Riptide (American TV series)
Riptide is an American detective television series that ran on NBC from January 3, 1984 to August 22, 1986, starring Perry King, Joe Penny, and Thom Bray.
| Riptide | |
|---|---|
 Title Card for the first season | |
| Genre | Detective fiction |
| Created by | Stephen J. Cannell Frank Lupo |
| Starring | Perry King Joe Penny Thom Bray Jack Ging June Chadwick Anne Francis (1984 only) |
| Composers | Pete Carpenter Mike Post |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 56 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Stephen J. Cannell Frank Lupo Babs Greyhosky (Seasons 2 and 3) |
| Producers | Babs Greyhosky (Season 1) J. Rickley Dumm Tom Blomquist (Season 3) |
| Production locations | Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California Redondo Beach, California Santa Clarita, California |
| Running time | 48 minutes per episode |
| Production companies | Stephen J. Cannell Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Mono Stereo |
| Original release | January 3, 1984 – August 22, 1986 |
The series was created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for NBC. The main theme was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter. A mid-season replacement, it debuted as a two-hour TV movie in early 1984. After its cancellation, reruns were aired on the USA Network during the late 1980s.
Premise
Cody Allen (Perry King) and Nick Ryder (Joe Penny) are two former Army buddies who decided to open the Pier 56 Detective Agency (later known as the Riptide Detective Agency) in Los Angeles, California. Realizing that computers and technology play a major role in many investigations, they recruit the help of Murray "Boz" Bozinsky (Thom Bray), a brilliant but nerdy scientist and computer hacker whom they met while serving in the military.
The team operate out of Cody's boat, the Riptide, moored at Pier 56 at King Harbor Marina.[1] The men have several other tools in their fight against crime and injustice. These included Murray's robot, The Roboz (which, unlike most television robots, does not speak); Nick's aging Sikorsky S-58T helicopter, The Screaming Mimi,[2] which Nick occasionally used for his sideline business, aerial harbor tours; and Cody's speedboat, the Ebb Tide. Nick also owns a classic red Chevrolet Corvette and in early episodes Cody drives an orange "Woodie" station wagon which is later replaced by a four-wheel custom GMC Jimmy.
Lt. Quinlan (Jack Ging) is a local police officer who continually harasses the trio. Lt. Parisi (June Chadwick), the agency's police contact during the final episodes, is more cooperative. During the first few episodes, Mama Jo (Anne Francis) is the crusty skipper of the Barefoot Contessa, a tourist boat with an all-female crew. Introduced later in the first season is Max, a comedian at a local club. Second season episodes also feature Dooley (Ken Olandt), a dock boy who occasionally assists the team in their escapades.
The show's penultimate episode, "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em", shows Cody and Nick acting as consultants to "Rosalind Grant" (Annette McCarthy) and "Cary Russell" (H. Richard Greene), the bickering stars of a television detective show pilot that closely resembles and parodies Moonlighting, Riptide's former prime time competition on Tuesday nights.[3] Although local mobsters were depicted in most episodes, some reflected sensitive topics, like corruption among the U.S. Army, high-level cover-ups, and black ops by corporate America. The third season's "Home for Christmas", with a performance by James Whitmore, has a strongly emotional tone.
Cast
- Perry King — Cody Allen
- Joe Penny — Nick Ryder
- Thom Bray — Murray "Boz" Bozinsky
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 14 | January 3, 1984 | May 22, 1984 | ||
| 2 | 22 | October 2, 1984 | May 14, 1985 | ||
| 3 | 22 | October 1, 1985 | April 22, 1986 | ||
Season 1 (1984)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 2 | 1 2 | "Riptide" | Christian I. Nyby II | Stephen J. Cannell & Frank Lupo | January 3, 1984 | |
| 3 | 3 | "Conflict of Interest" | Ron Satlof | Stephen J. Cannell | January 10, 1984 | |
| 4 | 4 | "Somebody's Killing the Great Geeks of America" | Bruce Kessler | Babs Greyhosky | January 17, 1984 | |
| When an attempt is made on the life of Murray's friend Natalie Kramer (Cindy Pickett) from the high IQ society, the agency investigates, uncovering a larger plot to assassinate U.S. Senator Billings. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Hatchet Job" | Ron Satlof | Mark Jones | January 31, 1984 | |
| Murray tries to get more involved in the physical elements of the investigations, and while employed by the Pier 56 merchant's association to locate a burglar plaguing the docks, the agency is also hired by an escaped mental patient (Maylo McCaslin) to solve her boyfriend Jack's murder. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Mean Green Love Machine" | Guy Magar | Stephen J. Cannell | February 7, 1984 | |
| The guys are hired by their old friend and dock neighbor Brandy to help her find her father Lane and his wife Dee-Dee Preston (Mary-Margaret Humes), who've gone missing in Cabo San Lucas. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Diamonds Are for Never" | Gloryette Clark | Babs Greyhosky | February 21, 1984 | |
| After witnessing the murder of her friend Arthur Truman, Connie (Kathryn Witt), a flight attendant, encounters Murray in a movie theater and the agency helps her seek out Arthur's archaeologist brother Walter (John Anderson) in Peru, uncovering a diamond smuggling operation in the process. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "The Hardcase" | Victor Hsu | Mark Jones | February 28, 1984 | |
| When the agency investigates a suspicious boat that appears in a slip at King Harbor, they find that it's connected to the murder of a doctor, which the police suspect Sherry Meyers (Kelly Preston) of committing. Marsha Warfield appears as a comedian working at Straightaways restaurant, and Paul Gleason as the detective. | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "Four-Eyes" | Bruce Kessler | Babs Greyhosky | March 6, 1984 | |
| 10 | 10 | "#1 with a Bullet" | Arthur Laven | Stephen J. Cannell | March 20, 1984 | |
| 11 | 11 | "Long Distance Daddy" | Bruce Kessler | Babs Greyhosky | March 27, 1984 | |
| 12 | 12 | "Double Your Pleasure" | Michael O'Herlihy | Tom Blomquist | April 3, 1984 | |
| 13 | 13 | "Raiders of the Lost Sub" | Dennis Donnelly | Mark Jones | May 15, 1984 | |
| 14 | 14 | "Something Fishy" | Michael O'Herlihy | Frank Lupo | May 22, 1984 | |
Season 2 (1984–85)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1 | "Where the Girls Are" | Ron Satlof | Babs Greyhosky | October 2, 1984 |
| 16 | 2 | "The Orange Grove" | Michael Lange | Stephen J. Cannell | October 16, 1984 |
| 17 | 3 | "Catch of the Day" | Michael Lange | Story by : Ed Decter Teleplay by : Frank Lupo | October 23, 1984 |
| 18 | 4 | "Mirage" | Bruce Kessler | Tom Blomquist | October 30, 1984 |
| 19 | 5 | "Beat the Box" | Arnold Laven | Stephen J. Cannell | November 13, 1984 |
| 20 | 6 | "Father's Day" | Tony Mordente | Tom Blomquist | November 20, 1984 |
| 21 | 7 | "Be True to Your School" | Michael Lange | Stephen J. Cannell | November 27, 1984 |
| 22 | 8 | "It's a Vial Sort of Business" | Bruce Seth Green | Babs Greyhosky | December 4, 1984 |
| 23 | 9 | "Peter Pan Is Alive and Well" | Tony Mordente | Babs Greyhosky | December 11, 1984 |
| 24 | 10 | "Catch a Fallen Star" | Mike Vejar | Tom Blomquist | December 18, 1984 |
| 25 | 11 | "Gams People Play" | Ron Satlof | Tom Blomquist | January 8, 1985 |
| 26 | 12 | "Prisoner of War" | Michael O'Herlihy | Babs Greyhosky | January 15, 1985 |
| 27 | 13 | "Baxter and Boz" | Michael Lange | Bill Nuss | January 22, 1985 |
| 28 | 14 | "Curse of the Mary Aberdeen" | Ron Satlof | Steven L. Sears & Burt Pearl | January 29, 1985 |
| 29 | 15 | "Boz Busters" | Bob Bralver | Babs Greyhosky & Tom Blomquist | February 5, 1985 |
| 30 | 16 | "Oil Bets Are Off" | Michael Lange | Paul Bernbaum | February 12, 1985 |
| 31 | 17 | "Girls Night Out" | Bob Bralver | Steve Beers & Alan Cassidy | February 19, 1985 |
| 32 | 18 | "Polly Want an Explanation" | Michael Switzer | Jim Carlson & Terrence McDonnell | March 5, 1985 |
| 33 | 19 | "The Twisted Cross" | Robert Sallin | Story by : James Andronica Teleplay by : Tom Blomquist | March 12, 1985 |
| 34 | 20 | "Fuzzy Vision" | Bruce Kessler | Paul Bernbaum | March 19, 1985 |
| 35 | 21 | "Arrivederci, Baby" | Michael Lange | Babs Greyhosky | May 7, 1985 |
| 36 | 22 | "Harmony and Grits" | Bob Bralver | Tom Blomquist & Babs Greyhosky | May 14, 1985 |
Season 3 (1985–86)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 1 | "Wipe Out" | Bob Bralver | Tom Blomquist | October 1, 1985 |
| 38 | 2 | "Thirty-Six Hours Till Dawn" | TBA | TBA | October 22, 1985 |
| 39 | 3 | "Does Not Compute" | Michael Lange | Tom Blomquist | October 29, 1985 |
| 40 | 4 | "The Bargain Department" | TBA | TBA | November 5, 1985 |
| 41 | 5 | "Who Really Watches the Sunset?" | TBA | TBA | November 12, 1985 |
| 42 | 6 | "Still Goin' Steady" | TBA | TBA | November 19, 1985 |
| 43 | 7 | "Robin and Marian" | Robert Sallin | Paul Bernbaum | December 3, 1985 |
| 44 | 8 | "Requiem for Icarus" | TBA | TBA | December 10, 1985 |
| 45 | 9 | "Home for Christmas" | TBA | TBA | December 17, 1985 |
| 46 | 10 | "Lady Killer" | Michael Lange | Tom Blomquist & Babs Greyhosky | January 7, 1986 |
| 47 | 11 | "A Matter of Policy" | Michael Preece | Steven L. Sears & Burt Pearl | January 14, 1986 |
| 48 | 12 | "The Wedding Bell Blues" | Michael Switzer | Tom Blomquist & Babs Greyhosky | January 21, 1986 |
| 49 | 13 | "The Frankie Kahana Show" | Bruce Kessler | Frank Lupo | February 11, 1986 |
| 50 51 | 14 15 | "Smiles We Left Behind" | Tony Mordente | Babs Greyhosky | February 25, 1986 |
| 52 | 16 | "The Pirate and the Princess" | Kim Manners | Terry D. Nelson | March 7, 1986 |
| 53 | 17 | "Playing Hardball" | Bob Bralver | Paul Bernbaum | March 14, 1986 |
| 54 | 18 | "The Play's the Thing" | Richard Forrest | Tom Blomquist | March 21, 1986 |
| 55 | 19 | "Dead Men Don't Floss" | Chuck Bowman | Story by : Steven L. Sears & Burt Pearl Teleplay by : Tom Blomquist & Babs Greyhosky & Frank Lupo | April 4, 1986 |
| 56 | 20 | "Chapel of Glass" | Bob Bralver | Steven L. Sears & Burt Pearl | April 11, 1986 |
| 57 | 21 | "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em" | Tony Mordente | Tom Blomquist & Babs Greyhosky | April 18, 1986 |
| 58 | 22 | "Echoes" | TBA | TBA | April 22, 1986 |
Home media
United States
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a three-disc DVD set of Riptide: The Complete First Season on February 14, 2006, available in the United States only. Although the Sony release includes all of the episodes from the season, many of the opening teasers are missing.
Canada
Visual Entertainment has released all three seasons of Riptide, available in Canada only. Unlike the U.S. release, all of the opening teasers are intact. However, several episodes have music replaced and sequences edited out due to copyright issues. On October 14, 2008, VEI released Riptide: The Complete Series, a 13-disc box set featuring all 58 episodes of the show.[4] The release was initially scheduled to be released on September 9, 2008, but was delayed for unknown reasons. As of 2013, these releases have been discontinued and are out of print.
| DVD name | Ep. # | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| Riptide: The Complete First Season | 14 | November 7, 2006 |
| Riptide: The Complete Second Season | 22 | October 30, 2007 |
| Riptide: The Complete Third and Final Season | 22 | February 12, 2008 |
| Riptide: The Complete Series | 58 | October 14, 2008 |
Germany
In Germany the show is known under the title Trio mit vier Fäusten (Trio with Four Fists).
Universum Films has released all three seasons of Riptide for Germany on May 29, 2009 (Season 1),[5] July 31, 2009 (Season 2)[6] and September 25, 2009 (Season 3).[7]
The DVD sets feature 4:3 Pal, DD 2.0 mono German and English, no teasers, but with a bonus episode of 21 Jump Street (Season 1). The Season 2 boxes will contain an episode not broadcast in Germany, "The Twisted Cross", in English with German subtitles. The German box sets have the original music of the U.S. series, unlike the Canadian box sets 2 and 3.
References
- King Harbor is located in Redondo Beach, California
- Pigasus Press (2005). "Riptide - helicopter TV show review for Rotary Action". rotaryaction.com. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- "Spoofing Around on Riptide", Los Angeles Times, April 16, 1986.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-09-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- German release of Season 1
- German release of Season 2
- German release of Season 3 Archived 2015-12-29 at the Wayback Machine