By Finlay BoyleMarch 1, 2015, 12:15 a.m.

It's the first day of autumn but the tail end of the summer swelter and the surf's warmer temperatures mean visits to the beach aren't over just yet. Through the decades we have come to know a variety of small small-screen beaches, whether they're grounded in reality or in fiction. These celebrated strips of sand can be a setting for fun, romance, violence, intrigue, war, mystery and discovery, keeping audiences hooked. Here's a trip down memory lane to TV's most famous beaches.

Hawaii Five-OWith an intro theme as famous as the show, this piece of crime-stopping drama used the stunning backdrop of sunny '70s Hawaiian beaches to contrast with a grim world of crime. Interestingly enough, the special police task force led by Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett (played by Jack Lord) to nab criminals and organised crime bosses was based on a real unit that existed in the '40s under martial law in Hawaii. Of course those criminals knew they were stuffed when they had their heads pressed down in the sand and heard the famous words, "Book 'em, Danno!"

LostWith a huge cult following and more theories than the assassination of JFK, Lost was something of a cultural phenomenon. J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof gave the show its initial appeal with an incredible pilot episode recreating a plane-crash scene on a tropical island and costing upwards of $10 million. The island setting was a hit with the audience as the castaways began making a new civilisation of sorts on the beach.

China BeachAgainst the backdrop of a raging Vietnam War, China Beach gave audiences an insight into the conflict from a different perspective. Set at the 510th Evacuation Hospital and R&R, with Bac My An Beach as the backdrop, the show looks at the lives of US Army doctors, nurses, military personnel and civilians. The beach including scenes from shirtless soldiers to helicopters flying overhead captured a place in the imagination.

Jersey Shore This notorious reality show became a talking point when it was released in the US owing to its cast of over-the-top characters and the party lifestyle they embodied. The beach in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, provided a platform for debauchery of the highest level. The show also introduced phrases into America's popular lexicon. GTL short for gym, tan, laundry was the mantra of these vain reality stars.

Gilligan's Island A classic for the ages, and an inspiration for many similar shows such as Lost, Gilligan's Island provided some fantastic running gags in a delightfully cheesy studio setting. The show focuses on the survivors of a shipwreck in the Pacific; Gilligan, the skipper, a millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the professor and Mary Ann. It was filmed almost entirely in the studio, but the beach used in the cave scenes was Newport Beach, in Orange County, California. One of the more delightful inconsistencies in the show was the ability to use bamboo to make everything from a pedal car to a stethoscope.

Baywatch Could this be TV's sexiest beach? When you throw the likes of David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson into board shorts and bikinis, international sex symbols and a rollickingly popular beach drama are created. The story of these Los Angeles County lifeguards looked to be cut short when the show was cancelled after the first season in 1989. But Hasselhoff and the producers knew they were on to something with the sexy, sandy drama and revived the show for syndication in 1991.

Fantasy Island A beautiful and isolated tropical island where guests come by plane to live out their fantasies. Does it get much better than that? From the stunning aerial shots of the Hawaiian island of Kauai in the opening credits, the scene is set for a trip into paradise, but also into the bizarre and exotic. The enigmatic overseer of the mysterious island, Mr Roarke (Ricardo Montalban), panders to the guests' fantasies while joined by his ever-enthusiastic sidekick, Tattoo (Herve Villechaize). Mr Roarke is infamously informed of the guests[' arrival as Tattoo rings the tower bell and shouts, "De plane! De plane!".

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Sand, sunshine, hedonism, crime: TV's beaches are rarely for relaxation