''Paradise Beach'' is an Australian

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series made by

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Ex ...

Pictures. It was made in association with America's

Genesis Entertainment New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

which later merged with

New World Television New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

for the Nine Network, and aired between 1993 and 1994. The series was created by Wayne Doyle and is set around characters living and working on

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

and was filmed largely on location, offering views of crashing waves, golden beaches and scantily clad young women and men. ''Paradise Beach'' was intended not only as a rival to Australian soaps '' Neighbours'' and '' Home and Away'', but also to be the first breakthrough Australian soap to air in the American market.

History

Production

Veteran Australian producer Jock Blair was the driving force behind ''Paradise Beach'', with Nick McMahon as Executive Producer, and the first episodes of the soap were aimed at the American audience. Australian actress

Tiffany Lamb Tiffany Lamb (born 22 September 1966) is an Australians, Australian model, actress, and TV presenter. She is best known for co-hosting ''Perfect Match (Australian game show), Perfect Match'', and starring in ''Flipper (1995 TV series), Flipper - T ...

used an American accent in her role as Lisa Whitman, and her opening storyline revolved around her childhood sweetheart Cooper Hart (played by

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

's then-husband

Matt Lattanzi Matthew Vincent Lattanzi (born February 1, 1959) is an American former actor and dancer. He is most commonly recognized as the first husband of singer and actress Dame Olivia Newton-John, and for his acting in films such as ''My Tutor'' and the s ...

). Also appearing from the start were Robert Coleby ('' Chopper Squad'', ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March 1983. The series is prima ...

'') as Tom Barsby, and another familiar face was

Andrew McKaige Andrew McKaige (born 1959) is an Australians, Australian actor, most prominent in television soap opera. As well as acting, McKaige is also a voice-artist and singer-songwriter, having played with the country rock band, The Fine Line. In 1994, ...

('' Sons and Daughters'', ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'') as Tom's younger brother Nick. The rest of the original cast consisted of unknown actors all in their first acting roles. These included

Ingo Rademacher Ingo Rademacher (born 22 April 1971) is a German-Australian television actor best known for his role of Jasper "Jax" Jacks on the American daytime soap opera ''General Hospital'', which he played almost continuously from 1996 to 2021. In 2012, ...

, now famous for his separate roles in American series ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( grc, οἱ Τῑτᾶνες, ''hoi Tītânes'', , ''ho Tītân'') were the pre-Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (Sky) and Gai ...

'' and '' General Hospital''. Here, he played Sean Hayden. His on-screen sister Tori, was played by Megan Connolly. The actress died on 6 September 2001 of a drug overdose, following short stints in '' Breakers'' and '' Home and Away''. Finally,

Raelee Hill Raelee Hill (born 24 October 1972) is an Australian actress best known for portraying roles in some of Australia's most successful television series. Her first major role was as Loretta Taylor in ''Paradise Beach'', which was followed shortly ...

was cast as scheming Loretta Taylor,

Jaason Simmons Jaason Simmons (born 12 July 1970) is an Australian actor best known for the role of Logan Fowler on the TV series ''Baywatch''. Biography Early life and career Born as Jaason Matthew Simmons in Hobart, Tasmania, he attended ''Warrane Primar ...

was cast as bronzed lifeguard Harry Tait,

Manu Bennett Jonathan Manu Bennett (born 10 October 1969) is a New Zealand actor. He is primarily known for portraying characters in epic fantasy works, such as Crixus in the TV series ''Spartacus'', Allanon in '' The Shannara Chronicles'', Slade Wilson / ...

(credited as Jon Bennett) was cast as Kirk Barsby, son of Tom and his sister Cassie was played by

Kimberley Joseph Kimberley Joseph (born August 30, 1973) is a Canadian Australian actress who is based in the United States. Joseph was born in Canada, brought up on the Gold Coast in Australia and educated in Switzerland. After returning to Australia, she beg ...

Retooling

When ''Paradise Beach'' was taken off the air in America, all traces of Americanism were removed and the producers concentrated on making the series work in its homeland and Europe. Matt Lattanzi departed, but not before Olivia Newton-John made a brief cameo, beaming down from the entrance of an aeroplane. Further additions to the cast included more experienced actors from other soaps including Melissa Bell from '' Neighbours'' as Emily Harris, and former-'' E Street'' regular

Melissa Tkautz Melissa Natalie Tkautz (born 24 January 1974) is an Australian actress, singer, model, and presenter. She played the role of Nikki Spencer on the popular Australian TV soap opera '' E Street'', from September 1990 to May 1993. During the early ...

arrived as Vanessa Campbell. However, after two seasons, Nine Network eventually cancelled ''Paradise Beach'' after just 260 episodes. After the series ended,

joined the cast of ''Baywatch'' the following year.

featured in a recurring role in the cult-TV hit '' Lost'' as air hostess Cindy Chandler.

Reception

The series was largely savaged by the critics. With negative comparisons to the American shows ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bo ...

'' and ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ...

'', the soap failed to make an impression in America in the Spring and Summer of 1993, as somewhat of a replacement for the similar style show '' Swans Crossing''. In the UK, the soap was launched in a blaze of publicity on Sky Television in late October 1993 in the 6.30pm time slot with a 12.30pm repeat the following afternoon. Sky moved the more popular, but recently axed Australian soap opera, '' E Street'' to a weekend slot, but when ''Paradise Beach'' flopped in Britain as well as Australia, Sky moved ''E Street'' back to weekdays and ''Paradise Beach'' was screened at 6pm and mid day, creating an 'Aussie Soap Hour' for a few months until August 1994.

Grampian Television Grampian Television was the original name of the Channel 3 service for the north of Scotland founded in 1961 and now named STV. The northern region's coverage area includes the Northern Isles, Western Isles, Highlands (except Fort William a ...

broadcast the full series, every Monday to Wednesday at 17.10 slot from September 1995 and until July 1997. Many other countries around the world did broadcast the series. The show has never been released on VHS or

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

or digitally.

Parody

''Paradise Beach'' was parodied extensively on the ABC's '' Late Show'', where it was mocked for its poor acting, formulaic plots and characterizations, characters dancing every time rock-and-roll music was played, and that it was effectively an infomercial for the various properties of

and Warner Bros. Movie World, which the skit characters would point out in a

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

break mentioning its shooting location.

Cast

*Emily Harris - Melissa Bell *Kirk Barsby -

*Paula Taylor -

Zoe Bertram Zoe Bertram is an Australian actress, whose first major role was in the teen-oriented television soap opera '' The Restless Years'' as Olivia Baxter from 1977 to 1981. Career Bertram has guested in numerous television series and appeared in ...

*Ken Hayden -

Michael Caton Michael Caton (born 21 July 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor, comedian and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series '' The Sullivans'', Darryl Kerrigan in 1997's low-budget h ...

*Tom Barsby - Robert Coleby *Tori Hayden - Megan Connolly *Anna Ritchie - Deborah Coulls *Joan Hayden - Paula Duncan *Karen Wolfe -

Rebekah Elmaloglou Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou (born 23 January 1974) is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on ''Home and Away'' and Terese Willis on ''Neighbours''. She also made guest appearances in '' E Street'', ''A Co ...

*Robyn Devereaux -

Isla Fisher Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress and author. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age six where she began appearing in television commercials. Fisher came to prominence for her portrayal ...

*Andrew - Shane Ammann *Brooke Bannister -

Gabrielle Fitzpatrick Gabrielle Fitzpatrick (born 1 February 1967) is an Australian film and television actress. She first appeared in the Italian film ''Via Montenapoleone'' directed by Carlo Vanzina, and has since starred in 11 films, her most recent involvement b ...

*William "Grommet" Ritchie - Anthony Hayes *Loretta Taylor -

*Roy McDermott - John Holding *Sam Dexter - Richard Huggett *Cassie Barsby -

*David Finn -

Tayler Kane Tayler Kane is an Australian actor who is best known for his roles in the British soap opera ''Families'' and the Australian television series ''Fire''. Career A one-time model, Kane made his television debut playing Andrew Stevens in the soap ...

*Nick Barsby -

*Chris Quinn -

Scott Michaelson Scott Michaelson is an Australian retired actor and talent manager who is most famous for playing Brad Willis in ''Neighbours''. He took over the role from Benjamin Grant Mitchell, who had been a guest character and later played Brad's cousin ...

*Craig Ritchie - Eric Oldfield *Patrick Worthing - Doug Penty *Sean Hayden -

*Harry Tait -

*Alex Harding - Emma Skinner *Vanessa Campbell -

*Pam So Oy
Theresa Wong
*Voice Over - Simon James

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0106095 Nine Network original programming Australian television soap operas 1993 Australian television series debuts 1994 Australian television series endings Television shows set in Gold Coast, Queensland English-language television shows