Park your brain in the harbour yard and remember simpler times in hit TV-land...

It’s an interesting life being a freelance journalist; work comes and goes and as such you can have days in a row where expectation is meaningless. It was on one of these days that I was chosen.

As usual, I checked my emails to see what the lovely people at Microsoft had decided to pollute my email with. The customary Viagra spam message; the informant email that my rather generous and unknown Nigerian first cousin, Sultan Jacobi Iumba, had left me $140 million dollars; and the number of e-newsletters I had signed up to over the years were all sitting pretty, waiting to greet me with open arms and a number of malicious viruses.

However, nestled between them was an email marked with the now habitual MAILOUT subject that I had come to love over the past couple of months. Like a child at Christmas, everything else became insignificant as my attention became focused around this email from shadowlocked.com. Now, as a rule I generally only select material that I have had recent experience of or items that I have a real passion for, thus ensuring that my articles are interesting to read due to the investment I have in them. Conversely, the offering on this occasion was reminiscent of childhood memories, rather than current interest and I was intrigued. As I began to digest the email, I found out that Network were re-releasing the Baywatch seasons, and seasons two and three were being offered to us. The problem now was choosing which one to do; both sounded good, so to finalise my pick I explored the attached synopsis of both.

“Baywatch – Season 2 - David Hasselhoff (Knight Rider) is Mitch Buchannon, a single-parent lifeguard who is the mentor for a crowd of hip, young, attractive lifeguards keeping the beach safe for the masses...” Now, the mention of the Hoff is not one you can take lightly, so I knew that this would be hard to beat.

”Baywatch – Season 3 - is where Pamela Anderson made her sizzling debut...”- there was more, but I can’t remember it. There was something about season three that had really jumped out at me, a calling if you will. Yet, I knew that I was about to undertake possibly the hardest challenge I had faced in 21 years – trying to see Pamela “Denise” Anderson as a serious actress. I will even admit it felt weird sitting and watching her without my trusty pack of Kleenex tissues sitting invitingly next to me.

For those of you who haven’t watched Baywatch recently (which I presume is most of you) I recommend you do. There are a number of reasons for this; Firstly, it really is pleasing to a large variety of people. For the adolescents amongst us, it is the closest thing you will get to soft-core pornography without actually purchasing some. It seems ridiculous to think that I grew up watching this show and that it was just accepted, as the amount of slow-mo camera work alone is enough to push it over the watershed.

"Baywatch managed to develop a winning combination of the serial levels of absurdity the cast tend to find themselves part of, and the practicality of the environment that surrounds them"

However, while the show offers much for the younger adult, there is also enough to keep older audiences happy. By the third season, the show was smashing records on a regular basis, a point that meant that it was much more than simply an orgy for the retinas. While the plots may have not been the most gripping or well-acted, the action within them was certainly entertaining. There light-hearted approach to a number of difficult issues was actually a refreshing break, such as the issue of teen pregnancy and a life changing move, which are thrown into the mix with about as much subtlety as the cast’s costumes. While many controversial issues are explored throughout, the series manages to approach each with a degree of nonchalance that is extinct in modern television. The series works on a premise that, as long as the episodes foundations are built round the coexisting friendship and career of its cast, they allow for a moderate degree of diversification from the plot. Essentially, Baywatch managed to develop a winning combination of the serial levels of absurdity the cast tend to find themselves part of, and the practicality of the environment that surrounds them.

While I may have gone a bit deep at times, it is important to remember the timeline and the setting of this series. Developed around the needs and expectations of the 1990’s, Baywatch perfectly depicts the vanity of 90’s America. Everything from hairstyles right through to the clothing choices is typically 90’s and Baywatch was proud of it. While the series gave a certain amount of freedom to David Hasselhoff and his predominately 80’s appeal, the remaining cast were moulded into perfect embodiments of their 90’s culture.

The series was typically American, and stood as a testament to the proud nation. Just as The Hills is the recognisable face of 21^st century America, Baywatch epitomised its audience, playing up to it whenever it could. For example, the start of the first episode shows a disgruntled looking Mitch (Hasselhoff), suited in booted in his formal beach guard apparel. Suddenly, the camera shies away to concentrate on a group of females and, upon its return, Hasselhoff is now minus a shirt and shoes. Although it is clear to see Mitch is much happier with his appearance, there is still one final kinky step. As the camera zooms in to his crotch, Mitch slowly undoes his belt and lowers his trousers, revealing a scandalously tight pair of red Speedo’s. The transformation is complete and all credibility the writers may have been hoping to show has been lost within the first two minutes. Regrettably, this is what the audience wanted, so the producers were merely meeting these demands.

"While you won’t find the same degree of plot development or depth that you have grown accustomed to with modern television, you will find an enjoyable viewing experience that needs very little concentration"

Now, while I have remained fairly positive to date, there are only so many episodes of Pamela I can endure before the apparent lack of plots and the regular clichés got to me. While the concept was good at the time, you can’t help but feel that maybe that is where it should have stayed. Television has evolved in unimaginable ways and plots are now so intelligent that they make Stephen Hawking look simple. While it is nice to chill out from time to time, I struggled to get through all 22 episodes without feeling a bit simple myself. For example, during one of the episodes, lifeguard Matt (David Charvet) and a surfing acquaintance are talking to the local police officer. When the surfer disappears without giving a valid address, Matt tells him the officer not to worry, insisting that he will find him “wherever the surf is happening”. Not since a drug-riddled hippy befriended what he thought was a talking dog (see Scooby Doo) has such nonsense been spoken. The problem is that these lines, along with pun after pun, become particularly trying as time goes on.

Overall though, I enjoyed season three of Baywatch. While the cast are now mostly porn stars, former solvent abusers or simply aging C-list celebrities, Baywatch gives you the chance to see them at their very best. As colourful as a castle on Balamory, the series should be taken as a happy reminder of the late 20th century and enjoyed as such. While you won’t find the same degree of plot development or depth that you have grown accustomed to with modern television, you will find an enjoyable viewing experience that needs very little concentration. On top of this, early appearances from many of today’s big stars such as Danny Trejo add an element of pleasure that you will struggle to replicate. Why not give the series a try? Sit back, relax and enjoy a show that, at its peak, was being viewed by a weekly audience of 1.1 billion people worldwide. Just don’t get your hopes up for a transfixing plot or any award winning performances.

Baywatch Season 3 will be released in the UK on Monday 18th September 2010