Fun House

Fun House
Episode #	619
Air Date	March 13, 1983
Briefing	Lindsey is missing and a stolen canister contains a deadly virus.

Title screen

Brief Plot

Some college kids putting up a banner cause a multi-vehicle crash. It turns out they're from Getraer's old fraternity, Delta Delta Tau. Bruce is working as a crossing guard and meets a young girl who gets kidnapped by a woman who lost her own daughter.

Plot

As the episode begins, Ponch and Bobby spot some college girls on the sidewalk and Bobby admits he loves patrolling near a college campus.

Meanwhile, some college kids are hanging a banner off a bridge when they cause a major car accident and fall into manure. Ponch and Bobby arrive and send them to Central with Webster.

Meanwhile, Bruce is doing the job of a crossing guard. He flirts with an 8-year-old girl who is being stalked by a mysterious woman.

Back at Central, Getraer smells something. He thinks it's Grossman at first, but quickly realizes that it's the college kids. He finds out that they're members of Delta Delta Tau, his old college fraternity and agrees to look into the campus thefts which they're being blamed for.

Across town, Bruce gets a picture from the girl. As the girl walks home, the mysterious woman convinces the girl, Lindsey, to ride with her.

A few blocks away, Ponch and Bobby pull over the DDT frat boys in a pathetic van. They pull it over and find three stolen electric typewriters in the back. Back at Central, they insist they knew nothing about the typewriters.

In Getraer's office, Bruce talks to Lindsey's mom and tries to figure out where she is. Bruce recalls seeing a sad woman who may know where Lindsey is and agrees to have a composite drawing created.

That afternoon, Lindsey is at Hildy's home and is told her mother had car trouble and she will be spending the night in San Diego.

Later, Ponch and Bobby are searching DDT's house and start to believe they really were set up.

Bruce and Kathy go out to the local toy shop, Cartoon Junction, looking for the woman Bruce saw near Lindsey's school. They manage to get a name.

At the college, members of a rival frat steal some lab equipment and take a virus canister thinking that it's worth something.

Ponch and Bruce spot a van near the lab and decide to chase it. The van hits a car and starts a fire. Ponch gets the woman out of the car seconds before it explodes...in typical "CHiPs" fashion.

Later, Ponch and Bruce are searching the rented house of the kidnapper. They find a doctor's appointment card.

Back at Central, they talk with her doctor, Dr. Joyce Brothers, and find out that she lost a child and kidnapped Lindsey as a replacement. Ponch realizes they might be headed for Mexico and arranges for a helicopter to goes after her.

At the briefing, Getraer updates people on Lindsey. He then yields the podium to Grossman who dramatically lets people know how to identify the stolen virus canister.

At the DDT frat house, Alpha Kappa Gamma plants the stolen goods and gets out unnoticed. A couple DDT's happen to find the canister and use it to open beer.

While Bruce and Ponch check cars headed to Mexico with the help of the Mexican authorities, Getraer, Bobby, Grossie, and Kathy search the DDT house for the virus canister. Kathy notices a photo of Getraer pouring a bottle of ketchup over his head.

On the road, Lindsey realizes they've passed San Diego and are headed to Mexico. As they approach a road block, Lindsey runs to Bruce and gives him a big hug while Hildy runs to a cliff. He manages to convince her not to jump to her death.

Back on campus, the DDT's are playing tug-of-war. Ponch, Bobby, and Bruce search for the virus canister. When one of the guilty brothers from another frat admits he stole it, they arrest them and go look for the canister. Ponch grabs it just before it would be smashed open by a hammer.

Back at Central, the DDT's give Getraer their winning check for $5000 as a donation to the CHP charity, the Children's Liver Foundation.

Great Quotes

"Five violations! We weren't even driving!"

"I thought this was America!"

-Delta Delta Tau frat boys

"You were still in short pants during Vietnam!"

-Getraer to the frat boys

Guest Stars

• Constance Forslund as Hildy Hopkins
• Heather O'Rourke as Lindsey
• Stephen Furst as Dirtball

• Tina Gayle as Kathy Linahan

Guest Stars

• Dennis Bowen as Renzlo T. Johnson II
• Larry Poindexter as Mark Anthony Harlington III

Co-Starring

• Dr. Joyce Brothers
• Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as Webster
• Billy Braver as Mold
• Tim Jones as Large Slob
• Jody Kay as D.D.T. Girl
• Kahlena Marien as D.D.T. Girl
• Guylaine Moquin-Sanford as Cherie
• Patrick O'Moore as Mr. Cringle
• Marilyn Staley as D.D.T. Girl
• Susie Walsh as Maggie

Crew

• Executive Producer: Cy Chermak
• Supervising Producer: Paul Mason
• Produced By: Joseph Gunn and Donald L. Gold
• Written by: Gerald Sanford
• Directed by: Chuck Bail
• Executive Consultant: Rick Rosner
• Executive Story Consultant: Gerald Sanford
• Creative Consultant: Larry Mollin
• Associate Producer: Randall Torno
• Developed for television by: Paul Playdon
• Music by: Alan Silvestri
• Theme by: John Parker
• Music Supervisor: Harry V. Lojewski
• Director of Photography: Robert F. Sparks
• Art Director: Stephen Myles Berger
• Editor: William Neel
• Unit Production Manager: Steven P. Saeta
• First Assistant Director: Fred R. Wardell
• Second Assistant Director: David Newman
• Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
• Script Supervisor: Suzi Alter
• Production Consultant: Bill Udell
• Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
• Production Associate: Bonnie Jo Chermak
• Rerecorded at: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
• Sound: Harlan Riggs, M. Curtis Price, C.A.S.
• Wardrobe Supervisor: Shelly Levine
• Makeup: Richard Cobos, S.M.A., Jane Aull
• Hair Stylist: Don Lynch
• Sound Editor: John Delbis
• Music Editor: Tommy Carlin
• Motorcycles Furnished by: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
• Casting: Al Onorato, Jerry Franks
• With Appreciation to Glen B. Craig, Commissioner California Highway Patrol
• Filmed in METROCOLOR / Titles and Opticals MGM
• Rosner Television in association with MGM Television

Fun Facts

• There are several Animal House (1978) tie-ins here. Stephen Furst (Dirtball) played Kent Dorfman in the movie. The fraternity in the movie was Delta Tau Chi (ΔΤΧ), here it's the similarly named Delta Delta Tau (ΔΔΤ). In the movie the students attended Faber College, whereas here they're at St. Faber University.
• Heather O'Rourke (Lindsey) became famous a year before this episode as the little girl (Carol Anne Freeling) in Poltergeist.
• 5701 Ethel Avenue (seen on sign near the start) is actually the address of the Los Angeles Valley College.
• When Getraer grabs the guy who stole the virus he says, "Going somewhere, Caesar?". The character's name is Mark Anthony Harlington III. The real Mark Anthony was one of Julius Caesar's generals. Why someone would dress as a Roman at a Greek event is another matter...they obviously weren't history majors!

Mistakes

• Surely it must have occurred to the college students to just tie their banner from the footbridge instead of trying to do it from a ladder in the busy street below.
• While the college kids are hanging their banner, Ponch and Bobby turn a corner on their motorcycles and a black object can be seen in the upper left corner of the shot. This is likely some kind of hood covering the camera on the camera truck.
• Why is Bruce working as a crossing guard? Yes, he's just a cadet, but this still seems beneath someone who will soon be becoming a full CHP officer.
• When the college kids are driving their "wreck on wheels", the background in the top left of the screen in the close-ups shows that the van is stationary.

Different front ends

• When the Alpha Kappa Gammas are loading the stolen virus and microscopes in their van it has a prominent GMC grille. When they hit the car that subsequently catches fire, the van has a different front end.
• Lindsey tells Hildy they've passed San Diego and are heading for Mexico just after the car is seen passing the end of Napoleon Street on Vista Del Mar, just north of LAX.
• When Ponch is talking to Hildy on the rocks, the green slope behind him is in the wrong place to match the long and reverse shots.
• Ponch and Bruce just rescued a kidnapped girl from being taken to Mexico and now they have to save the day at the fraternity too?

Preceded by: "Firepower"

Fun House 619

Followed by: "Fast Company"