Baywatch: Seasons 2 & 3

The strains of one of the most famous theme tunes of all time ushers in the era of stuffed bikinis and the so-called life-saving techniques of the lifeguard boys and girls of Malibu beach.

Baywatch at one point alleged itself to be the most watched television show on the planet, with over a billion viewers a week, and whilst that statistic was propagated by its figurehead and lead actor on screen and in print, what Baywatch is undoubtedly responsible for is the arrival of Pamela Anderson as a potent 1990's force and the continuing career of the aforementioned Hoff.

However, what must be remembered is that the show was initially a failure during its first year and it wasn't until syndication that it really found its feet, the second season perhaps signifying the most popular period in the show's history before Pammy donned the cossie in Season 3. So the role call for these 44 episodes feature The Hoff as Mitch Buchannon, Playboy bunny Erika Eleniak as Shauni McClain and the under-rated Billy Warlock as Eddie Kramer; the latter having starred in one of the few original horror films of the decade, Brian Yuzna's Society.

All of the show’s tropes are here: inept swimmers that only seem to swim in this neck of the ocean, endless slow-motion sequences of (mainly female) lifeguards running along the shore line and a meanie of the week wreaking unspeakable havoc in the form of typically anti-environmental schemes that would endanger the indigenous aquatic life. All of this before the execrable spin-offs Baywatch Nights and Baywatch Hawaii, yet as a whole it gels into relatively harmless fun which ushered in the evening on a Saturday between Grandstand, going out and getting back for Match Of The Day for many years.

Perhaps what the second season will be most memorable for, however, is the Noel's House Party incident where Noel was ready to flash live to the living room of that week's victim (radio's Chris Evans), but found they couldn't due to Chris watching Baywatch in a somewhat compromised position - perhaps the true legacy of Baywatch in the years preceding the internet and its target demographic.



Released on DVD on 18th October 2010 by Network DVD.

Reviewed by Simon Cole.