical serial. However, a debate has arisen among film fans as to whether Sky Marshall should be classified as a serial or not since it lacked the cliffhanger endings at the end of each episode that defined the genre. Sky Marshal eventually made its way to syndication on July 16, 1955 through Republic’s TV arm, Hollywood Television Service, and aired on NBC stations. Ultimately, this wound up being the final Commando Cody project. The series has seen numerous home media releases, including on Blu-ray for the first time in 2016 by Olive Films.

CB BEARS

 

CB BEARS

(NBC, September 10-December 3, 1977)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions

 

MAIN CAST:
Daws Butler – Hustler, Blast-Off Buzzard, Stick, Big Duke, Undercover Elephant
Chuck McCann – Boogie, Blubber
Henry Corden – Bump
Susan Davis – Charlie
Lennie Weinrib – King, Yuka Yuka, Rattle, various
Sheldon Allman – Big H
Don Messick – Clyde, various
Marvin Kaplan – Skids
Ginny McSwain – Sheena
Susan Silo – Zelda
William Woodson – Sheriff of Saddlesore
Paul Winchell – Shake
Joe E. Ross – Roll
Alan Oppenheimer – Sidney Merciless
Bob Hastings – Loudmouse
Michael Bell – Chief
Scatman Crothers – Segment Title Narrator
 

 

CB Bears was a Hanna-Barbera anthology series featuring six different segments: Blast-Off Buzzard; Heyyy, It’s the King!; Posse Impossible; Shake, Rattle & Roll; Undercover Elephant; and the titular CB Bears. Each one was directly inspired by other shows and movies popular at the time.

The CB Bears and the Perfume Wagon.

CB Bears was a spoof of the hit series Charlie’s Angels and infused with elements of the CB radio culture that had gained popularity during the decade. Three bears—Hustle (Daws Butler impersonating Phil Silvers), Boogie (Chuck McCann), and Bump (Henry Corden)—were detectives that disguised themselves as trash collectors. They received their missions from the unseen sultry-voiced Charlie (Susan Davis) through the CB radio in their beat-up garbage truck, the Perfume Wagon. While it may not have seemed like much, their truck was loaded with plenty of devices that could be called upon in a pinch. Each of the bears’ names were taken from a popular disco dance, and their character models were reminiscent of the crew from the earlier Help! …It’s the Hair Bear Bunch!; from which Butler recycled the same voice for Hustle that he used there. Early promotional art for the series had Charlie’s face seen on a TV screen before they decided to make her only a vocal presence like its inspiration.

Blast-Off Buzzard and Crazylegs.

Blast-Off Buzzard was Hanna-Barbera’s answer to Warner Bros.’ Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner series. Blast-Off Buzzard (vocal effects by Butler), who wore an aviator hat with goggles and a scarf, wanted nothing more than to catch Crazylegs, a speedy football helmet-wearing snake, in a desert setting. Blast-Off used a variety of schemes and devices in his attempt to nab the pesky snake, but was always thwarted by his plans backfiring or Crazylegs just outsmarting him. Crazylegs was originally pitched as being a rabbit, but NBC rejected the idea. Artist Jerry Eisneberg offered the solution of making him a snake, which the network approved.

King, Big H, Skids, Clyde, Sheena and Zelda.

Heyyy, It’s the King! was inspired by Happy Days; the title taking a cue from star Henry Winkler’s catchphrase as Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzarelli. King (Lennie Weinrib) was the cool leather-jacket wearing lion leader of his motley crew that included Big H (Sheldon Allman), a hippo that was always hungry; Clyde (Don Messick), a dopey gorilla with questionable athletic ability and a large ego; Yuka-Yuka (Weinrib), a hyena who was a practical joker; Skids (Marvin Kaplan), a crocodile that drove a jalopy and wore a bucket on his head; and cheerleaders Sheena (Ginny McSwain), a puma, and Zelda (Susan Silo), an ostrich. Most stories centered King’s schemes at acquiring money and fame and his friends’ attempts to help. Originally the segment was meant to be set in the jungle with their usual hang out, a malt shop, being the only building, but was changed to them living in the city. While the series featured a 1950s aesthetic reminiscent of its inspiration, it still very much took place in the modern 1970s.

The Posse Impossible: the Sheriff, Stick, Blubber and Big Duke.

Posse Impossible stemmed from an idea first explored in the final episode of Hong Kong Phooey. The Sheriff of Saddlesore (William Woodson) set out to protect the west with his posse of bungling cowboys: Stick (Daws Butler, using a hillbilly voice), Big Duke (also Butler, impersonating John Wayne who was known as “The Duke”), and Blubber (Chuck McCann). They pursued the most notorious outlaws in the territory and managed to bring them in by out-bumbling them.

Shake (yellow), Rattle (purple) and Roll (blue) rocking out with ghost mouse and their poltercat.

Shake, Rattle & Roll, titled after the 1954 hit penned by Jesse Stone (as Charles Calhoun) and first recorded by Big Joe Turner, was set in the rundown Haunted Inn managed by three ghosts: Shake (Paul Winchell), Rattle (Weinrib), and Roll (Joe E. Ross). Along with the hijinks that followed dealing with their clientele of supernatural entities and creatures, they often had to deal with a pesky Ghost Mouse (with the aid of their Poltercat), a ghost exterminator named Sidney Merciless (Alan Oppenheimer), and hotel inspectors.

Undercover Elephant and Loudmouse picking out his next disguise.

Undercover Elephant starred the mystery-solving titular character (Butler) and his sidekick, Loudmouse (Bob Hastings). Working for Central Control, they would receive their instructions from the Chief (Michael Bell) via exploding messages (ala Mission: Impossible) that Undercover would fail to avoid. Another recurring gag was that Undercover regarded himself as a master of disguise, but his disguises tended to give him away (usually blamed by him on their being of the mail-order variety) as did Loudmouse, living up to the term that inspired his name: “loud mouth”.

Cooking up trouble.

CB Bears debuted on NBC on September 10, 1977. Each segment would feature its own brief intro leading to the episode’s title card with narration by Scatman Crothers. The series was written by Bill Ackerman, Haskell Barkin, Barry Blitzer, Tom Dagenais, Karl Geurs, Orville Hampton, Don Jurwich, Jon Kubichan, Joan Howard Maurer, Ray Parker, Howard Post, Dick Robbins and Jerry Winnick, with Parker serving as story editor. Bob Singer, Willie Ito and Marty Murphy handled the character designs. Hoyt Curtin was the musical director while Paul DeKorte was the musical supervisor. Bill Perez designed the opening titles.

On the case?

The series only lasted a single season of 13 episodes. Reruns of the CB Bears segment would be included on its own in the package program Go Go Globetrotters (which replaced it on the schedule) and with Undercover as part of the 1980s episodes of Captain Kangaroo. Undercover would also serve as one of the filler segments for the Disney Channel run of Jump, Rattle and Roll. When the series entered syndicated reruns, it was halved into two distinctive programs: CB Bears included the titular segment with Blast-Off and Posse, and Heyyy, It’s the King included that segment with Shake and Undercover. These half-hour versions would air on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in the 1990s and early 2000s before disappearing from the airwaves entirely.

Hanna-Barbera TV Stars #2.

CB Bears, Undercover, and Shake all had featured stories in Marvel Comics’ short-lived Hanna-Barbera TV Stars comic anthology series, which were reprinted in Australia by KG. Murray. King, while appearing on two covers, never had a story inside. That segment did get its own coloring book, published in 1978 by Rand McNally and featuring artwork by Alex Toth. Interestingly enough, it featured a lot of the early concepts for King such as the gang living in the jungle and Clyde having his original intended name, “Square”. Rand McNally would produce two other coloring books featuring the CB Bears paired up with either Blast-Off Buzzard or Undercover Elephant. The bears were on their own for a lunch box and a Mexican coloring book published in 1983 by Fernandez Editores, and King received two puzzles by Hestair. All of the characters were also featured in The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera Stamp Album.

The complete Posse Impossible series.

Only Posse received a complete release onto VHS in 1988, while three Shake, Rattle and Roll episodes were included on the 1990 compilation tape Scooby-Doo & Friends: Mostly Ghostly; both from Hanna-Barbera Home Video. The rest remained largely forgotten until fan uploads began making their way to the internet in 2022. However, Warner Archive did include King on a poll deciding their next releases in 2012 (obviously it didn’t win).

King and his gang in Jellystone!

Undercover the character would make appearances in two episodes of Yogi’s Treasure Hunt and a cameo in the “Agent Penny” episode of the Super Secret Secret Squirrel segment of 2 Stupid Dogs. Blast-Off and Crazylegs would receive two more shorts as part of the final season of Tom & Jerry Kids, this time with voices provided by Lewis Arquette and Charlie Adler, respectively. The Bears, Undercover (Dana Snyder) and King characters would appear in Jellystone! Skids and Big H were reimagined as girls, and King’s (Bernardo de Paula) gang were depicted as more villainous, while Zelda (Nicole Thurman) was depicted as an actress. One-off King antagonist Cool Cat (Frank Welker) also made an appearance in the episode “Disco Fever”, voiced by Snyder.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Missing Mansion Mystery / Buzzard, You’re a Turkey / The Blue Kangaroo / Big Duke and Li’l Lil / Guess What’s Coming to Dinner / The Sneaky Sheik” (9/10/77) – The Bears discover a lost mansion in the middle of an alligator-infested lagoon. / Blast-Off tries multiple schemes to catch Crazylegs. / King and his friends must protect a Blue Kangaroo being pursued by a hunter. / Duke’s fancy footwork helps save dance hall girl Li’l Lil. / Shake and Rattle come across a baby creature that keeps growing whenever it eats. / Undercover and Loudmouse go after a jewel thief posing as a sheik.

 

“The Doomsday Mine / Hard Headed Hard Hat / The First King on Mars / Trouble at Ghostarado / The Ghostly Ghoul is a Ghastly Guest / Baron Von Rippemoff” (9/17/77) – The Bears head out to Arizona to investigate strange lights and people changing color from a deserted mine. / Blast-Off invites Crazylegs to work on a construction site as a ploy to trap him. / King and his friends’ plan to get to Mars lands them on the set of a Martian movie. / The Posse goes after a thief that’s turning Mother Lode’s silverware into silver to sell. / The trio try to remove a guest that keeps scaring off the others from the inn. / Undercover and Loudmouse are sent to North Africa to retrieve a stolen experimental aircraft.

 

“Follow that Mountain / Hearts and Flowers, Buzzards and Snakes / The Riverbed 5000 / The Not So Great Train Robbery / There’s No Pest Like a Singing Guest / The Moanin’ Lisa” (9/24/77) – Investigating vanishing mountains leads the Bears to being chased underground by giant gophers. / Blast-Off builds a female robot snake to lure in Crazylegs. / King and his friends enter a race to win prize money and a kiss from actress Raquel Wrench. / The Posse go after Tiny Tex and the Toe Dance Kid for robbing the same train 47 times. / The trio must figure out how to get rid of the Phantom of the Opera as his singing is disturbing the other guests. / Undercover and Loudmouse must retrieve a famous painting from a notorious art thief.

 

“Valley of No Return / The Egg & Aye Aye Aye / Surf’s Up / The Alabama Brahma Bull / Shake, the Lion-Hearted / Pain in the Brain” (10/1/77) – The Bears investigate what’s driving animals out of a valley. / Blast-Off must protect an egg he found from Crazylegs. / Big H uses Skids’ customized surfboard to enter a competition at the beach. / The Posse attempt to arrest a couple of bull thieves—if Big Ben Cartwheel’s other bull will let them. / Rattle and Roll create a potion to cure Shake of his fear, but it ends up turning him into a fearless bully. / Undercover and Loudmouse must protect a scientist from being abducted by his rival.

 

“The Fright Farm / Testing 1-2-3 / King and His Jokers / The Crunch Bunch Crashout / The Real Cool Ghoul / The Great Hospital Hassle” (10/8/77) – The Bears track an old man who’s been stealing animals from the zoo to populate his huge ark. / / King and his friends form their own band to compete with Cool Cat’s after they’ve stolen the attention of all the girls in town. / The Posse set after capturing a gang of escaped stagecoach robbers. / A heatwave sends the Abominable Snow Ghost to the inn and he threatens to freeze out all of the other guests. / Undercover disguises himself as a patient to capture a thief robbing wealthy patients at a hospital.

 

“Drackenstein’s Revenge / Ho, Ho, Ho, It’s the Buzzard’s Birthday / Hot Gold Fever / One of Our Rivers is Missing / Spooking is Hazardous to Your Health / Latin Losers” (10/15/77) – While investigating why a town is fast asleep, the Bears discover its valuables are all missing. / It may be Blast-Off’s birthday, but he wants to give Crazylegs the surprise. / King and his friends’ camping trip becomes a treasure hunt when they find a map. / The Posse investigates Saddlesore’s water shortage. / An inspector threatens to shut down the inn if the trio don’t bring it up to code. / Undercover must rescue a famous detective after he’s kidnapped.

 

“Water, Water…Nowhere / Wheelin’ and Reelin’ / The Carnival Caper / Sneakiest Rustler in the West / Spooking the Spooks / Dr. Doom’s Gloom” (10/22/77) – The Bears try to save the world’s water supply from an ex-sea captain seeking to turn it all into sand with his device. / / King and his friends must free Yuka Yuka’s cousin Elmo from imprisonment at a carnival. / The Posse tries to catch an elusive cow rustler. / Sidney employs a robot to get rid of all the ghosts at the inn. / Undercover and Loudmouth must stop Dr. Doom’s evil plans.

 

“Wild, Wild Wilderness / Buzzard, Clean Up Your Act / The Unhappy Heavy Hippo / Bad Medicine / From Scream to Screen / Chicken Flickin’ Capon Caper” (10/29/77) – Charlie warns the Bears to be on the lookout for strange creatures as Boogie is taken by a giant vine. / / Needing to lose weight, Big H is put on a diet and rigorous exercise program. / Crooks secretly rob the town under the guise of selling medicine. / The trio try to scare off the movie crew attempting to film at their inn. /

 

“Island of Terror / Backyard Buzzards / King for Prez / Busting Boomerino / Gloom and Doom-De-Doom / Undercover Around the World” (11/5/77) – The Bears must deal with a giant octopus to get to a sinking island. / / King runs for student body president against an unscrupulous rival. / The Posse guards the bank to try and keep it from being robbed 20 years in a row when the circus comes to town. / Shake and Roll attempt to cheer up Rattle with a picnic and cruise that ends up being constantly interrupted. / Undercover’s disguises constantly failing causes him and Loudmouse to have to chase spies around the world.

 

“Go North, Young Bears / Spy in the Sky / Snowbound Safari / Roger the Dodger / Polt R Geist / Irate Pirates” (11/12/77) – The Bears head to the North Pole to investigate mysterious floods. / / King and his friends go hunting for Bigfoot in order to cash in on the reward for him. / The Posse must re-apprehend a sneaky bandit. / The trio eagerly await a hotel critic to rate their inn, but he ends up being frightened by its inhabitants. / Undercover seeks to challenge himself by capturing a gang of pirates.

 

“The Invasion of the Blobs / First Class Buzzard / Great Billionaire Chase Case / Riverboat Sam the Gambling Man / Too Many Kooks / Perilous Pigskin” (11/19/77) – The Bears investigate giant monsters swallowing up the town of Fool’s Gold. / / King decides to get an interview with the world’s most reclusive eccentric millionaire. / The Posse goes after a cheating riverboat gambler. / The trio hire a temporary cook to deal with the ravenous appetites of the Abominable Monsters Association. / Undercover and Loudmouse must apprehend Microfilm Freddie.

 

“Disaster from the Skies / Freezin’ and Sneezin’ / Boat Fever / The Invisible Kid / A Scary Face from Outer Space / Swami Whammy” (11/26/77) – The Bears investigate the source of mysterious destructive rays threatening a city. / / King and his friends try to raise money to buy a boat. / The Posse attempts to capture an invisible bandit. / Aliens come to Earth looking for humans to abduct and end up landing at the inn as it hosts a costume ball. / Undercover and Loudmouse must stop Swami Salami from hypnotizing people into his slaves.

 

“Disappearing Satellites / Cousin Snakey is a Groove / Go for It, King / Calamity John / Health Spa Spooks / The Disappearing Duchess” (12/3/77) – The Bears follow a spacecraft below a lake to discover a giant underground space station. / / King attempts to set a new world record. / The Posse must arrest a bandit that causes bad luck wherever he goes. / The trio hire a physical education teacher to try and bring new life to their inn. / Undercover and Loudmouse head to London to protect the Duchess from an evil scheme.

DOUBLE UP (1992)

 

DOUBLE UP

(NBC, September 5-October 17, 1992)
 
Slam Dunk Productions, NBC Productions

 

MAIN CAST:
J.D. Roth – Host
Darius Farrelly – Announcer DJ Disco

 

            Double Up was one of two American game shows to use the name. The first, produced by Dick Clark Productions and hosted by Jamie Farr, never made it past the pilot episode. The second was created by Pat Jarvis and developed and produced by J.D. Roth and Kurt Brendlinger.

Roth with that day's contestants.

            The game was essentially a kid’s version of The Dating Game hosted by Roth, who was backed up by rapping announcer Darius Farrell, aka DJ Disco. Two siblings aged 13-16 were tasked with finding dates for each other out of a selection of three choices; with the prize being an all-expenses paid date chaperoned by a limo service. Neither could see their potential date or knew them beyond a nickname, but they could hear their answers to the sibling’s questions.  After two rounds of questions, the potential dates then had a few seconds to make the case for why they should be chosen.

The potential dates seated above the large trash cans where they could end up dumped.

            Once the questioning was done, the audience would choose who they would pick, place their name in a ball, and toss it on stage. Those votes would be tabulated and the results fired to Roth by Disco with a Nerf Bow ‘n’ Arrow. The siblings would then announce their choice and explain why they didn’t pick the other two; pulling a lever to dump them into the confetti-filled giant garbage cans they were perched over. If their choice matched one of the audience choices, they won $100 towards the date. Matching both audience picks upgraded the date to The Ultimate Double Up Night Out, which involved larger events like a concert or wrestling match. Reportedly, actor Jennifer Love Hewitt was one of the potential dates in an episode and ended up dumped.

DJ Disco in his booth.

            Double Up debuted on NBC on September 5, 1992, a week before the debut of the Teen NBC programming block it would then become a part of. The series was the first production for Roth’s newly-formed Slam Dunk Productions, making him the youngest executive producer after previously taking the title of youngest game show host with Fun House. TKD Animation handled the animation for the show’s intro—a poster of Roth advertising the show folding itself up into a paper airplane and flying into the studio—and on the TV in Disco’s booth that would illustrate what’s included in The Ultimate Night as Disco explained it. The series’ theme was done by Dis Style Productions with lyrics by Jonte Ray. Farrelly served as the show’s music supervisor.

The audience pelts the stage with their votes.

            The series failed to find any significant audience and was quickly cancelled within a month, replaced by NBA Inside Stuff on the schedule. Roth would continue to go on hosting and producing game shows and reality shows; however, Slam Dunk Productions only did one more show: the Disney Channel game show Mad Libs, based on the popular word fill-in books, co-produced by Dick Clark Productions. Roth would form another basketball-themed production company, 3 Ball Productions, with Todd Nelson in 2001.

HANG TIME

 

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 getting a cold reception at tryouts from Chris.

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.

The Season 1 Tornados: Coach Fuller, Michael, Chris, Earl, Julie, Mary Beth, Danny and Samantha.

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.

The team hanging out at The Stadium.

Hang Time debuted on NBC on September 9, 1995, running for six seasons and airing two episodes a day for the 3^rd 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.

The season 3 Tornados: Danny, Vince, Michael, Julie, Mary Beth, Coach Fuller, Teddy and Kristy.

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.

The season 4 Tornados: Hammer, Rico, Julie, Michael, Mary Beth, Coach Katowinski, Kristy and Silk.

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.

The final Tornados line-up: Michael, Coach, Mary Beth, Eugene, Julie, Kristy, Silk and Antonio.

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 5^th and 6^th seasons were filmed together, meaning they were the only ones to not have any cast changes between them; emulating The New Class’ final seasons.

Coach Fuller calls in his friend Kobe Bryant to help his kids against some hustlers.

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”).

Coach and Mitch Richmond playing for a lobster dinner.

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.

Deutscher with Hernandez at a press event for his film Suicide Squad.

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.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Pilot” (9/9/95) – Newly-transferred student Julie Conner decides to try out for the boys’ varsity basketball team, but her teammates aren’t very receptive to the idea.

 

“Trouble in Paradise” (9/16/95) – Mary Beth believes Chris and Julie have feelings for each other while Danny fails to profess his own for Julie.

 

“Full Court Press” (9/23/95) – As Julie’s first game approaches, her teammates begin to resent all the attention she’s getting from the press.

 

“Will the Real Michael Maxwell Please Stand Up” (9/30/95) – A bad game causes Michael to lose his confidence and Samantha helping Danny win Julie’s heart causes her to fall for him.

 

“Oh Captain, My Captain” (10/7/95) – Coach Fuller mixes up the team to improve their performance and Chris quits when he’s unhappy with his new position.

 

“Earl Makes the Grade” (10/14/95) – Earl must pass his history test or else he can’t play in an important game.

 

“Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” (10/21/95) – A rift grows between Mary Beth and Chris when she goes out with an old classmate and Danny ditches date night with Samantha to watch a fight at Coach’s house.

 

“The Candidate” (10/28/95) – While Michael and Mary Beth run against each other for student president, Chris and Julie bet which teacher will ask Coach out first.

 

“Stranded” (11/4/95) – The team gets stranded in the gym due to a blizzard and Julie tries to cool things down with Chris since teammates shouldn’t be together.

 

“The Sweat Shack” (11/11/95) – Mary Beth reluctantly gets a job at the Sports Shack while Earl falls for the Russian exchange student Michael has his eye on.

 

“The Bachelor Pad” (11/18/95) – Danny stays with Coach while his parents are away and Samantha feels the team doesn’t appreciate her.

 

“Poetic Justice” (11/25/95) – Earl convinces Mary Beth to write a poem after she discovers Chris and Julie have been secretly dating.

 

“Game Day” (12/2/95) – Julie gets annoyed at Chris for going for his pre-game good luck kiss from Mary Beth while Danny struggles to tell Samantha he loves her.

 

Season 2:

“Winning isn’t Everything” (9/7/96) – With half the team gone and the rest out of shape, they try to recruit the excellent Josh Sanders by proving to him that they don’t think winning is everything.

 

“Just One of the Guys” (9/14/96) – Julie quits the team thinking it prevents boys from noticing her while Mary Beth and Amy make all the girls stop talking to Danny, Teddy and Vince when they make fun of the cheerleaders.

 

“Harvest Moon” (9/21/95) – The Harvest Moon dance is coming up: Danny learns Samantha has a new love; Mary Beth and Vince insult each other’s dates; Teddy is convinced to be the dance DJ.

 

“The Sure Thing” (9/28/95) – Teddy falls for a prospective cheerleader while Josh is tired of Julie’s constant “baby talk”.

 

“War of the Roses” (10/5/96) – Mary Beth paints the locker room pink, leading to a war between her and Vince.

 

“Short Cuts” (10/12/96) – Vince will do anything to get into a basketball training camp hosted by Coach and Muggsy Bogues—including taking steroids.

 

“Fake ID-ology” (10/19/96) – The entire team gets benched after they used fake IDs to get into a club and drink.

 

“When Loss is Gain” (10/26/96) – Mary Beth gets mugged while the team decides to sacrifice an important personal item for a charity drive.

 

“Style Before Substance” (11/2/96) – The basketball team challenges the football team to various competitions.

 

“Son-in-Law” (11/9/96) – The team must win the next game for a chance at the playoffs while Mary Beth dates Vince to get her father’s attention.

 

“Superman Brodis” (11/16/96) – Teddy’s father moves to town after retiring from the NBA.

 

“Green-Eyed Julie” (11/23/96) – Julie feels threatened by the gorgeous new waitress at The Stadium who has a crush on her boyfriend.

 

“The Best Game of the Season” (11/30/96) – Julie is offered a chance to play professionally in Italy.

 

Season 3:

“Team Captain” (9/13/97) – Julie gets upset when the team chooses new player Michael Maning to be team captain without even considering her.

 

“Sexual Harassment” (9/13/97) – Mary Beth gets a waitressing job to earn back the team’s money she wasted only to be sexually harassed by her manager.

 

“First Game of the Season” (9/20/97) – The new vice principal is Coach’s ex-fiancée and the entire team ends up in detention after skipping study hall to practice for their upcoming game.

 

“Fighting Words” (9/20/97) – Danny takes up karate after getting into an argument with a bully while the Montrose and Deering cheerleaders engage in a prank war.

 

“No Smoking” (9/27/97) – Teddy is going to be dropped from the team if he doesn’t stop smoking, and Kristy finds herself with bad luck after walking under a ladder.

 

“Coach Fuller’s Car” (9/27/97) – Coach leaves his car in the care of his team and it ends up stolen when they leave it behind at a party after drinking spiked punch.

 

“Julie’s Guy” (10/4/97) – Julie dates a player from a rival team while Mary Beth tries to arrange a dinner so that all the players can get to know each other.

 

“Playing With Pain” (10/4/97) – Michael attempts to hide his injury when a scout from the University of Arizona comes to see him play.

 

“Not A D’Amata” (10/11/97) – Vince is upset that his little brother has taken up poetry since returning from France.

 

“Kristy’s Other Mother” (10/11/97) – The team heads to California for a tournament where Kristy learns her birth mother lives and the guys inadvertently enter a dating show.

 

“The Hustlers” (10/18/97) – Julie and Teddy are targeted by professional basketball hustlers while the others go searching for celebrities with Mary Beth.

 

“Fuller’s Rival” (10/18/97) – Coach wants to beat his rival’s team in the tournament while Julie and Kristy compete for the attention of a hotel employee.

 

“The Perfect Girl” (10/25/97) – Losing a modeling contest has Mary Beth considering plastic surgery, and Coach covers a cooking class that ends up being tough for his players in attendance.

 

“Blood Drive” (10/25/97) – Danny gets jealous of the doctor helping Kristy with the blood drive while Vince almost ruins the dance for Mary Beth due to his inability to find a good band.

 

“Teen Mom” (11/1/97) – Danny starts dating a teen mom while a video game causes Kristy to miss an important photoshoot.

 

“Midnight Basketball” (11/1/97) – Volunteering for the teen line leads to Teddy proposing a midnight basketball program to get kids off the streets, and bad advice for Julie and Michael about their feelings for each other.

 

“Mary Beth’s Parents” (11/8/97) – Mary Beth’s ski lodge birthday is ruined by the revelation that her parents are divorcing.

 

“The Laugh Riot” (11/8/97) – Danny dreams about being a stand-up comic and performs at the ski lodge while Mary Beth loses the expensive ring Vince gave her.

 

“Love on the Rockies” (11/15/97) – Julie’s ex-boyfriend is staying at the lodge, and Coach, Teddy, Danny and Kristy end up saving a millionaire on the slopes.

 

“Fuller’s Camp” (11/15/97) – The team helps out at Coach’s basketball camp where Julie tries to befriend the only girl in attendance.

 

“Kristy Connor” (11/22/97) – Kristy gets mistaken for Julie by a cute fan after borrowing her jacket, and Coach’s order of burgers for the team leads to a live cow being delivered.

 

“Game Point” (11/22/97) – Kristy reminisces on past events while writing a paper on how sports can enhance personal relationships.

 

“Twister” (11/29/97) – Teddy wins concert tickets for a school day, and Coach entrusts Mary Beth with a valuable quarter that Vince ends up spending on a soda.

 

“Goodnight Vince” (11/29/97) – Vince loses his confidence when he misses a free throw during the game.

 

“The Curfew” (12/6/97) – Coach sets a curfew before the big game, but Teddy ends up at a sorority party after talking to a girl and his teammates attempt to retrieve him before Coach’s headcount.

 

“Fuller’s Big Offer” (12/6/97) – The team ends up worried they’ll lose their Coach when he’s offered a position at Southern Florida University.

 

Season 4:

“A Whole New Ballgame” (9/12/98) – Coach Katowinski treats Julie differently from the other players because she’s a girl.

 

“Team Players” (9/12/98) – The new players overhear Michael talking about their poor skills while Mary Beth attempts to win over the new coach.

 

“Let Them Play” (9/19/98) – The team discovers a rival player has HIV while Kristy writes a mean letter to her art history teacher after two poor grades.

 

“Lend a Heling Hammer” (9/19/98) – Coach brings in a ballet teacher to help improve their agility and flexibility while Hammer discovers the waitress at The Stadium is homeless.

 

“S.A.T. Blues” (9/26/98) – Hammer’s S.A.T. scores aren’t good enough to get him into the schools he wants while Mary Beth mistakenly believes Michael is buying Julie a ruby for their anniversary.

 

“Easy Credit” (9/26/98) – Julie is named state player of the month while Silk racks up a huge credit card debt.

 

“Assault and Pepper Spray” (10/3/98) – Mary Beth and Julie join Kristy in a self-defense class after she’s mugged and the guys attempt to convince Coach to use his extra Pacers ticket on them.

 

“High Hoops” (10/3/98) – Rico starts smoking pot while Michael, Mary Beth and Kristy take Auto Shop looking for an easy “A”.

 

“Love Triangle” (10/10/98) – Mary Beth tries to fix up Hammer and Kristy, but Hammer thinks she’s the one that likes him.

 

“Texas Rose” (10/10/98) – In Texas for the Tri-State final, Silk meets a girl he thinks is rich while Kristy meets a boy she thinks can only speak Spanish.

 

“Restless Mary Beth” (10/17/98) – Mary Beth must take up more extracurricular activities in order to get into college and the team has big plans for the new hot tub Coach gets for sports injuries.

 

“Shoot Out” (10/17/98) – Kristy gets mad at Antonio for pretending to not understand English and Coach discovers a rival coach is his old assistant now wheelchair-bound.

 

“Nothing in Common” (10/24/980 – Mary Beth tries to surprise Hammer by turning herself into a biker.

 

“And Then There Were Nuns” (10/24/98) – The team follows Kristy to Mexico, believing she’s run off to marry Antonion.

 

“The Tall and Short of It” (10/31/98) – Rico is self-conscious about his date being taller than him while Kristy helps Mary Beth search for Hammer’s jacket that she accidentally threw out.

 

“Just Friends” (10/31/98) – Julie’s feelings for Michael have changed while Mary Beth takes a job that makes her Kristy’s boss.

 

“Sharing the Spotlight” (11/7/98) – Julie must get a good grade in math or else end up benched.

 

“New Girl in Town” (11/7/98) – At basketball camp, a girl named Eve attempts to sabotage Julie so that she’ll look good in front of scouts coming to visit.

 

“Rocky Road to the Playoffs” (11/14/98) – Michael is afraid his dad will bench him over his poor report card while Kristy and Mary Beth compete one-on-one to win a car.

 

“Kristy Nightingale” (11/14/98) – Kristy loses her confidence when she nearly kills Rico while working as a nurse’s assistant at the camp.

 

“Phenom Blues” (11/21/98) – The team is up against one with the best player in the state while Kristy is forced to face Coach in a pool competition she entered to win him a present.

 

“New York Nick” (11/22/98) – The team wins a trip to New York where Hammer looks up an old girlfriend and Rico, Silk and Michael get into a food fight at a Knicks game.

 

“Breaks of the Game” (11/28/98) – Hammer gets benched when he tests positive for steroids, and Silk and Rico refuse to believe him when he says he hasn’t taken any.

 

“Window of Opportunity” (11/28/98) – Mary Beth’s boss takes credit for her ideas at the mall while Coach and the guys end up being arrested when he’s mistaken for a thief also dressed as Santa.

 

“Christmas in New York” (12/5/98) – Rico’s grandfather wants to spend Christmas with him, but out of embarrassment of him Rico lies and says he won’t be in New York for the holidays.

 

“Waiting for Mary Beth” (12/5/98) – As the team reminisces about the past year, a hairdresser ruins Mary Beth’s hair.

 

Season 5:

“Hello and Goodbye” (9/11/99) – Hammer is forced to move for a scholarship opportunity while Antonia moves from Texas to be with Kristy.

 

“Managing Michael” (9/18/99) – The team is worried that Coach may be considering another job while Mary Beth becomes the manager of Michael’s band.

 

“Beer Pressure” (10/2/99) – Julie’s new older boyfriend constantly pressures her to do “adult” things and Antonio rents an apartment from Coach.

 

“Extreme Eugene” (10/9/99) – Kristy is worried about introducing Antonio to her parents while Eugene’s love of skateboarding begins to override his love of basketball.

 

“Too Good to be True” (10/16/99) – Michael takes a loan and a job from a man he met after a game, and when Julie learns he’s a college recruiter she worries Michael became ineligible to play college basketball.

 

“Shall We Dance?” (10/23/99) – Mary Beth thinks there’s more going on between Kristy and Antonio than practicing for a dance competition.

 

“Join Venture” (10/30/99) – Eugene and Silk become managers of a dance club while Kristy and Mary Beth go undercover to score drugs to earn themselves a spot on the newspaper.

 

“Revolver, Problem Solver? (11/6/99) – When Silk is terrorized by a criminal, he gets a gun to make himself feel safe.

 

“Tolerance” (11/13/99) – Kristy decides to become a Grote (goth) to get to know them better when she’s paired with one in lab, while Eugene lies to a college girl by saying he’s also in college.

 

“Big Brother Blues” (11/20/99) – Michael and Silk sign up for the big brother program and discover the mother of the boy they get is a racist.

 

“Finals Fury” (11/27/99) – At the state finals, Kristy gets jealous when she learns girls were at the fraternity party Antonio attended while a guy in the stands heckles Michael.

 

“The Upset” (12/4/99) – The team gets overconfident when they find out they’re playing the worst in the league while Kristy and Mary Beth get humiliated trying to reconcile for teasing an old classmate.

 

“Fighting for Your Dreams” (1/8/00) – An injury forces Antonio to decline a scholarship to the University of Kentucky.

 

“My Family” (3/11/00) – Coach doesn’t know his visiting teenaged daughter is a mother while the guys try to sell pagers to raise money for a ski trip.

 

Season 6:

“www.eugene.trouble.com” (9/23/00) – Eugene gets involved with online gambling and Mary Beth takes Kristy’s place at a school interview when a dental problem leaves her unable to speak.

 

“That ‘60s Show” (9/30/00) – A popular teacher gets fired after telling the students to rebel against the school’s new dress code, which ends up overturned anyway.

 

“The Gospel According to Silk” (10/7/00) – Silk loses his faith when his aunt dies, and Mary Beth and Coach are the last two competitors to win a new car.

 

“The Enforcer” (10/14/00) – Coach telling Julie to toughen up causes her to injure a player destined for the NBA and lose her confidence.

 

“Have No Fear” (10/21/00) – Silk gets a basketball scholarship from Temple University but worries he won’t be able to maintain his grades.

 

“At the Movies” (10/28/00) – Kristy and Antonio enjoy being co-workers at the theater until a promotion becomes available.

 

“Life 101” (11/4/00) – Hammer drops out of Duke to join Mary Beth and Kristy at UCLA, but when he isn’t accepted Mary Beth must choose between him and Kristy.

 

“Secrets and Lies” (11/11/00) – While working on an article, Mary Beth meets a guy who seems nice until he ends up trying to rape her.

 

“For the Love of the Game” (11/18/00) – With an undefeated season on the line, Coach tries to remind the team how to play for fun to keep their mind off their fear of losing.

 

“A Night to Remember” (12/2/00) – Prom night ends up being a series of disasters, topped off by a tornado hitting the area.

 

“High School Confidential” (12/9/00) – Mary Beth and Kristy interview the team about their best and worst moments.

 

“Graduation on Three” (12/16/00) – As everyone prepares to graduate, Kristy is worried that they’ll all lose touch when they go their own ways.