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Return of the Brat Patrol-- the last episode

posted 10 years ago by jarrodmcdonald-1
15 replies | jump to latest

The last episode is coming up on Me-TV in a few days. Last week I recorded Brat Patrol, an earlier sixth season episode, but I deliberately did not watch it. I am saving it so I can watch it with Return of the Brat Patrol, which I figure is a sequel of sorts.

I wonder if this was an idea for a spinoff about kids helped by the California Highway Patrol. At any rate I am looking forward to seeing these two episodes back-to-back.

Not sure if I will watch season 1 on Thursday. The first season is my least favorite. The formula did not fully gel, in my opinion, until the second season. Dukes of Hazzard was the same way. These shows were huge hits, but their first seasons are a bit wobbly, as they try to find their footing story-wise. I think CHiPs had a slight advantage when it started because it was coming on the heels of hits like Adam 12 and Emergency!, so they were able to borrow elements from the Jack Webb shows that had been proven to work with audiences.

I wish there had been a seventh season or at least a string of TV movies in the 80s after it was cancelled. Erik Estrada has claimed in interviews that the studio (MGM) blacklisted him for ten years. Not sure if that's true, but I suppose it explains why CHiPS ended the way it did with little fanfare and without real closure.

Nevertheless, it's a fun show, and I'm glad Me-TV has been re-airing it. I am sure it's finding a whole new legion of young fans, and it's providing much-needed nostalgia and comfort TV for those old enough to remember it during its first run on NBC.

I know some people are trying to pick apart the episodes and find errors/goofs, or they're looking for an excuse to pile on about the cheesiest stories. But I don't think the show should be viewed that way. When these people made CHiPs all those years ago, they were aiming first and foremost to entertain (and the episodes are always entertaining), while showing law enforcement in a sincerely positive light (and I think they did succeed with that more serious goal).

[–] darkavenger77 10 years ago

I know some people are trying to pick apart the episodes and find errors/goofs, or they're looking for an excuse to pile on about the cheesiest stories. But I don't think the show should be viewed that way. When these people made CHiPs all those years ago, they were aiming first and foremost to entertain (and the episodes are always entertaining), while showing law enforcement in a sincerely positive light (and I think they did succeed with that more serious goal).

This is a statement I read on occasion here. I'm retired law enforcement, so I tend to pick apart shows like this as well as modern ones. I suspect lawyers do the same thing for lawyer shows, and doctors for medical shows. The accuracy has not really improved- they still aim for entertainment over accuracy. If you watch Blue Bloods, Hawaii 5-0 or especially NCIS: LA, they all have considerable and needless legal and/or procedural errors. Blue Bloods began as a decent show, but it has deviated away in later seasons. A great modern cop show IMO was Robbery-Homicide Division, but due to the lead actor's (Tom Sizemore) problems, it lasted less than an entire season. Homicide: Life on the Street was another good one, and it went the distance.

Having watched both recently, I have to say I liked S1 of CHiPs far more than S6. I kept the pilot episode on my DVR. I don't think Estrada being blacklisted* had anything to do with the decision not to renew. Such decisions as I understand them are ratings based. If a show can't generate high enough ratings, it is canceled.

A review of ratings by season showed:
S1 on Thursdays at 8 PM, the show was outside the top 30 shows. It was on against two top 30 shows, Welcome Back, Kotter (#26) and The Waltons (#20).
S2 on Saturdays at 8 PM, it was in the top 30 at #25, and did not compete against any top 30 shows.
S3 also on Saturday at 8 PM it peaked at #18, and did not compete against any top 30 shows.
S4 on Sunday at 8 PM it fell to #24, and competed against top 30 shows Archie Bunker's Place (#13) and One Day at a Time (#11).
S5 also on Sunday at 8 PM it again fell outside the top 30, and again competed against top 30 shows Archie Bunker's Place (#12) and One Day at a Time (#10).
S6 also on Sunday at 8 PM it was again outside the top 30 and competed against top 30 shows Archie Bunker's Place (#22) and Gloria (#18).
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977–78_United_States_network_television _schedule

If the premise of the show were science fiction or social work, then S6 would have scored far higher with me for accuracy- although I doubt I would have watched it. The fact is that it was supposed to be a show about the CHP, and it deviated so far away from that as to be laughable. BTW, that is one of my main complaints about NCIS: LA- unlike the good original show, they rarely if ever investigate anything Navy or Marine Corps related. I have re-titled the show "Homeland Security". Hawaii 5-0 is the opposite of CHiPs when it comes to guns- they have plenty, and engage in A-Team shootouts with hundreds of rounds expended and no one hit.

*According to his IMDB page, I see Estrada got work on Hunter, a highly-rated 80's cop show, in 1987. In fact, the only year from 1984-1994 that he did not have a role of some sort was 1986. Later years were similar- he had roles every year from 1995-2000, with 35 episodes of Sealab 2021 from 2000-2005. While he had nothing in 2006, he's had roles every year since then to the present, to include works in production.

RIP Ron Swanson. Writers created your awesomeness in S1 and killed it in S7

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

I'm a teacher though one of my degrees is in television and film production (and I worked on a few shows before I went into education). I am very analytical and pick a lot of shows apart, too. I sort of give CHiPs more latitude because I don't think they were ever trying to do Shakespeare and they weren't really aiming to be a documentary about law enforcement. I think this program was meant as a feel-good about the cops, let's admire them for the tough job they have to do and stop working against them, sort of show. In many ways, it was positive P.R., and historically it falls in between the Watts and the Rodney King riots when people had a very low view about cops. CHiPs tries to work against that viewpoint.

Someone else in another thread (maybe it was you) mentioned that today's law enforcement is too militaristic and I completely agree. I feel it's because we have a lot of ex-military going to work as police officers and border patrol agents and maybe also criminals are more dangerous than before, so it is not like it was in the late 70s or early 80s (that is another topic altogether).

Getting back to TV production and ratings-- it is interesting that Archie Bunker and Gloria had better ratings but they were also axed after the 82-83 season. My guess is that had to do with demographics (those shows skewed older). As for CHiPs, I don't get the feeling they knew they were being cancelled. The energy in these late sixth season episodes is still there, the cast is still putting everything they have into the stories. So my guess is that even if NBC knew it was dropping the show, it definitely waited till the last minute to make the announcement.

Regarding Estrada-- he claims he was blacklisted because he fought with MGM over syndication sales. Not sure if his beef was against NBC. He did a three-episode arc of Hunter, on NBC, but that show was not produced by MGM.

Finally, as related to season six of CHiPs, there are some episodes I do not like at all. The one with the orangutan is my least favorite. It is quite silly and they play it too straight when it should have been more satirical. To me, that is NBC's influence on the show. There was an episode of Little House that had an orangutan around the same time. Also, NBC had recently aired B.J. and the Bear which featured a chimp. There was this feeling that if you did action stories with furry animals (probably inspired by Clint Eastwood's EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE) then audiences would eat it up, yuk yuk. It's just part of that era's idea of entertainment.

As for UFOs, even the rather respectable Matt Houston did an episode about alien encounters. The motion picture E.T. made hundreds of millions at the box office; and STARMAN would hit theatres soon. Also, robots were featured in many TV shows and movies (no doubt inspired by the on-going STAR WARS craze). Again, while all this combines to make the last season of CHiPs much less realistic, it is understandable given the context of the times and what people were interested in seeing on screen. Plus I wouldn't be surprised if the program's writers were probably pressured by the network to include some of these kinds of stories, as gimmicks to attract viewers. It's all part of the TV industry at the time, and the overall zeitgeist of the early to mid-80s.

[–] darkavenger77 10 years ago

There's also a huge accuracy contrast between the S1 pilot and S6.

The S1 pilot dealt with an auto theft ring, and a trainee sworn officer. The CHP does deal with auto thefts, and patrol officers routinely arrest drivers that are driving stolen cars. One of the most accurate things was at the end of the episode when Poncherello tried to stop a CHP Captain's mother and she put her car in a ditch. Poncherello had his training extended by the Captain.

Contrast this with S6's plots and Bruce Nelson, who as an unsworn cadet rarely is seen at the academy (BTW 6 hours away in Sacremento), and when he is seen, he's riding a CHP motorcycle and on occasion doing solo work, to include pursuits. Why not just give him a red cape and put an "S" on his shirt? The CHP does not investigate for example stolen college typewriters or most of the things they were shown doing in S6.

Since the show was classified as a drama/dramedy, these gross inaccuracies hurt it. If it were trying for comedy, Loaded Weapon I, which ironically had an Estrada/Wilcox CHP cameo, was a lot funnier.

RIP Ron Swanson. Writers created your awesomeness in S1 and killed it in S7

[–] charcas67 10 years ago

I was a kid and young teen when CHIPS was first on and never watched it much, nor do I watch much of the re runs. I always considered the show cheesy and silly. But in the last couple of weeks I've been watching it on METV, and while it can be cheesy and silly, I actually enjoy the show and finally become a fan. I'm looking forward to watching it from the beginning and might get the DVDs of the first 3 seasons. The show has its charm and is quite entertaining.

I now wish there had been a season 7; Bruce Penhall was showing he could help carry the show (unlike Tom Reilly, who while attractive and athletic, just wasn't up to a lead role on a TV series) and I think one last season showing a Ponch/Bruce partnership might have been a good way to wind things up. But it got cancelled due to declining ratings, and in certain respects, the show was a vestige of the disco era which was rapidly fading in the early 80s. But still.

[–] basterd7 10 years ago

I think the unique thing about Chips was that, compared to other cop shows of the time period, this was not a hard-boiled drama or a procedural. This was lighthearted entertainment aimed at a young audience. I also think it was groundbreaking in its use of the LA freeway system and these massive, elaborate car crashes. I wasn't around when this show first aired but had any other show attempted something that ambitious? Filming on the actual freeway?

Chips, while far from perfect, established a certain look and vibe in that first season which it would ride until season 5. That's where the writing began to falter, as did the ratings. In season 6, it's like they threw out virtually everything that made the show great. There's still some funny scenes and well-done stunts, but it had an air of sloppiness that you didn't see in previous seasons.

[–] glennh69 10 years ago

I think the unique thing about Chips was that, compared to other cop shows of the time period, this was not a hard-boiled drama or a procedural. This was lighthearted entertainment aimed at a young audience. I also think it was groundbreaking in its use of the LA freeway system and these massive, elaborate car crashes.

In this statement, you have captured the essence of CHiPs and how it carved its own unique niche. No doubt the original pilot was intended to be a procedural cop/bro drama on the order of Starsky & Hutch. Very quickly, the story lines became increasingly "adolescent" in nature.

The comic and popular culture elements (disco, celebrity cameos, motor cycle & car competitions, and lots of skin--both male & female) increased with each passing year. Unlike other cop & private eye shows of the time, CHiPs was intentionally devoid of blood, violence, and realism. Ever notice how, regardless of how horrific and fiery the ubiquitous vehicle crashes were, they never resulted in any fatalities? This is, in itself, is an outlandish & unrealistic plot element that can only be explained by the viewing audience being too young for anything intense. I think I read somewhere that there was only one episode where a gun was even drawn (and it was Baricza, not Ponch or Jon).

I always viewed the trajectory of CHiPs as similar to Lost in Space. The latter's original pilot was intended as a serious sci-fi series, in the vein of Star Trek. However, by the end of the final season, the plots & acting became so juvenile and silly it was basically camp.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

And there is nothing wrong with camp, unless you are looking for a docudrama (and this show is not that at all). I think they did a great job entertaining audiences for six years (and many years since, with reruns).

[–] bleech2 10 years ago

Well, there was one fatality; Ponch's girlfriend in "Head Over Heals"

This was the first time I've ever watched Chips, despite being a child of the 80s. Having seen just about every episode since it started airing on Metv in early September, I found it entertaining at times but not very memorable. I would rate series like "Dragnet", "Adam-12" and "Emergency" much higher on the re-watchability scale (I had never seen any of those series either until the rise of OTA digi-nets). The camp factor was just a little too overdone for my taste.

[–] darkavenger77 10 years ago

they never resulted in any fatalities?

In addition to the fatality that was mentioned of Poncherello's homely girlfriend, there were two others where the MAIT (Multidiscipline Accident Investigation Team) was used.

In MAIT Team (sic), S2 E15, Cahill was accused of causing a crash that killed 11 people.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0534485/

In Dead Man's Riddle, S4 E 20, a fire Captain had been killed in a crash involving some shady federal government types, who tried to pin it on the Captain. Getraer had a great line to the effect of "I smell you, brother" when he let the shady federal government dude he knew he was some type of law enforcement.

Officers died at least twice on the show:
In Death Watch, S3 E5, Officer Steve Wydemeyer was killed in the line of duty in a car crash.

In Sick Leave, S4 E2, Officer Andy Stratowski, who was terminally ill, died in the line of duty at the end of the show.

It does not have to be something as considerable as a fatal crash or death. The show in S6 failed on small things such as dispatch codes. Bobby Nelson rarely used them- in one episode in the first crash he didn't use them, then he did when Webster crashed. This was either his fault for not knowing them or bad writing, either way it was inconsistent. The entire cadet that spends one day at the academy and almost all the rest of the time on a motorcycle sub-plot was just dumb. Why not just make him an officer?

The character contrast for S1-4 and part of 5 were the "Hot Dog" Poncherello and the "Straight Arrow" Jon. This was lost when two "Hot Dogs" were paired in Poncherello and Nelson.

RIP Ron Swanson. Writers created your awesomeness in S1 and killed it in S7

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

The last episode is airing on Me-TV in eight minutes. Going to be sad that season six is over already!

Still not sure if I will watch season 1 tomorrow...

[–] basterd7 10 years ago

Talk about a show going out with a whimper. This episode was a damn carbon copy of the first brat patrol, with basketball instead of track. Uh, since when does the CHP patrol the halls of some random junior high? That made real sense. Just like the kid being ashamed of his father's Italian accent. Seriously, where the hell did that come from?

I think this episode showed just how far Chips had strayed from the formula that made it a hit. Even the stunts looked really shoddy in comparison to past seasons. NBC was right to take this show behind the woodshed.

But it looks like MeTV has decided not to show the pilot tomorrow and skip right to episode #2 -- Undertow. WTF?

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

As much as I like Bruce, I think they made a mistake having him become Ponch's partner so soon. He's still too immature in these episodes (I know that he's basically a rookie but it doesn't quite work for me). If the writers were going to phase Bobby out, then they should have killed him off, like in a two-part episode. And that coincided with Bruce graduating from the academy and joining up with Ponch to nab Bobby's killers. Something more dramatic would have made Bruce grow up a bit faster.

Instead, we have Ponch playing musical partners, with Bobby still hanging around in the background. It feels the focus is shifting in the last three episodes without any real catalyst for it.

[–] bleech2 10 years ago

The pilot was shown on New Year's day (the theme of the day). Each episode can air only a certain number of times in syndication agreements.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 10 years ago

I just got around to watching 'The Brat Patrol' and 'Return of the Brat Patrol.' I loved both episodes, though I think the first one was a little better because of Madlyn Rhue's superb acting in the second plot.

These juvenile characters were like 'The Bad News Bears' of the Highway Patrol. Cute, funny and indicating how kids can develop an appreciation of the law just as easily as other kids might join gangs or become more criminally motivated. It's all feel-good fuzzy stuff, but seeing them develop with the aid of the officers is somewhat interesting to watch.

[–] Doug-Ohh 9 years ago

Didn't this episode, the series' (unintentional) finale, also have a small subplot where a teenage girl confided to Ponch that her boyfriend was pressuring her to give him her virginity?

If I recall correctly, she wasn't comfortable with getting sexually involved with her boyfriend and Ponch encouraged her to stand firm in her beliefs and not give-into him and that it likely wouldn't do any good as when women give-in to their men to "please them," they're more likely to bolt...