So I checked out the new Baywatch film with Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron. It was cute…the plot was OK. It had a lot of comedic relief…too much for my taste. I don’t know if it’ll get a 4 on the Juan Scale. I’ll tell you what would get high marks from me if the Juan Scale rated television shows: Baywatch. That whole show made being a lifeguard all the craze. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the young versions of Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, and Traci Bingham are eye candy for the pre-teen version of myself. While Baywatch was great, it was a spin-off that interested me a little more. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: Baywatch Nights.
How I first came across this moment? I came across Baywatch Nights while just surfing the television on a Saturday night in October 1995. The late local news on NBC had just gone off and the show immediately followed. The theme song was kinda intriguing and you had Mitch and Garner in suits looking like Sonny and Rico from Miami Vice. It wasn’t anything better on—at least I didn’t think it was—so I watched.
What it meant to me then? That first episode—“Silent Witness”—was pretty good. I ended up watching more of the show…like the rest of the series. I liked the private investigator work that Mitch and Garner did. It was actually my first look at a young Angie Harmon in her role as Ryan McBride. I even enjoyed the comic relief Lisa Stahl provided and the cameos by Lou Rawls. I was really feeling Season 1…thought it was a good little late-night steal. Then, Season 2 happened. The series turned into the Los Angeles version of The X-Files.
What it means to me now? Baywatch Nights got cancelled after Season 2. I would blame it on NBC being NBC—just like they were when they 86’d Undercovers, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Los Angeles, and Chase—but the series was syndicated from the start so it wasn’t their call. I wasn’t really disappointed with the cancellation because that show had actually transformed into some weird paranormal stuff in Season 2 and I wasn’t feeling it…even though Dorian Gregory’s Diamont Teague was my dude. I fondly remember that 1st season though. I watch episodes on YouTube from time to time.
