‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Jailbirds’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​It’s quite fascinating how sometimes a single word carries with it a powerful negative connotation, such as; secret. Because that word immediately makes us think of deception and malice and there’s definitely good reason as to why we hold that word in such ugly regard, since secrets often do cause great damage to our personal relationships. But they do have their merits as well. For if one is to keep quiet about a surprise birthday party, genuine joy can come from holding that secret and sometimes, secrets can in fact save lives, especially in regard to police work, and for proof, well look no further than the next episode of CHiPs.
 
For ‘Jailbirds’ was all about a powerful secret that Ponch and Jon needed to carry, the name of an informant, all so they could keep him safe. For this man knew that if his name was to get out into the open in regard to a case that our dynamic duo was working, he’d likely end up dead. Especially when one considers that his information paid off in spades since it helped to bring down this story’s Creep of the Week, a guy named Nick Ferris. But Nick had a scuzzy lawyer defending him when it comes to his trial, one that thought he found himself a tasty loophole when it comes to the California Evidence Code, one that would require Ponch and Jon to give up their informant, something this scumbag knew they would refuse to do which would keep his client on the streets and well, he was right.
 
Because neither Ponch, nor Jon would reveal this all-important secret and that eventually put both of them in contempt of court, which required them to serve a little time for a change and this was quite the unexpected twist. I mean come on, this is Ponch and Jon we are talking about here, they’re straight arrows and them being behind bars should be an impossibility. But the judge in this case was no-nonsense and to the letter, which means we did indeed see our heroes in prison blues, working to keep their identities a secret since they were in the thick of it with general population and it was just fascinating to see a pair of boy scouts be forced to live that prison life with no hope of escape since the Judge was ready to send them back in the instant the Attorney General lifted the citation.
 
Which meant that it was going to require some clever thinking to save them from this never-ending cycle of release and re-entry and Sergeant Getrear led the charge in this matter. Because he came to realize that there had to be something else that tied Ferris to the case and his first thought, was traffic tickets. Because while Ferris claimed he was just visiting the chop-shop the CHP brought down the day he was arrested, if there were traffic tickets attached to his license plate issued in close proximity of the warehouse in question, it would blow the defense’s case right up. And thankfully, there were plenty of parking violations present in the record books that showed just that and that helped to keep Ponch and Jon out of jail after all, allowing for them to finally bring Ferris to justice since he went on the run as soon as possible.
 
If anything, this really was quite the unique episode when all is said and done. For in many ways, this particular tale felt like a traditional police serial, one where Ponch and Jon were everyday detectives and while that shouldn’t work in the slightest here, it just does. Because you honestly believe in these two working a case like this. Plus, it was equally as unique to see them behind bars without giving it a second thought since they understood the dangers of revealing the identity of their informant and well, I just loved this one through and through. Because it really was refreshing and fun and you can never go wrong with a story that’s does a phenomenal job of reminding us of how good our heroes really are and how far they’ll go to do the right thing. Until next time.  

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