‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Surf’s Up’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I always love it when a television series finds new ways to surprise me, and sometimes, it doesn’t require a unique plot twist or some epic storytelling to make that happen. Sometimes, a story simply needs to keep me guessing in order to stun me and that kind of unique anticipation is precisely what I was experiencing when I settled in to watch the next episode of CHiPs. Because the prior two episodes went to some supremely dark places, at least, for this series, leaving me to wonder exactly what I was going to find in this particular tale and well, once again, this show found a way take me completely off guard since the dark clouds were lifted in ‘Surf’s Up’, allowing for the series to return to its uplifting roots in impressive fashion.
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For this particular tale almost seemingly acknowledged the fact that the audience and Ponch and Jon have been through some tough times over the past couple of stories, since our dynamic duo found themselves exhausted with their current day to day duties and they were ready for a break. So much in fact, that they asked the Sarge for a temporary transfer off the highways to clear their heads and well, they actually got that opportunity. Because a pair of officers from the Malibu Division were sick with the flu, allowing for Ponch and Jon to fill in and well, this was a welcome change for them. Because now they were surrounded by sunshine, and smiles and they even got to involve themselves in some creative heroism since they used a decoy roadblock to help save a baby that was accidentally kidnapped when a random dude felt the need to steal a car before checking if anyone was still inside of it.

But what truly impressed me about this particular tale, is the sheer fact that it took the time to finally work on a little character development/exploration for Ponch. Because up until now, he’s been the hot shot playboy with a heart of gold and the only thing we’ve learned about him is that he had a bit of a troubled past growing up and one single incident helped open the floodgates when it comes to what makes Frank tick. Because while he and Jon were on patrol, he saw the opportunity to question a young Hispanic boy who appeared as though he may have committed a crime by the looks of some of the stuff in his hands. But when Ponch found out the kid was innocent, he came to realize that he was no better than the police officers that hassled him when he was growing up, something he wanted to never become and to atone for his mistake, he went the extra mile to apologize to this kid, even going so far as to offer up a trip to Disneyland (with the kid’s siblings no less) in order to show him that not all cops are bad and well, I loved this segment. It really spoke to how honest a man Frank really is, and how much he wants to do some good in the world and make it a better place.

However, despite the sunshine and fun to be found here, including a lovely wraparound moment involving jet skis and mistakes made upon them, there were some Creeps of the Week to be dealt with as well. And this time around, a group of thieves who basically stripped a car to the frame were our highlighted bad guys, and what made them so interesting, is that one of them, knew a few of the folks in Malibu, and heck, he even ripped one of his friends off. But as is always the case, they were eventually brought down when the Air Patrol unit caught them in the middle of the act, and while this chase wasn’t quite as exciting as some of the ones that have preceded it, the disdain that our crook received from his friends when they learned of his ugly betrayal, made up for the lack of sirens and speed and it is always nice to see the COTW get their just desserts on this show.

If anything, this really was a welcome change of pace for the series, it broke up the malaise nicely and really, I was all about the storyline involving Ponch. He’s been long overdue for a story that focuses on him and what drives him as both a police officer and a man and it was nice to see the series remove the sometimes-bumbling sidekick stereotype, he’s been falling into in season one, if only for a moment. But what matters more, is that this episode put an end to the dark streak, and while I don’t mind darker stories in the slightest, let’s be honest, they really don’t work with this particular series. CHiPs was always about Ponch and Jon doing the right thing and helping people regardless of the odds all while staying true to their great morals and virtues. But the series does get serious credit for being able to switch between lighter and darker storylines seamlessly and if a future episode dictates the need for a bleaker tale so be it. Because that kind of change up keeps the audience on its toes and reinforces the fact that telling a damn good story is the priority for this series, over anything else. Until next time. 

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