''Riptide'' is an American

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

television series that ran on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from January 3, 1984 to April 22, 1986, starring

Perry King Perry Firestone King (born April 30, 1948) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television and in films. King received a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the television film ''The Hasty Heart'' (1983), which is a rema ...

Joe Penny Joseph Edward Penny Jr. (born 24 June 1956) is an English-born American actor best known for his roles as Nick Ryder on the detective series ''Riptide'' from 1984 to 1986, and as Jake Styles in the CBS television series ''Jake and the Fatman'' ...

, and

Thom Bray Thomas Edward Bray (born April 30, 1954) is an American actor and writer perhaps best known for his role as Murray "Boz" Bozinsky in the detective TV series ''Riptide''. He made his film debut in the slasher film '' The Prowler'' (1981) and l ...

. The series was created by

Frank Lupo Frank Lupo (January 22, 1955 – February 18, 2021) was an American television writer and television producer, producer who created or co-created many successful TV series from the 1970s to the 1990s. In collaboration with Stephen J. Cannell, Lu ...

and Stephen J. Cannell, and produced by Stephen J. Cannell Productions in association with

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

for NBC. The main theme was composed by

Mike Post Mike Post (born Leland Michael Postil, September 29, 1944) is an American composer, best known for his TV theme music for various shows, including ''Law & Order''; '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''; ''The A-Team''; ''NYPD Blue''; ''Renegad ...

and

Pete Carpenter Clarence E. "Pete" Carpenter (April 1, 1914 – October 18, 1987) was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and veteran of television theme music sheet music. After a long career playing the trombone in bands and as a studio musician, 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 USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

during the late 1980s. The series currently appears occasionally on the schedules of

getTV getTV is an American digital multicast television network owned by the Sony Pictures Television Networks subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television. Originally formatted as a movie-oriented service, the network has since transitioned into a genera ...

and

Decades A decade () is a period of ten years. Decades may describe any ten-year period, such as those of a person's life, or refer to specific groupings of calendar years. Usage Any period of ten years is a "decade". For example, the statement that "du ...

Premise

Cody Allen (

) and Nick Ryder (

) are two former Army buddies who decided to open the Pier 56 Detective Agency (later known as the Riptide Detective Agency) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. Realizing that

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

s and technology play a major role in many investigations, they recruit the help of Murray "Boz" Bozinsky (

), a brilliant but nerdy scientist and

computer hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

whom they met while serving in the Army. The team operate out of Cody's boat, the ''Riptide'', moored at Pier 56 at King Harbor Marina in Redondo Beach. 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 The Sikorsky H-34 "Choctaw" (company designation S-58) is an American piston-engined military helicopter originally designed by Sikorsky as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft for the United States Navy. It has seen extended use when ad ...

helicopter, ''The Screaming Mimi'', 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 The Chevrolet Corvette is a two-door, two-passenger luxury sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet since 1953. With eight design generations, noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette is noted for its performance and distinctive ...

and in early episodes Cody drives an orange " Woodie"

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

which is later replaced by a four-wheel drive custom

GMC Jimmy The Chevrolet Blazer is an automobile nameplate used by General Motors for its Chevrolet brand since 1969 for several SUV models: * Full-size Chevrolet K5 Blazer, based on the C/K pickup chassis and built from 1969 to 1995 (renamed Blazer in 1992 ...

. Lt. Quinlan (

Jack Ging Jack Lee Ging (November 30, 1931 – September 9, 2022) was an American actor. He was best known as General Harlan "Bull" Fulbright on NBC's television adventure series ''The A-Team'', and for his supporting role in the final season of ''Tales ...

) is a local police officer who continually harasses the trio. Lt. Parisi (

June Chadwick June Chadwick (born 30 November 1951, Warwickshire) is an English film and television actress. Her best-known television roles are as Lydia in the science fiction TV series '' V: The Series'', and as Lt. Joanna Parisi on the third season of the s ...

), the agency's police contact during the final episodes, is more cooperative. During the first few episodes, Mama Jo (

Anne Francis Anne Francis (also known as Anne Lloyd Francis; September 16, 1930 – January 2, 2011) was an American actress known for her ground-breaking roles in the science-fiction film ''Forbidden Planet'' (1956) and the television action-drama seri ...

) 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 Kenneth Andrew Olandt (born April 22, 1958) is an American actor, producer, executive producer and businessman. He was born in Richmond, California to Robert and Beverly Olandt. Ken Olandt is best known for his lead starring role as Detect ...

), 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 H. Richard Greene (sometimes credited as "Richard Greene") is an American film, television, and stage actor, acting coach, and guest professor at UCLA. Career Television Roles He has appeared in TV shows such as '' Matlock'', ''According t ...

), the bickering stars of a television detective show pilot that closely resembles and parodies ''

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job A side job, also informally called a side hustle or side gig, is an additional job that a person takes in addition to their primary job in order to supplement their income. Side jobs may be done out of nec ...

'', ''Riptide''s former

prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

competition on Tuesday nights. Although local mobsters were depicted in most episodes, some reflected sensitive topics, like corruption within 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 James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Aca ...

, has a strongly emotional tone.

Cast

as Cody Allen *

as Nick Ryder *

as Murray "Boz" Bozinsky

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (1984)

Season 2 (1984–85)

Season 3 (1985–86)

Home media

United States

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

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 Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...

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. 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.

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), July 31, 2009 (Season 2) and September 25, 2009 (Season 3).German release of Season 3
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 ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural television series that aired on the Fox network and in first run syndication from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focuses on a squad of youthful-loo ...

'' (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

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riptide (American TV series) 1980s American crime drama television series 1984 American television series debuts 1986 American television series endings American detective television series NBC original programming Television series by Stephen J. Cannell Productions Television series by Sony Pictures Television English-language television shows Television shows set in Los Angeles Television series created by Stephen J. Cannell Television series created by Frank Lupo