Return of the Ridge Raiders

Season 2, Episode 20
Original Air Date: 22 February 1980
Directed by: Hollingsworth Morse
Written by: Si Rose
Created by: Gy Waldron

Plot Summary

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

Trivia

This is Lou Richards' only appearance in Dukes, but the character of Charlie Cooper reappears in Birds Gotta Fly, when he's played by Randal Patrick. A character called Scoop also shows up very briefly in Mrs. Daisy Hogg, but it's a completely different (uncredited) actor, with a different full character name, and at a different newspaper. In Miz Tisdale on the Lam they introduce a different journalist called "Scoop" into the dialogue: 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.
Amanda Horan Kennedy is credited as Girl #1, but appears to be the first girl to audition while wearing #4. The dialogue names her character as Betty Sue Terwilliger. Amanda returned as Lorna in Ding, Dong, the Boss is Dead.
Melanie Vincz is credited as Girl #2 and Sue Ellen. She is wearing #2 at her audition, but is named as Sue-Ann Pettigrew in the dialogue (and Bo and Luke call her Sue-Ann when she's washing the fire truck). Melanie returned as Lavinia in The Great Insurance Fraud.

Bloopers

Coop the Snoop is named as Charlie Cooper in the dialogue, but appears as Virgil Cooper in the credits.
The telephone operator is called Maybelle in the dialogue, but still appears as Myrtle in the credits.
The Allied Security car has heavy side damage when it skids on the wet road, but was intact a few seconds earlier, and nothing hit it.