Follow @PartyinOC on Twitter for a chance to have your tweet show up here.
More drunks on the sand and rescues in HB for the world to see
June 27th, 2008, 8:01 pm · 17 Comments · posted by Laylan Connelly, staff writer
Viewers just couldn’t get enough of the dramatic rescues, drunks on the sand, wild and sometimes tragic footage shown of lifeguards at work in Huntington Beach.
The popular reality series “Ocean Force: Huntington Beach, OC” on truTV will be back for another year – possibly five more summers - with filming starting Monday.
Click here to view a video promo of the show.
“We were very pleased with the product last year,” said Marine Safety Chief Kyle Lindo. Although they were apprehensive about doing a “reality-type” show, footage from previous years in San Diego and Honolulu helped ease fears about how the show would turn out.
Huntington Beach’s version was a hit. According to the latest contract, the show had an average 1,716,000 primetime viewers – 30 percent higher than the average truTV primetime.
“We’re happy, apparently the public was happy. It was one of the best shows on cable (for viewership),” Lindo said. “I know everything they do on a daily experience is awe inspiring, and it turns out the public felt the same way.”
He said locals ribbed the lifeguards about being stars, and fan letters come in from around the country.
Only eight episodes were taped last year, but with the new contract, the show has the option to do 12. The Marine Safety Department also got a bump in what they’ll be paid – instead of $8,000 per episode like last year, they will get $12,500 this season, and an increase if they continue the show for the next five years.
Lindo said the department has augmented its radio system and building security with the funds, and also purchased training and fitness equipment.
Marine Safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein said the crew will be filming daily. The film crews basically ride along with lifeguards, filming whatever footage they can.
Beuerlein said the main benefit of the show is to demonstrate what lifeguards do daily.
“More than anything it has broken the stereotype of a lifeguard as a person who sits in the tower, gets a tan and looks at girls,” he said.
In fact, Huntington Beach often has more visitors and rescues than any other beach along OC’s coastline. On a hot, busy weekend, up to about 200,000 people can flock to the sand.
The half-hour segments covered everything from slurring drunks who argue with lifeguards, people urinating or getting hot and heavy in public, and also rescue efforts such as rip current rescues. It packs mini-stories into each episode from a surfer getting gashes on the face or sustaining neck injuries, to some tattoo-covered dude hanging out on the boardwalk with an 8-foot-long snake around his neck.
Both Beuerlein and Lindo said their favorite episode from last year was one called “Code X.” While a swimmer died during that episode, lifeguards have used it as an educational tool, which will be shown to lifeguards around the nation. The show highlighted the search and coordination efforts for a person who had drowned.
“It showed the extent to which lifeguards will search, and the scope of the search,” Beuerlein said.
Lindo said it’s difficult to recommend that episode, because there is a real tragedy behind it. But the show delivers a message: “Don’t overestimate your ability and don’t underestimate the oceans.”
More stories from the Beach Blog:
Shark attacks woman on kayak at Catalina, knocks her off in front of her kids
Tropical storm to bring big waves to Orange County
Get out: Kayaking Huntington Harbour
Surfers smack down on photogs in Malibu, brawl in Huntington
17 Comments
-
-
-
BEACHAPEDIA - your guide to the coast
Local surfers recognized- Surfline wire news
I live in Huntington Beach, and am at the beach often. Trust me, this is over dramatic. But fun to watch, anyway! They make it look like I live in a very dangerous environment. I laugh.
I wish Huntington would focus on resolving their problems and not making a spectacle of them. HB is too concerned with making it THE tourist attraction of OC and being “Surf City”.
I wish they would just go away and leave us alone. Go find a beach in Lost Angeles to ruin. It was bad enough we had Gilligans Island.
I’ll have to admit, HB does attract it’s share of wierdo’s and annoying drunk’s. It’s nothing new though. Been that way for as long as I can remember.
sad thing is there will be those that are glad they got on the show.
HB used to be a fairly quiet. cool lil surf town. It started having the major issues when they decided they wanted to attract all of these tourist dollars. I cried when they destroyed the downtown area into what it is today.
I couldn’t agree more with the prior comment. Downtown HB has turned into a drunken amusement park for visiting and local town idiots. The monolithic monstrosities they have built downtown complete ruin the image of this formerly idealic bedroom community. It is very sad and although I’ve been a “local” for over 20 years, it just doesn’t feel like home too much anymore and most definitely does not deserve the title of “surf city”. I’m very happy that good marine safety is being promoted on television through this show and totally support our local lifeguards, but very sad for the loss of our cool town, with all this popularity, it will never be the same.
A reality show in Orange County. How original!
Orange County residents are so in love with themselves.
Huntington Beach is so very similar to the beach town that I grew up in Santa Monica. At least they haven’t let high rises go in or rent control!! Be glad for what you have….it could be so much worse!!
Television as a form of entertianment is obsolete..What reasons do people watch this or any of the Networks lame excuses for programing?
They need to hire better looking female lifeguards..
….not another one….
I agree with the comment that TV is obsolete. It has ceased to be the window to the world it once was, but not everyone has realized that. More junk comes out of it than a backed up garbage disposal, but people still watch. Stop watching, stop buying sponsor’s products, and force them to get back to sanity and responsibility.
Just cancelled my cable tv.
Looks like my timing couldn’t have been better.
Every dollar the department gets from the show is one less the taxpayers of HB have to pay for lifeguard services, equipment, ugrades, maintenance, and other expenses.
I say good for them, and hope they have many seasons of “OFHBOC”!!
Kathi and Ninkles - I’ve lived in HB my entire life. I’m nearing 40 now, and let me tell you, when I was in high school, and up until downtown was redeveloped it wasn’t even close to what people call an “idealic bedroom community”. What planet are you from? You’ve been a “local for over 20 years???” Evidently you spent NO time downtown, or just did the drive through - right? I mean good god, there were heroin junkies in the buildings (standard liquor, el don, first street) you could buy drugs everywhere, if you weren’t completely caucasian looking you’d have to watch out for the skins, and we smoked herb right out in the open. Idyllic bedroom community, sheeit. Downtown was no fancy schmancy place like it is now, Perq’s smelled like urine (and yeah, I was in there drinkin when I was 17) there were riots on every good old American drinking holiday, and lets not forget the cops killing people and the skinheads killing people. HB had to change or it would have ended up a joke like Venice - dirty, scuzzy, and with a huge homeless population. Don’t like it? Bail. My city - SURF CITY doesn’t need ya. Hit it.
Oh, and I watch Ocean Force HB EVERY SINGLE TIME IT’S ON! wOOOt!