Baywatch, known as The Baywatch (in Spain) or Guardians of the Bay (in Latin America), was an American television series about lifeguards on Santa Monica beach, in Los Angeles, California.
Baywatch began airing on the NBC network in 1989, but was canceled after the first season because the cost of its production was very high and its audience rating was quite low.
Knowing that the series still had potential and followers, David Hasselhoff relaunched it in 1991, investing his money and serving as an executive producer. The series was very successful, especially abroad, and led to two sequels: Baywatch Nights and the film Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.
An Australian version was planned in 1999 and those who showed up for the casting traveled to Sydney to record. The main idea was for the characters already established in the American version to appear in the pilot chapter, interacting with the local lifeguard service and, in this way, form Baywatch Downunder.
The pilot episode was shot, but the recording was stopped when the residents of Ávalon, a local town, opposed some serious inconveniences to the realization, including promoting the burning of large ecosystems. The Council of Avalon, canceled any type of recording possible and the pilot chapter could not be emitted until after a year.
In season 10, the show’s setting moved to Hawaii and the title was changed to Baywatch Hawaii.
The series mainly starring David Hasselhoff, famous for the Knight Rider series, plays Mitch Buchannon, who remained on the series for ten of the eleven seasons.
Baywatch focused on lifeguards’ teamwork and interpersonal relationships, with beach scenes and other activities relevant to the Californian (later Hawaii) lifestyle.
It covered all kinds of situations: from earthquakes, to shark attacks, to serial killers, and even nuclear bombs. Saving people from drowning was one of the most frequent situations in the chapters.
The best known actors were: David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, Billy Warlock, Jeremy Jackson or David Charvet.
Many of the series’ actors and actresses appeared on the series for a few seasons, just running long stretches of beach. Some others who also became famous were Erika Eleniak, Carmen Electra, Vanessa Angel, Traci Bingham, Donna D’Errico, Nicole Eggert, David Chokachi, Gregory Alan Williams, Gena Lee Nolin, Jaason Simmons, Nancy Valen, Kelly Slater and Michael Newman , the latter being a true lifeguard in Los Angeles.
The original NBC song was «Save Me,» performed by Peter Cetera, with Bonnie Raitt on guitar and Richard Sterban, lead singer of The Oak Ridge Boys, was one of the backup singers.
For the sequel series, another theme was created, I’m Always Here, performed by Jimi Jamison, the song of the rock singer of the band Survivor replaced «Save Me» and in addition to the theme «Current Of Love» by David Hasselhoff that was used for credits.
When the series began to air five days a week on NBC, along with all the episodes of the sequel series, the title track was replaced by a short version of «I’ll Be Ready» (with which it was more recognized ), with some images from the original NBC series.
In 2006, the Baywatch OST mixes «I’ll Be Ready» were recorded as singles by Naughty Boy and Sunblock. The «Naughty Boy» version, «Phat Beach (I’ll Be Ready)», appeared at number 36 on the UK charts, while the «Sunblocks» version, «I’ll Be Ready» , entered the charts at number 4 a week later.
The cast of the series
David Hasselhoff played Mitch Buchannon in the acclaimed production. He was born on July 17, 1952 in the United States and stands out for both his acting and musical aspects.
He entered the seventh art in the 70s and in 1982 he had his first major leading role in the series ‘The fantastic car’, playing Michael Knight; this character, as well as that of the Guardians of the Bay, made Hasselhoff the ‘idol par excellence’ of the 80s. His fame was such that, in the 2000s, he made several cameos in films incarnating himself.
One of the funniest scenes of that time was the one presented in ‘SpongeBob: the movie’, 2004: Bob and Patrick, the children’s characters, meet David Hasselhoff who, with the help of his body-boat, takes them to the Bottom of Bikini. This scene, at the same time, was a nod to the actor’s time as a Guardian of the Bay. Today he is still linked to movies and music.
CJ Parker, one of the eye-catching guardians of the bay, was played by Pamela Anderson , one of Hollywood’s most controversial figures. Pamela was born in 1967 in Canada and very soon moved to the United States and entered modeling.
During her career she has stood out for her fashion shows and her time on magazine covers, in addition, she was one of the most acclaimed ‘Playboy Chichas’ of the 90s. Her time on television and in the cinema has led to productions such as ‘Barb Wire’, ‘Gloun’ and ‘Days your Live’. Pamela ‘shook’ the media spotlight after the diffusion of private films of her and her husband at the time, the rocker Tommy Lee.
His recent activity on the stage is scarce, however, he performed a particular act: he visited Julian Assange, the mastermind behind the WikiLeaks portal, after his expulsion from the Ecuadorian embassy in England and his subsequent retention.
Stephanie Holden was a guardian played by Alexandra Paul . The American actress was born in 1963 and not much is known about her life since, from the beginning of her profession, she restricted the cameras of her personal environment. He has participated in more than twenty films, highlighting ‘Christine’, ‘Kuffs’ and ‘The paper boy’. His most recent work was on the movie ‘Flirting with Madness’.
Michael Newman was one of the most conspicuous guardians of the bay due to a singular characteristic: he was a real lifeguard and in the series he played himself. Rose to fame from the first episode to the last of the series.
In addition to being a lifeguard, Newman served as a firefighter after his fleeting – but more than significant – passage through the cameras. According to ‘News’, Michael currently lives in California and sadly has suffered from Parkinson’s since 2011.
Hobie Buchannan was a character in the series played by two actors: from 1989 to 1990 it was Brandon Call’s turn (top) and from 1991 to 1999 it was actor Jeremy Jackson (bottom). Jackson was born in 1980 and, like Hasselhoff – the ‘greatest guardian’ – is dedicated to music and acting at the time.
His most prominent role, despite the twenty films in his film list, continues to be that of Hobie in Guardians of the Bay. In fact, in recent times he has only gone to reality shows or talk shows to talk about his golden age. His last participation was in 2015 in the reality show ‘Celebrity Big Brother UK’.
Cody Madison was played by David Chokachi . The American actor, born in 1968, made his screen debut with Guardians of the Bay and, despite the success of the series, has not had as many outstanding roles throughout his career. He stood out for his performance in ‘Witchblade’ and ‘Beyond the Break’. Not much is known about Madison, since since 2013 it has not circulated in the ‘corridors’ of Hollywood.
Guardian Summer Quinn was played by Nicole Eggert . The actress was born in 1972 and from her childhood she had supporting roles in modest productions. Thanks to Guardians of the Bay, he had a ‘peak’ of fame and prestige, however, throughout his career he had greater relevance in films that were not so popular. In January 2018, Eggert reported that she was sexually abused by Scott Baio, a situation that led to a complaint against the actor.
David Charvet played Matt Brody in Guardians of the Bay. The French actor has moved indistinctly on various fronts of art and culture: he is a singer, actor and producer, however, he has not had major film appearances. He has 3 musical albums and his last film project was ‘The Perfect Teacher’ in 2010. Little is known about his personal life.
Caroline Holden was a guardian of the bay played by Yasmine Bleeth . This American actress has been linked to show business since she was six months old: she starred in commercials for Johnson & Johnson. Bleeth soon disappeared from the media spotlight.
In 1997, after finishing his participation in Guardians of the Bay, he tried unsuccessfully to enhance his career and in early 2000 he had several relapses as a result of his drug addiction. According to ‘El País’, the actress has completely disappeared from the media scene since 2010.
Carmen Electra is one of the most acclaimed women in Hollywood, and her stint at Guardians of the Bay ‘contributed’ to her rise and prestige. Electra played Lami McKenzie from 1997 to 1998. The model dazzled during her youth on the catwalks and since the late 90s she dedicated herself to participating in various television and film comedies.
His participation in productions was reduced little by little, his latest project being the film ‘Attack of the Two-Headed Shark’ in 2012. Of course, he is still one of the most prominent faces in the world of entertainment.
