Private investigator Cody Allen (Perry King) entreats Riptide Detective Agency partners Murray Bozinski (Thom Bray) and Nick Ryder (Joe Penny) into helping chaperon Marion (Claudia Christian) - a wild mid-west girl on Thanksgiving vacation in California. Cody has agreed to keep an eye on Marion as a favor to her parents. With her are her two equally wild friends Portland (Daphne Ashbrook) and Heather (Juliana Donald) from a Catholic women's college.
Once the plane lands the girls are the target of kidnappers. The girls don't believe they are in danger and resist protection from the Riptide boys. They didn't travel all the way to California to get stuck sun-bathing aboard a luxury yacht or sightseeing from a helicopter with a couple of guys who look like male models. What college girl would ever want something so icky?
This episode has the distinction of featuring the very first real screen role of George Clooney's career. Clooney - then 23, had been in Hollywood a few years getting rejected even for roles that few actors wanted. He'd appeared as an extra in a couple of productions but hadn't seriously contended for any speaking role until playing a baddie in this episode. A decade later as Doug Ross on ER he was launched. The Oscar winner has been an A-lister since at least 1996 and remains the biggest star to emerge from Riptide.
The explicit mention of Thanksgiving in this episode should presumably have made it perfect for an airing on American Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that the November 20th (two days before American Thanksgiving) episode of Riptide that same season was entitled Father's Day. Father's Day was of course on June 17th.
In fact what is shown (A Spring Break theme) in this episode suggests a March airing is more apropos. It was instead aired in early October 1985 which actually was too early even for Canadian Thanksgiving. None of the March 1985 episodes of Riptide including the one on March 12th suggested anything to do with Spring Break either.
I find all of this puzzling even though I have read that networks liked to give affiliates the option of showing episodes in the order of their choosing. I find it all particularly more puzzling given that on January 29th, 1985 the episode Curse of the Mary Aberdeen first aired and it was ideally suited for Halloween. Go figure.
Once the plane lands the girls are the target of kidnappers. The girls don't believe they are in danger and resist protection from the Riptide boys. They didn't travel all the way to California to get stuck sun-bathing aboard a luxury yacht or sightseeing from a helicopter with a couple of guys who look like male models. What college girl would ever want something so icky?
This episode has the distinction of featuring the very first real screen role of George Clooney's career. Clooney - then 23, had been in Hollywood a few years getting rejected even for roles that few actors wanted. He'd appeared as an extra in a couple of productions but hadn't seriously contended for any speaking role until playing a baddie in this episode. A decade later as Doug Ross on ER he was launched. The Oscar winner has been an A-lister since at least 1996 and remains the biggest star to emerge from Riptide.
The explicit mention of Thanksgiving in this episode should presumably have made it perfect for an airing on American Thanksgiving. Keep in mind that the November 20th (two days before American Thanksgiving) episode of Riptide that same season was entitled Father's Day. Father's Day was of course on June 17th.
In fact what is shown (A Spring Break theme) in this episode suggests a March airing is more apropos. It was instead aired in early October 1985 which actually was too early even for Canadian Thanksgiving. None of the March 1985 episodes of Riptide including the one on March 12th suggested anything to do with Spring Break either.
I find all of this puzzling even though I have read that networks liked to give affiliates the option of showing episodes in the order of their choosing. I find it all particularly more puzzling given that on January 29th, 1985 the episode Curse of the Mary Aberdeen first aired and it was ideally suited for Halloween. Go figure.