‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Baby Food’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Ah well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before an episode of CHiPs left me in a divided and slightly uncomfortable place, but alas here we are. For ‘Baby Food’ is an episode of the series that fell short of its serious potential. After all, there was some solid humor to be found in this one, and a compelling plot involving a race against time to save a young child from poisoned baby food. But, all of those elements were greatly overshadowed by the fact that this particular tale went about as full 1970s as it gets, since it also made Ponch’s proclivity to be a Ladies Man, an important part of the story as well.
 
Which quite frankly, was a tad cringe-y to say the least, simply due to the fact that Ponch was pulling stuff that simply wouldn’t fly in this day and age. Case and point, the moment when Ponch basically cornered the Sarge’s secretary in the hallway in an attempt to secure a date and holy cow…I did not see that kind of aggressive act coming, and well, kudos to the young lady for not putting up with Frank’s crap and shutting him down quickly. But sadly, the weird 70s obsession with pretty ladies being objects of desire didn’t end there, since Ponch and Jon spent a good chunk of the hour ogling over Ponch’s new neighbor and really, when all is said and done, this was just plain awkward to say the least and it really did put a damper on the rest of tale.
 
Which is a shame since there were some genuinely hilarious moments to be found in this one, because when Ponch and Jon weren’t obsessing about a cute neighbor’s legs or feet (I don’t get the foot thing, folks, I really don’t), they were bouncing around the city while they waited for a court call, and Frank’s filthy trailer helped lead to some quality comedy from the Sarge. Because in order to properly get an APB out on that poisoned baby food, Getrear needed to talk to Ponch and Jon, and with the phone off the hook at Frank’s place, the Sarge was forced to question why he’s such the nice guy to just about everyone, and well, Robert Pine’s delivery here, and his perfect timing made this part of the show just a delight to watch, to the point where I found myself laughing pretty heartily.
 
Speaking of that baby food, I made mention of that being part of a compelling plot and well, what made that particular plot thread so worthwhile, is the sheer fact that there was a genuine sense of danger surrounding it. For minute by minute, we saw a hungry baby named Henry come closer and closer to getting a bite to eat from the botulism plagued baby food his scavenger parents picked up on the highway and the story found a way to ramp up that tension. Because the little guy did eat just a little bit, and in order to save him, our heroic duo had to race up and down a mountain on their bikes to get to him and get him out of there and thankfully, Ponch and Jon were able to save Henry and get him into the waiting arms of paramedics.
 
But, while those other two elements we just discussed were magnificent and entertaining in their own right, this episode really didn’t settle well with me, thanks to that weird 70s vibe. It just seemed out of place to see our heroes acting like a pair of teenagers who just discovered the other sex, and it was equally as awkward to see them continually fawn over the ladies in this tale in creeper fashion, and well, while I remember this stuff does permeate the show from time to time, I do hope there’s far less of it as the series rolls on just because, the series really does have so much to offer. But alas, this is what it is, and all I can do is move forward at this point and hope for better. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to see what awaits Ponch and Jon next, and hopefully they took a cold shower before this next episode kicks off. Until next time. 

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