Baywatch

Baywatch
Baywatch title logo
Also known as	Baywatch Hawaii (1999–2001)
Genre	Action drama
Created by	Michael Berk Douglas Schwartz Gregory J. Bonann
Starring	Whole cast David Hasselhoff Parker Stevenson Shawn Weatherly Billy Warlock Erika Eleniak Brandon Call Peter Phelps Holly Gagnier Monte Markham Gregory Alan Williams John Allen Nelson Jeremy Jackson Tom McTigue Richard Jaeckel Nicole Eggert David Charvet Pamela Anderson Kelly Slater Alexandra Paul Yasmine Bleeth Jaason Simmons David Chokachi Gena Lee Nolin Donna D'Errico José Solano Traci Bingham Nancy Valen Michael Newman Carmen Electra Kelly Packard Michael Bergin Angelica Bridges Marliece Andrada Mitzi Kapture Brooke Burns Brandy Ledford Simmone Mackinnon Jason Momoa Stacy Kamano Jason Brooks Brande Roderick Krista Allen
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	242 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Michael Berk Douglas Schwartz Gregory J. Bonann David Hasselhoff
Location(s)	Santa Monica, California[1] (1989–1999) Hawaii (1999–2001)
Running time	45–48 minutes
Production company(s)	GTG Entertainment (1989–1990) Pearson Television (1998–2001) The Baywatch Company (1991–2001) Tower 12 Productions (1991–2001) Tower 18 Production Company (1996–2001)
Distributor	The Fremantle Corporation (1989-1999) LBS Communications (1991–1992) All American Television (1992–1998) Pearson Television (1998–2001) FremantleMedia Enterprises
Release
Original network	NBC (1989–1990)[2] First-run syndication (1991–2001)
Picture format	4:3
Audio format	Mono Stereo
Original release	NBC September 22, 1989 – April 6, 1990 Syndication September 23, 1991 – May 14, 2001
Chronology
Related shows	Baywatch Nights
Website

David Hasselhoff as the character Mitch Buchannon.

Pamela Anderson as C. J. Parker.

Baywatch is an American action drama series about the Los Angeles County Lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, starring David Hasselhoff. The show was canceled after its first season on NBC, but survived and later became one of the most watched television shows in the world.^[3] The show ran in its original title and format from 1989 to 1999, except for the 1990–1991 season, during which it was not in production. From 1999 to 2001, with a setting change and large cast overhaul, it was known as Baywatch Hawaii.

History

Baywatch premiered on NBC in 1989, but was canceled after only one season^[4] when it placed 73rd out of 103 shows in the seasonal ratings and also because the studio, GTG, went out of business.^[3] Feeling the series still had potential, Hasselhoff along with creators and executive producers Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz and Greg Bonann revived it for the first-run syndication market in 1991. Hasselhoff was given the title of executive producer for his work on bringing the show back. The series was hugely successful, especially internationally.^[5][6]

The show led to a spin-off: Baywatch Nights, and a reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

In 1999, with production costs rising in Los Angeles, and the syndication market shrinking, the plan was to move the show to Australia and launch Baywatch Down Under. A pilot was filmed but the series was stopped when residents of Avalon put forth strong objections, including potential damage to a fragile ecosystem. Pittwater Council permanently barred all future filming.^[7][8] This pilot finally aired as a two-part episode of Baywatch.

As an alternative to Australia, Hawaii offered the producers large financial incentives to move the show to the islands instead, and in Season 10, Baywatch Hawaii was launched.

Baywatch filmed for two seasons in Hawaii, from 1999 until 2001.^[9] The proposal to relocate Baywatch to Hawaii rather than Australia was initiated by April Masini in a telephone call to executive producer Greg Bonann. The deal to provide the incentives necessary to secure the series was presented to Governor Ben Cayetano by Al Masini and April Masini; Tony Vericella, president of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau; and Cayetano's executive assistant, Joe Blanco. The agreement required the production to change its name from Baywatch to Baywatch Hawaii, hire local leads, and film in the state for at least two years, guaranteeing 44 episodes, each at a cost of about $870,000, 60% of which was to be spent in Hawaii.^[10]

Plot

Baywatch revolved around the work of a team of lifeguards and their interpersonal relationships, with plots usually centering on dangers related to the beach and other activities pertinent to the California (later Hawaii) beach lifestyle. Everything from earthquakes and shark attacks to serial killers served as plot conflicts on the show. Saving people from drowning tended to be one of the most typical situations used in the shows.

Cast

Baywatch (1989–1999)

Character	Actor	Years
Mitch Buchannon	David Hasselhoff	1989–2000
Craig Pomeroy	Parker Stevenson	1989–1990, recurring thereafter
Jill Riley	Shawn Weatherly	1989–1990
Eddie Kramer	Billy Warlock	1989–1992
Shauni McClain	Erika Eleniak	1989–1992
Trevor Cole	Peter Phelps	1989–1990
Hobie Buchannon	Brandon Call	1989–1990
	Jeremy Jackson	1991–2000
Gina Pomeroy	Holly Gagnier	1989–1990
Don Thorpe	Monte Markham	1989–1992
John D. Cort	John Allen Nelson	1989–1990, recurring thereafter
Garner Ellerbee	Gregory Alan Williams	1989–1990, 1992, 1993–1995, recurring otherwise
Michael Newman	Himself	1989–1999, recurring previously
Harvey Miller	Tom McTigue	1991–1992
Ben Edwards	Richard Jaeckel	1991–1992, recurring thereafter
Summer Quinn	Nicole Eggert	1992–1994
Matt Brody	David Charvet	1992–1995, recurring thereafter
C. J. Parker	Pamela Anderson	1992–1997
Jimmy Slade	Kelly Slater	1992–1993
Stephanie Holden	Alexandra Paul	1992–1997
Caroline Holden	Yasmine Bleeth	1994–1997, recurring thereafter
Logan Fowler	Jaason Simmons	1994–1996
Cody Madison	David Chokachi	1995–1999
Neely Capshaw	Gena Lee Nolin	1995–1999
Donna Marco	Donna D'Errico	1996–1998
Manny Gutierrez	José Solano	1996–1999
Jordan Tate	Traci Bingham	1996–1998
Samantha Thomas	Nancy Valen	1996–1997
Lani McKenzie	Carmen Electra	1997–1998
April Giminski	Kelly Packard	1997–1999
J. D. Darius	Michael Bergin	1997–1999
Taylor Walsh	Angelica Bridges	1997–1998
Skylar Bergman	Marliece Andrada	1997
Alex Ryker	Mitzi Kapture	1998–1999
Jessie Owens	Brooke Burns	1998–1999

Baywatch Hawaii (1999–2001)

Simmone Jade Mackinnon (L), Brooke Burns (C), and Stacy Kamano (R).

Character	Actor	Years
Mitch Buchannon	David Hasselhoff	1999–2000
Jessie Owens	Brooke Burns	1999–2000, recurring thereafter
J. D. Darius	Michael Bergin	1999–2001
Dawn Masterton	Brandy Ledford	1999–2000
Michael Newman	Himself	1999–2000
Allie Reese	Simmone Mackinnon	1999–2000
Jason Ioane	Jason Momoa	1999–2001
Kekoa Tanaka	Stacy Kamano	1999–2001
Sean Monroe	Jason Brooks	1999–2001
Leigh Dyer	Brande Roderick	2000–2001
Zack McEwan	Charlie Brumbly	2000–2001
Jenna Avid	Krista Allen	2000–2001, recurring previously

Theme songs

• 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. The song is from Cetera's 1988 album One More Story.
• On some DVD releases of the first series "Save Me" was replaced with "Above the Waterline" by Kim Carnes.
• For the syndicated series, the new theme "I'm Always Here" (written by Jimi Jamison, Cory Lerios, John D'Andrea and Joe Henry, performed by Jimi Jamison of Survivor) replaced "Save Me". An instrumental version of "I'm Always Here" was used as the ending theme of seasons 6 to 9. A different instrumental version was used as the theme for season 10 (the first season of Baywatch Hawaii).
• When the NBC episodes were added to the Baywatch syndication package, the opening theme was changed to a shorter version of "I'm Always Here", with some images of the original NBC opening retained.
• David Hasselhoff sang the Kevin Savigar-Todd Cerney tune "Current of Love" as the ending theme of Seasons 2–4. Together with Laura Branigan he sang "I Believe" as the ending theme of Season 5.
• 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).
• The theme for season 11 (the second season of Baywatch Hawaii) was called "Let Me Be the One" written and performed by Carlos Villalobos, Glenn Medeiros and sung by Fiji.
• The spin-off series, Baywatch Nights theme song was performed by saxophonist Alfonzo Blackwell. "The Nights Will Never Be the Same" (Baywatch Nights Theme) was also featured on his 1996 sophomore CD release. Alfonzo Blackwell was featured with David Hasselhoff each week in the ending credits of the TV series.

Other versions of "I'm Always Here" include:

• An instrumental version of the song appears in the episode "Battles" of the UK television programme Spaced.
• The Swedish electronic musical group Sunblock remixed the song and released it as a single.
• A soundalike version was used in an episode of Hey Arnold over the end credits.
• Swedish group Konditorns recorded the theme with Swedish lyrics for their album K2 (2012), titled "Jag är alltid här" which is a direct translation of the phrase "I'm always here"

Episodes

Film adaptation

The film adaptation is reported to be a comedy, written and directed by Jeremy Garelick. Garelick's previous successes include the rewrite of The Hangover.^[11]

In September 2012, it was announced that Reno 911! co-creator and star Robert Ben Garant will direct the film version of Baywatch for Paramount Pictures.^[12]

In October 2014, it was announced that Paramount is moving forward with its big-screen adaptation of Baywatch and has loosely attached Dwayne Johnson to the project. The studio has also hired Justin Malen to rewrite and has attached the comedy writing team of Sean Anders and John Morris to direct.^[13][14]

In July 2015, it was announced Seth Gordon would direct with Damian Shannon and Mark Swift having written the latest script with Dwayne Johnson still attached to star.^[15]

On August 10, 2015, it was announced that Zac Efron had been cast in the film. Johnson also announced that the film will be R-Rated. The report stated, “The story centers on a by-the-book and very serious lifeguard (Johnson) who is forced to team up with a young rule-flouting hothead (Efron) in order to save their beach from environmental destruction at the hands of an oil tycoon.”^[16][17][18] That same month, reports were saying that Kelly Brook was in contention to star in the film as C.J. Parker, with Kate Upton and Charlotte McKinney also on the shortlist, but Brook denied the rumor the following day on Instagram.^{[19][20][21][22]} Brook later confirmed that she had read the script but was still uncertain if she would appear.^[23]

On November 9, 2015, it was reported that several actresses, including Alexandra Daddario, Nina Dobrev, Ashley Benson, Alexandra Shipp, Shelley Hennig, Bianca Santos and Denyse Tontz, were in the running for the female lead, with the possibility that some of them could join the film in different roles and other unnamed actresses could be in the running as well.^[24] On November 18, 2015, Johnson confirmed Daddario (who previously worked with Johnson on San Andreas) for the role of Summer, originally played by Eggert in the TV series, and revealed the casting of C.J. and other roles would soon be announced.^[25] On January 4, 2016, Johnson announced that actress and model Kelly Rohrbach was cast as C.J. for the film.^{[26][27][28][29]} On January 11, 2016, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Priyanka Chopra is in talks to appear in the film in a villainous role. On February 16, 2016,Priyanka Chopra and Dwayne Johnson released a video to confirm her participation in the above mentioned role.^[30] On January 20, 2016, Ilfenesh Hadera joined the cast as Stef, the love interest of Dwayne Johnson's character^[31] and a release date of May 19, 2017 was announced.^[32] On January 27, 2016, Variety reported that Jon Bass was cast as Ronnie, described as funny, awkward and a skilled disco dancer who falls in love with C.J. at the beach.^[33]

DVD releases

Baywatch "Nightmare Bay"/"River of No Return" DVD

Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding, the reunion movie on DVD

• Australia: On May 1, 2013, Shock Entertainment released seasons 1–9 on DVD.^[34] They also released a complete series set on November 6, 2013 which features all 9 seasons of Baywatch, both seasons of Baywatch Hawaii and both seasons of Baywatch Nights.^[35]
• France: The reunion movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding was translated to French language as Alerte à Malibu: Mariage à Hawaï and has been released.
• Finland: Seasons 1–3 have been released by Future Film.
• Germany: Seasons 1 to 11 have been released. These releases are presented exactly as they originally aired, albeit with German language credits (These are also available in the U.K. from amazon as imports). The reunion movie Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding was translated to German language as Baywatch: Hochzeit auf Hawaii and have been released.
• Italy: Seasons 1 and 2 have been released by Koch Media, season 5 and 6 have been released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
• Netherlands: Season 3 has been released.
• Sweden: Seasons 1–3 have been released.
• UK: Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have been released by Network.
• USA: In June 1999 a single disc DVD was released featuring two 2-part episodes from the show's original run ("Nightmare Bay" part 1 and 2 from Season 2, and "River of No Return" part 1 & 2 from Season 3). These episodes are absent from the U.S. box sets of their respective seasons mentioned below.

First Look Studios released the first three seasons on DVD in 2006/2007. Although the box sets are labeled "Season 1", "Season 2", et cetera, the sets actually feature episodes of the following season (i.e. the "Season 1" box set contains the episodes of the literal second season (1991–1992) of the show). The second and third sets were released on October 31, 2006. Each set features a disc with Season 1 episodes on it. These releases also do not contain any of the original music as it appeared when the episodes aired. They have been removed due to copyright agreements.^[36] However, these releases have been discontinued and are now out of print.

See also

• Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding
• Baywatch: Forbidden Paradise
• Baywatch Nights (Baywatch spin-off)
• Son of the Beach (Baywatch parody).
• Babewatch is a satirical term sometimes used in connection with the series, which has been used by Mad Magazine, commentators,^[37] as well as used as the title for a series of adult films with crossover characters which ran up between 1994–1999 to become a tridecology.
• Beach Heat: Miami (Softcore version)
• Lifeguard, 1976 lifeguard film starring original Baywatch star Parker Stevenson

References

1. MacLeod, Tyler (August 18, 1996). "Life's a beach". Canoe. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
2. Herbert, Steven (December 25, 1990). "Baywatch: A New Wave of Popularity Overseas". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
3. Carter, Bill (1995-07-03). "Media: TELEVISION; Stand aside, CNN. America's No. 1 TV export is – no scoffing, please – 'Baywatch.". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
4. http://articles.latimes.com/1990-12-25/entertainment/ca-7120_1_nbc-series
5. Gritten, David (November 20, 1996). "Baywatch Has a Cow, Man, London Style". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
6. McDougal, Dennis (November 28, 1991). "Surf's Up Again for Baywatch". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
7. Huff, Richard (March 1, 1999). "Aussie Town Boos Baywatch". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 2010-10-16.
8. "Wave of protest over Baywatch move". BBC. February 26, 1999. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
9. Film and television in Hawaii
10. Ryan, Tim (March 4, 1999). "'Baywatch' May Relocate to Hawaii". Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
11. Fleming, Michael (July 6, 2009). "Garelick adding laughs to 'Baywatch'". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
12. "Exclusive: Reno 911! Co-Creator to Direct Baywatch Movie". Vulture. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
13. "Paramount Moves Forward With 'Baywatch' Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
14. "@therock on Instagram: ""This is my beach bitch!" Rumors are true... we're making #BAYWATCH the movie. Edgy, raunchy and hopefully, funny as all hell. Cue slo mo…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
15. Kroll, Justin. "Seth Gordon to Direct Dwayne Johnson in Paramount's 'Baywatch' Movie". Variety. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
16. "Zac Efron Cast In Baywatch Reboot". Comicbook.com. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
17. "Dwayne Johnson on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
18. "Dwayne Johnson on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
19. Daniel, Welsh (August 18, 2015). "Kelly Brook For 'Baywatch' Film Role? Star Tipped To Join Zac Efron And Dwayne Johnson".
20. Heath, Paul (August 18, 2015). "Kelly Brook Baywatch movie rumours: Up for Pamela Anderson role?". The Hollywood News.
21. "Kelly Brook on Instagram: "😂😂😂😂😂 The Tabloids have gone Mad Love it 👍🏼🇬🇧❤️🇺🇸"". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
22. Powell, Emma (August 19, 2015). "Kelly Brook laughs off Baywatch rumours with photoshopped Pamela Anderson Instagram". Standard.
23. Jayson, Jay (December 27, 2015). "Kelly Brook Has Read For Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's Baywatch Movie". Comicbook.com.
24. Fleming, Jr., Mike (November 9, 2015). "Bevy Of Actresses Test For ‘Baywatch’ Lead; Dwayne Johnson & Zac Efron Star". Deadline.
25. Fleming, Jr., Mike (November 18, 2015). "Alexandra Daddario Lands ‘Baywatch’ Female Lead". Deadline.
26. Miller, Michael (January 4, 2016). "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson & Kelly Rohrbach Make Hilarious Baywatch Parody Videos Following Her Split from Leonardo DiCaprio". People Magazine.
27. "@therock on Instagram: "A pleasure welcoming @kellyrohrbach to our #BAYWATCH family for the iconic role of "CJ Parker". Yes, she's a walking smoke stack but more…"". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
28. "@therock on Instagram: "For our #BAYWATCH and the iconic role of "CJ Parker" I had to make sure @kellyrohrbach was... tough."". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
29. "@therock on Instagram: "For our #BAYWATCH and the iconic role of "CJ Parker" I had to make sure @kellyrohrbach was ridiculously sexy running in SLO-MO...."". Instagram. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
30. Kit, Borys (January 11, 2016). "'Quantico' Star Priyanka Chopra in Early Talks to Join Dwayne Johnson in 'Baywatch' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
31. "Ilfenesh Hadera joins Baywatch cast as Dwayne Johnson's love interest | EW.com". www.ew.com. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
32. "'Terminator 2' Pulled From Schedule, 'Baywatch' Release Date Set". TheWrap. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
33. McNary, Dave (January 27, 2016). "Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Baywatch’ Movie Casts Jon Bass". Variety.
34. http://www.screenpop.com.au/search/index/search_string/Baywatch/
35. "SCREENPOP: Great TV and Movies on BluRay and DVD | ScreenPop Australia". screenpop.com.au. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
36. "TVShowsOnDVD.com - News for Baywatch". www.tvshowsondvd.com. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
37. "Surf's Up For 'Baywatch'". KFOX-TV. 1999-11-16. Archived from Article: the original Check |url= value (help) on February 3, 2009.

External links

• BaywatchTV.org - Official Website
• Baywatch at the Internet Movie Database
• Baywatch at the Internet Movie Database (film adaptation)
• Baywatch at TV.com
• Baywatch Movie