‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Down Time’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I think we can all agree upon the fact, that bad days, are just the freakin’ worst. Because there’s no joy to be found in having everything go south when you think things are going your way, and to make matters worse, sometimes a single rotten day finds a way to multiply and ruin a few in a row. But, while they put us in a sour mood, and definitely infuriate us since nothing goes right when they arrive, it’s how we respond to them that matters the most. Because we can either embrace what’s happening, and let the ugly wash over us, or…we can straight up fight back and try to turn a bad day into a serviceable one and it just so happens that the next episode of CHiPs took the time to explore everything we’ve just discussed in ‘Down Time’.

For in this particular tale, Ponch and Jon found themselves in the midst of quite a rough patch. Jon for instance, somehow misplaced his wallet, meaning he had to deal with the nightmare of cancelling every credit card in his possession, and start over when it comes to his bank accounts and ID and everything in-between. But while Jon’s plight was pretty sucky in its own right, because some of us have dealt with that nightmare before, all of it paled in comparison to the losing streak that Ponch found himself upon in this episode. Because a high speed chase involving our Creeps of the Week led to a broken finger, which also meant that he was off the bike for a week, and rather than have him work around the office, Getrear sent him home for a vacation and that’s when things went from bad to worse for ol’ Poncherello.

Because that magnificent, burned up, Firebird that Ponch bought for eighty-three bucks earlier this season, was finally ready to roll after months of work and man, Ponch did a phenomenal job in getting it to look as though it was brand new. But sadly, shortly after taking it out for its first spin in ages, a group of female carjackers scooped that baby right up, prompting Ponch to work the case in his spare time to get his baby back and well, this led to all kinds of surprises. For we quickly learned that the ringleader of this theft outfit was a woman named Kim, and she was going to stop at nothing to be a successful thief and that led to quite the cat and mouse between Kim and Ponch as he worked to expose her and bring her down and while he was eventually able to put an end to her thieving ways with Jon’s help, Kim’s arrest did come at quite the cost, because there’s no way that car is going to survive being flipped over and blown up.

But, all of that aside, we need to talk about the fact that this particular episode did something supremely bold for the 1970s, since it featured a group of female thieves, that weren’t, walking and talking clichés. Because Kim and her gang were ruthless and cunning to say the least, and I am so happy to see a series that sometimes flirts with misogyny, take the time to give us something this brilliant. Because this episode could have gone off the rails by injecting female related stereotypes into this storyline, but instead, Kim was a skilled thief, and a step ahead of Ponch and Jon at every turn and had they been a minute too late, she would have gotten away with everything and well, any way you slice it, that makes this particular episode, outright ahead of its time and it also featured quite the casting surprise as well since Randi Oakes played Kim, and if that name sounds familiar, there’s good reason for that.

Because when we dive into the third season of this series, we are going to be introduced to an officer named Bonnie Clark who is played by…you guessed it, Randi Oakes! Which means that this is Randi’s first official introduction into the CHiPs universe. Either way, this really was quite the magnificent episode when all is said and done, and it’s the performances that really sell this one because Erik Estrada and Randi Oakes were simply amazing in this story and their work here flat out made me forget that the chase scenes were sparse in this tale and I suppose, that if there’s any morals to be found in this story, it’s don’t steal, because that’s always a bad idea, and if by chance you’re in the midst of a bad day, be like Ponch and figure out how to make it work, for you. Until next time.

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