Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

zapdude The stars of CHiPs are not actually Eric Estrada or Larry Wilcox (both of whom I met at a car show years ago), the stars are the cars, the streets, the freeways, the city of LA, and the entire culture of its era, grasped and documented in a snapshot of life in those days.Of course CHiPs was cheesy, even for its day it was about as authentic as Miami Vice... but they were both enormously popular shows that captured something more than they realized they were at the time.The show started when I was 14, at a time when there were only a few channels and if you watched TV you probably watched it. Really, it's very low key, relatively non-violent, and the cops were more human and fallible, as well as forgiving. Very few people are wearing seat belts, people are smoking, cars are smoking too (gotta love the smoggy days that were more common back then), and the girls... really smoking, even if their jeans rode above their navels and the hairstyles took 3 hours.My then-teenage friends and I followed CHiPs, we discussed each episode, we dreamed about a land far south of our native Calgary where January had sunny shirtsleeve days. We wanted to believe that THIS was the world we would grow up in. Too bad things took a hard left turn as the drug culture and violent crime continued to erode society.If you ever want to see what the ACTUAL world outside of studios looked like in the late 70s and early 80s, the cars and trucks on the streets, the hairstyles and (sorta) music, this is the show to watch. I went to LA for two weeks in early 1980, and can confirm that this really IS what the city looked like at the time.By the way, the first season's music is less disco and more Funk... it was the 2nd season theme song that really kicked it into the Disco Era, which died a well deserved death even while the show was still in production. But even now, the theme song shows the raw excitement and exuberance that Disco brought to the world at the time (Disco, rest in peace, and we won't ever actually miss you).I loved this show, I can't even imagine a series of this type making it in today's market. It still amazes me that these two cops could ALWAYS KNOW exactly what to do in every situation, from freeway crashes, hazardous materials handling, foam truck managing, delivering babies, etc. etc. Nobody could know everything they were expected to know.

Desertman84 CHiPS which stood for California Highway Patrol, television drama series that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983.It 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. The show was created by Rick Rosner, and starred Erik Estrada as Officer Francis "Ponch" Poncherello and Larry Wilcox as Officer Jonathan "Jon" Baker together with Robert Pine,who portrayed Sergeant Joseph Getraer,the duo's gruff yet fatherly commanding officer.CHiPs' each episode saw a compilation of incidents, ranging from the humorous to criminal investigations and tragic incidents.Other aspects of Ponch and Jon's daily work were highlighted as well; the social lives of both officers often provided the lighter moments. On occasion, 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,portrayed by Tom Reilly (when Wilcox left the show that year), while Nelson's younger brother, Bruce, was a trainee on the force. By now, the female "Chippie" was the attractive Kathy Lindahan. CHiPs is definitely one of the best shows in the late 70's and early 80's.Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada,despite not being friends in real life,have excellent chemistry as CHP partners.Aside from that,it was an entertaining TV show for all ages as cops in motorcycles was something new,cool and original when the show came out.Added to Jon and Ponch,the TV show also had interesting supporting characters from the pretty ones and the awkward ones like Harlan.And most of all,the TV show was for family entertainment as it was funny as well as informative especially about the highways.It was also realistic and far from being contrived and cheesy.And most of all,it avoided violence on air.Add to that,the memorable CHiPs theme from the jazzy one during the first season to the disco-tuned one from the 2nd to the 6th season has always been considered a classic tune.CHiPs started its downfall on its 6th season when Larry Wilcox left since the show became somewhat less realistic and has become clichéd and predictable.Tom Reilly as well as Bruce Penhall were never able to fill the big shoes that Wilcox left for them to carry on the success of the show.Too bad that Erik Estrada,despite being the biggest star of the show,could not carry it on his own despite of his popularity and charisma.It was evident that Wilcox was a big part of the show's success.Too bad that things did not work out between him and Estrada off-camera.If things did not turn out the way it did to back in the day,I always would have believed that CHiPs would have lasted more than 10 seasons instead of six.CHiPs is one TV series that I definitely miss on air despite being cancelled almost 30 years ago.It was truly a classic TV show that a lot of people miss and one that could probably be never duplicated today.

raysond In nearly every episode of the action-adventure series(or for that manner nearly every episode from the first season) "CHiPs",a Volkswagen beetle the color of a blood orange putters somewhere in the background,riding down the highway or parked in an illicit chop shop. An odd thing to notice and it could have been any car. But perhaps this was the show to watch since this was part crime drama with part action adventure basis thrown in for good measure,thus becoming one of the best loved if underrated cop shows that came out of the mid-1970's and ended in the early 1980's. The featherweight motorcycle-cop series which ran for six seasons on NBC-TV and producing 139 episodes from the astounding pilot episode on September 15, 1977 and ending its run on May 1,1983 under the series executive producer and creator Rick Rosner(who would later on resurrect William Shatner back to television for the crime action series "T.J. Hooker"). "CHiPs" however gave television one of its most popular Latino action heroes(Erik Estrada). And get this: even worse shows than "CHiPs" have been saved by lesser forces than the cut of Erik Estrada's uniform or the swagger behind his smile. Mr. Estrada's portrayal as Officer Poncherello(better known as Ponch) was the crucial ingredient to the show and the results paid off.The show itself was a genial enough combination of "Adam-12","Emergency!",and "Starsky and Hutch" and not to mention some of the guest stars that appeared on the show each week..one of them was Phyllis Diller. The light action series,laced with some heavy duty adventure and combustional crime action followed the adventures,both on and off the road of two Kawaski-riding officers of the California Highway Patrol. However it may have plenty of action and adventure and not just because there was some scenes involving gunplay and explosions not to mention horrific car chases and crashes involving people in constant peril where rescues had to be performed not to mention going after the bad guys who were in the midst of breaking the law. Essentially the show when not fixating on chrome or skidding cars,tagged along with Ponch and his partner as they snaked through freeway traffic and youthful bachelorhood,handing out tickets,busting low-stakes criminals and flirting with the hottest babes in Los Angeles. Playing Hutch to Mr. Estrada's Starsky was Larry Wilcox who was the blander Officer Jon Baker. Their superior officer of command and head honco of the CHiPs unit was played by Robert Pine. During the six seasons that this show was on the air,only Robert Pine and Erik Estrada remained throughout the show's entire run. Larry Wilcox left the show after the fifth season and was replaced by another actor during the series' final season. However,in some of the episodes-and no small part of the show's comfort appeal to its audience(which were younger teenage boys who worship the show)and this is which the majority of every episode that is so throughly typical,one suspects the car in peculiar would be an ingredient in the strict recipe-would have the partners on the lookout for a suspected car thief,or a purse-snatching tow truck driver preying on stranded female motorists. In one oddball episode a menacing mud-throwing lunatic causes no end of roadside(which would be today's version of uncontrollable road rage against motorists on the highway)drama. Another episode dealt with a sadistic lunatic who takes a family hostage through a chase on the freeway. And those were the serious crimes. The series,especially early on,pushed the slapstick button pretty frequently:Ponch meets up with a spilled truckload of glue or a leaking canister of nitrous oxide. The rest of it dealt with both Jon and Ponch going after the looneys who cause chaos on the highways and freeways of greater Los Angeles. The results kept the show in the top ten of the Nielsens during its run.

Cinema_Lover "CHiPs", what you can say. The California Highway Patrol got the best PR they could ever hope for in this classic buddy cop show from the 1970s. Built on comedy and riveting freeway chases, Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada starred as officers Jon Baker and Frank "Ponch" Poncherrello. The series immediately found an audience, especially with children because of it's fantastic car chases and entertaining action stunts. It was guaranteed that a car would flip over or someone got thrown off a bike or flopped face first into cement in every episode. It didn't matter if they were so obviously staged, no one else was doing such things back in those days so it was fun to see it on CHiPs. There just had to be chase on the freeways in each episode, and they surprisingly hold up today. I guess a high speed chase at over 90 mph in 1977 is the same as one that happens in 2007. That's another thing, watching this series it's amazing how little life in North America has changed in the past 30 years. Only the fashions, music and obviously some media oriented (internet, fast computers, flat screen plasma and LCD TVs, palm pilots, etc, etc) electronic technology has changed. Otherwise look at how life in 1977 is still so much the same as 2007. It's weird watching Ponch and Jon today and reflecting that I'm now around the *same age* (freaky!) as those guys were back then (late 20s-early 30s). I see them in an entirely different light today then when I viewed this show as a child, as I can relate to more of their life and understand their still relatively young adult problems. CHiPs had a tendency to be cheesy, especially with the way Erik Estrada hammed it up as Ponch. But who cared, Estrada and Wilcox had terrific on screen chemistry (even if they didn't get along in real life), that you just were glued to TV to watch these guys chase bad guys. The corny nature of the show has famously turned off people who were older and "too cool" during CHiPs run, but they missed out on a great TV show if only had they been children. Who cares what they think now anyway, they're old farts in 2007. Although CHiPs was clearly a '70s TV show, it actually ran over into the early 80s and in my opinion probably found it's massive cult audience in the 1980s. CHiPs was rerun ENDLESSLY in the '80s. It was on every freakin' day, Monday-Friday. Home sick from school? Watch CHiPs. Holidays? Make sure to watch CHiPs. And of course the summer months, watch CHiPs, usually airing at 8am or 4pm, sometimes both timeslots. Rainy days were and still are great for CHiPs viewing. Basically what I'm saying is that this is a show that didn't have a lot of depth to it, which is why children were so hooked onto it. It makes fantastic viewing for anyone that wants to pass the time with nothing but pure TV entertainment, with enough adult sensibilities going on to make it still very watchable. I slightly missed the original run of CHiPs, either I wasn't around or was too young, but I grew up as a child in the 80s and every single damn summer I watched CHiPs. I wasn't alone, every kid who was 12 and under in the 80s watched this show during the summer months. What an awesome way to pass an hour when you had no school. The cops never drew their guns and the violence was almost non-existent, this is a series that could never be made today. You got the day off from work and it's raining outside, time to watch an episode of CHiPs.