Crack-Up

Crack-Up
Episode #	121
Air Date	March 9, 1978
Briefing	The guys targeting CHP officers

Brief Plot

Uneasy rider: Ponch must partner with Sgt. Getraer after Jon is injured in an accident.

Plot

While chasing speeders, Jon hits a car and flies over the hood and hits the pavement hard. The speeder whose car was hit, reports it stolen and hopes he can get away with it. Meanwhile, Ponch, Getraer, and Baricza wait for news at the hospital. Jon says he's almost fine, but the less-than-"ER"-quality doctor says they don't know what's wrong. When Ponch and Getraer try to leave, Jon gets up and gets dizzy. Outside the hospital, Ponch learns that Getraer will be his partner for a while. Soon, Jon gets a visit from "Wonda Lang" (aka Phyllis Diller) who makes him laugh (and hurt). Meanwhile, one of the speeders from Al's towing loosens the tow chain and whips Grossie with it. Grossie ends up as Jon's roommate. Out on the freeway, Ponch and Getraer chase a maniac "Brady-esque" station wagon going. Ponch goes in front of him and slows down while Getraer covers the side. They manage to stop the station wagon and arrest the driver. Getraer scolds Ponch for pulling such a "hot dog stunt" and believes that Jon covers up a lot. When Ponch and Getraer go to visit Jon and Grossie, Jon is undergoing hypnosis...but Ponch snaps him out of it. When Ponch leaves, Grossie requests Fig Newtons. After the briefing, Wonda visits Jon again. Meanwhile, the evil speeder is out on the freeway and almost sideswipes Ponch. Ponch and Getraer chase him as he pulls off the freeway. As he turns a corner, Ponch pulls in front of Getraer to keep him from turning. Ponch realized that Sarge was being set up the same way Jon was. The day after Jon is released, Ponch and Jon encounter an overturned armored truck. The guards refuse to leave the truck. While directing traffic, a tow truck goes flying by. Ponch and Jon chase it off the freeway. In an alley, Ponch is almost hit the same way Grossie was, but the chain gets caught. Jon is glad to finally arrest the driver. Back at the armored truck over an hour later, the truck is still on its side. Getraer tells Ponch it should have been handled "by the book". Ponch asks Getraer to cite the book when the guards still refuse to leave the truck.

Guest Stars

• Phyllis Diller as Wanda
• Joey Aresco as Niles
• Gary Sandy as Ray
• Hunt Hall as Driver
• Harry Phodes as Father
• Marc Lawrence as Co-Driver
• Phillip Pine as Dr. Ansgar
• Danny Goldman as Doctor Bosca
• Linda Thompson as Chrissy
• Pamela Sye as Little Girl
• Robin Braxton as Mother

Crew

• Written by: Rudy Borchert
• Directed by: Phil Bondelli

Mistakes

• While Ponch and Getraer chase a man in a station wagon who has "kidnapped" his kids, Ponch pulls in front of the station wagon to slow him down. There's a close-up of his speedometer to show he's slowing down. If you look closely, the odometer is going backwards.

Buy this episode

• Crack-Up on DVD at Amazon.com
• Crack-Up from Amazon Prime Video
• "CHiPs" Season 1 from iTunes Store

Preceded by: "Rainy Day"

Crack-Up 121

Followed by: "Flashback!"