CHiPs

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This article is about the television series. For other uses, see Chip#films and
television.
CHiPs
CHiPs title screen.jpg
Genre Crime drama
Created by Rick Rosner
Developed by Paul Playdon
Starring
Larry Wilcox
Erik Estrada
Robert Pine
Tom Reilly
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 139 (and 1 TV movie) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time 48 minutes
Production company(s)
Rosner Television
MGM Television
Distributor MGM/UA Television Distribution
(1982-1984)
Warner Bros. Television Distribution (currently)
Release
Original network NBC
Picture format 4:3
Original release September 15, 1977 �
May 1, 1983
External links
[chips-tv.com "CHiPs" Online]
CHiPs is an American crime drama television series that originally aired on NBC
from September 15, 1977 to May 1, 1983. It followed the lives of two motorcycle
officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The series ran for 139 episodes
over six seasons, plus one reunion TV movie in October 1998.

Contents
1 Overview
2 Cast
2.1 Cast changes
3 Production
4 Episodes
5 Broadcast history
6 Home media
7 Streaming
8 Spin-offs
8.1 CHiPs '99
8.2 Feature film
8.3 Merchandise
9 In popular culture
10 References
11 External links
Overview

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citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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CHiPs is an action crime drama in a standard hour-long time slot, which at the time
required 48 minutes of actual programming. Over-the-top freeway pileups, which
occurred frequently, especially in the later seasons, were a signature of the show.
For filming, traffic on Los Angeles freeways was non-existent and most chase scenes
were done on back roads.

The show was created by Rick Rosner, and starred Erik Estrada as macho,
rambunctious Officer Francis ("Frank") Llewellyn "Ponch" Poncherello and Larry
Wilcox as his straitlaced partner, Officer Jonathan ("Jon") Andrew Baker. With
Ponch the more trouble-prone of the pair, and Jon generally the more level-headed
one trying to keep him out of trouble with the duo's gruff yet fatherly immediate
supervisor Sergeant Joseph Getraer (Robert Pine), the two were Highway Patrolmen of
the Central Los Angeles office of the California Highway Patrol (CHP, hence the
name CHiPs).

As real-life CHP motor officers rarely ride in pairs, in early episodes this was
explained away by placing the trouble-prone Ponch on probationary status, with Jon
assigned as his field training officer. Eventually, by the end of the first season,
this subplot faded away (Ponch completed his probation) as audiences were used to
seeing the two working as a team.

Cast

The cast of CHiPs (from left: Erik Estrada as "Ponch", Robert Pine as Getraer, and
Larry Wilcox as Jon)
Larry Wilcox as Officer Jonathan Andrew "Jon" Baker (1977�82) / 7-Mary-3. He is the
partner of "Ponch".
Erik Estrada as Officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello / 7-Mary-4
(15-Mary-6 in the final season). He is the partner of Jon.
Robert Pine as Sergeant Joseph (Joe) Getraer / S-4
Lew Saunders as Officer Gene Fritz (1977�79) / 5-David-5 (7-David in some episodes)
Brodie Greer as Officer Barry "Bear" Baricza (1977�82) / 7-Adam (7-David in two
episodes)
Paul Linke as Officer Arthur (Artie) "Grossie" Grossman / 7-Mary-5
Lou Wagner as Harlan Arliss, Automobile/Motorcycle Mechanic, CHP (1978�83)
Brianne Leary as Officer Sindy Cahill (1978�79) / 7-Charles
Randi Oakes as Officer Bonnie Clark (1979�82) / 7-Charles
Michael Dorn as Officer Jedediah Turner (1979�82) / 7-David
Bruce Jenner as Officer Steve McLeish (1981�82) / 15-Mary-19
Tom Reilly as Officer Bobby "Hot Dog" Nelson (1982�83) / 15-Mary-7
Tina Gayle as Officer Kathy Linahan (1982�83) / 7-Mary-10
Bruce Penhall as Cadet/Officer Bruce Nelson (1982�83) / 15-Mary-8
Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as Officer Benjamin Webster (1982�83) / 15-Adam-9
Cast changes
In the fifth season (1981�82), Estrada went on strike over a dispute over
syndication profits. As a result, he did not appear in seven episodes; for that
period he was replaced by Jenner (Officer Steve McLeish).[1][2]

Despite their successful pairing on-screen, Wilcox and Estrada did not always get
along behind the camera.[3] However, it was Wilcox's falling-out with the producers
over what he saw as continual favoritism toward Estrada that saw Wilcox not return
for the sixth and final season. Wilcox was replaced by Tom Reilly (Officer Bobby
Nelson).

Bruce Penhall, a native of Balboa Island, Newport Beach and a motorcycle speedway
rider who had won the 1981 and 1982 Speedway World Championships, was also
introduced as cadet�probationary officer Bruce Nelson, Bobby's younger brother in
1982�83. The season 6 episode "Speedway Fever" (aired November 7, 1982) centered on
Penhall's character Nelson winning the 1982 Speedway World Final at the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum, with scenes filmed in the pits during the meeting. The episode
also used television coverage of the final, with dubbed commentary. Penhall later
admitted that having a bodyguard and having to have makeup done in the pits in full
view of his competitors at the World Final only added to the pressure he was under
both as a rider and a rookie actor and that it felt weird having to "buddy up to
Ponch" in front of the other riders while the World Final was taking place. In
order to become a full-time member of the CHiPs cast, Penhall had officially
announced his retirement from speedway racing on the podium of the 1982 World
Final.

Production

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According to a 1998 TV Guide article, show creator Rick Rosner was a reserve deputy
with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. During a coffee break on an
evening patrol shift in the mid-1970s he saw two young CHP officers on motorcycles
which gave him the idea for this series. He later created 240-Robert, which seemed
like a hybrid of CHiPs and Emergency!.

California Highway Patrol, "CHiPs" era, motor officer helmet

Episodes occasionally reference Jon Baker's service in Vietnam. This makes his
character one of the earliest regular (and one of the more positive) portrayals of
a Vietnam veteran on television. Indeed, Larry Wilcox served 13 months in Vietnam
as a Marine artilleryman.

Despite the Ford Motor Company's credit as a vehicle provider for four of the
series' six seasons, cars and trucks were supplied by several manufacturers. All of
the police cars were Dodge models, as they were actual CHP cruisers bought at
police auction for the show.

Although doubles were used for far-off shots and various stunt or action sequences,
Wilcox and Estrada did a great deal of their own motorcycle riding, and performed
many smaller stunts themselves. Although Wilcox emerged relatively injury-free,
Estrada suffered various injuries several times throughout the run of the series.
In several early first-season episodes, a huge bruise or scab can be seen on his
arm after he was flung from one of the motorcycles and skidded along the ground.
But his worst accident came when he was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident
while filming a season three episode in August 1979, fracturing several ribs and
breaking both wrists. The accident and Estrada's subsequent hospitalization was
incorporated into the series' storyline.

Prior to being cast in CHiPs, Estrada had no experience with motorcycles, so he

underwent an intensive eight-week course, learning how to ride. In 2007, it was
revealed that he did not hold a motorcycle license at the time CHiPs was in
production, and only qualified for a license after three attempts, while preparing
for an appearance on the reality television show Back to the Grind.

Estrada and Wilcox never drew their firearms over the course of the series,
although this did occur in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 and in the made-for-
TV reunion movie CHiPs '99. The only character on the series depicted as drawing
his firearm was Baricza (Brodie Greer), and he did so three times. The first was
his radio car's Ithaca 37 shotgun in season 1's episode "Rainy Day",[4] where the
CHiPs conduct a felony traffic stop of a motorhome-based casino.[5] The second was
in season 2's premiere, "Peaks and Valleys", against two hillbillies armed with a
Tommy gun and a double-barrel shotgun who had ambushed his unattended patrol car
for fun. Here the action was only implied, with his hand motion just below camera
range. The last was in season 4's "Karate", in which a karate-trained car burglar
(Danny Bonaduce) attacked him with a Bo, but Baricza drew his gun to stop him.

NBC aired reruns of this series on its 1982 daytime schedule from April to
September.

During the original run of the series, syndicated reruns of older episodes were
retitled CHiPs Patrol to avoid confusion.[6] Later syndicated reruns after the show
went out of production reverted to the original title.

Episodes
Main article: List of CHiPs episodes
Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 September 15, 1977 April 1, 1978
2 23 September 16, 1978 May 12, 1979
3 24 September 22, 1979 March 30, 1980
4 21 September 21, 1980 May 17, 1981
5 27 October 4, 1981 May 23, 1982
6 22 October 10, 1982 May 1, 1983
Television film October 27, 1998
CHiPs episodes were usually a combination of light comedy and drama. A typical
episode would start with Ponch and Jon on routine patrol or being assigned to an
interesting beat, such as Malibu or the Sunset Strip. In roll call briefing, Sgt.
Getraer would alert his officers to be on the lookout for a particular criminal
operation, such as people staging accidents as part of an insurance scam, or punks
breaking into cars. A few interesting, unrelated vignettes often transpired during
"routine" traffic enforcement.

A light-hearted subplot would also be included, such as Harlan trying to hide a

stray dog from Getraer at the office. A more serious theme, such as Ponch trying to
keep a kid from his old neighborhood out of a potential life of crime, might also
be included. After a few failed attempts to apprehend the gang that had been
menacing L.A.'s freeways, the episode would invariably culminate in Ponch and Jon
leading a chase of the suspects (often assisted by other members of their
division), climaxing with a spectacular series of stunt vehicle crashes.

The show then typically featured a d�nouement of Ponch and Jon participating in a
new activity (such as jet skiing or skydiving), designed to showcase the pair's
glamorous Southern California lifestyle. Often, Ponch would attempt to impress a
woman he had met during the episode with his athletic prowess or disco dancing,
only to fail and provide Jon, Getraer, and others with many laughs. As the
preliminary end credits would start, the image would freeze multiple times, showing
various characters laughing or otherwise enjoying the social scene.

Some of the more outlandish plots included Ponch and his Season 6 partner Bobby
Nelson helping a girl who believed that she was being targeted by UFOs and them
racing against time to defuse a battery about to explode on an intelligent
experimental police robot.

CHP officers almost never drew their guns in the series; in the TV Movie however,
guns were used more prominently, especially in one of the final scenes in which Jon
and McFall are held hostage on a tour bus, the entire CHP are shown holding guns at
the bus.
Broadcast history
(all times Eastern/Pacific Time; subtract one hour for Central/Mountain Time)

September 1977 � March 1978: NBC Thursday, 8�9PM

April 1978: NBC Saturday, 8�9PM
May � August 1978: NBC Thursday, 8�9PM
September 1978 � March 1980: NBC Saturday, 8�9PM
March 1980 � March 1983: NBC Sunday, 8�9PM
April � May 1983: NBC Sunday, 7�8PM
May � July 1983: NBC Sunday, 8�9PM
NBC aired reruns of the series weekdays at 3PM EST between April 26, 1982 �
September 10, 1982. The show aired on Me-TV from 12/19/2016-5/26/17. The show
currently airs on Charge TV.

In the United Kingdom, the series was broadcast by ITV but was not screened
nationally. The series started in January 1979 in the London region, but began with
season two (the first episode shown was episode 2x02 "The Volunteers") by February
most other ITV regions originally screened in the Saturday teatime slot around
17:35 but moved to the Sunday teatime slot in 1980. By 1981, as with many imported
programmes of the era, the series was being broadcast at different times during the
weekend throughout the year by the different ITV regions. The series shared its
Saturday teatime slot with other series such as The A-Team, Knight Rider, Magnum,
P.I. and Whiz Kids.

During 1984, most ITV stations continued with the Saturday teatime slot except for
Anglia Television, Scottish Television (STV) and Television South West (TSW), who
broadcast episodes during the weekend mornings or Sunday afternoons. By early 1985,
the series was being broadcast during Saturday mornings by Anglia, Central,
Grampian, Granada, STV and Tyne Tees, who all completed the series by end of the
1985. HTV and Yorkshire completed the series by 1986, while LWT, TVS and TSW
finished series six in 1987 after starting in 1985. A few companies repeated the
series in 1987.

The entire series was shown in New Zealand on TVNZ in the 1980s.

Home media
Warner Home Video released the first two seasons of CHiPs on DVD in Regions 1, 2
and 4 between 2007 and 2008. On March 3, 2015 (over six years later), the third
season was released on DVD in Region 1.[7] The fourth season was released in Region
1 on March 15, 2016.[8] The fifth season was released in Region 1 on March 14,
2017.[9][10][11] The sixth season and the complete series were released in Region 1
on June 6, 2017.[12]

All 139 episodes are at the iTunes Store.[13][14]

DVD title No. of

episodes Release dates
Region 1 Region 2 (UK) Region 4
The Complete First Season 22 June 5, 2007 August 20, 2007 September 6,
2007
The Complete Second Season 23 June 3, 2008 September 22, 2008
September 3, 2008
The Complete Third Season 23 March 3, 2015 TBA TBA
The Complete Fourth Season 21 March 15, 2016 TBA TBA
The Complete Fifth Season 27 March 14, 2017 TBA TBA
The Complete Sixth Season 22 June 6, 2017 TBA TBA
The Complete Series 139 June 6, 2017 TBA TBA
Streaming
As of May 29th 2019 the show can be streamed via Amazon Prime, Youtube, Itunes,
Google Play and Vudu.

Spin-offs
CHiPs '99
CHiPs '99
CHiPs '99 FilmPoster.jpeg
CHiPs '99 Movie Poster
Genre Crime
Drama
Written by Morgan Gendel
Directed by Jon Cassar
Starring Larry Wilcox
Erik Estrada
Robert Pine
Paul Korver
David Ramsey
Brodie Greer
Bruce Penhall
Paul Linke
Judge Judy Sheindlin
Music by Stacy Widelitz
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) Rick Rosner
Producer(s) Erik Estrada
Christopher Morgan
Larry Wilcox
Production location(s) California
Cinematography David Geddes
Editor(s) Ron Spang
Running time 94 minutes
Production company(s) Turner Films
Distributor TNT
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Release
Original network TNT
Picture format Color
Audio format Stereo
Original release October 27, 1998
CHiPs '99 is a 1998 American made-for-television crime drama film and a sequel to
the series and it's also a favorite among fans of CHiPs and Judge Judy. It was
directed by Jon Cassar. Several cast members from the original series make a
return. Original cast with promotions were Jon Baker as a Captain and Joe Getraer
as the CHP Commissioner. Other original cast members were Officer Frank Poncherello
returning from a 15-year hiatus from the CHP, Officer Barry Baricza and Arthur
(Artie) "Grossie" Grossman as a Detective. Bruce Penhall also returns as newly
promoted Sergeant Bruce Nelson.

Larry Wilcox as Captain Jonathan (Jon) A. Baker / 79 Charles

Erik Estrada as Officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello / 79-Mary-4
Robert Pine as CHP Commissioner Joseph (Joe) Getraer
Paul Korver as Officer Peter Roulette / 79-Mary-13
David Ramsey as Officer Sergeant McFall
Brodie Greer as Officer Barry "Bear" Baricza
Bruce Penhall as Officer/Sergeant Bruce Nelson / 79-S-10
Paul Linke as Detective Arthur (Artie) "Grossie" Grossman
Judge Judy Sheindlin as Herself
Feature film
Main article: CHiPs (film)
In 2005, a theatrical release motion picture version of the show was announced,
starring Wilmer Valderrama as Ponch,[15] though as of 2013 this production was
still "stalled".[16] Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox were rumored to make cameo
appearances. In a 2002 episode of MADtv, Valderrama and fellow That '70s Show cast
member Danny Masterson were featured in two parodies of CHiPs, which featured the
two actors as Ponch and Baker respectively. Mila Kunis also appeared in the second
sketch. In a 2002 episode of That '70s Show, Valderrama's character, Fez, was seen
in the "most likely" section of the yearbook as "most likely to appear as Ponch in
a musical version of CHiPs".

On September 2, 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures announced a film adaptation of the

show, which Andrew Panay would be producing along with Dax Shepard.[17] Shepard
will also write, direct and star in the film as Officer Jon Baker; Michael Pe�a
will play Frank "Ponch" Poncherello and Vincent D�Onofrio plays the villain. The
new CHiPS film was released on March 24, 2017.[18][19]

Merchandise
A series of 8 inch and 3?3/4 inch action figures was released by Mego in the late
1970s. Due to the materials used to construct the figures, many of them have
discolored (typically turning green) or started to decompose over the years, making
good conditioned examples quite hard to find on the collectors market.[citation
needed] There was also a series of six die-cast model vehicles produced by Imperial
Toys.

In the UK, as was common with many popular US series of the era, a series of tie-in
annuals were produced by World International Publishing Ltd, containing stories,
photos, puzzles and features on the stars. There are four annuals in total, one
each for 1980�83.[citation needed]. A comic strip adaptation was drawn by Jim
Baikie for Look-In magazine.[20]

In 2006, a limited edition soundtrack was released on CD by Turner Classic Movies'

music division via Film Score Monthly, featuring the original recordings of the
main theme by John Parker (Parker's theme replaced an unused composition by Mike
Post and Pete Carpenter, who scored the pilot) and in-episode musical scores from
many episodes of the second season, as composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri,
the series' primary (and from seasons three to five sole) composer until the final
season. Silvestri also arranged the theme as heard from season two onwards, and it
is this version that is heard here?�?the soundtrack album also includes the "Trick
or Treat" score composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton, his only w