20 Minute Workout

20 Minute Workout is a Canadian-produced aerobics-based television program that ran from 1983 to 1984, in which "a bevy of beautiful girls" demonstrated exercise[1] on a rotating platform.

For the DJ Kool album, see 20 Minute Workout (album).
20 Minute Workout
Written byDavid Van Fleet[1]
Directed byRon Harris[1]
Presented byBess Motta
Arlaine Wright
Opening theme1983 by Shiva[1]
1984 by Peter Jermyn and Gilles Ouellet
Ending theme1983 by Shiva
1984 by Peter Jermyn and Gilles Ouellet
Country of originCanada
United States
No. of seasons2
Production
Producer(s)
Running time30 minutes
Production company(s)Orion Entertainment Corporation
Nelvana
Chumcity
Release
Original networkCity (Canada)
Syndication (US)
Original releaseJune 1983[1] –
1985

Series background

20 Minute Workout was created by Ron Harris in 1983, produced by Tantra Entertainment in association with the Canadian animation company Nelvana, and broadcast locally on Citytv. In the United States, it was syndicated by Orion Television. Two seasons of the program were produced, although reruns continued to appear for many years afterwards. The first season featured a different instructor for each day of the week, Monday through Friday. Bess Motta, Arlaine Wright, Holly Butler, Nicole Nardini, and Anne Schumacher all had speaking roles. The second season featured only Bess and Arlaine as instructors. One selling point of the show was the young attractive women exercising in leotards. The exercise routines were demanding, high-impact aerobics, followed by a stretching section. Pulsating music from synthesizers played in the background. For the first season, music was performed by the group Shiva, while the second season featured music by the trio Jermyn/King/Ouillet.

There are numerous websites hosted by fans that detail about the dancers, and include so-called screen-captures from the show. The :20 Minute Workout is a spin-off from Aerobicise, a series of home videos that were first released in 1981, which had varying subtitles of "The Beginners Workout," "The Ultimate Workout," and "The Beautiful Workout." In 1982, a series of segments aired in the U.S. on Showtime as unscheduled filler in between features, and lasting no longer than five minutes. Both the videos and the filler featured a different cast, and unlike the show they later spawned, exercise instruction was either kept minimal, or not featured at all, and any that was present was given by an off-screen narrator. The narrator was Jami Allen, one of the show's producers.

"Aerobicise" is also the name of the original 1982 pilot episode of 20 Minute Workout.

Scenes from the show are visible on televisions in some scenes of 1984's Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Beat Street, and the 1994 Luc Besson film Leon: The Professional.

Cast

First season

Second season
  • Michelle Brimacombe
  • Ella Collins
  • Sharon Hasfal
  • Alison Hope
  • Nerise Houghton
  • Bess Motta
  • Anne Schumacher
  • Arlaine Wright
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References
  1. Terrace, Vincent (1986). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials: 1974-1984. Verlag für die Deutsche Wirtschaft AG. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-918432-61-2. Google Books. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
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