Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.19 “Silent Partner”

Posted on May 11, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past! On Mondays, I will be reviewing CHiPs, which ran on NBC from 1977 to 1983. The entire show is currently streaming on Prime!

This week, the California Highway Patrol is thoroughly incompetent.

Episode 5.19 “Silent Partner”

(Dir by Gordon Hessler, originally aired on February 28th, 1982)

This is one of those episodes of CHiPs where two “comedic” car thieves are stealing cars and it takes three high-speed, accident-filled chases before the Highway Patrol finally manages to catch them. Episodes like this are always fairly odd to watch. I’m not really sure if the show’s producers really understood what they were implying with an episode in which a bunch of professional law enforcers can’t seem to catch two buffoons who have no idea what they’re doing.

The first chase leads to an accident that leaves Grossman injured. He doesn’t break his neck but he does have to wear a neck brace, which temporarily keeps him from talking and eating. Those are Grossman’s favorite activities! These car thieves must be stopped!

(Seriously, Grossman was usually the most entertaining thing about this show. Taking away his ability to speak was not a good idea. Needless to say, Ponch can still talk.)

Meanwhile, Baker arrests a man at the scene of Grossman’s accident. Baker thinks that the man (Saul Brandt) must be drunk, just because the man did not react to Grossman’s sirens and he also doesn’t follow any of Baker’s orders. Uh-oh, it turns out that man was deaf and now he wants to file a complaint against Baker! And really, the man is totally justified in doing so. Baker was pretty rough when he tossed him around and Baker really had no evidence that the man had been drinking. Despite being totally in the wrong, Baker is still upset about being written up. Luckily, Ponch starts dating a deaf social worker (Dawn Jeffory) and she helps the man to understand that Baker just made a mistake and he was only in a bad mood because he has to work with Ponch. The complaint is dropped.

This episode featured two good car crashes and a lot of bad acting. It was well-intentioned but I am starting to wonder if maybe the people of California deserved a better highway patrol.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 5/3/26 — 5/9/26

Posted on May 9, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hollywood Demons: After the Bell (HBOMax)

The latest episode of Hollywood Demons took a rather superficial look at life behind the scenes at Saved By The Bell. The formerly reclusive Lark Voorhies was interviewed and it was good to see her looking healthy and happy. As well, Max Battimo, from Good Morning Miss Bliss, was also interviewed and talked about what it was like to not be invited to join the cast of Saved By The Bell.

The majority of the episode focused on Dustin Diamond and his years after Saved By The Bell. The episode tried to generate some sympathy for Diamond and I have to admit that I’ve always felt that it wasn’t right to cast him as a high school student when he was barely 12 and had so little in common with the rest of the cast. That said, in this documentary, Dustin Diamond also came across as being mentally unhinged. One crew member told a story about Diamond threatening a Saved By The Bell: The New Class actor with a knife. The name of the actor was not given, though from the details provided (the incident occurred while Diamond’s mother was dying of cancer and Diamond threatened to get the actor fired), it seems that the incident took place in 1996, during the film of the New Class‘s Fourth Season. Assuming Diamond didn’t pull the knife on any of the female cast members or Dennis Haskins, that leaves Richard Lee Jackson, Ben Gould, and Anthony Harrell. Jackson was in his second season on the show and was the lead actor so I don’t think Diamond would have threatened to get him fired. Gould and Harrell were new. On twitter, I found a tweet from 2014 of someone mentioning that they had been given a tour of Hollywood by someone who Dustin Diamond pulled a knife on. Since Harrell has been busy with his musical career, that would leave Gould as the probable target of Diamond’s abuse. Of course, that’s all speculation on my part. The important thing is that Dustin Diamond didn’t come across as being particularly sympathetic, despite the documentary’s best efforts.

Unfortunately, while Lark, Max, and Ed Alonzo were all interviewed, Mark-Paul, Mario, Tiffani, Elizabeth, and Dennis Haskins were not. I’m not surprised. When you’ve actually got a career going, you don’t want to taint it by being interviewed by a tabloid television show. Still, considering that they were the stars of the show, not interviewing them seemed like a missed opportunity.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

I watched three more episodes of this odd series on Friday night. The monsters were trippy!

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

I watched an episode on Friday night. John Cougar Mellencamp talked about his career.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

My review of Saved By The Bell will be dropping soon, assuming I don’t fall asleep before I can write it.

Watched and Reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.18 “In The Best of Families”

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s all about sibling rivalry and crashing cars.

Episode 5.18 “In The Best of Families”

(Dir by John Florea, originally aired on February 21st, 1982)

Getrear is not in a good mood.

He’s got a big inspection coming up but the members of the Highway Patrol keep screwing up. Bonnie’s patrol car is stolen while she’s on a coffee break. Baricza’s car is stripped of its lights and its CHP insignia. Ponch and Baker chase the thieves but somehow never manage to catch them. Finally, someone breaks into Getraer’s dry cleaner’s place and steals two of Getraer’s uniforms.

The Highway Patrol is squabbling, as all families do. They worry that Getraer is angling for a promotion and that they’ll have to “break in a new sergeant.” Fortunately, Getraer isn’t planning on going anywhere. Ponch, Baker, Bonnie, Turner, Grossie, Harlan, and Bear all get to keep their surrogate father figure.

Meanwhile, a real family is fighting. Anne Francis has planned the perfect armored car robbery. Now, she just needs her teenaged sons (Michael Morgan and Timothy Patrick Murphy) to steal a patrol car and some uniforms….

This episode had a pretty silly story but that doesn’t matter because it also featured some truly spectacular stunt work. The first crash occurs on a freeway and involves so many cars that it almost becomes a symphony of destruction. A reporter assures us that no one was killed or even seriously injured in the accident but having watched it (in slow motion), I’m not really sure how that could be true. Later, Turner’s car goes flying over a hillside and again, it’s such a spectacular crash that I’m shocked Turner was able to step out of the wreckage.

This was definitely an episode for those of us who enjoy watching spectacular car destruction. This was a pure demolition derby and entertaining in the mindless way that those often are. Even the best families enjoy automotive mayhem.

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.17 “Alarmed”

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, a supporting character steps into the spotlight.

Episode 5.17 “Alarmed”

(Dir by Phil Bondelli, originally aired on February 14th, 1982)

While chasing a stolen sports car, Officer Bonnie Clark (Randi Oakes) finds herself stuck behind a van that will simply not stop blocking her pursuit. When the van stops for a red light, Bonnie jumps out of her patrol car to tell the driver of the van to get out of the way. The driver of the van turns out to be Toni (Christina Hart), an old classmate from the Academy. A visibly nervous Toni tells Bonnie that she’s working undercover and then speeds off. Bonnie, suspicious of her former friend, makes some calls and discovers that Toni is no longer with the Highway Patrol. Bonnie thinks that Toni is a part of a car theft ring. Bonnie becomes obsessed with putting Toni in prison.

And when I say obsessed, I mean that Bonnie seems to be positively unhinged about proving that Toni is now a criminal. The way that Bonnie grins while telling her plans to Getraer really makes you wonder if maybe there’s something more to this story than just Bonnie wanting to capture a cop-turned-crook. I mean, I dislike a lot of people who I went to school with but I wouldn’t ever call the cops on them. It bothered me that Bonnie wasn’t even curious as to why Toni had become a criminal. And CHiPs, as a show, wasn’t that interested in it either. To me, though, that’s really the only interesting thing about Toni.

Bonnie joined the Highway Patrol at the start of the third season. This is the first episode in which she’s really had the spotlight and, as I watched, I could kind of understand why it took so long. While she certainly wasn’t helped by the show’s writers, there was still absolutely nothing convincing about Randi Oakes’s performance. She delivered her lines in an excited rush and she seemed to be oddly giddy at times. I would not want Bonnie carrying a gun.

This episode also featured cranky old Simon Oakland as a car security specialist who was trying to create a car that couldn’t be stolen. He was upset that his daughter (Elizabeth Daily) wanted to go into the family business. Ponch helped him see the error of his ways.

Finally, there was an odd scene where Baker and Ponch took two dates to a mud wrestling match. Bonnie tagged along with her date. Bonnie was disgusted by the mud wrestling, calling it degrading. Of course, when Bonnie later arrested Toni, the two of them ended up fighting in a muddy puddle.

“Degrading!” Ponch said before Bonnie pulled both him and Baker into the mud. As Toni was led away in handcuffs, Bonnie laughed and laughed.

The highlight of this episode? Ponch’s bike got damaged and burst into flames while he was pursuing Toni. Luckily, there was a lake nearby. Ponch’s plunge into the water was filmed in slow motion. By the standards of CHiPs, it was actually pretty cool.

As for the rest of the episode, it featured what one would probably want from the show. There were a lot of car chases and not a lot of plot. Hopefully, this was not only the first Bonnie-centric episode but also the last one as well.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/19/26 — 4/25/26

Posted on April 25, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Boy Band Confidential (HBOMax)

Another week, another special about boy bands. I watched this 3-hour, two-part documentary on Wednesday and Thursday. Joey Fatone was one of the producers so it’s not a surprise that a major theme of the documentary was that Joey Fatone was a pretty cool guy. This show hit all the usual points — hey, there’s Lou Pealman! — without adding much new insight.

Crime Story (Tubi)

My review will drop this upcoming Monday.

Degrassi: The Next Generation (Tubi)

My review will drop tomorrow night.

Hollywood Demons (HBOMax)

I watched two episodes. The first one was about Stephen Collins (yikes!). The second was about Jerry Springer. Now that Jerry is dead and his show is definitely never coming back, all of his producers are trying to cash in by letting you know that they were anti-Jerry the whole time. It all feels a bit self-serving.

Homicide: Life on the Street (Peacock)

My review will drop tomorrow.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

Along with this week’s review episode (which will be dropping shortly), I also watched three Patrick Muldoon episodes on Friday. RIP.

Watched and Reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.16 “Battle of the Bands”

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s a musical conflict!

Episode 5.16 “Battle of the Bands”

(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on January 31st, 1982)

Jon Baker cannot understand the appeal of punk rock. He says that the punk rockers all seem to be suburban kids so why are they so angry? They’re not from “the ghetto,” as Baker puts it.

“Suburbs can be a ghetto too, Jon.” Grossie says.

Grossie, who is definitely my favorite member of the Highway Patrol, explains that he likes to keep up with youth culture and, as a result, he understands the difference between Punk and New Wave. Punk rockers have fans who slam dance while New Wave bands have fans who pogo. Grossie demonstrates how to do each dance while the other members of the Highway Patrol watch. When Getraer demands to know why Grossie is slamming himself against the lockers in the locker room, Grossie proceeds to hop out of the room.

This is all important information for Baker to have because there’s a Battle of the Bands coming up. New Waver Snow Pink (Susan Richardson) is eager to win but her guitars were recently stolen out of her band’s van. Unfortunately, Snow Pink has been targeted by Pain, a punk band that is led by Thrasher (William Forsythe). Thrasher doesn’t care about making good music. All he wants to do is cause trouble!

Now, I will say that Thrasher is kind of intimidating. That’s more due to him being played by a young William Forsythe than anything else. He’s a “punk,” which, in the world of CHiPs, means that he has a mohawk and his two bandmates have shaved heads. (If anything, they look more like Neo-Nazis than punk rockers. Johnny Rotten would have kicked them out of a moving car.) That said, when Thrasher flicks his lighter and talks about trashing the club, you believe that there’s a very good chance that he’ll do just that. Fortunately, the Highway Patrol is there to stop him.

Now, as you probably already guessed, there was no way that CHiPs was going to do a Battle of the Bands episode without giving Ponch a band. Ponch competes and he sings Kool & The Gang’s Celebration. It’s disco vs punk vs new wave! Of course, punk doesn’t really get to compete because the band is arrested. And Ponch really can’t win because then his character would have an excuse to leave the show. So, it’s not a shock when Snow Pink wins the Battle of the Bands.

To be absolutely honest, this episode was surprisingly fun. It was definitely an episode of its era, embracing both music and the moral panic of the 80s. The punks were unconvincing. Snow Pink was actually a pretty good singer. Estrada flashed that blinding grin while singing disco. Baker once again comes close to getting a romantic subplot. Grossie gets a monologue about the ideology of punk rock. What’s not to like? Bury this episode in the ground because it’s a time capsule!

One final note: Baker, at one point, says that Ponch might leave the Highway Patrol to pursue his musical career. It’s impossible not to hear the note of hope in Larry Wilcox’s voice.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/12/26 — 4/18/26

Posted on April 18, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Growing Pains (Tubi)

Matthew Perry played the boyfriend of Kirk Cameron’s sister. He drank too much, he crashed his car, and he died. This is one of those very special episodes that one might roll their eyes at, if not for the fact that it guest starred Perry. Because it did guest star Perry, it was very sad to watch.

Homicide: Life On The Street (Peacock)

A review for this episode will be dropping tomorrow.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

In this show, from Japan, a group of teenagers used the power of the dinosaurs to defeat a witch. I watched three episodes on Saturday. The stop-motion dinosaurs and tigers were cute.

The Right Time (YouTube)

This was a 90s music show that was hosted by singer Tom Jones. I watched two episodes on Friday. The first one was called “Pop Music” and I enjoyed it. The second one was called “Gospel Music” and it was a little dull.

Saved By The Bell (Tubi)

A review for this episode will be dropping later tonight.

Who’s The Boss (Prime)

On Friday, after Jeff and I finished up The Trip, Amazon took us straight into this Tony Danza-starring sitcom. We watched the first episode, which was pretty forgettable. (Danza is a former baseball player turned housekeeper and no one can believe it.) The theme song kind of got stuck in my head though.

WKRP In Cincinnati (DVD)

Jeff and I watched several episodes of this 70s sitcom over the week. Even if the humor was a bit dated, it was a funny show. Herb Tarlek’s suits were amazing.

Watched and Reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.15 “Bright Flashes”

Posted on April 13, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, it’s lasers and horses in Los Angeles!

Episode 5.15 “Bright Flashes”

(Dir by Leslie H. Martinson, originally aired on January 17th, 1982)

Two dorky university science students — Scotty (Mark L. Taylor) and Richard (Jerry Houser) — have invented a laser that they use to temporarily blind people before robbing them. They blind Ponch in the middle of a race. They blind a group of people in front of a bank. The only person they don’t blind is old cowboy actor Wayne Cato (George Lindsay) but, when Wayne doesn’t chase after them, everyone except for Baker treats him like he’s a coward.

Uhmm, excuse me …. the man is in his sixties! It’s not his responsibility to go chasing after every crook in Los Angeles. Maybe the Highway Patrol should do their job!

Wayne feels so guilty that he does chase the robber when they show up to rob yet another bank that he’s standing in front of. Baker joins in and gets to live his fantasy of ditching his motorcycle for a horse.

This episode was a rare case of Baker getting to the be the main character even though Erik Estrada was healthy and present as Ponch. It was a bit of a silly episode. Why everyone got so angry with Wayne Cato was never really explained. (What was a 60-something retired cowboy to do?) The funniest thing was the ultra cheap laser special effects, none of which seemed to land anywhere near anyone’s eyes.

Again, it was a silly episode. But at least Baker got to ride a horse.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 4/5/26 — 4/11/26

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Diff’rent Strokes (Tubi)

It wasn’t by choice! On Wednesday, I watched a movie on Tubi and then Tubi sent me to an episode of Diff’rent Strokes before I could stop it. Mr. Drummond’s friend, Larry (McClean Stevenson), visited from Oregon. Drummond got Larry a chance to audition for his own talk show. Larry’s daughter (Kim Richards) didn’t want to move and, for some reason, she blamed the whole thing on Gary Coleman.

Fridays (Prime)

This was a comedy sketch show from the early 80s. I watched the premiere episode on Saturday morning. There were a lot of familiar faces in the cast, including a dark-haired Larry David. Unfortunately, none of the skits were really that funny.

The Greatest Event In Television History (Prime)

In this Adult Swim series, Adam Scott recreated the opening credits of classic television shows and destroyed his life in the process. Jeff Probst hosted. Jon Hamm guest-starred and “died” shortly after filming his scenes. (Don’t worry, his ghost later appeared.) Paul Rudd slept with Adam’s wife. Host Jeff Probst said, “Adam’s life is now ruined.” Billy Joel played piano. I watched all four episodes on Tuesday and it was funnier than it had any right to be.

Jesus of Nazareth (Tubi)

On Easter, I binged this seven hour miniseries from 1977. Written by Anthony Burgess and directed by Franco Zeffirelli, this gorgeously produced production took the idea of having an all-star cast quite literally. Even the minor roles were played by familiar faces, everyone from Donald Pleasence to Rod Steiger to Ernest Borgnine to James Earl Jones, Ian McShane, Laurence Olivier, Stacy Keach, Christopher Plummer, and Michael York. Olivia Hussey played the Virgin Mary. Anne Bancroft played the Magdalene. It was very well-done and surprisingly moving.

The Masters (Prime and Paramount+)

I watched a bit of the Masters this week. On Saturday, when it was storming outside and I had just returned from attending a memorial service for an old friend of my father’s, it provided a nice distraction.

Nero Wolfe (A&E)

I watched the final two episodes of Nero Wolfe on Tuesday. It was a truly entertaining show, featuring great work from Maury Chaykin and Timothy Hutton. It’s a shame that it was canceled after only two seasons.

Sledgehammer (Prime)

This was an 80s sitcom, featuring David Rasche as an out-of-control cop. I watched two episodes on Friday and it was actually pretty funny. Rasche talked to his gun and made fun of liberals. I enjoyed it.

I also watched and reviewed:

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 5.14 “Tiger In The Streets”

Posted on April 6, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, there’s a big cat on the loose!

Episode 5.14 “Tiger In The Streets”

(Dir by Charles Bail, originally aired on January 10th, 1982)

Ponch and Baker wonder why someone is digging deep holes in the Los Angeles hills and filling them with raw meat. Could someone by trying to capture a tiger that’s recently gotten loose from a wildlife park? Yes, that’s exactly what’s happening! The owner of the park wants to keep the cops from finding out but, when it turns out that the tiger is a mother and is missing her cubs, only the highway patrol can help Animal Control capture her. Baker likes Stephanie, the Animal Control officer. This is one of the rare episodes where Baker actually gets to have a romance while Ponch stands around and looks awkwardly out-of-place.

As for Ponch, he is more concerned with an ex-con who is at the center of a series of violent confrontations involving various car clubs. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this plot before. CHiPs has been repeating itself a lot during the fifth season. That said, the car chases led to a slow motion wreck and a scene of bouncing hydraulics. I’ve never been in one of those bouncing cars before. It seems like you would get ill riding in one of those.

Finally, Grossie wants to be a comedian. Harlan is a friend of legendary funny man Slappy White. Harlan gives Grossie a bunch of Slappy’s jokes about how black people are different from white people. Needless to say, the jokes don’t go over that well when they’re told be a white guy in a policeman’s uniform.

This episode was silly but I did like the tiger.