Baywatch (1989-2001)

[McCrutchy]

Baywatch Blu-ray

;

Baywatch: Season One Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Two Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Three Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Four Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Five Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Six Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Seven Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Eight Blu-ray

Baywatch: Season Nine Blu-ray

Baywatch: Hawaii Season One Blu-ray

Baywatch: Hawaii Season Two Blu-ray

Fernsehjuwelen will release the first two seasons of Baywatch (1989-2001) on 12 July 2019.

The third and fourth seasons will follow on 18 October 2019, followed by the fifth and sixth seasons on 28 February 2020, the seventh and eighth seasons on 22 May 2020, and finally the ninth season on 28 August 2020.

Finally, the two seasons of Baywatch: Hawaii will be released on 26 March 2021.

[chip75]

Hopefully these are 4:3 with the original music and not the audio / visual streaming disasters.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by chip75

Hopefully these are 4:3 with the original music and not the audio / visual streaming disasters.

Yeah, there are comments on a German forum that the German HD broadcasts are also 16:9 and have extensive music replacement, so I'm very concerned. Fernsehjuwelen did release the series on DVD in 2017, so perhaps those might provide clues.

I certainly would hope that a four-disc specification means the picture is 1.33:1.

[DawnShadow]

The show looks beautiful in 16x9 so that aspect wouldn't bother me. There's a lot more footage gained than there is lost.

Being Germany (where they released with original audio before) I would think that they would definitely be able to use the original audio, it's just whether someone wants to go to the huge effort to revert all the changes that Fremantle Media probably made to the masters themselves.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Yeah, there are comments on a German forum that the German HD broadcasts are also 16:9 and have extensive music replacement, so I'm very concerned. Fernsehjuwelen did release the series on DVD in 2017, so perhaps those might provide clues.

I certainly would hope that a four-disc specification means the picture is 1.33:1.

Baywatch HD: A Beautiful Mess - YouTube

[DawnShadow]

Thanks to samukas for these.





16x9 isn't always a bad thing.

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by chip75

Baywatch HD: A Beautiful Mess - YouTube

Thanks for this, chip. I usually don't watch homemade YouTube videos like this, but this one seems well done and genuinely informative. I don't watch the show on Prime and apparently it's good that I don't, for a variety of reasons.

I can only pray that Freemantle had the good sense to produce OAR HD masters for posterity, and certainly, that there are said versions with the music intact that can be used on the German Blu-rays. The issue with the Little Richard episode is particularly egregious, but hopefully, it's a sign that Freemantle have had to create the Prime versions after remastering.

Originally Posted by DawnShadow

Thanks to samukas for these.

[Show spoiler]

16x9 isn't always a bad thing.

I'm not sure what this means, as all those caps look much better in OAR and demonstrably worse in 16:9. I am sure there are some shots that have more skin (although overall, I would not be surprised if there is considerably less) and somehow look "better" in 1.78:1, but it's painfully obvious that the show was never shot for that, and it really should not be being presented in that ratio.

If you have not already, you should watch the video above to see how awful the 16:9 HD remaster can be.

[DawnShadow]

I disagree with your opinion, but I posted them more to demonstrate that it isn't just cropped as most people would assume and is actually opened up with a lot of gained footage.

The main problems noted in the video are the music/audio substitution and omitted scenes. The HD remaster actually looks quite amazing.

Here are some randomly picked screenshots from Seasons 1-9.
Season 1

[Show spoiler]

Season 2

[Show spoiler]

Season 3

[Show spoiler][img]
https://i.imgur.com/vpa3vlM.jpg[/img]

Season 4

[Show spoiler]

Season 5

[Show spoiler]

Season 6

[Show spoiler]

Season 7

[Show spoiler]

Season 8

[Show spoiler]

Season 9

[Show spoiler]

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by DawnShadow

I disagree with your opinion, but I posted them more to demonstrate that it isn't just cropped as most people would assume and is actually opened up with a lot of gained footage.

The main problems noted in the video are the music/audio substitution and omitted scenes. The HD remaster actually looks quite amazing.

Here are some randomly picked screenshots from Seasons 1-9.

[Show spoiler]Season 1

[Show spoiler]

Season 2

[Show spoiler]

Season 3

[Show spoiler][img]
https://i.imgur.com/vpa3vlM.jpg[/img]

Season 4

[Show spoiler]

Season 5

[Show spoiler]

Season 6

[Show spoiler]

Season 7

[Show spoiler]

Season 8

[Show spoiler]

Season 9

[Show spoiler]

We certainly agree that the HD scans look terrific. I just want to see all of the intended image, and I don't really need to see the dead space that you almost always see when 4:3 shows are reformatted to 16:9. In fact, the more 4:3 TV I watch in 16:9, the more distracting this "dead space syndrome" becomes, especially in motion. I dislike how characters are constantly drawn into or only moving in the center 4:3 portion of the opened-up shots, and then of course, will be cropped in other shots such as close-ups.

And when I consider that this kind of re-framing must have cost significant time and money, that is where I get most upset, because surely that time and money could have gone to remastering other films and TV series instead. We know it has happened with other shows, and I'm sure it cost Freemantle a lot to re-frame Baywatch, and in the end, some of your random screenshots look fine, but in many, characters are obviously off-center (the screenshot version of the dreaded "dead space syndrome") or cropped in a way that they simply wouldn't be in the OAR version. And the worst part is that while you can fudge a stretched "16:9" image from a pillarboxed 4:3 image, when a 4:3 show has been re-framed to 16:9, you cannot get the lost original image back again.

While I personally don't condone it, I do understand the screen-filling attitude and I will admit that in a perfect world, both aspect ratios should exist on all formats, including Blu-ray. But in the case of Blu-ray in 2019, that simply isn't practical when you have a TV series spread over dozens of discs already. Sadly, I have a feeling that these Blu-rays might end up being 1.78:1, but I hope I'm wrong, as I believe that if you must pick one presentation, you should always go for the original aspect ratio.

[Geoff D]

Not just 'dead space' syndrome but also 'this was shot academy 35 so the only way we can massively expand the image is by opening up the left side of screen' syndrome. Sure, it's only Baywatch and not high cinematic art but even they could still line up their subjects properly in the middle of the screen, now it doesn't even look like they could get that right thanks to the 16:9 embiggening.

[Markgway]

Three different themes for the pilot.

(I like Kim's one best of the three)

Kim Carnes

Baywatch Intro - Pilot - YouTube

Peter Cetera

BAYWATCH - Panic At Malibu Pier (The Pilot) - YouTube

???
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4iltvb

[McCrutchy]

Originally Posted by Markgway

Three different themes for the pilot.

(I like Kim's one best of the three)

Kim Carnes
Baywatch Intro - Pilot - YouTube

Peter Cetera
BAYWATCH - Panic At Malibu Pier (The Pilot) - YouTube

???
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4iltvb

The last one is a genuinely awful fit for the show.

[The Mole]

The HD versions are also heavily cut. The first episodes of Season 1 alone are missing several minutes.

[chip75]

I'm always curious when people say things look fantastic in 16:9 if it's just the uptick in detail from SD. Things like The X-Files were presented at a detriment to the original framing for the screen-filler's-pleasure when I honestly believe if we'd only seen 4:3 versions we'd have been completely blown away by them.

I think Baywatch would be the same. If you can open up the sides without any issues*, then I can live with it (and I wish they'd add the option to matte the dead space for us lot), but when you're losing so much height and compromising the composition, leave it 4:3.

*I think when they do have to zoom-in to avoid off-frame issues, they could give the 4:3 versions through seamless branching as those shots only amount to a few moments during an episode at best. So at start-up we could select 16:9 or 4:3 OAR (with matting).

[Geoff D]

I suppose having the soundtrack area expansion on the left is a less invasive way of embiggening the image, if they simply MUST do it, as it maintains a decent amount of the original image height compared to what they did for S1 and 2 of X-Files which was shot Super 35 4:3 and has (IMO) much more deleterious cropping issues - apart from the pilot and the first few eps of S1 which were shot on Academy 35 (like the watching of the bay) and so there's a load of extra space on the left.

Having everything off-centre would bug the shit out of me, but not as much as the kind of closer reframing done on X-Files' first two seasons.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by chip75

Baywatch HD: A Beautiful Mess - YouTube

Glad I stumbled upon this thread! Despite being a fan of the Movie Nights YouTube channel, I never checked out the "Baywatching" videos due to not knowing much about the show beyond how incredible Pam Anderson looked in a bathing soon. I always assumed it was just hot girls and ripped guys running on the beach in slow motion with thin plots holding it all together. After spending the entire afternoon watching some of the "Baywatching" recaps, it seems like I was absolutely right! However, the show also looks like a lot of dumb fun!

After a long day of work, I sometimes like to unwind by watching an episode or two of a TV show that doesn't really require a lot of intellectual or emotional investment. Based on what I have seen thus far, it looks like Baywatch just might fit my criteria! Since it seems like the new HD scans are controversial, it looks like importing the German DVDs may be the best bet (The "Pamela Anderson Years" box set can be imported for $50). My only concern is that the show as-is may end up being incredibly lame without the "Baywatching" commentary.

Should I dive into Baywatch?

[chip75]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Should I dive into Baywatch?

I'd wait and see what the DE Blu-ray set turns out like, if they don't make a mess of it (for whatever reason), then I'd pick up the first season.

It's probably something you might not binge watch, but a couple of hours of eye-candy every now and then will be pleasant enough, especially if you like that era.

[McCrutchy]

The cover art has now been revealed. I think the fact that they're referring to the show as "Remastered" as part of the title on the packaging pretty much spells doom for the OAR.

[McCrutchy]

The third and fourth seasons will follow on 18 October 2019, followed by the fifth and sixth seasons on 28 February 2020, the seventh and eighth seasons on 22 May 2020, and finally the ninth season on 28 August 2020.

[chip75]

If it's complete and botched to 16:9 it might be bearable, but if it's just cut to pieces then it's a hard pass.