SEARCH TIME:
ADVANCED SEARCH
  Monday, February 19, 2001 Top Searches   Covers  Tax Cut  Mideast  Survivor



















































NOVEMBER 8, 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 19 SPECIAL ISSUE VISIONS 21
THE ARTS/TELEVISION
Babe Tube
Look what Xena has wrought. Series with buxom female action stars are hot--and they're even hotter abroad


Printable Version

1 | 2 | 3 | 4
TOP GUN: Pamela Anderson Lee flaunts her stuff on her hit show, V.I.P.
The problem is the rescues. If Baywatch would just stick to the slow-motion running and random bikini contests and bring the thonged extras into the foreground, guys wouldn't need other television shows. Yet Baywatch insists, week after week, on these tedious lifesaving rescue missions. Let the fools drown, people. Prioritize.

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 can't seem to get enough of buxom women in bikinis who enjoy a little kickboxing on the side. Following the lucrative example set by Baywatch, which airs in 144 countries, these action shows have gone global, and many of the new arrivals are joint productions of American and overseas companies. "The international market is what makes these shows work," says Jeff Dellin, vice president of research and program strategy for Studios USA, which produces and distributes Xena. "Domestic is the gravy." V.I.P., for instance, is already translated into 10 languages, all of which, somehow, are able to provide an approximation of "omigod."

MORE>>

Get the Magazine - Try 4 Issues Free


Milestones
Time's roundup of defining moments in the lives of the world's newsmakers
GO TO PAGE >>

Crossword
Our weekly news puzzle
GO TO PAGE >>



TIME partners     



Copyright © 2001 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

FAQ | Site Map | Search | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Press Releases


THE ARTS
BOOKS : A fine first novel, 'Waiting,' revels in one man's comically thwarted quest for personal happiness

MUSIC : As he recovers from chronic fatigue syndrome, Keith Jarrett produces a CD of simple grace

MUSIC : From Fiona Apple, an album of fractured beauty

MUSIC : Charlie Haden's latest is eclectic and elegant

Q+A : Jonathan Winters

TELEVISION : Will Greed, Fox's new prime-time quiz show, be a winner during the November ratings sweeps?

TELEVISION : The suffragists and New York City as docu-dozes

THEATER : James Joyce with songs? If only it were wackier


They're Crying Over Dale Earnhardt Now...
How the death of its biggest star could take NASCAR to the next level

The Mideast: What the Players Are Thinking Now
A field report from TIME's correspondents

The Bard and Bubba
Clinton is too resilient to be a real tragic character, says TIME.com's Lance Morrow



Subscribe
TIME
TIME for Kids
ON magazine
International Editions

Gift Subscriptions

Subscriber Services
Renew
Change Address
Pay your bill
And more...