Word: actioners
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Luckily, a bevy of syndicated hour-long action series is filling the need--Baywatch without the plot. The best among them is Pamela Anderson Lee's V.I.P. And with that show's ratings success last season and the continued popularity of the trend-setting Xena: Warrior Princess, syndicated television has created five more female action shows, many of which involve very little action but a whole lot of show...
Tuning in regularly are legions of hot-blooded men. "Young males traditionally like to watch two things--action and females," notes Gil Grant, executive consultant for newcomer Relic Hunter, who is paid for such astute observations. "Put them together, and you have a hot ticket." A hot ticket that translates easily into most languages. American outlets for these shows are shrinking as local channels that once filled airtime with this kind of cheesy programming have become network affiliates for the WB or UPN, which have expanded to six and five nights of programming, respectively. But the international market...
Each week the V.I.P. writers have a meeting to decide upon a lame excuse to show half-naked women. White-slavery ring? Trouble on a swimsuit photoshoot? The owner of a lingerie company under siege? Good enough. The writers' only requirement is to include one sexy scene and one action scene every 10 pages. But they don't even need to bother coming up with these flimsy premises; as bodyguard Vallery Irons, Lee wears 5-in. stilettos and a spandex minidress just to go to the office. "Val's wardrobe is her interpretation of being able to be everything...
...found that way. Even in her newly trimmed-down state, Lee is outrageous. But V.I.P. is swiftly paced, self-consciously flip, includes a cleverly cast celebrity cameo in each episode (Loni Anderson has appeared as Lee's mother) and, most important, contains one sexy scene and one action scene every 10 minutes...
...remembers and starred on '50s network TV (American Bandstand), when such quiz programs as The $64,000 Question and 21 mesmerized viewers, Clark could recognize history repeating itself: "Game shows are so old they are new again." Next question: How could Clark get in on the revival of the action...