Riptide (TV series)

Infobox television
show_name = Riptide


caption =
format = Detective fiction
runtime = 48 minutes per episode
creator = Stephen J. Cannell
Frank Lupo
starring = Perry King
Joe Penny
Thom Bray
Jack Ging
June Chadwick
Anne Francis (1984 only)
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = 1983-12-03
last_aired = 1986-08-22
num_seasons = 3
num_episodes = 56 (two 2-hour)
imdb_id = 0086789

"Riptide" is a detective TV series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1986.

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. The main theme was composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter.

The team operated out of Cody's boat, the "Riptide", which was moored at Pier 56 in King Harbor, California. 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 "The Screaming Mimi" [http://www.rotaryaction.com/pages/riptide.html] helicopter, and Cody's speedboat, the "Ebb Tide". (Nick also had a classic red Chevrolet Corvette and 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. Mama Jo was the crusty skipper of the "Barefoot Contessa" (a tourist boat crewed by an all-female crew) during the first few episodes. A female captain named Max managed the "Contessa" crew during the latter part of the first season. Later 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", saw Allen and Ryder acting as consultants to a television series which closely resembled and parodied "Moonlighting", "Riptide"'s former prime time competition on Tuesday nights.

Episode list

First Season

: 1-01 – “Riptide” (2hrs) (1983-12-03): 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” (1984-12-24): 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)

econd 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

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released a 3-disc DVD of the complete first season of "Riptide" on February 14, 2006, available in the US only.

Visual Entertainment has released all 3 seasons of Riptide, available in Canada only. On September 9, 2008 VEI was scheduled to release "Riptide: The Complete Series", a 13-disc boxset featuring all 58 episodes of the show. The release has now been delayed and the new release date is unknown. [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Riptide-DVDs-Delayed/10547]

(Note: Although the Sony release includes all of the episodes from the season, a great many of the opening trailers for each episode are missing)

US Release

Canada Releases

External links

*imdb title|id=0086789|title=Riptide
*tv.com show|id=702|title=Riptide
* [http://www.htktv.com/riptide.htm HTK TV Site - Riptide]