‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘The Hawk and the Hunter’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Something that television shows that feature an ensemble cast, struggle with often, is giving lesser characters a decent amount of screen and story time. Which makes sense for certain, simply because we are tuning in to see the main characters do their thing, so focusing upon anyone else just seems like a giant waste of time for the audience and that’s why most shows don’t bother to do anything with the ‘B’ cast but let them hang around in the background. But truly, that is an incorrect approach to television, because talented supporting actors put a lot into their work, despite their lack of screen time, and they usually develop these proverbial sidekicks to be more than background filler, to the point where they can help make a story better and/or carry one on their own.
 
But thankfully some shows, take full advantage of what their actors and characters have to offer, and utilize them to a tee in balanced fashion, and one series that always does a fine job with this, is CHiPs. Because over the course of the past four seasons, we’ve seen background characters grow and we’ve seen them take the center stage when necessary and it just so happens that at long last, one supporting character that was overdue for this kind of treatment, finally got his day in the sun. For ‘The Hawk and the Hunter’ focused heavily on Officer Barry Baricza and well, what we learned about Barry was downright fascinating. For starters, we came to discover that he is a family man through and through, one that will spread himself thin if it means helping his family out.
 
Because his father was struggling to keep the family aviation business going, courtesy of some back issues and that prompted Barry to step in and handle his father’s duties shortly after his CHP shift was complete and well, working his regular hours on the beat, and then adding another thirty or so hours to his week was burning him out like never before. In fact, things started getting so difficult for Barry, that he actually started making mistakes on the job, the kind that involved damages to vehicles and that allowed for us to learn something else about Barry; he’s a perfectionist. Because this bothered him on a level that no one thought was possible, to the point where he actually decided it was time to go on vacation to think about his current career choices and he even went so far as to have Getraer prepare his termination paperwork, just in case.   
 
Which seems extreme, but it’s a good thing that he took a little time away from work. Because he spent his down time helping out his dad, which gave him time to properly ponder upon whether or not taking over the family business is what he truly wanted. Plus having his friends keep an eye on him while he worked at the airfield provided ol’ Bar with an added benefit. For dear old dad was suddenly being targeted by a former war veteran named Lyle who definitely needed some serious help in regard to his mental health, and if it wasn’t for Ponch and Jon’s efforts in working this case, Lyle could have done some serious damage. But thankfully he was arrested and hopefully got the help he needed and Barry, well he finally figured out that policework was his calling and returned to the force refreshed and slightly embarrassed at having to eat a little humble pie.
 
If anything, this was a fine episode for several reasons. First and foremost, it was indeed cool to finally learn about what makes Baricza tick, and it was wonderful to see that he’s a good son and willing to go the extra mile for his pops. But more importantly, this is an episode that quite frankly serves as a palate cleanser. Because the past few episodes have either featured some heavy concepts, or some powerfully progressive ones. So, it is nice to take a little break here, and enjoy something a little more lighthearted. And it is also wonderful that this episode reminds us that everyone at CHP Central is family, and that they are inseparable. At least… for now. But that’s a topic for another season and really the only question left hanging after this one, is whether or not year four is going to wrap up in fluffy fashion, or if some tough stories await us as we close in on the season four finale. Until next time.

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