3/23/2012

Baywatch, A Lifeguard Series Of The 90s

By Byron Jonas


Baywatch was a drama action series portraying the Los Angeles County Lifeguards that patrolled and protected the busy California beaches. It holds the record as the most watched television show of all time all over the world. It aired from 1990 to 1999 and had over 1 billion viewers every week. The show filmed its last three seasons in Hawaii from 1999 to 2001.

Baywatch originally premiered in 1990 on NBC but was soon canceled due to low ratings after only one season. The creators and producers of the show, including David Hassellhoff, the star of the show, revived a syndicated version of the show in 1991 and it was very successful. After its syndicated version was released, it soon aired in 148 countries. It was so successful that it led to a movie and spin-off version of the show being created. The budget for Baywatch is said to be around $1,500,000.

David Hasselhoff, also a creator, starred as head lifeguard Mitch Buchannon. He is the only actor that was with the show for all of its on air seasons. Michael Newman stayed almost as long, completing a total of ten seasons. Other actors that stayed with a show for a long period of time include Jeremy Jackson, Pamela Anderson, Chris Fiore, Gregory Alan Williams, David Chokachi, and Alexandra Paul.

The plot was fairly simple and easy to follow. The show followed a team of lifeguards as they encountered dangers on the beach as well as ups and downs in their personal relationships. Some of the things serving as conflicts on the show include shark attacks, earthquakes, serial killers, and heartbreaks.

Many beautiful women were on Baywatch, showcasing their beach bodies in the famous red swimsuits, and the trademark of the show was slow motion shots and montages of them running down the beach. The most notable women on the show were Pamela Anderson, Erika Eleniak, Yasmine Bleeth, and Alexandra Paul. There were slow shots of men as well, mostly David Charvet and David Hasselhoff.

DVDs of the show have been released all over the world. The first four seasons were released in Australia in collectors edition boxed sets. Sweden and Finland released the first through the third seasons. German has released all eleven season, presented as they were originally aired in the United States. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Italy have also released various seasons on DVD as well.

There is supposedly a Baywatch movie being worked on that will be released in 2012 by DreamWorks. It is rumored to star Jessica Simpson as C. J. Parker. It is written and directed by Jeremy Garelick and is said to be a comedy.




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