Ponch's Angels

Ponch's Angels
Episode #	414
Air Date	February 28, 1981
Briefing	New officers/Escapees may try to steal cars.

Title screen

Brief Plot

Ponch is unhappy being paired with a female trainee (Jon gets paired with her friend), especially when his girlfriend thinks that something is going on between them. A trio of escapees go looking for buried treasure. A couple are snatching purses at the marina.

Plot

Ponch and the rest of the CHP chase a stolen police cruiser. It runs off the road and causes an accident. At Central, Getraer lectures Ponch about not following orders. Getraer assigns Ponch as the training officer for the first female motorcycle officer, Melanie Mitchell. In the parking lot, Melanie gets used to her motor while Ponch and Harlan watch.

Down by the water, Jon and Bonnie check in with Grossie at the CHP recruitment tent. Nearby, some thieves snatch a purse and get away with it. Out on the streets, Ponch and Melanie pull over a van where the driver is wearing headphones and thick sunglasses. As they get ready to go, Melanie tips over her motor and rips her pants. They go to Ponch's place so she can change. When Grossie and Ponch's girlfriend, Jennifer, show up, Melanie answers the door in a bathrobe. Grossie and Jennifer run off.

Back at Central, Jon is assigned to train Paula Woods. When Ponch and Melanie walk in to the briefing room, they get whistled at. After a busy day, Ponch, Melanie, Jon, and Paula head back to the report room...but Ponch slips out. That Friday night, at Ponch's party, Jennifer gets jealous and leaves. Meanwhile, the escapees search for their treasure.

The next day, Turner chases some kids who were drag racing. They cause a bottled water truck to spill. Ponch responds and tells Melanie to stay put. She doesn't. When the car flips over, Melanie helps Ponch pull a woman out just before it explodes.

Back at Ponch's apartment, Ponch chews out Melanie for not following orders...but ends up kissing her as "To Be Continued" appears on the screen

Guest Stars

• Trisha Townsend as Melanie
• Barbara Stock as Paula
• Stuart Pankin as Louis
• Royce D. Applegate as Roger
• Danny Wells as Gordy
• Cindy Morgan as Jennifer
• Paul Linke as Grossman
• Lou Wagner as Harlan

Special Guest Stars

• Andrew Duggan as Stamp
• Barbi Benton as Sal

Co-Starring

• Brodie Greer as Baricza
• Michael Dorn as Turner

Featuring

• Lou Richards as Van Driver
• Ken Del Conte as Father
• Randi Oakes as Bonnie Clark

Crew

• Produced by: Cy Chermak
• Written by: Rudolph Borchert
• Directed by: John Florea
• Executive Consultant: Rick Rosner
• Story Editors: William D. Gordon & James Doherty
• Associate Producer: Paul Rabwin
• 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
• Editors: Albert P. Wilson A.C.E., William Neel
• Unit Production Manager: Donald Gold
• First Assistant Director: Denny Salvaryn
• Second Assistant Director: Leslie Jackson
• Script Supervisor: Jack Gannon
• Set Decorator: W. Joseph Kroesser
• Production Consultant: Dave McDannel
• Stunt Co-ordinator: Paul Nuckles
• Assistant to the Producer: Randy Torno
• Recorded at: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
• Sound: Harlan Riggs, M. Curtis Price C.A.S.
• Wardrobe Supervisor: Shelly Levine
• Makeup: Richard Cobos S.M.A, Walter Schenck
• Hairdresser: Don Lynch
• Casting: Cathy Henderson
• With Appreciation to Glen B. Craig, Commissioner California Highway Patrol
• Motorcycles Furnished by: Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A.
• Filmed in METROCOLOR / Titles and Opticals MGM
• Rosner Television in association with MGM Television

Fun Facts

• The opening chase was filmed on Shoreline Drive in Long Beach. The stolen police car is first seen heading west, but it's traveling east when the escapees abandon it near Queens Way. View in Google Maps
• When Ponch stops the guy with earphones he tells him "(keep) 55 and stay alive" which was a motto written on stickers applied on cruisers' lightbar or bumper.
• Barbi Benton lived with Hugh Hefner for seven years (1969-1976).

Mistakes

• In the initial pursuit dispatcher says "stolen vehicle is running code 3" while the stolen police car has no lights or siren on while running from Bear
• Jon and Ponch's opposition to female motorcycle officers seems to be at odds with their active recruitment of Sindy Cahill for the off-road patrol in Ride the Whirlwind in season 2.
• When the black Camaro flips, it dislodges the pipe ramp and knocks it into view.
• The snatch and grab suspects were always referred to as "young" or "kids" - Danny Wells was nearly 40 at the time. No wonder they took so long to catch!

Preceded by: "Sharks"

Ponch's Angels 414

Followed by: "Ponch's Angels, Part II"