Baywatch is 'the worst TV show'
Sun, sex 'n' surf show Baywatch has been named the worst TV import from the US of all time.
The series which brought us David Hasselhoff, Pamela Anderson and some very skimpy red swimsuits topped a list of programmes which should never have crossed the Atlantic.
At its height, Baywatch was the world's most popular show, seen by one billion viewers in 140 countries. But British TV executives voted it worst in a survey compiled by Broadcast magazine.
"The appeal to a certain demographic of a series about a muscular lifeguard and his crew of pneumatic young helpers with raging hormones was enough to sustain this show through 12 years despite a script of mind-numbing predictability: beachgoer is saved from drowning," Broadcast said.
Second place went to The Anna Nicole Show, an Osbournes-style reality show which represented the ultimate in car crash TV.
The Dukes of Hazzard earned third place, described by Broadcast as "The Benny Hill Show meets Deliverance".
James Belushi's Twin Peaks-style series Wild Palms was fourth, followed by Eighties show Manimal starring Simon MacCorkindale as a crime-busting professor who could turn into different animals.
Sixth was The Jerry Springer Show which marked a new TV nadir, according to Broadcast. "British TV never realised how low it could go before Jerry showed the way."
Cheesy soaps Knots Landing, Falcon Crest and The Bold And The Beautiful all made the top 10.
Tenth spot went to a recent show, Extreme Makeover, in which members of the public are given thousands of pounds worth of cosmetic surgery. "Forget beauty on the inside, it's your face/bum/boobs which hold the key to happiness," Broadcast said.
Alongside its 10 worst, the magazine also listed the top 25 best US shows.
The Simpsons was named the "undisputed champion" of US imports". Dallas was second, followed by M A S H, 24, The Larry Sanders Show and Hill Street Blues. The X-Files, I Love Lucy, Twin Peaks and Star Trek completed the top 10.
