Written by John Edward Betancourt Unfortunately, mistakes are a part of everyday life, and no matter how hard we try to avoid them; we are going to make them. Most of them are going to be small, but once in a while, we make one hell of a misstep. The kind that can prompt people to exit our lives and will change our own in the process and these are the mistakes that we outright fear. Because these are the ones, we firmly believe there is no coming back from, so it is best to try and avoid it. But sometimes a poor decision or a moment of weakness allows for the big ones to happen regardless and when it does, we are forced with quite the challenge. For we can either accept that fate and move on and deal with the consequences as they come or we can see if by chance, there’s a way that we can set things right. And it just so happens that the next episode of CHiPs explored that latter option in fascinating fashion. For ‘Ice Cream Man’ introduced us to a man named Tom Corey who held the occupation that shares the namesake of this tale and well, he’s a man that has made some horrible mistakes in life. For not that long ago, he was a Sergeant with the California Highway Patrol and well, a lucrative opportunity to conduct crime and make a lot of money in the process was too much to pass up. But as is often the case, crooks get caught for various reasons and now that he’s back on the street and starting over in life, it seems as though Tom is trying to turn over a new leaf. Because he really is trying to earn an honest living and he even helps out Bonnie when she runs into some nasty crooks who try to take her head off, minus one odd little caveat. Because the guys who almost hurt Bonnie are Creeps that Tom used to work with and Ponch and Jon found it quite odd that he wasn’t able to offer a fine description of the men in the cab, because hey, once a cop always a cop and that kind of visual skill set wouldn’t fade. Not after being able to recall every important radio code in the regulation book. And as it turns out, there was good reason for him to keep it a secret. Because he wanted to work for this outfit once again, and make some real bread in the process, and that little surprise made it seem as though this was going to be a story about a man who truly lost his way. Which was an intriguing possibility since we’ve not really seen all that many grand tragedies on this series. But as it turns out, Tom had a plan. Because he had a kid that didn’t know he was alive because he was born shortly after Tom went to jail, and he genuinely wanted to bring these guys down to right his wrong and show his family he’s a good man after all. Which means his work to get back in with this crew was all part of a master plan to bring them down from the inside, something that was not an easy task. For these greasy dudes didn’t trust him in the slightest, and the fact that Tom used a police radio in his robberies only made them more nervous, despite the fact that he was deflecting the cops. But what he really wanted, was a chance to bring the big boss down, and eventually he did. And he was finally a hero once again, one that will eventually get to know his son and all of these elements made for one delightful tale. Because who doesn’t love a story that features redemption? But while this one does end happy, what makes it such a genuine delight is that it takes you on a phenomenal ride storytelling wise. Because the whole back and forth in regard to where Tom’s loyalty lies is magnificent to say the least and really, it’s the characters that are king in this tale. Because our Creeps of the Week have depth, and CHP Central has plenty of moments where the finer points of these characters are on display and this one really has it all. For its a gritty crime story, it features complete characters arcs and depth and meaning and that’s just a wonderful thing to find late in the season and as long as the serieskeeps this coming, then season five is going to close out an important chapter in the show’s history in epic fashion, after quite the rough start. Until next time.
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