V.I.P. (American TV series)

For the Canadian series, see V.I.P. (talk show).
V.I.P.
Genre
Created byJ. F. Lawton
Starring
Theme music composerFrankie Blue
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes88 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Pamela Anderson
  • J. F. Lawton
Running time45–48 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseSeptember 26, 1998 (1998-09-26) –
May 18, 2002 (2002-05-18)

V.I.P. is an American action/Comedy-drama television series starring Pamela Anderson. Created by J. F. Lawton,[1] the series aired in syndication for four seasons from 1998 to 2002.

Synopsis

Anderson stars as Vallery Irons, a woman who accidentally saves a celebrity and then is hired by a real bodyguard agency (V.I.P. aka Vallery Irons Protection) as a famous figurehead while the rest of the agency's professionals work to solve cases. Her lack of investigation skills ends up defeating the antagonists in every episode.[2]

The other team members are an assortment of people of different backgrounds: a former member of the KGB, CIA, FBI, a computer expert, a former law officer, a former street boxer/martial artist and, later, a karate master/stuntman joined.[3]

The series uses a mixture of action, comedy, and camp, with Anderson often poking fun at her tabloid image.[4] In November, 2001, a video game version of V.I.P. was released on the PlayStation console.

Many first season episodes opened with cameos of famous celebrities being protected by Vallery. Among them were Stone Cold Steve Austin, Jay Leno, Charles Barkley, Jerry Springer and Alfonso Ribeiro.[4] Loni Anderson, of no relation to Pamela Anderson, guest-starred in one episode as Vallery's mother. In season 2, Lisa Marie Varon had an uncredited appearance as a bodyguard. Kathleen Kinmont-See was a guest star in the season 4 episode "South By Southwest".

Cast

  • Pamela Anderson — Vallery Irons, the glamorous figurehead
  • Molly Culver — Natasha "Tasha" Dexter, Vallery Iron's lead associate, a former spy and model
  • Natalie Raitano — Nicole "Nikki" Franco, the team's weapons and explosives expert
  • Angelle Brooks — Maxine De La Cruz (Seasons 3–4, recurring seasons 1–2), Vallery's best friend
  • Shaun Baker — Quick Williams, a former boxer and martial artist
  • Dustin Nguyen — Johnny Loh (Seasons 3–4, recurring seasons 1–2), a karate master and stuntman
  • Leah Lail — Kay Simmons, the team's computer expert

Episodes

Main article: List of V.I.P. episodes

Merchandise

On March 14, 2006, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of V.I.P. on DVD in Region 1.[5]

V.I.P. received video game adaptations from Ubi Soft, for the PC, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance in 2001 and 2002. An adaptation for Xbox was announced but cancelled.[6]

In 2000, Johnny Lightning released two sets of V.I.P. themed diecast cars in 1/64 scale. There were 8 different vehicles issued in total.

TV Comics! published a comic based on the series in 2000.

The series V.I.P. was co-produced with Telewizja Polsat from Poland. This is the first foreign series co-created by Telewizja Polsat, which exclusively aired the show in Poland.[7]

Awards and nominations

In 1999, the series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music. In 2002, V.I.P. was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards, winning one for Outstanding Single Camera Editing.

Syndication

The show premiered in syndication on September 26, 1998.[citation needed] As of February 2009, the show can be streamed for free in the US on Internet Movie Database, Hulu, Tubi and Minisodes and full episodes are available on Crackle. In Canada, episodes are available on Netflix. Episodes in Spanish debuted on CineSony on February 14, 2014.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "V.I.P." The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-10-26.
  2. ^ ENDRST, JAMES (27 December 1999). "Lee Has Campy Sexcapade Genre Down Pat". Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via LA Times.(subscription required)
  3. ^ Terrace, Vincent (9 October 2002). Crime Fighting Heroes of Television: Over 10,000 Facts from 151 Shows, 1949-2001. McFarland. ISBN 9780786413959. Retrieved 14 August 2017 – via Google Books.(subscription required)
  4. ^ a b "A Show So Dumb, It's Smart". The New York Times. 8 October 2000. Retrieved 14 August 2017.(subscription required)
  5. ^ "V.I.P." TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2006-03-03.
  6. ^ I. G. N. Staff (2000-05-12). "V.I.P." IGN. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  7. ^ "Polsat i Tołstoj". Newsweek.