Riptide

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Riptide
1st season Title Card
Format	Detective fiction
Created by	Stephen J. Cannell Frank Lupo
Starring	Perry King Joe Penny Thom Bray Jack Ging June Chadwick Anne Francis (1984 only)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	56 (two 2-hour)
Production
Running time	48 minutes per episode
Production company(s)	Stephen J. Cannell Productions In Association with Columbia Pictures Television (Sony Pictures Television)
Broadcast
Original channel	NBC
Original run	1983-12-03 – 1986-08-22

Riptide is a TV detective series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1986. A mid-season replacement, it debuted as a 2-hour TV movie in late 1983.

Premise

The series featured Cody Allen (Perry King) and Nick Ryder (Joe Penny), two former Army buddies who decided to open the Pier 56 Detective Agency (later known as the Riptide Detective Agency) in Los Angeles. However, realizing that computers and technology play a major role in many investigations, the guys recruited the help of Murray "Boz" Bozinsky (Thom Bray), a brilliant but socially inept scientist and computer hacker whom the guys had met while serving in the military. Riptide was created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television. The main theme was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter.

The team operated out of Cody's boat, the Riptide, moored at Pier 56 at King Harbor Marina.^[1] The guys had several other tools in their fight against crime and injustice. These included Murray's robot, The Roboz, which, unlike most television robots, did not talk; 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 had a classic red Chevrolet Corvette and in early episodes; Cody had a "Woody" station wagon.

Lt. Quinlan was a local police officer who continually harassed Nick, Cody, and Murray. Lt. Parisi, the guys' police contact during the final episodes, proved much more cooperative. During the first few episodes, Mama Jo was the crusty skipper of the Barefoot Contessa, a tourist boat crewed by an all-female crew. Introduced later in the first season was Max, a comedienne at the local club. Second season episodes also featured Dooley, a dock boy who occasionally assisted the team in their escapades.

The show's penultimate episode, "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em", showed Allen and Ryder acting as consultants to a television series that closely resembled and parodied Moonlighting, Riptide's former prime time competition on Tuesday nights.^[3]

Cast

Episode list

First Season

1-01 – "Riptide" (1983-12-03) (2 hours)

1-02 – "Conflict of Interest" (1983-12-10)

1-03 – "Somebody's Killing the Great Geeks of America" (1983-12-17)

1-04 – "Hatchet Job" (1983-12-24)

1-05 – "The Mean Green Love Machine" (1983-12-31)

1-06 – "Diamonds Are For Never" (1984-01-07)

1-07 – "The Hardcase" (1984-01-14)

1-08 – "Four-Eyes" (1984-03-06)

1-09 – "#1 With a Bullet" (1984-03-20)

1-10 – "Long Distance Daddy" (1984-03-27)

1-11 – "Double Your Pleasure" (1984-04-03)

1-12 – "Raiders of the Lost Sub" (1984-05-15)

1-13 – "Something Fishy" (1984-05-22)

Second Season

2-01 – "Where the Girls Are" (1984-10-02)

2-02 – "The Orange Grove" (1984-10-16)

2-03 – "Catch of the Day" (1984-10-23)

2-04 – "Mirage" (1984-10-30)

2-05 – "Beat the Box" (1984-11-13)

2-06 – "Father's Day" (1984-11-20)

2-07 – "Be True To Your School" (1984-11-27)

2-08 – "It's a Vial Sort of Business" (1984-12-04)

2-09 – "Peter Pan is Alive and Well" (1984-12-11)

2-10 – "Catch a Fallen Star" (1984-12-18)

2-11 – "Gams People Play" (1985-01-08)

2-12 – "Prisoner of War" (1985-01-15)

2-13 – "Baxter and Boz" (1985-01-22)

2-14 – "Curse of the Mary Aberdeen" (1985-01-29)

2-15 – "Boz Busters" (1985-02-05)

2-16 – "Oil Bets Are Off" (1985-02-12)

2-17 – "Girls Night Out" (1985-02-19)

2-18 – "Polly Want an Explanation" (1985-03-05)

2-19 – "The Twisted Cross" (1985-03-12)

2-20 – "Fuzzy Vision" (1985-03-19)

2-21 – "Arrivederci, Baby" (1985-05-07)

2-22 – "Harmony and Grits" (1985-05-14)

Third Season

3-01 – "Wipe Out" (1985-10-01)

3-02 – "Thirty-Six Hours Till Dawn" (1985-10-22)

3-03 – "Does Not Compute" (1985-10-29)

3-04 – "The Bargain Department" (1985-11-05)

3-05 – "Who Really Watches the Sunset?" (1985-11-12)

3-06 – "Still Goin' Steady" (1985-11-19)

3-07 – "Robin and Marian" (1985-12-03)

3-08 – "Requiem for Icarus" (1985-12-10)

3-09 – "Home For Christmas" (1985-12-17)

3-10 – "Lady Killer" (1986-01-07)

3-11 – "A Matter of Policy" (1986-01-14)

3-12 – "The Wedding Bell Blues" (1986-01-21)

3-13 – "The Frankie Kahana Show" (1986-02-11)

3-14 – "Smiles We Left Behind" (2 hours, 1986-02-25)

3-15 – "The Pirate and the Princess" (1986-03-07)

3-16 – "Playing Hardball" (1986-03-14)

3-17 – "The Play's The Thing" (1986-03-21)

3-18 – "Dead Men Don't Floss" (1986-04-04)

3-19 – "Chapel of Glass" (1986-04-11)

3-20 – "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em" (1986-04-18)

3-21 – "Echoes" (1986-08-22)

DVD Releases

United States

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a three-disc DVD set of the complete first season of Riptide 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. On September 9, 2008 VEI was scheduled to release Riptide: The Complete Series, a 13-disc box set featuring all 58 episodes of the show. The release has now been delayed and the new release date is unknown.^[4]

Germany

Universum Films was scheduled to release all three seasons of Riptide for Germany on May 29, 2009 (Season 1)^[5] and July 31, 2009 (Season 2).^[6] The third season may follow at the end of 2009.

In Germany the show is known under the title Trio Mit Vier Fäusten (Trio With Four Fists). The DVD comes with 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

External links

• Riptide at the Internet Movie Database
• Riptide at TV.com
• HTK TV Site - Riptide