Pamela Anderson's Character Was Introduced on Baywatch While Playing the Saxophone on the Riverside

So I was using the Internet today and I saw a clip of Pamela Anderson playing a saxophone. Turns out, this is how the world was introduced to her iconic C.J. Parker character on Baywatch -- standing on a rock on the riverside, playin' sax like she's standing on Baker Street. File this under things that are new to me. I needed to know more. And now I do and I'm going to share it with you.

It turns out Pam Anderson's made her Baywatch debut in the season three premier, a two-part episode centering around a group of lifeguards investigating the death of Mitch's (David Hasselhof) prospector uncle. If you need a moment to process that storyline, by all means. Feel free to distract yourself with the full opening scene.

The episode, which first aired in September 1992, was called "The Return of No River: Part 1." Here's the synopsis from IMDB:

"Mitch Buchannon, Hobie, Eddie and Shauni travel to northern California's rugged gold country, with C.J. as their guide, to investigate the death of Mitch's prospector uncle where they find an old treasure map leading to a valuable gold nugget along a rough river."

Of course there was a treasure map. Between this and the City Slickers franchise, prospectors had a moment in the early 90's. Here's part of the summary of part two:

"After narrowly escaping death at the hands of two local redneck dregs, Drew and Lonny, who are perusing them for the gold, Mitch, Eddie, Shauni, Hobie and C.J. try to track down the infamous "Gold Boot" buried along the river which leads to a dangerous underwater cave."

And the treasure was awarded to Baywatch's top goalscorer. And you probably didn't think there was a sports tie-in! Actually, there are many. The episode deals with rafting and kayaking, which, along with saxophoning, were just two of CJ's talents according to the Baywatch wiki:

"C.J.'s skills included, kayaking, rock climbing and rappelling, athletics, hang gliding, scuba diving, running, kick-boxing, various other outdoor skills and even playing the saxophone."

I'm sure she used many of these talents on a regular basis during her Baywatch run. I hope the Internet finds all of them. And if they have anything to do with sports, I'll pass them along to you, the reader.