Riptide (1984–1986)

Three vietnam veterans (Nick Ryder, Cody Allen and Murray Bozinsky) now work as private eyes in sunny southern California. Nick and Cody are the muscles and Murray is a computer wizard of ... See full summary »

Creators:

Stephen J. Cannell, Frank Lupo

Stars:

Perry King, Joe Penny, Thom Bray

2 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Perry King	...	Cody Allen (56 episodes, 1984-1986)
Joe Penny	...	Nick Ryder (56 episodes, 1984-1986)
Thom Bray	...	Murray 'Boz' Bozinsky (56 episodes, 1984-1986)
Jack Ging	...	Lt. Ted Quinlan (28 episodes, 1984-1985)

Storyline

Three vietnam veterans (Nick Ryder, Cody Allen and Murray Bozinsky) now work as private eyes in sunny southern California. Nick and Cody are the muscles and Murray is a computer wizard of the trio and together they solve even the hardest cases.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam veteran | detective | helicopter | private detective

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Taglines:

No Case is Too Hot to Solve!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 January 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Trio mit vier Fäusten

Filming Locations:

Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stephen J. Cannell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (58 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was one of three TV series partly influenced by the success of the theatrical movie Blue Thunder. Like Airwolf on CBS and Blue Thunder on ABC, "Riptide" initially featured prominent use of a helicopter; although whereas those other two instances portrayed super-slick hi-tech choppers, the "Riptide" helicopter ('The Screaming Mimi') was clunky and old, and had trouble just staying in the sky. Prominant featuring of the helicopter was somewhat dropped later in favor of more standard private-eye car chases and such.

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Connections

Edited into Boomtown: Insured by Smith & Wesson (2002)

User Reviews

Boz: one of the earliest TV geeks

I haven't seen the show since it aired back in '84, but that was the era when personal computers was being introduced. The 'computers' and geek-speak on Riptide fascinated me, as we were already using the IBM PC at our business, and Riptide tried to use computers as a supporting element in the show.

Unfortunately, the world of real computers was just a little too new for the writers. I recall Boz explaining how he'd obtained some vital bit of information to the guys: "Well, I downloaded it using ASCII..." But, hey, they tried.

I don't think one mystery was ever explained: where did these Magnum/Airwolf wanna-be PIs get the cash to run both a yacht AND a helicopter?