Pacific Blue (TV series)

The first cast change came at the end of the first season when David Lander, who played the Pacific Blue unit's bike repairman, was written out, though he would later return for several guest appearances in the second season. The series then underwent cast changes between the third and fourth seasons, one which dramatically altered its tone. The events of the third-season finale brought the departure of actors Marcos Ferraez and Rick Rossovich, with their characters retiring from the force prior to the fourth season premiere. Ferraez would later return for a one-off guest appearance during the fourth season to wrap up his character's storyline. The fourth season premiere brought four major cast additions: Shanna Moakler as Monica Harper, Amy Hunter as Jamie Strickland, Jeff Stearns as Russ Granger, and Mario Lopez as Bobby Cruz. These new recruits to the Pacific Blue unit skewed the show's cast in a younger direction.

Jim Davidson and Paula Trickey, who had previously played the role of the show's young blood, evolved into the "old guard" as their characters took on leadership roles within the Pacific Blue unit. In addition, the characters of Jim Davidson and Darlene Vogel, who had become romantically linked in the third season, were married in the fourth season opener. Vogel later left the series on a regular basis at the end of the season, but returned for recurring appearances for the final season, including the series finale. Storylines for the fourth and fifth seasons emphasized undercover and vice work; while these areas would normally fall out of the purview of a police unit like Pacific Blue, the show always made an effort to explain away each incident as an exception, episode by episode. The changes can be credited with extending the life of the series for two additional seasons and made it the highest rated drama series on USA Network at the time. The series had well over 2 million regular viewers at a time when cable series were not permitted to advertise on other cable networks much less the Big Four broadcast networks.

The series featured numerous appearances by professional wrestling stars playing other characters, including Rena Mero (Sable), Chyna, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. (WWF Raw is War aired on the same network) Professional Intense Cycles Downhill Racer April Lawyer performed bike stunts in a number of episodes. trial rider Hans Rey performed tricks in each episode. Carmen Electra made a special guest appearance in her role from Baywatch. Other notable guest stars included Micky Dolenz, Shannon Tweed, Shannon Elizabeth, Danny Bonaduce, Adam West, Erik Estrada, Holly Robinson Peete, Kent McCord and Stephen J. Cannell.