‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Flashback!’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I have to admit, that I was a touch nervous before I started watching the season one finale of CHiPs. Because the title of the episode, ‘Flashback!’, and the plot summary featured on the episode guide present in the DVD case, made it seem as though I was about to watch a story that embodied one of the things I truly despise when it comes to television, the flashback episode. For stories that just recycle footage from earlier in the season to tell a story, feel like an outright copout, as though everyone in the writer’s room was clueless as to how to wrap up the year in question and I’ve seen several wonderful shows use these cheesy tales to close out a season before. But thankfully, the aforementioned title and description in question were misleading in every way imaginable, because this tale ended up being a proper and satisfying way to end the first season of this magnificent series.
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Because in this particular episode, Frank Ponchorello saw his journey come around full circle and well, that’s character growth and I love that through and through and how the story accomplished that was to remind Frank of how far he’s come this season. For when we first met Ponch, was a true rookie, and mistakes stuck to him like flies to a garbage can on a hot summer day, and of course, he lived up to the hot shot reputation that Sergeant Getrear bestowed upon him and what finally showed us his growth and progress into a refined California Highway Patrolman, was the arrival of a different breed of hot shot named Brent Delaney and well, this guy’s bravado honestly put Ponch’s to shame. Because he was the son of a state senator and his ego backed up his silver spoon status and this guy was so bold and brash that he actually had the nerve to throw a little shade at the Sarge, but it didn’t take long for us to realize that he had a lot to learn about becoming a CHP officer.

For mistakes were quickly made while he was on duty, the kind that put others at risk, and he also embarrassed the department, since he lost his bike to a gang of bikers who were scooping up police motorcycles all over the Los Angeles area and well, his ego quickly isolated him from his co-workers and it really did look like he was going to turn his badge in disgrace. But one man stood by him at every turn and that was Frank, and his decision to help show Brent the ropes, and encourage him to do better and be more, is when we finally saw the rookie become the consummate professional and it really was awesome to see Ponch play the role of mentor for a change and be a stand up officer that actually cited rules and regulations for once and all of this was motivated by the fact that he was in Delaney’s shoes not that long ago, and for his efforts, Brent ended up demonstrating his worth to the department after all when he helped to bring down this bike theft ring.

Yet while all of that was impressive in its own right, what really blew me away when it comes to this episode, is the sheer fact that it explored exactly how Ponch and Jon are like brothers, and they forged that particular bond by having quite a few run ins around L.A. before Ponch joined the force and it was just wild to see Ponch rolling with his old crew without a care in the world, and see he and Jon form their bond and belief in one another. And these memories helped to provide magnificent context as to why Baker is always trying to lift Ponch up and support him at every turn because he really does see something special in Frank and clearly, his faith in Ponch has been rewarded because his actions in this episode and the past few for that matter really have shown us the good he’s capable of and how much talent and instinct he has as a police officer and as an added bonus, Ponch’s backstory here also features a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ cameo from acting legend Edward James Olmos, who plays one of Frank’s buddies from the old days.

When all is said and done however, you really cannot ask for much more from a season finale. Because bringing everything around full circle is no easy task in a show this grand and sweeping, but the Writer’s Room handled it here with ease and truly, this finale does indeed close an important chapter in this story. For Frank Ponchorello has finally grown into his own, and now that he’s matured as a man and an officer, new challenges can come his way and that’s what I’m looking forward to in the days to come, as we dive into season two of this wonderful show. But before I dig into that, I’m going to take a little bit and properly appreciate this titular first season, because this one really did accomplish quite a lot storytelling wise, and it took some incredible risks, but more importantly it set the stage for the future and it’s going to be blast to see where this series and its characters go, in season two and beyond. Until next time. 

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