run cable show. When the revampedBaywatchpre-
miered, it offered savvy character-driven story lines
centered on the emotional entanglements of an en-
semble cast of lifeguards dramatically counter-
pointed with gripping beach rescue scenes that ex-
ploited virtually every danger, from shark attacks to
earthquakes to terrorist explosions. The series also
exploited the clichés of a Southern California beach
lifestyle. Each episode featured MTV-styled mon-
tages set to hip music while cameras panned, most
often in slow motion, the muscled, tanned life-
guards, male and female—a cast that came to in-
clude hot young actors including Pamela Anderson,
Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, and David Char-
vet. With the forty-something Hasselhoff as the
éminence grise whose character grappled with the
demands of single parenting, the series took off.
For more than a decade, the show enjoyed un-
precedented international success—measured, most
notably, byThe Guinness Book of World Records, which
estimated the show’s worldwide audience at more
than one billion at the height of its popularity. As the
show’s popularity increased, however, producers
(smarting under criticism of the series as light-
weight) introduced stories about ocean conserva-
tion, endangered marine animals, water pollution,
as well as social issues, including date rape, domestic
violence, drug addiction, bulimia, and AIDS. After
a decade, the show faltered into for-
mula (despite relocating to Hawaii
in its tenth year), and the constantly
rotating cast became notorious for
contentious backstage ego colli-
sions. The show was canceled in
May, 2001.
Impact Although widely excori-
ated for its soft-porn ambience and
its simplistic plots,Baywatchdefined
itself not so much by its content or
by the tabloid fodder it generated
but rather as a case study in the un-
recognized market potential of
first-run cable syndication. LikeThe
Simpsons,The Sopranos, andSouth
Park,Baywatchhelped demonstrate
how savvy marketing and adept pro-
gramming could redefine the con-
ception—and reach—of cable tele-
vision.
Further Reading
Bonann, Gregory J.Baywatch: Rescued from Prime
Time. Melrose, Mass.: New Millennium Entertain-
ment, 2001.
Hammond, Michael.The Contemporar y Television Se-
ries. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University
Press, 2005.
McCabe, Janet.Quality TV: Contemporar y American
Television and Beyond. London: I. B. Tauris, 2007.
Joseph DeweySee also Cable television;Simpsons, The;South Park;
Television. Beanie Babies
Definition Stuffed animals made by Ty, Inc.
In part because of Ty’s smart marketing, including retiring
certain toy animals and collaborating with McDonald’s to
promote a new line, Beanie Babies became highly collectible
stuffed animals, sparking a craze in the 1990’s.
In 1993, H. Ty Warner, a former Dakin stuffed ani-
mal company employee, introduced a line of small,
moderately priced stuffed animals called Beanie
Babies at the World Toy Fair in New York City. The
original nine Beanie Babies were Legs the Frog,94 Beanie Babies The Nineties in America
R. J. Milano, McDonald’s assistant vice president for marketing, displays Teenie
Beanies, miniature Beanie Babies that the fast-food chain sold in various promotions
in the late 1990’s. McDonald’s ran out of the popular stuffed animals in 1997.(AP/
Wide World Photos)