Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20332 in DVD
• Brand: FIRST LOOK HOME ENTERTAINMENT
• Released on: 2006-10-30
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Formats: Box set, Color, NTSC, Subtitled
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 5
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 990 minutes

Studio description
After 11 successful seasons as one of the most watched programs in television history, Baywatch is now on DVD. Experience the syndicated series that launched the careers of Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra and Tracy Bingham. David Hasselhoff stars as Lt. Mitch Buchannon, supervisor of the world’s most beautiful lifeguard unit. Episodes in this set are from season 2: The One That Got Away, Money Honey, Fabulous Buchannon Boys, Point of Attack, Sandcastles, Thin or Die, The Trophy part 1, The Trophy part 2, If Looks Could Kill, Reunion, War of Nerves, Big Monday, Sea of Flames, Now Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale, The Chamber, Sharks Cove, Lost Treasure of Tower 12, The Big Spill, Game of Chance, Summer of '85. Bonus network episode: Panic at Malibu Pier (original series pilot).

Amazon.com
Baywatch, television's most-famous "jiggle series" and by some counts the most-watched show around the world, did more for slow-motion beach joggers than anything since Chariots of Fire--just replace the British Olympic athletes with young women in high-cut red swimsuits who look like Playboy models. The premise of Baywatch is straightforward: a Los Angeles-based team of lifeguards saves swimmers and occasionally fights crime, led by beefcake Mitch Buchannon (David Hasselhoff). And those Playboy models? Erika Eleniak turned a 1989 magazine spread into a role as lifeguard Shauni McClain for two-plus seasons alongside Billy Warlock's Eddie Kramer character (the actors themselves had a brief engagement), and most of the season's action revolved around the lives and loves of Mitch, Shauni, and Eddie. (The most famous Baywatch babe, Pamela Anderson, would arrive the following season.) When they weren't saving people on the beach, they were involved in movie shoots ("Money, Honey"), gang wars ("Point of Attack"), homeless girls ("Sandcastles") and stray pets ("Thin or Die"), a serious charge against Eddie ("The Trophy"), a Gilligan's Island hallucination ("Now, Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale"), and chemical dumping ("The Big Spill"). Hasselhoff's real-life wife, Pamela Bach, appears in a recurring role as reporter Kaye Morgan, Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me, Dream On) has a small role as Mitch's ex-wife, Gayle, and Tom McTigue plays lifeguard Harvey Miller.

Calling this set "season 1" is a misnomer. It's really the final 20 episodes of the second season (1991-92), which was the first season the series was in syndication after being dropped by NBC. (The first two episodes, the two parts of "Nightmare Bay," were previously released on DVD by another studio and are not included here.) In this season, Jeremy Jackson had replaced Brandon Call as Mitch's son, Hobie, and regular cast members Parker Stevenson (as Mitch's friend, Craig Pomeroy) and Shawn Weatherly (as lifeguard Jill Riley) were gone as well. However, the series pilot of the real season 1, called "Panic at Malibu Pier," is included as a bonus. Also, co-creators and executive producers Greg Bonann, Doug Schwartz, and Michael Berk discuss their favorite episodes from the second season in a 16-minute segment. Another drawback, however, is that much of the original music has been replaced, including "I'm Always Here," Jimi Jamison's theme song. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Not really the first season, actually the 2nd
Be aware that this "1st season" is actually the first season Baywatch was in "Syndication". It is not actually the first season of Baywatch. Before Baywatch was in syndication it aired for one season on NBC. Unfortunately, from the news I have heard on tvshowsondvd.com, you will only be able to get the real first season from buying all of the Baywatch season sets (they say there will be a bonus disc in each box set featuring episodes from the NBC season), which is a bummer if you lost interest after a few years like I did and don't want to buy every season. Oh well, maybe they will change their mind and put out the real first season for people to buy who don't want to buy every season. Amazon has not mentioned this bonus disc on their page so maybe the studio has changed their mind from the original posting.
Overall this season of Baywatch (season 1 on the box but really season 2) is a good season. It had my 2 favorite characters Eddie and Shauni, who were only on for the first 2 seasons as well as Mitch and a new little Hobie (the original Hobie from the NBC season was hired for Step by Step and therefore didn't return for the second season, Jeremy Jackson was hired instead). Here are the episodes that should be on the dvd. [...]
1 Nightmare Bay (1)
2 Nightmare Bay (2)
3 The One That Got Away
4 Money, Honey
5 The Fabulous Buchannon Boys
6 Point of Attack
7 Sandcastles
8 Thin or Die
9 The Trophy (1)
10 The Trophy (2)
11 If Looks Could Kill
12 Reunion
13 War of Nerves
14 Big Monday
15 Sea of Flames
16 Now, Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale
17 The Chamber
18 Shark's Cove
19 The Lost Treasure of Tower 12
20 The Big Spill
21 Game of Chance
22 The Summer of '85

Save your money, protest this release.
BUYERS BEWARE! As you may have noted from other reviewers here, this is NOT the true first season of Baywatch, but rather the first season of Syndication after their were cancelled by NBC and Hasselhoff worked to get the money to syndicate.
But that's not the only reason to avoid this release of the Baywatch series. The well-known main-title theme has been replaced with some cheap piece of music that does not suit the series at all. I love and miss the original theme; that was half the pleasure in the show. The same with the rest of the great music from the show.
Also they've completely left out the first 2-part episode, "Nightmare Bay", billing it as a so-called complete 20-episode premiere season. Don't make me gag.
Apparently, if you end up wasting you're money on the entire 10 syndicated seasons of this release from FirstWatch Studios, you do eventually end up with the first Network seasons, as they are included as bonus episodes in each season. This first season includes the series network pilot, "Panic at Malibu Pier," which aired originally on April 23, 1989 and the first episode from the actual season, "In Deep," which aired Sept 22, 1989.
Fortunately, I only rented this from Netflix. Apparently the series has been properly released in Europe and is available in Region 2 format from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de for those of you with multi-region players.
Please stay away from and protest this FirstWatch Studios release of Baywatch and petition the powers-that-be to release the series properly in North America. If you really need your Baywatch fix in the meantime, look for reruns on tv or rent it from Netflix.

Very Disappointing
As a big Baywatch fan, I resisted dubbing some old VHS Baywatch in lieu of awaiting the DVDs. And while I heard there were some changes, I decided to give the first set a try anyway. But anyone who remembers the episodes from TV will no doubt be very disappointed. The new music is terrible - canned music that all sounds like the same song. Not even Hasselhoff sings, and he produced the show to begin with! I can live with a couple missing episodes, and a few music changes, but nearly ALL the music has changed, and very much for the worse. And, the quality of the video is not nearly as crisp as it should be, especially "Panic at Malibu Pier". I will not buy any more of these season sets, and will look to the UK to get uncut, original versions, or dub my own VHS copies to DVD instead. Even for 20 bucks, its a big waste.