Second-generation Flipper makes a splash on KCAL with environmental slant By N.F. MENDOZA, TIMES STAFF WRITER Sunday October 8, 1995

You won't get to hear that catchy theme song from the original show ("they call him Flipper ... Flipper ..."). With its ocean-sweeping camera and swimsuited babes, male and female, the opening of the newly syndicated Flipper resembles "Baywatch" more than anything else. You will see bubbly Bud (played by Brian Wimmer) all grown up and working as a dolphin research scientist. And in the updated version, environmental concerns and technology are at the forefront as Bud--now known as Dr. Keith (Bud) Ricks--is "reluctantly" paired with a Navy scientist, Dr. Pam Blondel (Colleen Flynn, who co-starred with Wimmer on ABC's "China Beach" series and in the 1991 feature "Late for Dinner.") The duo research dolphins on a Florida Keys preserve. The first three shows are shot in Florida; in subsequent episodes Australia doubles for the Sunshine State. Pam has a teen son, Mike (Payton Haas), who on any given day is surlier than young Bud at his worst. Mike befriends local teen Maya (Jessica Alba), described as a "near mermaid." Mike and Maya take a fancy to a non-research, rogue dolphin whom Mike dubs Flipper--after Bud's favorite childhood pal. This Flipper leaps into contemporary adventures and has already impregnated the captive female dolphin (an angry Mike let her out in the pilot episode). "Making the concerns ecological was very intentional, as it was a topical and natural outgrowth of what they do," says executive producer Ernie Wallengren ("Life Goes On," "Baywatch," "Falcon Crest"), who adds he was a "huge" fan of the original. In the original series, which ran from 1964 to 1968 on NBC, Bud's widower dad was a chief ranger protecting both the fish and skin divers in Coral Keys Park, Fla. The original "Flipper," Wallengren, 42, recalls, "was silly and goofy and dumb, but we wanted the same fun and adventure that was in it, and present it new." The show plans to guest-star actors from the first series this season, he adds. "Flipper" employs the skills of several live dolphins, in addition to using animated and animatronic versions. "Flipper" airs Sundays at 6 p.m. and repeats Saturdays at noon on KCAL. For ages 6 and up. Copyright, The Times Mirror Company; Los Angeles Times, 1995. N.F. MENDOZA, SHOWS FOR YOUNGSTERS AND THEIR PARENTS TOO; Second-generation Flipper makes a splash on KCAL with environmental slant; Orange County Edition., Los Angeles Times, 10-08-1995, pp 10.

Flipper scenes, characters, and logos are a trademark of SGM Productions in association with Tribune Entertainment Last Modified: October 10, 1997