‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Counterfeit’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

Normally, when a television show is multiple seasons into its existence, it very rarely deviates from the formula that has brought said series so much success, and it makes perfect sense as to why that’s the case. After all, the powers that be and the writer’s room know what the audience likes, they know what works and trying something new at this point just seems silly. But once in a while, a series will in fact, take the time to pepper in something new just to see what happens and oddly enough, that’s precisely what the next episode of CHiPs worked to accomplish since ‘Counterfeit’ did something that we’ve never seen the series do before.
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For this particular tale, took the time to introduce a more philosophical concept into the overall fabric of the story, something that this series really tended to shy away from. Because it really preferred to explore a day in the life of a police officer, and all the highs and lows that come with that. But it was clear early on that this story was going to explore the age-old notion, of how sometimes things are not quite what they appear to be, and it didn’t take long for this decision to reveal itself to be quite a stroke of genius when all is said and done. Because writer Dean R. Koontz (yes, that Dean Koontz, who wrote this one under the pen name Brian Coffey) did a phenomenal job of blending this notion into everything that makes this series great. Because in essence, diving into this concept was handled by way of the daily things that Ponch and Jon experience, in both subtle and direct fashion.

The more direct approach came about by way of Ponch’s romantic journey in this tale since he was unsure of a beautiful woman named Heather that he met on a blind date, since she seemed ‘shallow’ as he put it. But by having an honest conversation with her, Ponch was able to realize that there was far more to Heather than her looks, teaching him that all-important lesson. As for the subtle exploration of this notion, well that was handled by guest star Billy Barty, since his character, James O’Hara, was angry at the world since he believed everyone judged him for his size. And while there is some merit to that, since some scenes did feature a little prejudice, it took an ugly accident to hammer home the lesson, that his perception that the world was against him was incorrect, since Ponch and Jon were quick to stand up for him when he needed it the most.

But while all of this was fascinating and unique in its own right, it is high time we discuss the Creeps of the Week featured in this episode, since they were something truly special. Because they too, were individuals who were not what they appeared to be at first, since one would think that men who were in the counterfeiting business would be genuine scum that wanted to do as much harm as possible while getting rich. But instead, it turns out these dudes were religious men who had fallen from grace, and in order to get their church back, they turned to a life a crime and this was just a fascinating twist to inject into the story and of course, their greed eventually brought them to justice, but not before we were treated to a unique chase scene that featured the gospel.

If anything, I have to admit that I was quite impressed with this particular tale. Because at first glance it seemed like quite a by-the-numbers affair, one that was designed to clear our palate of the lingering darkness from the last episode. But as the minutes rolled on, this one sucked me in with its intelligence and its quality performances and in the end, I loved this one through and through. Because it truly demonstrated that with a little care, there was nothing that this series couldn’t accomplish and honestly, when one considers the depth present here and the gravity of the prior episode, I cannot help but wonder if season three is going to outright blow me away with more intelligent and thoughtful storytelling in the weeks to come. For it truly seems like something special is brewing here and I hope I’m right because it would be a true delight to sit back and be wowed by a series, that was often viewed as just fluffy and wholesome. Until next time. 

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