''Beach Clash'' is a

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

that aired in syndication from September 19, 1994, through September 17, 1995. The show was hosted by David Hirsch and

Alison Armitage Alison Armitage (born 26 February 1965) is a former swimmer, actress and Playboy Playmate. Early life Armitage was born in High Wycombe, England, but grew up in Hong Kong where she lived for 20 years. She is of mixed German, French, and Englis ...

. Teams of one male player, one female player, and two "hardbodies" competed in beach-themed events in an attempt to win the season's grand prize of $10,000 and a

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

an vacation.

Reception

The show was met with largely negative critical response, often being considered a poor copy of the then hugely popular game show '' American Gladiators''. ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'' television critic Ed Bark penned a negative review of the show, writing, "These competitions, ranging from Hill Climb to Beach Bout, are strictly Dullsville" and said "Hirsch's commentary is an ultimate case study in making something of absolutely nothing", while "Armitage's principal contribution is to giggle at his attempts to be a hardbody in mind, if not body". A.J. Jacobs of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' said, "This T&A fest would make Aaron Spelling blush". Ken Tucker of ''Entertainment Weekly'' stated, "After all, what are shows like ''American Gladiators'' and ''Beach Clash'' if not genially decadent versions of overbuffed Greek gods and goddesses bulging and sweating for the amusement of us rabble?" ''Bother's Bar'' called it "one of many ''American Gladiators'' knock-offs that were popular in US syndication in the early to mid-90s (to make, it sounds like nobody actually watched half of them), this one’s set on a Californian beach (and nails that aesthetic to be fair) and has a pretty great theme tune featuring a bit of Eurodance and a warbling woman (“Beach Claaaaash!”) you just don’t get nowadays. ..The games start off mildly ''Run-the-Gauntlet''y but aren’t all that great really (and in the case of the jetski races completely unfollowable), becoming a bit sub-'' It’s a Knockout'' but they are at least quite quick."

References

{{Reflist 1994 American television series debuts 1995 American television series endings First-run syndicated game shows 1990s American game shows