‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Neighborhood Watch’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

If there’s thing I’ve noticed, when it comes to this early leg of season two of CHiPs, it’s that the series is definitely diving into some heavier subject matter. After all, we’ve seen Jon ponder upon leaving the force after he and Ponch were accused of hurting an innocent citizen, and we’ve watched the dynamic duo risk life and limb to get some toxic tankers to their destination and they dealt with one twisted news producer and to top it all off, poor Jon has seen his family life cross over into his work life thanks to an overzealous nephew. Which begs a few questions. Is the show done with the fun? Is season two when this series starts to resemble a young Law and Order? Thankfully the answer to all of those questions is a resounding no. Because it turns out that the series was ready to shake things up once again, since the next episode in this saga, ‘Neighborhood Watch’, brought the fun back to the forefront of this iconic franchise.  
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It accomplished such a feat, by planting Ponch and Jon into a place that the show rarely goes, the suburbs. Yes, a simple trip to the everyday world of Los Angeles to try and get Dodgers tickets ended up becoming the duo’s stomping grounds for a little bit, simply due to the fact that cars and joggers and kids weren’t mixing safely in the slightest, and it was up to the CHP to fix that, and while that sounds like simple and relaxed duty, it turned out to be anything but. In fact, Ponch and Jon basically met their match by way of some bratty kids that love to skate and love to ride some tasty waves and well, when I say kids, I mean…kids. Like, the kind who aren’t even out of fifth grade yet, and these sassy little brats made life hell for Ponch and Jon since they turned up and caused trouble on a fairly regular basis by using the neighborhood as their playground.   

Which forced Ponch and Jon to step in and find the kids a safe place to do their thing and that led to some hilariously awkward moments wherein our heroes took to their boards to help cement the skate park as the cool place to be and well, the wackiness didn’t end there. Because the show really did a fine job of painting suburbia as a vastly different place than the rest of the Los Angeles basin and for proof, look no further than the guy who set his car on fire rather than deal with the problems that came with the car’s title and well, I wish the new owner of that car, Ponch, the best of luck. Because while he only paid eighty-three bucks for it, have fun with that fire damage. But I digress, because that goofy moment and everything that took place here really did lighten the mood when it comes to season two, but it’s clear that this series wants more depth when it comes to its storytelling, which means some heavier stuff was present when all is said and done.

Because this episode did feature a Creep of the Week, a fellow named Gerald Billings to be exact and well, Mister Billings was a Grade-A jerk. For this dude, was only worried about striking it rich in his sales gig, and unfortunately for everyone on the road, that meant they had to deal with his ego and his reckless push behind the wheel to get to his appointments on time. And the danger he put others in, along with his drinking problem, allowed for him to have multiple run ins with Jon specifically, and despite Jon’s best efforts to give this guy a wakeup call when it comes to his dangerous behavior on the road, this guy didn’t listen in the slightest, even after he was arrested for a DUI. But this ugly plot thread came to a head when Billings ran over a jogger while drinking and driving, allowing for Jon to finally confront the man and talk some sense into him and of course, bring him in for his crimes.

If anything, I have to admit that the Billings plot line took me by surprise since it once again put our humanity on display. Because while the guy was easy to dislike, and I do mean easy, he was still a man in a bad place, making bad choices and he clearly needed some help to get on track and well, hopefully Jon’s genuine care in this story helps him do just that. But outside of that, this really was quite the entertaining ride, and while those kids pushed the wrong buttons, they definitely offered up some genuinely comical moments, especially when we see them behind the wheel of a parent’s car on their way to the beach, or when they pinned down Ponch and Jon with a remote control plane and really, what I’m hoping for, now that we are getting into the nit and grit of season two, is balance. I would genuinely like to see more cerebral episodes like the ones that preceded this one, and more fun ones like this, thrown in to keep it light, because this season really is doing some wonderful things storytelling wise, and it would be a shame to see the old formula take back over now, when it’s accomplishing so much. Until next time. 

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