‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Ride the Whirlwind’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

As we come to the end of this written journey through season two of CHiPs, I have to admit that I am thoroughly impressed with the series thus far. Because I really was expecting to run into a lot of dated and cheesy moments and some sexism and misogyny as I poured through these episodes, but this series has truly surprised. Because a lot of the quirkier things about the late 70s and early 80s have actually been kept to a minimum here (outside of the fashion from that era), since the show focuses on quality storytelling above all else, and while at times it has handled moments involving women in silly and unfortunate fashion, it’s also knocked some female themed stories out of the park, like when Ponch faced off against a criminal mastermind, that just so happened to be a lady.
​
But despite progress there, the show really did screw the pooch when it aired the mess that is ‘The Matchmakers’. Because anything positive and respectful, related to women, was tossed out the window in that tale, since it provided us with a story involving a woman that could only find solace and salvation by falling in love with a man. And well, I’ve been wondering for some time now if the show was ever going to try and make up for that debacle and as it turns out, an apology was most certainly on the agenda. Because the season two finale of this series, ‘Ride the Whirlwind’, put Officer Sindy Cahill and her desire to be a motorcycle officer at the forefront of the story, and the end result of this decision made for one magnificent journey.

Because in this particular tale, the CHP was dealing with quite the problem in the hills, since dirt bikers were running amuck and causing all kinds of trouble, and they knew they could get away with it since the CHP’s bikes were too heavy to handle the terrain. Enter Ponch and Jon and oddly Grossie, because they had the dirt biking skills to take part in a special assignment to patrol these hills and bring these guys down. But, so did Sindy, and she was really hoping to get in on this special detail, in order to show off her skills on a bike, and maybe get into the motor program. But a quirk of fate is what put Grossie in her spot in the first place and well, thankfully all the guys involved here were on the same page in that, she deserved this opportunity and thanks to a little creativity on Grossie’s part, she made the team, she fought through injury and she brought down the bad guys.

That’s really all the time we’re going to spend today talking about the plot because, I really want to take a moment and discuss the support that Sindy gets in this episode, since it is just glorious and unique. Granted, at first glance it seems as though the support in question is a tad stereotypical since she doesn’t get her shot without a man’s help, but that makes sense here. After all, it was 1979, and the prevalent belief in the CHP was expressed by the sarge in that, women can’t be motor officers. So in reality, seeing Ponch and Grossie and Jon go the extra mile to get her on a bike was quite wonderful to say the least and it was supremely classy to see how much they believed in her abilities as a motor officer, and that she truly deserved a chance at this.

If anything, this definitely wipes away the stain that is ‘The Matchmakers’ and it’s great to see a series set in an era of disco and sexism offer up a surprisingly progressive tale, and I’m so glad Sindy finally got an episode of her own where she was the hero because she’s an awesome and resourceful character that was underutilized this season, and a Sindy-centric tale, one that celebrates her skills, is a wonderful way to wrap up a magnificent season. Because year two really was filled to the brim with brilliant and thoughtful stories, the kind that moved me and what also makes season two so incredible is the sheer fact that this series found a genuine storytelling groove this early into its existence, and if CHiPs grew this much in a single year, then I cannot wait to see what year three has in store for me. Until next time. 

---