‘CHiPs’ Retro Recap: ‘Undertow’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

​It’s always supremely enjoyable, when I’m able to feel old memories wash over me when I settle in to revisit a classic movie or show from my youth. Because you simply cannot go wrong with enjoying the wonder of yesteryear, if only for a moment, and as I settled in to experience the next chapter in the buddy cop series, CHiPs, I found myself immediately transported back to the various summers I spent watching this show. For I used to eat breakfast while sitting through reruns of this series on TNT, and the morning that I watched this episode, I had my eggs and coffee ready to go as I hit play on my Blu Ray player, except this time around, things were slightly different.
 
Obviously, there’s more grey hair on my head now, and rather than watching the series as a fan while I shoveled cereal into my mouth, I was looking for fascinating tidbits to chew upon as a writer and thankfully, ‘Undertow’, certainly did not disappoint when it comes to that. Because there were some fascinating plot points to analyze when all is said and done, but before we dig too deeply into that, the fan in me has to take a moment and discuss the sheer fun that this episode brought to the table, by making Ponch as high as a kite. For his direct exposure to Nitrous Oxide allowed for the character to let loose in ways I don’t recall seeing all often on the series since Ponch’s behavior was similar to that of a five-year-old on a sugar bender and this plot twist offered up some fine comedy for certain.
 
However, while that was entertaining and fun in its own right, we do need to discuss the intriguing plot points that I made mention of and well, what took me off guard when it comes to this episode, was the sheer fact that it was far more machismo than I expected it to be. There’s a lot of tough guy moments in this tale, including one where Jon smacks a dude around for refusing to stop sitting on his car and an entire sub-thread revolving around Ponch being the only one whose sporting skills can save the day and while it sounds as though I’m about to tear the series down for featuring this, fear not. It was just a little rattling to see, since a lot of that tends to be more toned down in this day and age, making those moments a true product of their unique era and fun to watch in their own right.
 
But truly, the centerpiece of this episode, is the plot involving the ‘Creep of the Week’ as I will dub the bad guy going forward, because these are the dudes and ladies that keep Ponch and Job busy and this week’s COTW was a tow truck driver that robbed women whose cars were broken down on the side of the road and well, this guy really was an old-fashioned piece of crap. There was no depth to this villain, no motivation outside of being an opportunist and it was refreshing to see a bad guy that’s just plain bad for a change since these days, we wish to understand every last ounce of their motivations and history, but here, he was nothing more than a force of angry nature and he definitely added to the machismo vibe of this particular tale.
 
Yet, while this was quite the adventurous episode, it definitely felt dated when it came to its portrayal of women in this story. For none of the women who were robbed fought back in the slightest, and were helpless in every sense of the word, and while there is credence to just letting a thief take what he wants to ensure one’s safety, it would have been cool to see one of these ladies bust out some pepper spray, or smack him around. But alas, it’s simply how women were portrayed in 70s television and cinema, and it was a tad jarring to see that once again. But, all negatives aside, this episode delivered pure popcorn entertainment, and I ate it up regardless, and I cannot wait to see what other action-packed and anachronistic moments await me down the line. Until next time. 

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