‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap – ’11-99: Officer Needs Help’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

One important lesson that our parents work to instill in us when we are young, is that we should always exercise understanding over quick judgment, when it comes to the people we meet. But while this lesson is important and relevant for so many reasons, it’s something that we tend to forget about as adults. Which could be due to the fact that in the modern world, our time is seemingly limited, prompting us to make quick judgments and move on. But this is a lesson that will always find its way to forefront of our minds, simply because we share a special bond with our fellow humans and when we discover that someone is acting off because of powerful influences we are inclined to help and remember that next time, maybe we should take a moment and uncover the situation. And it just so happens that this is relevant to today’s discussion, simply because it served as the focal point of the next episode of CHiPs.
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For ’11-99: Officer Needs Help’ featured someone who was being judged harshly by CHP officers out in the field. Because Kathie Lark, a new dispatcher with the Highway Patrol, was struggling to do her job properly. For she was stuttering and stammering when making a call out to officers on the road and well, the show did a fine job of manipulating the audience into making it seem as though she was incompetent at being a dispatcher. Because she really was nervous behind the microphone, and the fury from Ponch and Jon and every officer on the road exhibited over her struggle to deliver complete and quick radio chatter, and her seeming inability to catch on, reinforced the possibility that maybe this wasn’t for her and that she might wash out on this gig, and once we were all comfortable with that; the show dropped the message right into our laps.

Because there was a reason as to why she was so incredibly jittery when at the microphone, for she had in fact, lost someone important to her while she was dispatching in the small town, she used to live in. Which meant that her taking a job with the CHP, was a grand attempt to restart her life and conquer her fear and her pain, but unfortunately… the instant an officer was in trouble, she stumbled in her endeavor and broke down. But thankfully, Ponch was actually there for her in healthy fashion every step of the way. And while his attempts to comfort her weren’t exactly smooth or suave in the slightest, he said exactly what needed to be said, and his blunt words got through to Kathie and she was able to return to form in the midst of an important case for the CHP.

Which brings us to the Creeps of the Week, since they helped to create the investigation in question. For this time around, we were introduced to a ring of small-time crooks who were using an inside man to try and get their hands on a small fortune of A/V Equipment. But thanks to the inside man’s incompetence, they also got their hands on a noxious chemical that was only safe when in its container. Which means, public safety was paramount, and that added a sense of urgency to this tale and some genuinely dangerous moments since we were able to see what this chemical could do when its container was breached and spoiler alert, it made people sick and blew cars up. But thankfully, with Kathie’s quick thinking and the always intrepid efforts of Ponch and Jon and their cohorts, and a kid who wanted to make his dad proud, they were finally able to bring this group to justice.

But while the story ends in the happiest of fashion, truly what made it so impressive is what it had to say about judging a book by its cover and the sheer fact that Kathie’s plight is a realistic one for certain. Because folks in her line of work are often privy to some horrible things while they’re on duty and it is important to remember that they are human too and need the same amount of care as the rest of us, if not more. If anything, this was really a stellar and thoughtful episode, and it was so nice to see the series dive back into some of the difficult things police officers and their cohorts have to deal with, and it would be just delightful if we get more of this as season four rolls along, because these are the kinds of stories that truly make this series worth our while. Until next time.

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