Trivia

This was one of three TV series partly influenced by the success of the theatrical movie Blue Thunder (1983). Like Airwolf (1984) on CBS and Blue Thunder (1984) 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. See more