Kari Wuhrer, apparently, wants her MTV. She spent two years with the network on the funky game show Remote Control before pursuing more serious acting work. Emerging from Andrew Dice Clay's stalled star vehicle The Adventures of Ford Fairlane with her self-respect intact, Wuhrer moved on to weightier projects, from John Singleton's Higher Learning to Sean Penn's The Crossing Guard. Fresh from the success of this summer's hit Anaconda, she has returned to her MTV roots to host Sand Blast, a sort of Gen-X American Gladiators on the beach. She chatted with Jeanne Wolf recently in her spare time. -- John Walsh

You got your start on MTV's Remote Control. Do you see yourself as the precursor to Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra?

I do. I was in the first game show that MTV produced. And I embodied that spirit of, you know, sort of making fun of our sexuality. And the chemistry between me and Colin Quinn and Ken Ober was phenomenal. And the show was a great cult success. And I still get recognized from it every day. People loved it. I think MTV has opened their doors more for women, more for personalities, and she [McCarthy] was able to use her success on Singled Out as a launch pad. I mean, it was a great launching pad for own show. When I was on MTV it wasn't that -- it wasn't quite that simple, you know.

You joined Sliders (Fridays, 8 p.m./ET, Fox) to do a guest shot, and quickly joined the regular cast. Why was that guest shot so successful?

I love this genre. I think Sliders is a really great show because it takes The X-Files and it brings it down to a level that a younger audience can enjoy. It's not as intense. It's a little bit lighter. It's funny at times. It's got a little campier quality to it. And, you know, instead of coming home from a tough day and sitting down to something dark, you can turn to Sliders. So I thought it was a great show. When I first appeared, I got a chance to play a character that I've never played before -- this tough, military woman. I was excited that they thought I could pull that off. Because most people see me as this little giggly babe, right? So it was a real challenge, and when I pulled it off, they got very excited. I think my character added some conflict to the four Sliders, whereas before everybody was just in love with each other and it was really hard to have inner conflict. So now we have that built in. They have a little bit of the sexy chick and a little bit of the bitch. So it's great for them, and it's great for me. And so they decided to make me a regular, and I couldn't be more thrilled.