IT’s odd what comes to be deemed cultural phenomena. Odd because with that perfect science of hindsight, what was considered fashionable a decade ago suddenly appears embarrassingly contrived.

Looking at magazines of the 80s, say, gives a good idea of the chasm that grows between great at the time and downright mortifying in the present. One would have believed when flipping through the pages of a women’s rag that ladies of the world harboured ambitions of becoming the next big thing in American football, such was the expanse of the shoulder pads holding their necks in place.

For men, it was even more preposterous, as an entire generation of inquisitive lads were led to believe that black stars were a given in terms of a female’s anatomical development into womanhood as they sneaked a peek at Dad’s latest issue of Scope.

Which is precisely why, as much as we like to take the mickey, we owe The Hoff a huge debt of thanks.

He single-handedly unsheathed the horrific clothing that came to define atrocious bands like Spandau Ballet and led us to the aesthetic paradise of curvaceous sun babes running in slow motion and applying suntan lotion in artistic montages. It was televised escapism at its best.

But sadly, like all things where that was then and this is now, Baywatch, too, has lost its sheen in the past 10 years. M-Net Series is currently screening what were perhaps the golden years of CJ, Summer, Mitch, Cody and Stephanie , and the cringe factor is ever apparent. That said, looking past the day-glo zinc and rescue attempts that appear to unfold in an inch of water, you will find a nostalgia that makes you realise this show was a big part of entertainment history.