Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing Pacific Blue, a cop show that aired from 1996 to 2000 on the USA Network!  It’s currently streaming everywhere, though I’m watching it on Tubi.

This week, the local college fraternity is out of control and somehow, it’s up to the bicycle patrol to restore order to the campus.

Episode 4.10 “Thrill Week”

(Dir by Sara Rose, originally aired on November 29th, 1998)

It’s rush week, which means that the beach is full of drunk college students.  Fortunately, the bike patrol is there to keep the peace.  Bobby Cruz is upset when he discovers that his teenager sister, Teresa (Susan Enriquez), is hanging out at the rush events, drinking beer, smoking, and hooking up with frat boys.

So, let’s see.  Bobby is a Latino bicycle cop who grew up in a poor neighborhood.  He flirts with Cory.  He’s fiercely overprotective of his teenage sister.  So, basically, he’s exactly like Victor del Toro, except for the fact that he’s played by Mario Lopez.  It wouldn’t surprise me if, when Lopez was handed this script, someone had just gone through and crossed-out Victor’s name and written in Bobby’s name instead.

Anyway, the frat hazing is getting out-of-hand so TC decides to send Granger in undercover.  (I  know I ask this every week but, seriously, why are bicycle cops doing undercover work?)  TC is a former member of the fraternity so he introduces Granger as being his nephew and arranges for Granger to be accepted into the frat as a legacy.  At first, Granger has no interest in being  a member of a frat but then he sees all the beer and changes his mind.

What’s the plot here?  Good question.  Tanner Sexton (Thomas Caron) attempts to drug and rape his ex-girlfriend at a fraternity party but, fortunately, Bobby and Cory show up in time to stop him.  (Granger helps Teressa escape being caught at the party by punching Bobby.)  Despite the fact that he’s dating his son’s ex, Tanner’s father (Clint Carmichael) pulls some strings and gets Tanner released from jail.

Later, Bobby, Cory, and TC confront Tanner at the frat house and Tanner pulls a gun.  Bobby shoots Tanner in the shoulder.  “You’ll be okay,” TC tells Tanner.  Uhmm, the dude just get shot in the shoulder.  That’s not a minor wound!

Eh.  Who cares?  This episode was dumber than usual.  I’m less concerned about the frat and more curious as to why new cast members Shanna Moakler and Amy Hunter always seem to be absent (or, in Hunter’s case, mostly absent) from any episode involving Granger.  For that matter, Darlene Vogel was missing from this episode as well.  One gets the feeling that show couldn’t afford to ever have the entire cast in the same episode at the same time.

Four seasons in and this show has yet to convince that a bike patrol is even necessary.