{{infobox television| | show name

CHiPs | image | caption Title screen | format Police procedural | runtime 48 minutes per episode (excluding commercials) | creator Rick Rosner | starring Erik EstradaRobert PinePaul LinkeLarry Wilcox (1977–1982)Lew Saunders (1977–1979)Brodie Greer (1977–1982)Lou Wagner (1978–1983)Brianne Leary (1978–1979)Randi Oakes (1979–1982)Michael Dorn (1979–1982)Bruce Jenner (1981)Tom Reilly (1982–1983)Tina Gayle (1982–1983)Bruce Penhall (1982–1983)Clarence Gilyard, Jr. (1982–1983) | theme John Carl Parker (season 1)Alan Silvestri (arrangement of Parker's theme, Season 2 to end of series) | composer Mike Post (1.1, 1.5, 1.6)Pete Carpenter (with Post)John Carl ParkerRobert DrasninJJ JohnsonNelson Riddle (1.16)Billy MayAlan SilvestriGeorge Romanis (2.2)Bruce Broughton (2.6)Luchi de Jesus (season 6)

company

Rosner TelevisionMGM Television | country United States | network NBC | first_aired September 15, 1977 | last_aired July 17, 1983 | num_seasons 6 | num_episodes 139 (List of episodes) | status Ended |}}

''CHiPs'' is an American television drama series produced by MGM Studios (now owned by Turner Entertainment) that originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to July 17, 1983. ''CHiPs'' followed the lives of two motorcycle police officers of the California Highway Patrol. The series ran for 139 episodes over six seasons.

Synopsis

''CHiPs'' was a lightweight action crime drama, which included elements of comedy in every episode (several of the first season episodes play as out-and-out comedies). Over-the-top freeway pileups, which occurred in almost every episode, were a signature of the show. There was little if any actual violence on CHiPs, and the show can be classified as a dramedy. The episodes filled a standard hour-long time slot, which at the time required 48 minutes of actual programming.

The show was created by Rick Rosner, and starred Erik Estrada as macho, rambunctious Officer Francis ("Frank") "Ponch" Poncherello and Larry Wilcox as his strait-laced partner, Officer Jonathan "Jon" 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 commanding officer 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.

A typical ''CHiPs'' episode

''CHiPs'' episodes were usually a combination of light comedy and melodrama. 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 the course of "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 dénouement 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 Jon 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.

Cast of characters

Larry Wilcox as Officer Jonathan A. Baker (1977–1982) / 7-Mary-3

Erik Estrada as Officer Francis (Frank) Llewelyn "Ponch" Poncherello / 7-Mary-4 (15-Mary-6 in the final season)

Robert Pine as Sergeant Joseph (Joe) Getraer / S-4

Lew Saunders as Officer Gene Fritz (1977–1979) / 5-David-5

Brodie Greer as Officer Barry "Bear" Baricza (1977–1982) / 7-Adam

Paul Linke as Officer Arthur (Artie) "Grossie" Grossman / 7-Mary-5

Lou Wagner as Harlan Arliss, Automobile/Motorcycle Mechanic, CHP (1978–1983)

Brianne Leary as Officer Sindy Cahill (1978–1979) / 7-Charles

Randi Oakes as Officer Bonnie Clark (1979–1982) / 7-Charles

Michael Dorn as Officer Jebediah Turner (1979–1982) / 7-David

Tom Reilly as Officer Bobby "Hot Dog" Nelson (1982–1983) / 15-Mary-7

Tina Gayle as Officer Kathy Linahan (1982–1983) / 7-Mary-10

Bruce Penhall as Cadet/Officer Bruce Nelson (1982–1983) / 15-Mary-8

Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as Officer Benjamin Webster (1982–1983)

Production

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!''.

The character of Ponch was originally conceived to be Italian ("Poncherini"), but when Erik Estrada won the part, the character was changed to Hispanic American.

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. Larry Wilcox served 13 months in Vietnam as a Marine artilleryman.

Though public perception links the later ''P-Series'' Kawasaki Police Special with the series, in fact they rode the ''C-Series'' Kawasaki, which had an oval windshield rather than the later model's fiberglass fairing.

Filming locations were generally in the San Fernando Valley of California. Freeway crashes were performed on recently constructed highways that were not yet open to the public. For the first season, the Glendale Freeway (Highway 2) in Montrose, California was used. After the first season, the intersection of the Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) and the Simi Valley Freeway (Highway 118) in Sylmar, California were used. For the racing scenes in the episode "Drive, Lady, Drive" they used the Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, California.

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 injures several times throughout the run of the series. In several early first season episodes, a huge bruise or scar 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 didn't 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 a reality television show, ''Back To The Grind''.

Estrada and Wilcox never drew their firearms over the course of the series. (This did occur 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", where the CHiPs conduct a felony traffic stop of a motorhome-based casino. 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/wrist 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 ''Bō'', but wisely retreated to a getaway van when Baricza drew his gun.

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

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

Initially, before John Parker did his now iconic theme music, award winning television composer Mike Post, who scored a few episodes in the first season, did a theme which was not used. To this day it has not been heard. Some of television's most famous themes ever were composed by Post, including: ''Quantum Leap'', ''The Rockford Files'', ''Hill Street Blues'', and ''Magnum, P.I.'' (among dozens of others).

Cast changes

In the fifth season (1981–1982) 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 Bruce Jenner (Officer Steve McLeish). Despite their successful pairing on-screen, Wilcox and Estrada did not always get along behind the camera. However, it was Wilcox's falling-out with the producers over what he saw as continual favoritism towards Estrada that saw Wilcox not return for the sixth and final season. Wilcox was replaced by Tom Reilly (Officer Bobby Nelson). 1981 and 1982 Speedway World Champion and Los Angeles native Bruce Penhall was also introduced as cadet–probationary officer Bruce Nelson, Bobby's younger brother in 1982–83.

Estrada apparently did not approve of Reilly's work ethic and was very displeased with Reilly's real life arrest by the LAPD for possession of controlled substances during a traffic stop. As a result, Bobby was featured much less prominently in later episodes of the season, with Bruce taking his place for most of the remaining episodes.

Merchandise

A series of 3 3/4" 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. There was also a series of six diecast 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.

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 and in-episode musical scores from many episodes of the second season, as composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri (Silvestri also arranged the theme as heard from season two onwards, and it's this version that's heard here – the soundtrack album also includes the "Trick or Treat" score composed and conducted by Bruce Broughton, his only work for the series). In 2008, music from the third season was released; an album of music from the fourth season followed in 2010.

CHiPs '99

''CHiPs '99'' is a made for television movie sequel. It was directed by Jon Cassar and shown on Turner Network Television in the USA on October 27, 1998. 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 with the CHP and Officer Barry Baricza.

{{infobox film | name	CHiPs '99 | caption CHiPs '99 Movie Poster | image CHiPs '99 FilmPoster.jpeg
director	Jon Cassar | producer Erik EstradaChris MorganRick RosnerLarry Wilcox | writer Rick RosnerMorgan Gendel | starring Larry WilcoxErik EstradaRobert PinePaul KorverDavid RamseyBrodie GreerBruce PenhallPaul Linke | music Stacy Widelitz | cinematography David Geddes | editing Ron Spang | distributor Turner Films, Inc. | released October 27, 1998 | runtime 94 min | language English | budget }}

Revivals

In 2003, a new series of ''CHiPs'' was to be made in San Francisco with a new cast. Martin Kunert and Eric Manes wrote the pilot script for Doug Liman to direct. However, the network that ordered the remake, NBC, decided not to pursue the new series.

In 2005, a theatrical release motion picture version of the show was announced, starring Wilmer Valderrama as Ponch. Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox are rumored to make cameo appearances. The choice of Valderrama as Ponch will not be the first time that the actor has played the character of Ponch. 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''.

Broadcast history

''(all times ET / PT)''

September 1977 – March 1978, NBC Thursday 8PM-9PM

April 1978, NBC Saturday 8PM-9PM

May 1978 – August 1978, NBC Thursday 8PM-9PM

September 1978 – March 1980, NBC Saturday 8PM-9PM

March 1980 – March 1983, NBC Sunday 8PM-9PM

April 1983 – May 1983, NBC Sunday 7PM-8PM

May 1983 – July 1983, NBC Sunday 8PM-9PM

In the United Kingdom, it was broadcast by ITV. As with many imported programmes of the era, despite being very popular, the show was not networked for most of its run, with each region instead showing the series in their own selected timeslot, and episodes were quite often shown out of sequence from their original US order. Many regions showed much of the series in a Saturday tea-time slot around 17:35, although later this went on to cause a scheduling clash for fans of such US imports, as it clashed with BBC Ones run of ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' (in the days before video recorders were commonplace).

For the last couple of seasons, most regions ran the series in a Saturday lunch-time 13:20 slot, interspread with runs of ''Airwolf'' (which began production the year after ''CHiPs'' finished, but many regions still had many ''CHiPs'' episodes yet to show). Although the show finished production in 1983, many regions did not complete their runs of the series until the later 1980s, in some cases almost ten years after the show had first appeared.

DVD releases

Warner Home Video has released the first two seasons of ''"CHiPs"'' on DVD in Regions 1, 2 & 4. No further season sets have been announced.

Seasons 1 and 2 are also available for purchase at the online iTunes Store.

June 5, 2007 style="text-align:center;"

rowspan="2"	DVD Name !! rowspan="2"|Ep # !! colspan="3"|Release dates
! Region 1 !! Region 2 (UK) !! Region 4
The Complete First Season	22	|	August 20, 2007	September 6, 2007
The Complete Second Season	23 ||	June 3, 2008	September 22, 2008	September 3, 2008

References

External links

CHiPs Online

The Composers of "CHiPs"

Category:NBC network shows Category:American drama television series Category:1970s American television series Category:1980s American television series Category:American crime television series Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Category:1977 television series debuts Category:1983 television series endings Category:Motorcycle TV shows Category:Television shows set in Los Angeles, California Category:California Highway Patrol Category:Super Bowl lead-out programs

de:CHiPs es:CHiPs fr:CHiPs id:CHiPs it:CHiPs nl:CHiPs ja:白バイ野郎ジョン&パンチ pl:CHiPs pt:CHiPs

Diosdado Banatao (born May 23, 1946, Iguig, Cagayan, Philippines), popularly known by his nickname Dado, is a Filipino entrepreneur and engineer working in the high-tech industry. A three-time start-up veteran, he co-founded Mostron (motherboards), Chips and Technologies (PC chip sets, eventually acquired by Intel), and S3 Graphics (originally 2D graphics chips, later formed a joint venture with VIA Technologies).

References

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Filipino descent Category:People from Cagayan Category:Filipino inventors Category:Filipino businesspeople

ilo:Diosdado Banatao