Search - Baywatch: Season 1 on DVD

Finally the real thing

tepp | USA | 05/16/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Unlike the earlier mis-titled "Season 1" DVD that was released in the US a couple of years ago, this Australian import actually contains all the episodes from the real first season of Baywatch when it was an NBC network series. There's no Pamela Anderson or Alexandra Paul. Instead we have former Miss USA Shawn Weatherly, the beautiful Holly Gagnier, and the show's original Playboy playmate, Erica Eleniak. Long-time viewers who miss the flamboyant characters of the later syndicated seasons will have to console themselves with David Hasselhoff's extremely gay hairdo, which was in full bloom even at this early stage. The six-disk set offers absolutely no extras (the episode titles appear in an unnumbered list on the case, and the only way to tell which disk each one is on is to count them off in groups of four), but the hard-case package is good. The quality of the 4x3 video is adequate, but this collection will be a welcome addition to anyone who was interested in the first season of the show."

The REAL First Season Finally Comes to DVD

Sean Pasek | Albuquerque, NM | 11/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I watched this show from the second episode on when it aired on NBC. I'd missed the pilot for a reason I can't recall, but I enjoyed the show. It was fun with a pretty good cast. Then, because it had ranked 50th in the Nielsen ratings, NBC pulled the plug. Almost two years later, it was finally announced that the show was picked up by another network. It was never the same after that. Only Mitch, Eddie, Shaunie, and Garner came back from the original cast. You could tell immediately that the show just didn't have a quality feel to it that it had in its pilot season. I watched the show on and off until I'd given up. After that, the show went "playmate crazy."

To me, this is the only season of Baywatch that is worth watching. The
acting and stories are much better than what you'd find in the subsequent seasons. While it's true, that the show flaunted female parts, it did focus, to some degree, on the lives and jobs of lifeguards of L.A. County. Granted, they took some liberties with these roles, as you often found Mitch and his friend, Craig Pomeroy (Parker Stevenson) employing themselves as crime-stoppers as well as lifeguards, but you generally gave for a bit of leeway there, because the show was entertaining. You also have to remember that back then, dramas were not going for a lot of realism.

Another advantage this season had were veteran actors such as Monte Markham playing the authoritarian Captain Don Thorpe, who always took his job as a lifeguard captain very seriously, and usually at the expense of all junior lifeguards around him.

I think in some regards, the reason the show was so much better, was that they had a bigger budget to work with, being initially with NBC. NBC was also interested in making sure that along with the "extra skin" that the show might be used to inspire saftey-consciousness as well.

First season sees Mitch battling his ex-wife for custody of Hobe (who was then played by Brandon Call). Call was brilliant in the role, and I felt that Jeremy Jackson wasn't as good in the seasons that followed.

Also, Mitch was NOT revealed to be an ex-Navy Seal. While buddy, Cort (John Allen Nelson) was later added to the cast, he was the only one who was considered a former SEAL. As the personal history suggests from this season, Mitch has been a lifeguard for a long time, perhaps going back to high school, along-side best friend, Craig Pomeroy.

Eddie Kramer (Billy Warlock) was a rookie lifeguard, alongside Shaunie McClane (Erika Eleniak). Eddie was the hot-headed kid from the wrong side of Philadelphia who loved to spend his free hours boxing. The writers of the show quickly saw that the "meat" of their storyline was the relationship between Eddie and Shaunie. Several episodes had storylines surrounding the romance. Warlock and Eleniak eventually became engaged in real life.

The cast also included Peter Phelps (Trevor) who played a rogue, Australian lifeguard. He left the show halfway in. Parker Stevenson played Craig Pomeroy, a veteran lifeguard who is torn between being a lifeguard and being a lawyer. His wife, Gina, was played by Holly Gagnier. Finally, there was also Shawn Weatherly (Jill Riley) who was another veteran lifeguard who was famously killed off by a shark attack in the middle of the season.

NBC cancelled the show after the first season. The final episode included a marriage proposal by Eddie to Shaunie. Obviously after the show was given the "go ahead" by a new network, many of the storylines and origins were either removed altogether or altered in some way.

For example, Mitch's budding teenage son, Hobe, was reverted back to a young boy of about 10 or 11. Eddie's propsal to Shaunie was pretty much ditched. Eddie would propose at the end of the next season.

Craig Pomeroy would be written out of the show altogether. One can assume that he quit.

For me, Baywatch began and ended after its first season, and this is the only season worth owning.

Note* The original theme song (sung by Peter Cetera "Save Me") is not used before each episode. Also, some of the songs used during the episodes have also been changed unfortunately. It's too bad because the original music and songs were good and went well with the show."

The Real First Season

CJ Jade | Iowa, United States | 08/19/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like almost everyone I was slighly upset when I found out the other first season was really season 2. This season has some of the episodes that made it a classic. Plus it had some of my all time favorite characters; Craig, Gina, Jill, Trevor and Cort. It doesn't have any extras and the episode title is not listed on the DVDs. This does make it kind of hard if you are looking for a specific episode. But that all aside this is a must have for any Baywatch fan."

At last the original first series!!

Mark Sapsford | florida, USA | 12/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the "first" season a few weeks ago and found that it was not the first season I remembered. No Cort, no craig and Hobie was played by Brandon Call. These were the best shows in the entire series. They focused on Baywatch and babes, not just babes.....

This is the one to buy if you want to watch the real first series!!"