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.
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