I wonder if this was meant to air around Halloween, but it was postponed and then burned off at the end, before the final episode.
Do we have a production guide anywhere to see the order in which these stories were filmed?
It's an episode with Bruce as Ponch's partner, so that seems unlikely. It's funny watching these, it sure seems like they simply gave Bobby's lines to Bruce and vice versa.
shareYeah, I started the thread before I watched it (I was going by the episode description). Bruce is now an officer. The story, though, does seem like it could have been used around Halloween (if there had been another season). I agree that Bruce and Bobby's roles are almost reversed.
Not sure if Rich Little and the dummy work for me. This is a somewhat silly penultimate episode of CHiPs.
Robert Pine directed. He's using all kinds of weird camera angles.
I doubt it was intended for Halloween. On October 31st earlier in the last season, they aired a Halloween-themed episode called Rock Devil Rock with Donnie Most as a rock star who keeps hearing a voice saying he is going to die. That episode also featured Elvira. While watching that episode I thought it must have been a Halloween episode, looked it up, and I was right.
shareOther than the eye candy appeal of Estrada, Penhall, Reilly and Tina Gayle, I found this a painful episode to watch. Started off OK with the girl running on the beach screaming for help. But then it just went off the rails--too much thrown into the episode. And Rich Little just chewed up every bit of scenery. Obviously director Pine didn't try to hard to keep Little's performance under control, though given the script, perhaps it doesn't really matter.
shareI was determined half-way through to give it a low rating here on the IMDb...originally, I was thinking a 6 or 7. But I ended up giving it an 8.
The cast gave it their all. Plus I think the last act played very well, resolving the mystery of how the girl was connected to Little's character, although it was somewhat far-fetched.
What worked for me was the camp value-- I mean they had everything horror-related thrown into it you could think of, from Elvira to the strange phone calls, to the creepy mansion with the secret room, to the exhumation of the body and the shattering of the corpse's face (which I thought was genuinely spooky). Oh, and there was even a chase scene involving a hearse, CHiPs style
Yes, a lot was packed into 44 minutes. And there was even a silly subplot about Grossy trying to lose weight.
But it was definitely entertaining, even if all the elements didn't work perfectly. So I felt that if I gave it less than an 8, it would seem like I was being too critical-- and I did have fun watching it.
The girl was played by an unbelievably hot young Kelly Preston(credited by her real last name Palzis). Aside from that, there wasn't much to this episode. Really, why was Rich Little trying to kidnap her into the ocean? God that was stupid.
I think this episode was notable mainly for how Bobby was treated like Ponch's pet. He has to go door to door to ask about Kelly Preston. Then Ponch orders him to go to the bus station to check out the locker. Then during the chase scene, Ponch and Bruce jump the truck, but Bobby has to stay behind to call it in. I'm sure Tom Reilly saw the writing on the wall by this point.
Elvira has Ponch on speed dial?
shareInteresting to note about Kelly Palzis/Preston...she also appeared in on of the last season Hawaii Five-O episodes and one of the last season Quincy episodes...and just like with CHiPs, hardcore fans of those shows consider the respective final seasons to be the worst for both shows.
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