‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Return of the Supercycle’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I think what makes police serials such a delight to watch, is the sheer fact that you never quite know what surprises will await you when you tune in. Because every week brings forth a new and exciting storyline, one that offers up a new villain and new challenges for our heroes to face and that kind of dynamic storytelling is addictive in its own right and it is also why we don’t see very many ‘sequels’ on these particular shows. Because it has to be a bear to re-sign old guest stars for another tour of duty with the heroes in question. But from time to time it does happen and oddly enough it’s starting to become commonplace on CHiPs.
 
Because for the second season in a row, the series offered up a sequel. And this time around ‘Part 2’ involved following up on a unique story from season two, ‘Supercycle’. Which was a gem of an episode, one that injected noir into this saga, and one that saw the boys in tan bested by a wild daredevil named Roy. Who wanted nothing more than to be a star and went along with his twisted agent’s dangerous stunts in order to make that happen, prompting the guys to make use of a special motorcycle to finally bring him down. Which is important to revisit, since early on in ‘Return of the Supercycle’, it seemed as though that history was repeating itself since a daredevil in red was ripping off jewelry stores before pulling off big stunts, and this guy was also causing big trouble for our heroes.
 
For one of the daredevil’s stunts, put Ponch in the hospital, and it was an odd coincidence that this new thrill seeker showed up shortly after Roy’s return to Los Angeles since he was doing a brand-new show, up in the hills, and that made all signs point to Roy as the culprit of these crimes. Which means that this series once again toyed with more traditional detective tropes by having Jon become the lead investigator on this case, and it was fascinating to watch him work the clues and of course, to see him transform before our eyes as well. Because Jon was hellbent on getting the Supercycle out of mothballs, in order to bring the daredevil to justice and in essence, that push allowed for his inner Ponch to come forth since he was working the Sarge and Harlan the same way his partner would. But sadly, Getrear shut him down every single step of the way.
 
Eventually of course, Jon did win the Sarge over. But not before the red menace bested, he and Getrear on the road and well, you don’t embarrass Joe, plain and simple. And the recommissioning of the Supercycle is what brought forth our big reveal as to who exactly was committing these crimes and thankfully, it wasn’t Roy after all. Instead we came to learn that our Creeps of the Week were Roy’s subordinates in the show. Who felt burned that they weren’t getting the right kind of pay or the right kind of press on this tour, and they were pulling off these crimes to throw the cops off the trail in the hopes of framing their boss. But of course, Jon and his fellow officers were able to figure this out before it was too late and thankfully, they brought these lackeys to justice before they did any harm to Roy’s budding career.
 
In the end, this is an episode that was honestly a true treat to watch. In large part because of the fact that we were able to see Roy come back into the fold and learn that he’s grown since we last saw him on the series. But the other real magic to this story is that everything was handled in gritty and powerful fashion. Take for example, Ponch’s injury, for it is the first time we’ve seen a series lead out of commission in this fashion and since we care about him, we’re worried from the get-go and seeing him hurt somehow adds a sense of urgency to Jon’s quest to bring the new daredevil to justice. If anything, all of these elements added a level of gravity I’ve never seen on the series before and I applaud it for going bold in this fashion and it once again goes to show that season three is shaping up to be something truly special and thanks to this one, I am one-hundred percent certain that more incredible stories await me down the line, and I cannot wait to enjoy every last one of them. Until next time. 

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