CHiPs - The Complete Third Season

Released by: Warner Brothers
Released on: March 3rd, 2015.
Director: Various
Cast: Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine
Year: 1979/1980
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The Series:

The seventies and eighties was a great time for gritty cop dramas on television. You had Starsky & Hutch, The Streets Of San Francisco and plenty of other quality shows out there to choose from. By the end of the decade the formula was becoming a little tired so it's kind of surprising that ChiPS, which debuted in 1977, was as popular as it was. The secret to the shows' success? Motorcycles! Ladies loved the two hunky male leads but what set this series apart from so many other like-minded series were the bikes and the sunny locations. It was a recipe that worked well, allowing the series to bounce back and forth between serious and humorous, dramatic and action packed.

For those not in the know, ChiPS revolved around two California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops - Officer Jon Baker (Larry Wilcox) and Officer Francis Llewellyn 'Ponch' Poncherello (Erik Estrada) who answered to Sergeant Getraer (Robert Pine). Every week these two lovable cops on wheels would fight crime and save the day, more often than not using motorcycle related skills to make that happen. The show was rarely deep, but it was at least always fun with the motorcycle scenes usually standing out as the highlight of each episode.

The complete first third of CHiPS ran from September, 1979 through March, 1980 and it is presented in this set in its original broadcast order as follows:

DISC ONE:

Roller Disco Part 1 / Roller Disco Part 2 / Valley Go Home! / High Octane / Death Watch

DISC TWO:

Counterfeit / Return Of The Supercycle / Hot Wheels / Drive, Lady, Drive Part 1 / Drive, Lady, Drive Part 2

DISC THREE:

The Watch Commander / Destruction Derby / Second Chance / Wheeling / Christmas Watch

DISC FOUR:

Jailbirds / E.M.T. / Kidnap / Off Road / Tow Truck Lady

DISC FIVE:

The Strippers / Thrill Show / Nightingale / Dynamite Alley

How does the material hold up? Well, ChiPS is very definitely a product of its time and as such it's pretty dated by most standards. That said, the dated aspects of the show don't hurt its entertainment value in the least, and if anything, they add to it considerably. The old adage 'they don't make'em like they used to' definitely applies to this show and that's half the fun of the series right there - while large portions of the show are played with tongue firmly in cheek, even the more serious aspects of the series are hard to take, well, seriously in this day and age. The two leads in the form of Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox are likeable enough heroes and they do a great job of carrying the series. Their collaborative chemistry, along with the stunt riding and the chase scenes, are really what pulls the series together and makes it so much fun. In the end, it's hard to say that ChiPS is really good television but there's no denying that it was, is, and always shall be a whole lot of goofy entertainment.

This season also has some great guest stars. Appearing throughout this run are such illustrious thespian as Leif Garrett, Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson, Ed McMahon (playing himself), Jim Brown, Dee Wallace, Martin Kove, Anne Ramsey, Leon Isaac Kennedy (Too Sweet himself!), Brion James, a young Michelle Pfeiffer, Angel Tompkins, Kristine DeBell, William Smith, Edd Byrnes and the late Dana Plato! It's a veritable cavalcade of the stars! Interestingly enough, none other than Gordon Hessler (the man who directed Murders In The Rue Morgue and The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad) was behind the camera for three episodes of this season.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Each of the episodes is presented in its original fullframe broadcast aspect ratio, which is as it should be. In terms of image quality, the material here does show its age and there's a fair bit of grain and a little more print damage than there probably should have been. Mpeg compression is never a problem but some scenes look a little overly filtered and at times sharpness is lacking as is fine detail. That being said, color reproduction isn't bad and the black levels are fine. Everything is perfectly watchable, but the fact of that matters is that these transfers definitely could have been better.

There are no serious issues with the English language Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack afforded each episode in this set. The show sounds about as good as it always has - it's not going to wow you but you shouldn't have any difficulty following the dialogue or grooving along to the sounds of the instantly recognizable theme song. Sometimes things are a little bit on the flat side but other than that ChiPS sounds good enough. Optional subtitles are provided in English and French.

There are no extras on any of the discs outside of menus and episode selection but the DVD case has an insert booklet inside containing info on each episode in the set. The case itself, which holds the five discs in the set on individual spindles, fits inside a cardboard slipcase.

The Final Word:

CHiPS - The Complete Third Season arrives on DVD after quite a length wait since the second season was released years back, but fans of the show will be happy to have it. This is a good batch of episodes with all the fun and excitement you'd expect from the series - and some super rad guest stars too!