Return of the Ridge Raiders

Synopsis:

Bo and Luke are concerned because Uncle Jesse’s “acting stranger than a hound dog under a full moon.” They start to speculate about his unexplained absences and mysterious phone calls, and even wonder if he’s found himself a woman. In truth, he’s been spending time with his old moonshining buddies, the Ridge Raiders. They’re not happy about Boss Hogg misappropriating money intended for a Senior Citizens’ Center, and have decided to take action against his properties.

Boss’s plans for his ill-gotten money soon become clear when he starts auditioning for a new club called J.D. Hogg’s Playpen.

It doesn’t take long before Hazzard’s young women are queuing for jobs, and even Daisy seems happy to model the Pretty Piggy costume.

Bo and Luke, still unsure about their Uncle’s behavior, find a detonator at the farm.

They try confronting Jesse, but he tells them he needs a few days to sort things out. Not satisfied with Jesse’s answer, they follow him to a meeting where he tries to persuade the Ridge Raiders to fight for the Senior Citizens’ Center in a “law-abiding and legal-like” manner. Just as he’s out-voted, Boss arrives with Buster and Enos, but Bo and Luke help them all escape.

With a plan in mind, Bo, Luke and Jesse head over to the state capital to visit their journalist friend Coop the Snoop, and invite him to Hazzard for a good story.

The Ridge Raiders’ next act is to hijack a truckload of leisure equipment bound for the Playpen. Jesse arrives soon afterward, and is just helping the driver when he’s arrested by Buster.

With the help of the Ridge Raiders, Bo and Luke free their Uncle while he’s being taken to the County Jail. They then coordinate Scoop’s arrival in Hazzard with the return of the hijacked truck. Boss is forced to announce that all the equipment is for the Senior Citizens’ Center, and even has a ground-breaking ceremony for the new building (in the middle of the road next to the church!).

Commentary:

In this episode, James Hampton gets to play the last of season 2’s Rosco stand-ins, Sheriff Buster Moon. Luckily, James Best returns for the remaining episodes.

In yet another plotline that would be frowned upon today, Boss lines up a hoard of scantily-clad women with a view to hiring them for his new club. Buster tries to join in the auditioning process, but is soon sent on his way. Later, Daisy seems genuinely upset when Boss confiscates her piggy tail.

Telephone operator Mabel Tillingham has already been established as someone who passes on information to her cousin, Boss. In this episode she seems to do it out of spite when Jesse tells her that neither Bo nor Luke will be asking her to the Catfish and Cider Stomp.

Highlights:

There are three separate stunts in this episode where both patrol cars get damaged. First they have a head-on crash, then they flip simultaneously (below), and finally they hit each other while driving through the smoke trail.

Trivia:

Coop the Snoop is named as Charlie Cooper in the dialog, but appears as Virgil Cooper in the credits. It’s Lou Richards’ only appearance in Dukes, but the character of Charlie Cooper reappears in Birds Gotta Fly, when he’s played by Randal Patrick. He’s also mentioned in the dialog of Mrs. Daisy Hogg, but isn’t seen. In Miz Tisdale on the Lam they introduce a different journalist called “Scoop” into the dialog: Scoop Whitman at the Capitol City Gazette.

Among Jesse’s Ridge Raider friends is none other than J. Pat O’Malley, a British born actor who appeared in hundreds of films and TV shows in the US, and did voice work for animated films such as 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book and Alice in Wonderland.

And if Newtie (Shug Fisher) looks familiar, it’s because we saw him at the beginning of the season as Homer in Days of Shine and Roses.

–synopsis and vidcaps by Hoss (with info from The Dukes of Hazzard Unofficial Companion).