Shark Bytes

I am really happy that I am not the only person who remembers this sweet show. (It was sweet, not cute, and Dick Kallman was animated throughout his too-short career by an infectious enthusiasm that some people called charisma.) The writers knew there were plot holes, and nobody who watched it cared. I remember this show especially, because the way it depicted one of the professors as a self-confident, wise authority figure probably gave me the idea of a career in higher education. Laugh if you want, but I could have picked worse role models.

Agree with all the previous posters, I remember liking this show, and am surprised anyone else remembered it. Its premise wasn't as unbelievable as you might think. Hank couldn't attend college because he lacked a high-school diploma, and during the 60s equivalency-tests like the GED weren't common. Also, during the 60s a job application listing "some college" had a greater impact than today (even if he couldn't actually PROVE he'd attended). The producers deciding to wrap the series up with a happy-ending finale was also very classy. The only two other shows from this time frame that I remember doing that were Hennesey (he finally married) and The Fugitive (they proved him innocent). For example, Gilligan was never rescued, the show just quit. Now, lots of shows end their run with finales, thus showing Hank was cutting-edge.

My one favorite funny moment from the show was when the clueless dean is talking to lunch-counter Hank, and he's put up pictures on the wall of known "unregistered students", asking Hank if he's seen any of them, and all the pictures are very obviously Hank in disguise. ROFL every time I imagine it!

I agree with the above comment that this show wasn't too realistic but it was cute. I think there were frequent episodes with one coach or another chomping at the bit to sign Hank to his team. One in particular I remember was when Hank was running super-fast because the cops were chasing him when he'd been caught dropping in on a class, and he ran through the stadium while the track team was practicing. The irony was that when the coach started running after him, desperate to sign him up to the scholarship that would be his ticket to the education he sought, Hank thought the coach was just one more person trying to arrest him, so he kept on running. I seem to recall one of the more heartwarming episodes had to do with the possibility that Hank's kid sister would be taken from him because of doubts about whether he could provide for her properly. When the social services people saw up close how he and his sister lived, how hard Hank worked to support the two of them, how much love was there, they decided the kid could stay with her big brother. Nice little show if you could overlook how unrealistic it was.

As several over posters noted, this show never made any sense at all. To those who think Hank was going to these classes for love of knowledge, remember that this show belongs to the fine tradition of '60s shows which sing the premise in the theme song. Hank's theme ends: "... He'll get his degree, his Phi Beta Key, and get them all for free.... That's Hank!" How will he get his degree without being an official student? Huh? Huh? This has been bothering me (and my sister) for 40 years.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who saw this. I didn't see the last episode; thanks to the poster who described what happened. I saw this as a kid, and if I remember correctly, it was preceded by "Camp Runamuck" on Fridays, when primetime used to start at 7:30. I only wish I could recall stuff I need for exams this easily.

Yes, I also remember HANK. It was a favorite show of mine the all-too-short time it was on. I remember that the track coach saw him running to a class and asked him to try out. This show was not on long enough to JTS. The Hank character was played by the late Dick Kallman, who was a talented and versatile performer.

Yes, I remember this show, not great but perfectly pleasant watching for the time. I was only 12 when it was on and even I wondered why Hank would bother sneaking into classes to take courses when he wouldn't get any credit for them. I guess ol' Hank just loved knowledge for its own sake! The one neat thing about this show was that it only lasted one season and they must have had fair warning, because the producers did a great thing, they wrapped up the plot in the last episode. What Hank has been doing is discovered and all his friends work out arrangements so that he can become a legitimate college student and still support himself and not have his little sister taken away from him. A nice gesture to the audience.

I looked for this show on the internet and finally here it is - someone else besides me actually watched this thing. It's great to know it was not a figment of my imagination. I liked this program - it aired roughly in the same era as "Hazel" - another good show. I recall Hank was trying to get an education for free, something my children may have to do at the rate tuition is increasing. He operated a lunch canteen and in between ducked into classes? I wonder how he wrote exams, did terms papers and acquired transcripts though? The marvels of TV land. He also carried on a romance with the Dean's daughter - Dean of what they never said. I forgot about the sister. It was a cute show - not realistic but CUTE!