‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Hustle’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​Normally when one gets to the halfway point of the first season of a new television series, things start to settle. The plots become familiar, the performances are more consistent and there’s really a sense of comfort permeating over the show because everyone and everything present in the series is finally finding their respective groove, which means surprises are far and few between at this point. Unless of course the show in question is CHiPs. For as we enter the middle of season one of these Retro Recaps, I couldn’t help but notice that the series is finding new ways to surprise and enthrall me, and all it took to make that happen, was for ‘Hustle’ to flip the script on a series staple that’s been hanging around since day one. 
 
The staple in question? The Machismo that this series loves to embrace, and it was present here by way of an upcoming bowling tournament that Ponch was convinced he could win. Which meant there was plenty of bragging and boasting on his part, especially when he came to learn that Jon was a former bowling instructor. But this particular storyline ended up providing Ponch with a big ol’ serving of Humble Pie because we quickly learned that Ponch can’t bowl for crap, and eventually, an injury kept Jon out of the tournament and really, it was just nice to see the series inadvertently, or intentionally acknowledge, the show’s excess of bravado and put Ponch down a peg or two and that really did catch me off guard since I never thought I’d see the show do such a thing.
 
But, while that was refreshing in its own right, there was still plenty of the usual stuff for us to enjoy, such as the Creeps of the Week and this go round, Ponch and Jon squared off against a couple of bold thieves who made a nasty habit of marching into the counting rooms of grocery stores, wherein they promised harm to whomever was present there before swiping all of the cash present in the safe and their bold nature didn’t end there. For these thieves also made life difficult for the pursuing officers since they took any route available to them, damaging cars in the process and that kind of risky pursuit is precisely what Ponch and Jon took part in when they finally received an opportunity to bring these guys down and while they were successful in arresting these thieves at the Griffith Park Observatory, this high speed chase is where Jon injured his hand. 
 
As an added bonus, this episode also offered up what I enjoy the most about this series, a peek into Jon and Ponch’s daily lives as officers and what came about here was pretty darn entertaining in its own right. After all, we were able to witness Ponch and Jon play the heroes as they risked life and limb to keep a mother and her baby from being electrocuted thanks to an accident that helped create a downed power line, and there was plenty of levity that came about from a man named Mister Englehart, who was displeased that Ponch gave him a citation, to the point where he followed the duo around in the hopes of proving that Frank got it wrong with his citation and was an incompetent officer and course, that dude lost in court in embarrassing fashion.
 
Plus, it was equally as entertaining to watch Ponch and Jon get star struck during a traffic stop involving a former television star who was ironically on a series about highway patrolmen and really, when all is said and done, this was just a satisfying episode through and through. It offered up plenty of thrills and genuinely feel good, heroic moments, and I really do love that our dynamic duo go the extra mile to do the right thing whenever possible, and of course, it was pretty awesome to see the series inadvertently deflate the bravado and machismo it embraces on a regular basis because in a way, the bowling debacle made Poncherollo a little more relatable and human and once again, I’m ready for more when it comes to this magnificent series, so if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to enjoy the next chapter in Ponch and Jon’s adventures. Until next time. 

---