I was reminiscing about old TV shows with my stepbrother when I had a vague recollection of a variety show in the early 1980s that had good-looking Japanese women in a hot tub. I entered “variety shows 1980 hot tub” into Google and… whoa.

I was remembering the ill-fated TV show Pink Lady and Jeff, which was about introducing the Japanese “girl duo” Pink Lady to America in a variety show hosted by a rather inept stand-up comic played by Jeff Altman (who was, in real life, a rather inept stand-up comic). The show only ran for six episodes, and I must have been lucky to catch a few of them. I think I even looked forward to watching it, much to my mother’s chagrin, as the hot tub bit and Mie and Kei’s sexy outfits were not the ingredients for wholesome TV according to mom. Somehow, I managed to watch it anyway. I think I’m scarred for life.

Here is a fan’s website on Pink Lady, replete with stills from the TV shows so you can relive the magic. And, if that’s not enough, there’s a Pink Lady retrospective on Grand Royal’s website, with some videos of past performances.