I don't think there's much to say about this episode which is good because I don't have the time, not that it's a bad episode, it's perfectly fine. There was a good cliff hanger in the previous one, it leads to the scenario that takes up 85% of part 2. Hobie, Gayle and Ken are stuck underwater in Ken's private jet, Hobie and Ken are fine but Gayle is bleeding, stuck under wreckage and usually unconscious.
There's not much to say because most of this episode is an action sequence where Mitch, C.J. and a few of the bit-part crew are doing an underwater rescue. The wrecked inside of the plane, with water leading into it, is a convincing set. Ken is freaking out and fairly selfish while Hobie keeps calm and helps out his mum. The only surprising part is that Ken isn't revealed to be a bad person and dumped by Gayle when they're in the hospital after the rescue. You see, Gayle doesn't know how Ken acted because she was barely conscious. Hobie and Mitch know he wimped out but respect to Mitch for not grassing on him, it's funny though because he almost does. Ken says to Mitch something like "I'm not a coward but I'm also not a good hero, I do love Gayle though", which I think was a good line. They make it clear that Ken isn't a bad person, though the actor could have dialled down his freak-out mode while in the plane. It was a bit much, so much so that it made him look too much like he was going to be a villain. Let's now say farewell to Ken, I doubt he'll ever be in the show again. Gayle will dump him off screen and we'll probably never hear why.
Gayle randomly says that she was wrong, that Hobie belongs with his dad at Baywatch. How many times has she said that now? That's the end of the 'A' story, the other two stories from part 1 are then wrapped up with barely any time left. Though to be fair they're clearly setups for a new status quo for a few characters, albeit a small one. Matt's dad takes away his motorbike so he's just like, screw you, I'm going to stay in Baywatch. I guess because Matt thinks his dad is too forceful.
We briefly see C.J. grimace at the fact that Matt will have to stay at her place longer, along with Stephanie, who seems fine with it. We never saw this happen in part 1 but it was mentioned that he'd now be homeless because his dad is cutting him off. Seeing C.J.'s reaction isn't important but Baywatch doesn't normally do any foreshadowing at all. This will probably lead to nothing more than comical high jinks where they don't get along under the same roof, knowing Baywatch, this will only be for half of one episode. If I wasn't more familiar with the show, I'd have guessed that it was to setup a season long story, but I would have been wrong. But who knows, maybe I'll be wrong, maybe it'll start off a romance between them.
The third and final story is the one about Jackie starting up a restaurant. She complains to Summer about how much it's costing to get it refurbished, then a load of life guards appear with hammers and nails to help her out. A montage entails which involves splashed paint and random "jokes" like oh look, C.J. is tired. This is portrait by her having her eyes closed and sometimes laying down. I know I'm pointing out a pointless thing here, it's like I notice these little things. Decades ago, a director or writer told Pamela Anderson to look tired in a montage. I'm not saying it wasn't needed, you need characterisation even in a little montage. By the way it felt a little having a montage so close to the end of an episode, it's because the plane crash story took up so much space.
Random Thoughts on Hobie
Like I said before, Hobie's actor is gradually getting better and this episode finally convinced me that he is actually Mitch's son. I still wish they hadn't replaced the actor, though. A while ago I accidentally had something spoiled for me - He is in the show for a long time, possibly all of the rest of its run. It was when I saw the actor had been changed, I saw his photo on the Baywatch fan site, I was confused because he looked totally different. But it turns out that he's on the show for so long, that he becomes an adult. It doesn't even look like the same dude when he's older. Clearly he works out and becomes like all the other life guards on the show. This episode ended with Mitch and Hobie chatting while walking on the beach, something that is becoming a common occurrence.
Guido Torzini and the passing of actors
He's not in these episodes so my resolve was weakened, I looked up if he's in the show anymore. I was right in an earlier post when I said I wouldn't be surprised if he was taken out of the show, it turns out it happened even sooner than I thought. In fact I think I wrote that just after seeing 'Stakeout at Surfrider Beach', it turns out that was his last episode. I don't like to see any characters leave, but it's Guido, so I'll get over it. The actor was actually in an earlier episode with Shauni and the rest of the original cast but I don't think he was playing as Guido, even though the character acted virtually the same. So I think this will be the true farewell to him showing up as anyone else in Baywatch.
I looked him up just now, he was played by a guy called Buzz Belmondo who is no longer with us, I'm not surprised since he looked pretty old in season 3. Guido wasn't a great character but it's sad to hear this about anyone. I will never even get close to achieving as much as he did in his life. Without even looking up what else he did, just being in Baywatch was a massive achievement. He worked beside some hugely famous people, beautiful people, talented people. If anyone is reading my stupid, crappy blog, I know Baywatch isn't a respected show, but the amount of work put into it is still far more than normal average people like me experience. We can all list off "better" TV shows but it still takes a lot of skill and effort from hundreds of people to even make a corny show like this.
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