‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Return of the Brat Patrol’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Few elements in the television industry are as fascinating as the series finale. Simply because this all-important final episode, is so incredibly diverse. After all, some shows end on a perfect note, where the characters and the plot come together in a satisfying and conclusive manner. Whereas there are other finales that end in a mediocre and somewhat unsatisfying fashion, or in an outright disaster. The kind where the fans are left stunned over the fact that their final memories of their favorite show are going to be unpleasant and reviling. But what truly makes the series finale so downright intriguing, is the sheer fact that so many shows out there, end a year of storytelling without anyone having a clue that the season finale, is instead going to serve as the series finale.
 
Because T.V. Land is a brutal and savage place sometimes, where executives are ready to say goodbye to a show whenever they see fit. Which means that when they make that call, how it ends, is how it ends, and a show’s legacy will forever be determined by the quality of that unexpected final tale and oddly enough, this particular problem is something that CHiPs flirted with. For its season six finale, ‘Return of the Brat Patrol’, became a series finale a few months after it aired and that’s unfortunate, since this uneven episode was the show’s outstanding legacy for quite some time. One that basically pointed out to any viewer that caught it in syndication or on home video… that this series was lost and searching for direction at the end of its surprise final season. As evidenced by the fact that this tale rehashed a plot thread that was used only a handful of episodes ago, and that it also made some odd storytelling choices with the characters.
 
Take Sergeant Getraer’s journey for instance. Since his brand-new ride was stolen right before his eyes in this tale, all because he opted to leave his keys in his car while he went to get change to buy a newspaper and yes, you read that right. Sergeant Joe Getraer, a man that is a stickler for procedure and rules… and follows them to a tee so that he is a beacon for those rules, opted to abandon them because he thought it would only take a second. Which is just weird and doesn’t make sense in the slightest for the character. If anything, it is obvious that someone behind the scenes decided that the comedic chops that Robert Pine exhibited in ‘Fun House’ should be resurrected here by way of this plot line, sine it does allow Robert to mug for the camera. But rather than give the character and Mister Pine a proper storyline to make people laugh, this decision ends up making the Sarge look like a buffoon and the problems with this story don’t end there.

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Because there was mention of a re-hashed storyline and as the title indicates, Ponch’s wonder troupe of explorers return to this tale to have him, help them, win a basketball game for the Captain and well, some dubious choices were made with these characters as well. Because when we last saw them, they were finally growing into their own and becoming intelligent and productive teenagers. But here, they’ve reverted back to their old habits and old personalities, which is stunning to say the least. Because it completely negates everything these characters went through in ‘Brat Patrol’, thus making them one-dimensional and dumb, since only Ponch can teach them and grow them, and it also makes this plot thread a straight up re-hash of the original episode. Which means that nothing here has value or worth storytelling wise, and this whole plot thread really speaks to the fact that season six had run out of steam, and that the show was indeed worthy of cancellation.
 
But what matters most about this ending, is that it would thankfully serve as a cautionary tale. One that would teach future television shows to never toy with their formula and make massive casting changes and chase gimmicks over quality stories. However there was mention of the fact that this series only flirted with an ugly legacy, and thanks to syndication and nostalgia and those very lessons, eventually the show was able to atone for its sins and figure out a way to end the saga on its own terms after all. For in 1999, the cast and some of the original crew returned to the Los Angeles Highways for a CHiPs reunion movie. Which would in essence, become the show's rightful series finale and by having the story of Ponch and Jon come to a close in a satisfying and logical manner, one’s perspective on this particular finale and the season that preceded it, outright changes
 
Because just like that, season six transforms itself from an awful mistake, into a season that oddly fits the theme of the series after all. Because at its core, CHiPs was always about the life and times of the officers of the California Highway Patrol, and all of the ups and downs they faced in their careers and lives, and in many ways, seeing Jon and a chunk of the team leave and seeing Ponch deal with a new role, lends to that notion and provides us with the sense of realism that always permeated the earlier seasons. Because life is chaotic in that same way, where friends and coworkers come and go, and that really does make this final season special and unique in its own right. Because in a weird way, we actually got what we wanted out of season six after all, and now that we’ve gone through a tough year in Francis ‘Frank’ Poncherello’s life… we can finally move on to greener pastures and see exactly how his storied career in the CHP, comes to a close. Until next time.

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