Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.13 “One Two Many”

Posted on February 5, 2024 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 Freevee!

This week, Baker has a double!

Episode 1.13 “One Two Many”

(Dir by Paul Krasny, originally aired on January 5th, 1978)

This week’s episode of CHiPs opens with a member of the California Highway Patrol pulling over a woman on the highway. From a distance, he looks a bit like Jon Baker. However, it soon becomes obvious that he’s not Baker when the fake highway patrolman (played by William Whitaker) says something offensive to the woman in the car. We don’t hear what he said but the woman announces that she’s never been spoken to so crudely and drives back into traffic. She also causes a crash as another car swerves to avoid her. Inside the car, a woman is about to give birth. Her husband begs for the fake patrolman’s help. Instead, the suddenly panicked faker drives away.

Fortunately, Baker and Ponch then roll up and they get their day started by helping to deliver a baby. As usual, it’s Baker who actually knows what to do while Ponch stands around and flashes that blinding grin of his.

Back at headquarters, the woman from the car has filed a complaint against the obscene patrolman. When she takes a look at the pictures of all of the patrolman who were on duty at the time, she selects Baker. Knowing that Baker isn’t turned on by anything outside of memories of his life Montana, Sgt. Getraer figures out that there’s a fake cop out there, one who looks just like Jon Baker!

Appropriately enough, Baker and Ponch are the ones who finally arrest him. Actually, they cross paths with the guy several times, suggesting that God himself means for them to meet. At one point, Baker and Ponch see a woman named Jobina (Trish Stewart) who is struggling with the fake cop. They assume that she’s resisting arrest and they grab her. The fake cop runs off while another real cop — this one from the LAPD — shows up and demands to know what’s going on. It’s all a bit messy but let’s give credit where credit is due. William Whitaker is effectively creepy as the fake cop while Trish Stewart gives a strong and emotionally realistic performance as the most prominent of his victims. After everything she’s been through, she doesn’t want to spend time with any cops, whether they’re real or fake. The show seems to understand that she has a point.

While this is going on, Ponch is getting on Baker’s last nerve. Ponch’s RV is being fixed for numerous electronic problems so Ponch moves into Baker’s tastefully decorated apartment. It turns out that Ponch is not easy to live with, as he really likes to listen to music while he’s sleeping. As well, Ponch keeps hitting on all of Baker’s neighbors. In the end, Baker decided to say in Ponch’s damaged RV while Ponch stays in the apartment so let’s just hope the building manager doesn’t find out because next week, both Baker and Ponch might be homeless!

We’ll find out next Monday!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.12 “Aweigh We Go”

Posted on January 29, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Ponch and Baker are ordered to make life difficult for the Teamsters!

Episode 1.12 “Aweigh We Go!”

(Dir by Ivan Nagy, originally aired on December 22nd, 1977)

No, that’s not a typo. The name of this episode is indeed “Aweigh We Go.” It makes sense once you watch the episode.

Things get off to a classic CHiPs start, with Baker and Ponch chasing some rich scumbag in a fancy sportscar. The driver doesn’t think he has to slow down or pull over, even when he’s being pursued by the cops. He’s such a reckless driver that he nearly sideswipes a station wagon that is towing a boat. The boat gets loose and crashes into a beauty salon. No one’s hurt but Ponch is excited when he discovers the boat’s for sale. He starts making plans to buy the boat from its owner (Sean Morgan), a guy who is named Sven Larson for no particular reason.

Unfortunately, Ponch makes the mistake of mentioning his plans in front of Sgt. Getraer. Getraer proceeds to buy the boat out from under him. Ponch, needless to say, is miffed and Getraer finally agrees to co-own the boat with Baker and Ponch.

That’s not the only surprise that Getraer has up his sleeve. Because of an officer shortage, he is forced to send Ponch and Baker to work at a weighing station for a week. Under the sarcastic command of Capt, Vogt (played by Bruce Glover, who is best-known for playing Mr. Kidd in Live and Let Die), Baker and Ponch learn all about how to weigh trucks to make sure that they are in regulation. Interestingly enough, the episode devoted a lot of time to showing how a weighing station works. You could probably argue that it actually spends too much time on it. Myself, I have family in the trucking industry so I found it interesting to see what they would have had to deal with in the 70s. I imagine all of the nitpicky rules and regulations are probably even worse today.

Of course, there’s still time for the usual CHiPs shenanigans. Ponch and Baker chase down and arrest a hijacker played by a rather sinister Gerald McRaney. And they rescue a baby from a crashed car. As usual, the emphasis is on all of the members of the Highway Patrol working together to keep the world safe for drivers.

As for the boat, it sinks the first time Ponch tries to take it out on the water. Oh, Ponch! Usually, I’m pretty critical of Erik Estrada’s scenery chewing performance on this show but I will admit to laughing at his rather frantic facial expression as he watched the boat sink.

This was a pleasant episode. I stand with the truckers!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.11 “Name Your Price”

Posted on January 22, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Ponch again fails to get rich.

Episode 1.11 “Name Your Price”

(Dir by Ric Rondell, originally aired on December 8th, 1977)

This week’s episode opens on an unusually somber note for CHiPs. It begins in a cemetery. A woman (Jaime Lynn Bauer) is dressed in chic funeral black and appears to be attending a service. But it soon turns out that she’s actually just making sure that everyone is so distracted by mourning that they won’t notice her stealing a Rolls Royce!

It turns out that a Rolls is not quite as easy to steal as she thought and soon, she finds herself being pursued by Ponch and Baker. It’s a chase that leads from the highway and into the city and, to Ponch and Baker’s shock, they lose sight of the stolen car.

“How does a Rolls Royce vanish!?” Ponch asks, in shock.

Ponch is a bit distracted himself this episode. He has been accepted as a contestant on a game show called Name Your Price! Name Your Price is obviously meant to be The Price Is Right and Ponch spends the majority of the episode memorizing the price tags on appliances. Unfortunately, Ponch does not memorize the price tag of a motorcycle and therefore, he turns out to be a bit of a bust when he appears on the show. As Baker and his date sneak out of the studio, Ponch is humiliated as the show’s host wonders how a motorcycle cop could not know how much a motorcycle costs.

Oh, Ponch — will you ever win!?

It’s not all bad for Ponch. He and Baker pull over a car and Ponch is excited to discover that it’s occupied by the two stars of his favorite soap opera. (Does Ponch do anything other than watch television?) And Ponch also gets to help out when a chicken truck is involved in a minor accident and dozens of chickens end up running around the highway. As usual, the main emphasis of this episode is on the idea of the members of the highway patrol working together and keeping the streets safe for chickens and humans. Yes, this episode says, the CHiPs do chase car thieves and arrest criminals. But usually, they’re just taking care of mundane tasks and getting little thanks and little pay.

This episode was entertaining. I enjoyed looking at the cars that were stolen. If you’re going to commit a crime, you might as well commit it for a Rolls Royce. And the ending with the game show was a lot more effective than the typical CHiPs ending. Ponch has spent the first 11 episodes of this show destroying motorcycles so it’s a nice bit of humor that a motorcycle would destroy his chance to get rich. That’s karma!

Next week, Baker and Ponch continue to keep L.A. safe!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.10 “Highway Robbery”

Posted on January 15, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Baker meets an old friend and Ponch is nearly commits a crime.

Episode 1.10 “Highway Robbery”

(Dir by Nicholas Colasanto, originally aired on December 1st, 1977)

There’s a man on a motorcycle who is driving up and down the highways of California. Whenever he comes across a traffic jam, he pulls up to people’s car and snatches whatever he can. One man loses his wallet and his watch. A woman has her purse taken. When Ponch and Baker arrest him, the thief is revealed to be Leo Norrison (David Wilson), an old high school classmate of Baker’s.

Baker and Leo used to play on the school’s football team. As Baker explains it, Leo was the student that everyone looked up to. He was “Mr. Most Likely To Succeed.” However, Leo fell on hard times after high school. He won a scholarship to play football in college but then he flunked the entrance exam. He joined the army but ended up losing his temper and striking his captain. Now, with a dishonorable discharge on his record, Leo is unemployable and bitter.

Baker offers to help Leo out and Leo seems to appreciate the offer. But, soon enough, Leo is back to stealing purses. When Baker and Ponch arrest him for a second time, it’s clear that Leo will not be getting any more chances at redemption.

Wow, what a sad story for an episode of CHiPs! Larry Wilcox can be a bit of a stiff actor but he actually did a really good job in this episode. Baker couldn’t believe that his high school hero was now a petty criminal and Leo couldn’t believe that Baker had ever looked up to him. As I watched this episode, I found myself wondering how many of my old high school classmates were now in jail.

Of course, this episode wasn’t all sad. For instance, there was a rather lengthy scene that centered around a minor accident involving a traveling circus. One of the circus’s elephants helped to pull a truck over to the side of the road. Good elephant!

And then there was Ponch’s storyline. In this episode, Ponch is even more cringey than usual. He has grown obsessed with a model in an ad for suntan lotion, to the extent that he’s constantly putting on suntan lotion and he has a cut-out of the ad hanging in his locker. When Ponch learn that the model is a friend of Getraer’s family, Ponch begs Getraer to set him up on a blind date. Getraer says it’s not a good idea but Ponch insists. Finally, Getraer relents.

Ponch shows up at the model’s house and discovers that Getraer is already there, having a glass of brandy with the model’s father (James Beach). They tell Ponch that “Janey” will be right down. When Janey (Wendy Fredericks) finally does come down to meet her date, Ponch is shocked to discover that …. SHE’S 15!

Getraer mention that Janey looks older in photographs. Baker and two other officers — Fitz (Lew Saunders) and Grossman (Paul Linke, a future series regular) — step into the living room and start laughing. Getraer laughs. Janey’s father laughs. Janey accepts Ponch’s flowers and then rests her head on his shoulder as the credits role….

So, just to repeat — SHE’S FIFTEEN!

Obviously, Ponch didn’t know that but still, it’s bizarre to see Janey’s father laughing about a 30 year-old showing up at the house to go on a date with his fifteen year-old daughter. Getraer essentially set Ponch up to potentially commit a felony and everyone thinks its hilarious. As the end credits rolled, I kept expecting Chris Hansen to step in the room and demand that everyone have a seat and explain what exactly it is they though they were doing.

Weird episode. The stuff involving Leo was surprisingly well-done for this show. The stuff with Ponch was truly cringe-inducing. I mean, even if Janey had been an adult, Ponch’s obsession with her would have been creepy. In the end, Baker’s friend went to jail and Ponch was thoroughly humiliated. I guess it all balances out.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.9 “Hustle”

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Ponch gets bowling fever!

Episode 1.9 “Hustle”

(Dir by Georg Fenady, originally aired on November 24th, 1977)

Life is a hustle when you work for the California Highway Patrol.

Ponch and Baker deal with a lot of things over the course of this episode. While pursuing two motorcycle riders who are suspected of holding up a grocery store, Ponch gets a cigarette tossed on him by a passing motorist. The suspects turn out to be two women who were just out for an afternoon ride. They seem to be pretty amused by the whole thing, despite the fact that Baker roughly frisked them as soon as they pulled over. Luckily, the sight of the hole that was left on Ponch’s uniform by the cigarette (and the boxers underneath) gives everyone an excuse to laugh.

This is not the best time for Ponch to have a wardrobe malfunction because he’s due in court. Ponch gave a ticket to Sidney Engelhart (Marty Ingels) but Sidney claims that the only person who is guilty of reckless driving is Ponch. Sidney tries to prove his point by basically stalking Ponch while he does his job.

While Ponch deals with his stalker, Baker pulls over a car being driven by veteran screen actor Broderick Crawford. Ponch is totally excited to see Crawford but Baker is fairly nonchalant about the whole thing. When his pen runs out of ink, Baker borrows Crawford’s gold fountain pen and then forgets to return it to the actor, which leads to Baker getting called out at the next morning briefing.

Meanwhile, there’s a huge car accident that leads to Ponch and Baker saving a mother and her baby from a live electrical wire. Baker also pulls over a man driving a car that only has three wheels and, of course, there are the grocery store robbers to deal with.

And yet, for everything going on, Ponch’s main concern remains the department’s bowling tournament. As has been a consistent theme so far during the first season of CHiPs, Ponch’s main concern continues to be doing things that don’t have much to do with his actual job. Whereas Baker comes across as if nothing makes him happier than writing a speeding ticket, Ponch often seems to view policework as something to do until something better comes along. On the one hand, this does not make Ponch a particularly effective cop. We’re only 9 episodes into the series and I’ve lost count of the number of times that he’s had to go back to the trailer park to change his uniform. On the other hand, it is probably a realistic portrayal of how most people view their jobs. Ponch does enough to get by.

As for the episode itself, this was another “day-in-the-life” style episode. So far, the first season of CHiPs has been dominated by rather loose plotting. Ponch and Baker just ride and see what type of trouble they can find on the highways. As for the bowling subplot, Baker turns out to be a surprisingly competent bowler and Ponch plots to win a lot of money from his fellow officers. But then Baker sprains his bowling fingers and it looks like Ponch is once again out of a small fortune. Poor Ponch, he is fortune’s fool!

(I actually have gone bowling a few times. I’m not any good at it but I’ve been told that the important thing is to jump up and down regardless of what happens.)

This Hustle, I would give a solid B. The scenery was nice. There was an exciting motorcycle chase at the start of the show. The episode was a pleasant-enough diversion, albeit not one that leaves a huge impression afterwards.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.8 “Green Thumb Burglar”

Posted on January 1, 2024 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is such a weird episode.

Episode 1.8 “Green Thumb Burglar”

(Dir by Christian I. Nyby II, originally aired on November 10th, 1977)

This week’s episode is an odd one, largely because it all hinges on the usually uptight Sgt. Getraer suddenly revealing himself to be a fanatic about plants.

When Ponch and Baker roll up to headquarters while on their motorcycles, Getraer is so busy talking to some potted plants that he has set up outside the station that he almost forgets to yell at Ponch. Getraer is really into taking care of plants and he’s not happy to learn that there is a criminal gang lurking on the highways and stealing plants. Getraer says that he’s upset because of how much taxpayer money is being wasted due to the thievery but it’s pretty obvious that Getraer is actually taking the robberies personally as a plant lover.

Baker suggests that maybe the plants are being stolen by people who are disguised as city employees. To me, that seems like a pretty obvious possibility but both Ponch and Getraer are amazed by Baker’s suggestion. Crooks disguising themselves so that they can commit a crime without anyone calling the police on them? Seriously, who would have guessed!? Both Ponch and Getraer are so impressed that they each initially take credit for Baker’s idea. Baker is quick to let everyone know that he’s the one that figured out the extremely obvious way that the criminals were operating.

And have no fear! The Green Thumb Bandits are caught by the end of the show. In fact, they are captured as soon as Baker comes up with his extremely obvious idea. As is typical of CHiPs, the episode focuses on the cops pursuing the crooks and, as a result, we don’t really learn much about the crooks. Personally, I would like to know how they came up with the ideas to steal plants.

This is a weird episode, even beyond Getraer’s obsession with plants. At one point, Ponch and Baker pull over a guy wearing a fuzzy, yellow monster costume. “It’s PuffnStuff!” Ponch exclaims. A quick Google search revealed to me that PuffnStuff was apparently a children’s show character in the 70s. Ponch is really excited to see him but I have to wonder if the actor who played PuffnStuff would actually wear the costume while driving. PuffnStuff does say that he’s heading to a photo shoot but still, why not put the costume on when he arrives?

(Baker, for his part, does not own a TV and has no idea who PuffnStuff is.)

Finally, Ponch and Baker pull over two middle-aged twins for running a stop sign. The twins explain that they are the world-famous Tidwell Twins and that they can see the future. After Ponch laughs at their claim, one of the twins explains that Ponch will have four bad things happen to him. One will involve a sharp object. One will involve an authority figure. One will involve a fire. (Agck!) One will involve a romantic disaster. By the end of the episode, Ponch will have cut his hand on a can of beans, gotten yelled at by Getraer, gotten covered in fire-extinguishing foam, and dumped by his latest girlfriend. Ponch has the worst luck but at least he got to meet PuffnStuff!

This was a weird episode. As always, the California scenery was nice to look at and the motorcycles were cool. But the plot was just all over the place. At least Robert Pine got to do something other than just yell at Ponch. He seems to be having fun portraying Getraer’s plant-obsessed gentle side.

Next week …. Ponch takes up bowling? That’s what the plot description says. Maybe meeting PuffnStuff inspired Ponch to follow his bowling dreams. We’ll find out soon!

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.7 “Taking Its Toll”

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jon Baker gives up a dream.

Episode 1.7 “Taking Its Toll”

(Dir by Georg Fenady, originally aired on November 3rd, 1977)

Inspired by his hero Joseph Wambaugh, Jon Baker is writing a book. It’s a novel all about the crazy things that he has seen as a member of the California Highway Patrol. Ponch is one of the main characters. Of course, Baker is mostly focusing on all of the times that Ponch has screwed up. On his writer’s board, Baker has cards that read, “Ponch Falls In Glue,” “Ponch Loses His Bike,” and “Ponch Rips His Pants.” Ponch, when he discovers what Jon is doing, isn’t necessarily happy about being held up to ridicule but then Baker promises to portray Ponch as a hero, a modern-day Roman centurion who rides his bike like a horse into battle.

This episode provides Baker with plenty of material. Two blonde surfer dudes are robbing people who are stopped at toll booths and then making their escape in stolen sports cars. As well, a man crashes his car and, when the highway patrol investigates, they discover a bomb in the back seat! The bomb squad is called but what about the innocent motorcyclist who is trapped underneath the car? If the bomb blows up, not only will the motorcyclist be killed but so will Ponch, the officer who is trying to keep him calm. (Don’t worry, the bomb doesn’t blow up.) As well, when a truck carrying a bunch of onions has an accident, it leads to onions all over the road! Ponch, Baker, Bear, and even Gatraer end up shedding some tears while directing traffic.

It sounds like it will make a great book but, unfortunately, Baker discovers that, as a cop, he’s not really allowed to freely write a book about his experiences. Instead, he has to clear everything with the legal department and then ask permission before even trying to get the book published. (As Gatraer explains it, the California Highway Patrol has to protect its image.) To Ponch’s disappointment, Baker abandons the book and throws away his plot cards. Fear not, though! Ponch says he’s going to write his own book and even commandeers Baker’s typewriter to do so.

(Yes, a typewriter. Seriously, I can’t imagine writing anything without having the ability to just highlight a paragraph and delete the entire thing without the click of a button.)

This was one of those day-in-the-life episodes that didn’t really add up to much. Interestingly enough, the emphasis was often less on Baker and Ponch and more on the idea of the entire California police force — from the Highway Patrol to the Sheriff’s Department to the Bomb Squad — all working together to keep people safe. The best part of the episode came early on with an exciting chase between Baker and the toll thieves. For the most part, though, this episode just left me thinking about how an episode that featured Baker writing a book somehow still managed to largely focus on Ponch. Watching this episode, I could understand why Larry Wilcox was reportedly not always happy with the direction of the show. Even when its about Baker, CHiPs is still largely the Ponch Show.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.6 “Baby Food”

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Ponch continues to screw up even the simplest of tasks!

Episode 1.6 “Baby Food”

(Dir by Paul Krasny, originally aired on October 27th, 1977)

This week’s episode of CHiPs is yet another story about how Frank “Ponch” Poncharello is terrible at his job.

While riding down the highway, Ponch and Baker find themselves stuck behind a truck that is transporting several boxes of baby food. Suddenly, the truck’s backdoor slides open and the boxes start to fall onto the highway. Baker is able to easily dodge the boxes, pull up to the side of the truck, and motion for the driver to pull over. Ponch, on the other hand, is nearly killed because he comes close to hitting every box that falls out in front of him. I mean, the boxes are not that big. I’ve never even driven a motorcycle and I could probably do a better job of avoiding them than Ponch did.

Once the driver of the truck has stopped and the boxes are being reloaded, Ponch and Baker head on their way. They are heading to headquarters, where they are supposed to be waiting for a call from the courthouse to let them know if they need to come down and testify in a case. Still, Baker finds the time to pull over and ask two hippies if they need any help changing a flat tire on their school bus. Baker is perfect and Ponch …. well, Ponch is not.

At headquarters, Ponch hits on the dispatchers, commandeers a meeting room so he can watch his favorite soap opera, and is basically so obnoxious that Getraer kicks both Ponch and Baker out. After taking some time to rescue a man and his dog from a car that’s caught on fire, Ponch and Baker head over to the trailer park that Ponch calls home. Ponch wants to change his uniform (which got covered in soot as a result of the fire) and Baker wants to see Ponch’s beautiful new neighbor. Despite being under orders to remain easily contactable, Ponch accidentally knocks his phone off the hook.

That’s not good because Gatraer actually needs to talk to Ponch. It turns out that the baby food that fell off the truck is infected with botulism and two of the boxes are missing! Gatraer has to leave his office and ride his bike all the way to Ponch’s trailer park to let Ponch — who is now wearing a “Keep on Trucking” t-shirt — know about the contaminated baby food. Gatraer asks Ponch and Baker if they saw anyone scavenging at the scene. It takes Baker a while to remember the school bus but at least he did remember! Ponch apparently only has a five-minute attention span.

The hippies are eventually tracked down and their baby is rushed to the hospital, where he recovers. While Gatraer congratulates Ponch and Baker on finding the contaminated food, he does tell them that they need to stop getting personal calls at the office. It turns out that Melinda, the trailer park girl that Ponch likes, has been calling HQ and asking to speak to Baker. Obviously, Melinda knows who has career potential and who is one mistake away from getting evicted from his mobile home.

This episode was enjoyable because it’s always fun to watch people get mad at Ponch. Larry Wilcox reveals some unexpected comedic abilities in this episode. (Just look at his face when he realizes Ponch is using a conference room to watch his favorite soap opera.) I also liked how clean and friendly the trailer park was. CHiPs originally aired quite a bit before my time but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the show led to be people moving to California. I mean, even the trailer parks are nice to look at!

Late Night Retro Television Review: CHiPs 1.5 “Career Day”

Posted on December 11, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, Jon and, to a lesser extent, Ponch continue to keep the highways safe.

Episode 1.5 “Career Day”

(Dir by Ric Rondell, originally aired on October 20th, 1977)

It’s another crazy week on the California highways. A husband-and-wife team of burglars are driving around in their van and breaking into mansions. Frat boys are stealing hearses and hiding in coffins. A photographer and his models hold up traffic by doing a swimsuit shoot under an overpass. A little child gets lost while walking along the Los Angeles river.

It’s a lot to deal with and somehow, it all falls on Jon and Ponch. This is one of those episodes that leaves you to wonder where all the other members of the highway patrol are. At one point, Sgt. Getraer comments that the highway patrol has 100 motorcycles and that 90 of them are being used. Despite that, it seems like every crime and accident seems to happen just a mile or two away from wherever Jon and Ponch happen to be. Occasionally, Bear (played by Brodie Greer) shows up in his police car but he always seems to wait until Ponch and Jon have already caught the bad guys.

This episode, Ponch once again damages his motorcycle by not parking it correctly. (The motorcycle falls over and a bunch of a teenagers point and laugh. Take that, Ponch!) Getraer puts Ponch on desk duty but then a helicopter cop says that he needs someone to fly with him. Ponch gets to go up in a police helicopter and help search for the missing child. Baker, who is perfect and therefore, still has his motorcycle, is the one who actually retrieves the child and takes him home but Ponch gets to ride in a helicopter. Seriously, I’ve been in a helicopter a few times and, once you get used to all the shaking and get over your fear of heights, it’s pretty fun. I guess it’s a good thing, for Ponch, that he is such an incompetent highway patrolman that he can’t even park his own bike.

This episode could best be described as a “week-in-the-life” episode as it follows Ponch and Jon as they deal with all the weird things that happen on the Los Angeles highway. The burglars bookmarked the episode, showing up at the start and then again at the end, so that they could be chased down by Ponch and Jon. That said, the closest thing that this episode had to a real storyline was the result of Ponch pulling over his old high school principal (played by the very familiar character actor, Richard Deacon) and being asked to speak at his school’s career day. The principal seems to believe that if Ponch can actually stay out of jail and become an authority figure, there’s a chance for everyone! Of course, when it’s time to give his speech, Ponch freezes up and Jon has to act like his hype man. Eventually, Ponch finds the courage to speak and turns out to be such a blowhard that the entire student body gets bored. Indeed, as Ponch brags on himself, the line between character and actor becomes rather blurred. Erik Estrada is not the world’s most subtle actor but he’s entertaining in the right role.

As with all of the previous episodes, the real star here was the California scenery. The mountains and the blue skies were inviting, no matter how dangerous the highways might have been.

Late Night Retro Television Reviews: CHiPs 1.4 “Moving Violation”

Posted on December 4, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week, we learn who is a good cop and who is a not-so good cop.

Episode 1.4 “Moving Violation”

(Dir by Edward M. Abroms, originally aired on October 13th, 1977)

Tonight’s episode of CHiPs doesn’t so much have a plot as much as it’s just a random collection of incidents that are designed to allow us to see the differences in personality between Officer Jon Baker and Officer Frank “Ponch” Poncharello.

Officer Baker is quiet, conscientious, and mild-mannered. He’s the officer who spots a stolen church bus but gives his partner the credit for discovering it because his partner is on probationary status with the department. On a more serious note, he’s also the guy who is sent to inform women that they are now widows because their husbands met misfortune on the California highways. Tonight’s episode sees Baker being sent to inform a woman that her husband has died and Baker handles the job with sensitivity and tact. He wipes away a tear of his own as the woman starts to cry. Larry Wilcox was not exactly the most expressive actor in the world but, in that scene, he did a wonderful job.

Officer Poncharello, on the other hand, is a screw-up who smiles frequently, lies to an almost pathological extent, and who often looks straight at the camera while delivering his lines. He’s the type of police officer who needs his fellow officers to lie to Sgt. Getraer about what a good police officer he is. If Officer Baker is the ideal highway patrolman, Ponch is the guy who really shouldn’t be out there. It’s not just that Erik Estrada looks notably less assured on that motorcycle than Larry Wilcox. It’s also that Ponch himself doesn’t ever really seem to be paying attention to …. well, anything!

This episode, Ponch lies to a woman and gets her to go out on a date with him under the assumption that he’s a sergeant. She’s not thrilled to discover that he’s just a police officer and that he drives (and live in) an RV. Ponch is not thrilled when he gets a ticket for not using his turn signal and he has to take a driver’s education class. Worried that he might run into someone who he has ticketed, Ponch wears a fake mustache and, eventually, a fake beard.

As I mentioned earlier, there’s not much of a story to this episode. Ponch and Baker just deal with whatever they come across, whether it’s a stolen church bus or a man trapped in a van with a bunch of rattlesnakes. The oddest moment of the show comes when they pull over a motorist played by football player Roosevelt Grier and Grier proceeds to start beating up his car. Ponch and Baker just watch in amazement. At one point, Grier puts his fist through a window and Ponch laughs. Uhmm …. how about checking to make sure the guy isn’t bleeding to death?

And, hey — guess who shows up in driver’s education class at the end of this episode!? And guess who rips off Ponch’s fake beard and mustache. The episode ends with a freeze frame of a nervous Ponch laughing but I don’t think he’s going to be laughing much longer.

This was a weird episode. It was basically a combination of broad comedy, lovely California scenery, and that one shockingly dramatic scene in which Baker told a woman that her husband was dead. The episode was obviously meant to introduce us to Baker and Ponch. I would definitely prefer to get pulled over by Baker because he’s obviously just trying to do his job quickly and efficiently. Ponch, on the other hand….

Anyway, assuming that Ponch wasn’t killed by Rosey Grier, he should be next week! We’ll see what happens!