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, 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[1] helicopter (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 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.
