‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Dynamite Alley’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​I think it is safe to say that sometimes, we often forget something quite important about police officers, in that… they’re human beings and make mistakes like the rest of us, and it is easy to understand why we forget this particular fact. Because we all have high expectations for officers of the law, since they are supposed to represent the best of us in modern society and it is quite shocking when they fall from grace and put their humanity on display. But whether we like it or not, even the best ones will misstep at some point in their career in law enforcement, something that was explored in a fascinating manner in the season three finale of CHiPs.
 
Because ‘Dynamite Alley’ saw Bonnie Clark potentially make quite the mistake early on in this tale. For she was driving back from Bakersfield on minimal sleep and a cold, and despite talking with a nice young man named Corey via CB radio, she found herself surprised by a truck appearing out of nowhere, one that seemed determined to run her off the road and was apparently successful in doing so since she found herself in a terrible wreck. But thankfully Ponch and Jon were able to get to her and provide first aid before the ambulance got there and after she healed up is where some concern comes into play. Because there was no concrete evidence that a truck was on the road and Corey really didn’t have much to say on the matter, leaving everyone to wonder if Bonnie was seeing ghosts.
 
But the only way to know for sure if she was at fault or if the truck in question was real, was to dive into a grand investigation surrounding the matter. Which brought Ponch and mostly Jon to a trucking company that Bonnie swore she saw a logo for, before careening off the road and that turned up some fascinating possibilities. For one of the drivers just so happened to be in Dynamite Alley the day that Bonnie crashed, and she had recently cited him multiple times, making it seem as though this was indeed his fault. However, despite the fact that the evidence was starting to point his way, there was just one problem; Bonnie told everyone that she had seen the company’s logo on the back of the truck in question and sadly… the company never once put said logo on the rear of their trailers.
 
Which meant Grossman, who was working on a new article about fatigue and its impact on driving, and Ponch and Jon and Getrear, needed to work with Bonnie to help her recall exactly what happened on that fateful day. But as the careful interrogation rolled on, it quickly became evident that something was amiss with her recollection of the day and Corey eventually dropped by to outright confirm the fact that Bonnie was indeed seeing things before the crash. And his admission of the truth came late simply because he wanted to be loyal to Bonnie, but he also knew that lying would put someone innocent in jail and just like that, the matter was closed, and Officer Clark had to own up to the fact that fatigue and illness forced her to smash a cruiser.
 
Thankfully though, she escaped with only a few bumps and bruises and I’m sure some sort of note on her record about her mistake and I’m certain an off screen talking to from the Sarge about taking care of one’s self. But when all is said and done, this really was a fascinating episode to watch. Because not only did it present us with a grand mystery, one that featured a different kind of Creep of the Week since the truck driver in question was a jerk, but not a criminal, it really did humanize police officers in way I can’t say I’ve seen on television all that often. If anything, this was the perfect way to end season three of this series since year three has focused heavily on the human condition and now that this year’s journeys on the highways are in the books, I look forward to seeing this series and its storytelling continue to grow and impress us in season four. Until next season. 

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