| Riptide | |
|---|---|
1st season Title Card |
|
| 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) |
| 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 |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | January 3, 1984 – April 22, 1986 |
Riptide is a TV detective series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1986, starring Perry King, Joe Penny, and Thom Bray. 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. A mid-season replacement, it debuted as a 2-hour TV movie in early 1984.
Contents |
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. However, realizing that computers and technology play a major role in many investigations, the two recruit the help of Murray "Boz" Bozinsky (Thom Bray), a brilliant, but socially inept 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 a "Woodie" station wagon.
Lt. Quinlan is a local police officer who continually harasses the trio. Lt. Parisi, the agency's police contact during the final episodes, is more cooperative. During the first few episodes, Mama Jo is the crusty skipper of the Barefoot Contessa, a tourist boat crewed by an all-female crew. Introduced later in the first season is Max, a comedienne at a local club. Second season episodes also feature Dooley, 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 Allen and Ryder acting as consultants to a television series 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.
Some of the famous names from this show in their early careers include Geena Davis ("Something Fishy", S01E13) and George Clooney ("Where the Girls Are", S02E01).
| № | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1-01 | "Riptide" (2 hours) | 1983 December 3 |
| 1-02 | "Conflict of Interest" | 1983 December 10 |
| 1-03 | "Somebody's Killing the Great Geeks of America" | 1983 December 17 |
| 1-04 | "Hatchet Job" | 1983 December 24 |
| 1-05 | "The Mean Green Love Machine" | 1983 December 31 |
| 1-06 | "Diamonds Are for Never" | 1984 January 7 |
| 1-07 | "The Hardcase" | 1984 January 14 |
| 1-08 | "Four-Eyes" | 1984 March 6 |
| 1-09 | "#1 with a Bullet" | 1984 March 20 |
| 1-10 | "Long Distance Daddy" | 1984 March 27 |
| 1-11 | "Double Your Pleasure" | 1984 April 3 |
| 1-12 | "Raiders of the Lost Sub" | 1984 May 15 |
| 1-13 | "Something Fishy" | 1984 May 22 |
| № | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 2-01 | "Where the Girls Are" | 1984 October 2 |
| 2-02 | "The Orange Grove" | 1984 October 16 |
| 2-03 | "Catch of the Day" | 1984 October 23 |
| 2-04 | "Mirage" | 1984 October 30 |
| 2-05 | "Beat the Box" | 1984 November 13 |
| 2-06 | "Father's Day" | 1984 November 20 |
| 2-07 | "Be True to Your School" | 1984 November 27 |
| 2-08 | "It's a Vial Sort of Business" | 1984 December 4 |
| 2-09 | "Peter Pan Is Alive and Well" | 1984 December 11 |
| 2-10 | "Catch a Fallen Star" | 1984 December 18 |
| 2-11 | "Gams People Play" | 1985 January 8 |
| 2-12 | "Prisoner of War" | 1985 January 15 |
| 2-13 | "Baxter and Boz" | 1985 January 22 |
| 2-14 | "Curse of the Mary Aberdeen" | 1985 January 29 |
| 2-15 | "Boz Busters" | 1985 February 5 |
| 2-16 | "Oil Bets Are Off" | 1985 February 12 |
| 2-17 | "Girls Night Out" | 1985 February 19 |
| 2-18 | "Polly Want an Explanation" | 1985 March 5 |
| 2-19 | "The Twisted Cross" | 1985 March 12 |
| 2-20 | "Fuzzy Vision" | 1985 March 19 |
| 2-21 | "Arrivederci, Baby" | 1985 May 7 |
| 2-22 | "Harmony and Grits" | 1985 May 14 |
| № | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 3-01 | "Wipe Out" | 1985 October 1 |
| 3-02 | "Thirty-Six Hours Till Dawn" | 1985 October 22 |
| 3-03 | "Does Not Compute" | 1985 October 29 |
| 3-04 | "The Bargain Department" | 1985 November 5 |
| 3-05 | "Who Really Watches the Sunset?" | 1985 November 12 |
| 3-06 | "Still Goin' Steady" | 1985 November 19 |
| 3-07 | "Robin and Marian" | 1985 December 3 |
| 3-08 | "Requiem for Icarus" | 1985 December 10 |
| 3-09 | "Home for Christmas" | 1985 December 17 |
| 3-10 | "Lady Killer" | 1986 January 7 |
| 3-11 | "A Matter of Policy" | 1986 January 14 |
| 3-12 | "The Wedding Bell Blues" | 1986 January 21 |
| 3-13 | "The Frankie Kahana Show" | 1986 February 11 |
| 3-14 | "Smiles We Left Behind" (2 hours) | 1986 February 25 |
| 3-15 | "The Pirate and the Princess" | 1986 March 7 |
| 3-16 | "Playing Hardball" | 1986 March 14 |
| 3-17 | "The Play's the Thing" | 1986 March 21 |
| 3-18 | "Dead Men Don't Floss" | 1986 April 4 |
| 3-19 | "Chapel of Glass" | 1986 April 11 |
| 3-20 | "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em" | 1986 April 18 |
| 3-21 | "Echoes" | 1986 August 22 |
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.
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.
| 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 & Final Season | 22 | February 12, 2008 |
| Riptide: The Complete Series | 58 | October 14, 2008 |
In Germany the show is known under the title Trio Mit Vier Fäusten (Trio With Four Fists).
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.
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.
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