Rookie Summer

It’s the beginning of summer and Baywatch is looking for a few new rookie lifeguards and a new Captain to oversee all the beaches. Among the dozens of men and women competing to enter Rookie School are Mitch’s son Hobie (longtime series regular Jeremy Jackson); Lani McKensie, (Carmen Electra of MTV fame); April Giminski (Kelly Packard of California Dreams); Skylar Bergman, a local woman who wants to become a paramedic (newcomer Marliece Andrada); and Manny Gutierrez, Hobie’s friend from Junior Guards (Jose Solano, in his second year as a Baywatch regular). Emotions run high during the qualifying race as each candidate has their own reasons to want this job. Manny has been training for this moment all year, and he crosses the finish line first in the qualifying race. There’s a desperate run for the last spot on the roster, with the loser, a frat boy named Richie, (Mark Auerbach) starting a fight. April, a lake swimmer who’s not used to the surf, doesn’t make the cut, but her disappointment turns to happiness a while later when another rookie is injured and Mitch offers April the open spot, further angering young Richie.

Inspired by the youthful enthusiasm of the rookie candidates, Mitch recalls his own Rookie Summer, his long-time love of lifeguarding renewed. When he’s offered a promotion to Captain, he turns it down, deciding to stay on the beach.

Mitch is concerned by about Hobie’s seeming lack of commitment to Lifeguarding. He gave less than 100% in the qualifying swim, barely making the cut. Hobie reminds his father that it’s not easy being the son of a living legend, and Mitch agrees to cut him some slack. Meanwhile, Manny who wants to be a Baywatch Lifeguard more than anything in the world, fails the eye test due to a technicality and is disqualified from Rookie School. When Mitch offers to help him get a lesser job as a lifeguard at a local beach club, Manny angrily refuses, breaking a window in Mitch’s office before storming out.

Rookie candidate Lani McKensie came to Lifeguard tryouts after meeting Baywatch veteran Cody Madison (3rd year series regular David Chokachi) in Hawaii, where she was his dive guide. She hopes to make it as a professional dancer in LA. When she gets a shot at performing at a local club, Cody is in the audience. When Lani’s ex-boyfriend Darren (Hamilton Von Watts) starts harassing her, Cody gets in the middle. Lani tells Cody that Darren thinks she came to the mainland to follow him – he had seen them talking together on Cody’s trip to Hawaii and thought Cody was hitting on her. The next day, Darren interrupts Lani and Sheryl jogging on the beach and tells Lani he wants her to come back to Hawaii with him. She refuses and firmly tells him not only isn’t she going back to Hawaii, but she also has no intention of getting back together with him. Later on, Darren shows up on a surfboard while Lani and the other Rookies are training. Cody swims out and challenges Darren, and they get into a fight. Darren takes off, threatening to sue Cody.

Later, Lani is late for a meeting with Cody and he becomes concerned. With the help of headquarters, he tracks down the freighter that Darren came in on and rushes to the boat to look for Lani. Darren is holding her captive on board, planning to take her back to Hawaii. Cody and Darren struggle violently and Cody is starting to lose the battle when Lani, escaping through a porthole, grabs a fire extinguisher and shoots it off into Darren’s face, giving Cody the chance he needs to finish the fight. Darren is sent back to Hawaii to face a prior assault charge and a prison term.

Michael Berk
Executive Producer