The Phrase:
"Hang time" is a phrase used in many sports to describe a player that "hangs" in the air when they jump up. It's also used in American football refering to the time the football stays in the air after the punter kicks a punt (usually between 4 and 5.5 seconds in the NFL).
The Video Game(s):
Hang Time is the name of several different video games on various platforms. Most notably is NBA Hang Time - a fun and popular basketball arcade game from Midway ported to SNES, Sega Genesis, and N64 (among others?). There is also a Game Boy Color title called just Hang Time. I'm not familiar with it, but I assume it is also a basketball game.
The Television Series:
Hang Time was a teenaged coming-of-age television series produced by Peter Engel. The series followed up on the earlier Engel vehicles -- the Saturday morning hits Saved by the Bell and California Dreams.. Like the others it was shown on the T-NBC lineup of the NBC network. The series began in the fall of 1995 and lasted for 6 seasons until 2001.
This series was about a group of Indianapolis, Indiana area teenagers going to Deering High School playing basketball for the Deering Tornadoes. What's unusual about the team is that its star player, Julie Connor, is a female with a blazing hot jump shot. Other than this quirk the series plays out the same as all the other shows of this genre. Each 30 minute show has some unlikely plot, a quirk in a romance, and most importantly a moral message teaching kids about the evils of drugs, guns, racism, gambling, drinking and driving, steroids, HIV/AIDS, or the like.
This show managed to attract a number of sports heroes and other famous people as guest stars over the years including: Mitch Richmond, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Cedrick Ceballos, Muggsy Bogues, Juwan Howard, Marques Johnson, Lisa Leslie, Ahmad Rashad, Willow Bay, Grant Hill, The Moffatts, Tim Hardaway, The Atomic Fireballs,and Dustin Diamond.
Hang Time was plagued with a frequently changing cast. (The same thing that hurt Saved by the Bell: The New Class). Only two of the original characters made it through to the last episodes -- Julie (the star BB player) and Mary Beth (the team's manager).
Cast:
Actor Character (years on show)
Anthony Anderson...........Teddy Brodis (1996-1998)
Amber Barretto.............Kristy Ford (1997-)
Kevin Bell.................Josh Sanders (1996-1997)
Christian Benz Belnavis....Michael Maxwell (1995-1996)
Dick Butkus................Coach Mike Katowinski (1998-)
Daniella Deutscher.........Julie Connor (all)
Mark Famiglietti...........Nick Hammer (1998-1999)
Adam Frost.................Michael Manning (1997-)
Chad Gabriel...............Danny Mellon (1995-1998)
Phillip Glasser............Eugene Brown (1999-)
Danso Gordon...............Kenny "Silk" Hayes (1998-2000)
David Hanson...............Chris Atwater (1995-1996)
Jay Hernandez..............Antonio Lopez (1998-)
Megan Parlen...............Mary Beth Pepperton (all)
Paige Peterson.............Amy Wright (1996-1997)
Robert Michael Ryan........Earl Hatfield (1995-1996)
Michael Sullivan...........Vince D'Amata (1996-1998)
Reggie Theus...............Coach Bill Fuller (1995-1998)
Hillary Tuck...............Samantha Morgan (1995-1996)
James Villani..............Rico Bosco (1998-1999)
Theme song:
Hang Time
Running together
Putting it on the line
Hang Time
Jammin forever
taking it up for hang time
We're hot, we're in the zone
Part of a team, never alone
Hang Time
Hangin' together
sharing a dream so fine
I'll always remember
Me and my friends and Hang Time
Me and my friends and Hang Time