‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘New Guy in Town’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​Whether we like to admit it or not, revenge is something we’ve all taken part in at some point or another in our lives. Because there are injustices in this world that simply demand it in our minds, and that’s why we were or will be motivated to get back at someone in either petty or epic fashion. But while most of our vendetta related experiences involve teaching someone a lesson in humility, for some folks, revenge is about so much more. Because in their mind they have been wronged on a level that no one can understand and the only way to ease their pain or find justice in the world is to do something drastic and terrible, and it just so happens that the darker side of revenge, served as the focal theme for the next episode of CHiPs.
 
For ‘New Guy in Town’ introduced us to a man named Martin Beck and dear Martin, was consumed with fury over an incident from long ago. Because four years ago, Ponch and Jon were in hot pursuit of his identical brother, and that pursuit ended in fatal fashion when said brother crashed into a median. And Martin, well he believed that Ponch and Jon were somehow responsible for his brother’s death and never faced the proper consequences for it. Which prompted him to take matters into his own hands and the only appropriate thing to do in his mind; was to kill the both of them. Which in turn led to Jon being put in the hospital for a bit when Martin tried to run him down and the violent attempts to murder our dynamic duo didn’t end there.
 
Because Martin even took the time to plant a bomb in Ponch’s firebird. Something that was thankfully discovered before it was too late, and when that didn’t work, well he made use of someone else who wanted to aid in this vendetta; his late brother’s wife, Lina. And her role in all of this mess was partly to help Martin with his escape routes when the heat was bearing down upon him, and she also needed to serve as bait. Which is why she led Ponch toward an abandoned car that was laced with explosives in the hopes that he would examine the vehicle as per protocol. Yet Ponch managed to escape trouble there as well and his and Jon’s consistent ability to stay mostly upright in this tale came courtesy of the new guy that the title makes mention of.
 
Because Officer Theodore Carlton (T.C.) Hunsacker was a bright guy, and the latest addition to Central, and his keen eye spotted much of the trouble surrounding our dynamic duo. Which oddly enough, is what helped to catch our Creeps of the Week. Because every single failure only frustrated them further, and eventually Lina made a stupid mistake, the kind that put her in handcuffs, and the same goes for Martin as well. For his final attempt to blow Ponch and Jon up, blew up in his face when he didn’t properly latch up the saddlebag on Frank’s bike, wherein he placed his latest bomb, and of course he just had to make his presence known. And these sloppy missteps allowed for the boys to avoid any harm and finally put Martin in cuffs, ending his reign of terror and hopes for revenge at last.
 
If anything, this episode gets some serious props for telling one intense and unique tale. Because this series rarely goes to territory this dark, but it handled it here in brilliant fashion by balancing out the dark with more joyous scenes involving T.C., since he was a stand up and hopeful guy. And of course, the happy ending also helped to balance out Martin’s raw fury and all of these elements helped to make this tale a memorable one. Because it is rare to see Ponch and Jon be hunted by a COTW and it’s equally as rare to see them stumble and the sheer humanity on display in this tale is what makes it so worth one’s while and once again, this episode just goes to show that season four has truly exceeded expectations and they really did save the best for last, as year four begins to come to a close. Until next time.

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