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Baywatch

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Baywatch
File:Baywatch title.jpg
Baywatch title screen from 1991 to 1997
GenreDrama
Action series
Created byGregory J. Bonann
StarringDavid Hasselhoff
Pamela Anderson
Yasmine Bleeth
Alexandra Paul
Parker Stevenson
Michael Newman
Jeremy Jackson
David Chokachi
Gena Lee Nolin
Traci Bingham
Erika Eleniak
Carmen Electra
Donna D'Errico
David Charvet
Nicole Eggert
Brande Nicole Roderick
Michael Bergin
José Solano
Mitzi Kapture
et al.
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11
No. of episodes243 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersMichael Berk
Douglas Schwartz
Gregory J. Bonann
Production locationsCalifornia (1989-1999)
Hawaii (1999-2001)
Running time60 minutes (with commercials)
Production companiesPearson All-American Television
The Baywatch Company
Tower 12 Productions
Tower 18 Production Company (1996-2001)
Original release
NetworkNBC (1989-1990)
first-run syndication (1991-2001)
ReleaseSeptember 22 1989 –
May 14 2001
Related
Baywatch Nights

Baywatch is a popular American television series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the crowded beaches of Los Angeles County, California. The show ran from 1989 to 2001. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Baywatch is the most watched TV show in the world of all time, with over 1.1 billion viewers.[1]

Gregory J. Bonann worked as a Los Angeles County lifeguard, and started up a motion picture project about lifeguards that eventually became Baywatch. Baywatch premiered on NBC in 1989, but was cancelled after only one season because of the high cost of producing it and low ratings. Feeling the series still had potential, David Hasselhoff revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991, investing his own money and additionally functioning as executive producer. The show was hugely successful, especially internationally. The show led to a spin-off: Baywatch Nights and a reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

In 1999, an Australian version was planned and cast members travelled to Sydney for filming. The idea was to have the established stars appear in the pilot, interacting with a local life saving organisation, and thus help launch "Baywatch Downunder". A pilot was filmed but the series was stopped when residents of Avalon put forth strong objections, including potential damage to a fragile ecosystem. Avalon council permanently barred all future filming, and the pilot remained unbroadcast for over a year, only to be panned by critics and viewers.

In Season 10, the location of the show was changed to Hawaii and the show's name was changed to Baywatch Hawaii.

Plot

The show starred David Hasselhoff, of Knight Rider fame, as Mitch Buchannon, who was the only mainstay on the show, besides Michael Newman, for 10 of the 11 seasons. Baywatch was centered around the work of a team of lifeguards and their interpersonal relationships, with plots usually centering on dangers related to beach and other activities pertinent to the California (later Hawaii) beach lifestyle. Everything from earthquakes to shark attacks to serial killers, and even nuclear bombs, served as plot conflicts on the show. Saving people from drowning tended to be one of the most typical situations used in the shows. Thus a trademark of the show was slow motion shots of the attractive lifeguards running, most notably done by Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, and David Charvet along with Hasselhoff during the height of the show.

After the 1997-1998 season, many cast members decided to leave as the writing staff for Baywatch began to recycle storylines used in earlier seasons.

Casting

Many different actors and actresses were featured on the show over its long run with most appearing for only a few seasons. Some of the other stars who became famous were Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, Traci Bingham, Donna D'Errico, Nicole Eggert, David Chokachi, Gena Lee Nolin, Jaason Simmons, and Kelly Slater, a pro surfer, among many others. Erin Gray, former star of Silver Spoons and Buck Rogers, was among the cast.

The eleven seasons of the series dealt with a crew of tanned, muscular male and mostly large-breasted female lifeguards. It was one of the first network TV shows that featured frequent close-up shots of the large breasts.

Baywatch was most notable—some might say 'notorious'—for most of its female cast members dropping their lifeguard swimsuits for Playboy. Most of the female stars appeared in Playboy at the height of their fame on Baywatch, while Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra had already appeared before joining the show. Yasmine Bleeth, who played lifeguard Caroline Holden, was at least one Baywatch actress who was offered $750,000.00 in 1998 to pose nude, but refused, vowing that she never would.

Cast and characters

Main article: Cast of Baywatch

Baywatch 1989–1999

Baywatch Hawaii 1999–2001

File:BaywatchHawaiicast.jpg
Simmone Jade Mackinnon (L), Brooke Burns (C), and Stacy Kamano (R).

Theme song

The original NBC theme was "Save Me," performed by Peter Cetera, with Bonnie Raitt on guitar and Richard Sterban, bass singer for The Oak Ridge Boys, as one of the background vocalists.

For the syndicated series, a new theme, "I'll Be Ready" performed by Jimi Jamison (of Survivor) replaced "Save Me", although it is mistakenly attributed to the show's star David Hasselhoff.

When the NBC episodes started to air five times a week with all the other syndicated episodes, the opening theme was changed to a shorter version of "I'm Always Here," with some images of the original NBC opening retained.

In 2006, remixes of the official Baywatch theme, "I'll Be Ready," were released as singles by Naughty Boy and Sunblock. The Naughty Boy version "Phat Beach (I'll Be Ready)" reached #36 on the UK Charts, while Sunblock's version "I'll Be Ready" entered the UK charts at number four a week later.

Also a highly popular version of "I'm Always Here," by Andrew Spencer feat. Pit Bailay was released in 2005/2006.

On the DVD edition of the first season, the original main title theme is replaced by the song "Strong enough", performed by Evan Olson (from his album Audio).

An instrumental version of the song appears in the episode "Battles" of the UK television programme Spaced

Episodes

Main article: List of Baywatch episodes

Theatrical release

In 2004, DreamWorks announced they had bought the rights to create a new theatrical Baywatch movie.[2] Jessica Simpson was officially cast as C.J. Parker.[3] The movie was slated for release in 2006 but it never materialized. There is no word on the future of the movie. But Keeley Hazell numerous times has said in FHM Australia she is signed in to appear in a new baywatch movie.<fer>[www.fhm.com.au]</ref>

Movie cameos

  • Pamela Anderson[4]

DVD releases

USA: The first three seasons have been released on DVD by First Look Studios. Seasons 2 and 3 were released on October 31 2006. Each set features a Disc with Season 1 episodes on it. Fans will need to purchase Seasons 2-7 to complete Season 1, then they will be able to send away to First Look for a box to hold the 6 discs. These releases do not contain the original theme song they have been removed due to copyright agreements.[5] On February 11 2007 Ashleigh Evan was named The Official Baywatch DVD Babe by voters at www.BaywatchOnDVD.com.

Germany: Seasons 1 to 11 have been released. These releases are presented exactly as they originally aired, albeit with German language credits.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Largest Audience For A TV Series"
  2. ^ "Baywatch" Swims Into Theaters
  3. ^ Simpson Lands Anderson ‘Baywatch’ Movie Role
  4. ^ Anderson to Make Cameo in ‘Baywatch’ Movie
  5. ^ News for Baywatch


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