CHiPs 

The adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers.

Creators:

Rick Rosner, Paul Playdon

Stars:

Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Robert Pine	...	Sgt. Joseph Getraer 139 episodes, 1977-1983
Erik Estrada	...	Officer Frank Poncherello 139 episodes, 1977-1983
Larry Wilcox	...	Officer Jon Baker 117 episodes, 1977-1982
Paul Linke	...	Officer Arthur Grossman / ... 116 episodes, 1977-1983
Brodie Greer	...	Officer Barry Baricza 112 episodes, 1977-1982
Lou Wagner	...	Harlan Arliss 81 episodes, 1978-1983
Randi Oakes	...	Officer Bonnie Clark / ... 69 episodes, 1977-1982
Michael Dorn	...	Officer Jebediah Turner 59 episodes, 1979-1982

Storyline

"CHiPs," which stood for California Highway Patrol, followed the daily beats of two state motorcycle patrolmen as they patrolled the freeway system in and around Los Angeles. Officer Jon Baker was the straight, serious officer while Frank "Ponch" Poncherello was the more free- wheeling member of the duo; both reported to Sgt. Joe Getraer, who gave out assignments and advice in handling the cases. Each episode saw a compilation of incidents, ranging from the humorous (e.g., a stranded motorist) to criminal investigations (such as hijackings) and tragic incidents (such as a fiery multi-car pile-up with multiple deaths. Other aspects of Ponch and Jon's daily work were highlighted as well; the social lives of both officers (they were both single) often provided the lighter moments. On occassion, Ponch and Jon were assisted by a female "Chippie" at first, the very beautiful Sindy Cahill; and later, the more wholesome Bonnie Clark. In 1982, Ponch got a new partner, Bobby Nelson (series star...

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Plot Keywords:

highway patrol | california | motorcycle cop | police protagonist | los angeles california | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 September 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

CHiPs Patrol

Filming Locations:

California Highway Patrol Central Station Los Angeles, 777 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

MGM Television, Rosner Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (139 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

In real-life, California Highway Patrol motorcycle Officers do not ride in pairs. In the first two seasons, this was explained away as being because Ponch was on probation, and Jon was his mentor. However, the viewing audience got so used to seeing them working together, that it stayed that way for the entire show's run, without any further objections.

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Goofs

Throughout the series and regularly in later seasons, car crashes were shown involving vehicles getting airborne after rear-ending another vehicle. This does not happen in actual crashes. In some scenes the ramps used to launch the vehicles are visible.

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Quotes

[a hacker has messed up the CHP's payroll]
Sgt. Joseph Getraer: Now, about the paychecks.
Officer Barry Baricza: Yeah, I've got a car payment due!
[the other officers start complaining]
Sgt. Joseph Getraer: Settle down! Just settle down and we'll try to sort out your paychecks.
Officer Barry Baricza: Well, how much was YOUR paycheck?
Sgt. Joseph Getraer: [nervously] It's... more than I usually get.
[under his breath]
Sgt. Joseph Getraer: It's closer to what I deserve.

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Connections

Referenced in Psych: We'd Like to Thank the Academy (2010)

User Reviews

Nice, big, juicy, round, orange fireballs

This was one of the shows that made up my afternoon routine as a grade-schooler in the early to mid '80s. "CHiPs Patrol" as the syndicated reruns were tagged, played every day at 4 pm, in their scratchy 16mm glory, on our local NBC affiliate, and for a little car-fixated youngster like me, it was like...well, like a car crash played in slow-motion. Literally. Set to bad disco music. The whole thing was so outrageously bad that I couldn't turn away. All the impossiblly stupid motorists doing impossibly stupid things on the sunny LA freeways, invariably ending up in a bloodless, perfectly timed explosion of the said automobile's fuel tank, held me rapt. Ah, the explosions. Large, chrome laden '70s cars flipped through air, jumping *through* telephone poles, turned into piles of twisted sheetmetal, or even just sitting there on the asphalt broken down...somehow they'd ALWAYS end up exploding spectacularly (except when they'd land in someone's swimming pool...damn physics!) with disco-horror music on the TV speaker. Even if it's a diesel powered school bus (which by definition can't explode) it's gonna explode as soon as Ponch and John courageously escort the last bowl-haircitted '70s child to safety.

Did I mention Ponch and John? Or rather Ponchenjohn? I almost forgot about them. These two suntanned, good-looking-in-a-70s-kind-of-way motorcycle cops were the viewers' guides through this wacky world of nonstop car crashes. They seemed reasonably okay, as did all their identically dressed CHP colleagues, rescuing vapid motorists when they weren't comically discussing Ponch's impending hot date or the practical birthday joke they were planning to spring on John. But the two storylines rarely mingled. Nothing of real emotional or dramatic depth ever happened. At the end of the closing credits, as the afterimage of Ponch's Pearl Drop smile begins to fade from your retina, all you can think of is: "Man, that was a beautiful '71 Trans Am they blew up."

In other words:

Mindless eye candy with a wonderfully plastic '70s sheen. Don't miss it!