Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Season When Bobby Replaces Jon, December 18, 2008
This 1982-83 Season of CHiPs was a so-so season, since the show went downhill, mostly due to the fact that this was the season when Ponch's original partner Jon Baker leaves the show and gets replaced by rookie CHP Officer Bobby Nelson(Tom Reilly)as Ponch's new partner along with a few new co-stars who join Ponch(Erik Estrada), the rigid Sgt. Joe Getraer(Robert Pine), Grossman(Paul Linke), & Harlan(Lou Wagner), at CHP Central Division in L.A.
Therefore, CHiPs 6th Season is when CHP Officers Bonnie Clark(Randi Oakes), Barry Baricza(Brodie Greer), and Jeb Turner(Michael Dorn) depart from the show and get replaced by new co-stars former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader(Tina Gayle)as CHP motor Officer Kathy Linahan; Clarence Gilyard, Jr. as California Highway Patrol Officer Benjamin Webster; and Bruce Penhall as Bobby Nelson's baby brother(Bruce Nelson) who becomes Ponch's new partner in the last 3 episodes of CHiPs before it cancelled after having an unsuccessful season on NBC, since this was the weakest season of them all throughout CHiPs whole 6-year run on NBC.
In fact, this makes another perfect example on how and why the show CHiPs cant succeed without BOTH Ponch(Erik Estrada) and Jon(Larry Wilcox) and how virtually inseperable they were, since the ratings slouched big time when the Jon Baker wannabe(Bobby Nelson)became Ponch's new partner during Jon's departure from the show.
Another example on why CHiPs couldn't succeed with BOTH ponch & Jon, the ratings had previously slumped in the previous season(the 5th Season) when famous athlete(Bruce Jenner)briefly joined the cast & crew as Jon's interim partner(Officer Steve McLeisch) for 3 episodes when Erik Estrada(Ponch) left the show temporarily, due to a salary dispute, which therefore inclined the producers to bring Ponch back to the show permanently as Jon's partner, since the ratings went downhill causing the show to nearly cancel, which therefore prompted them to bring Ponch back to CHiPs permanently in order to save the show along with the bad economy we had going on back then from the recession we had back in 1981-1982 when Reagan was president.
In addition to that, not only was there friction and rivalry between Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox off the set during the first 5 seasons of this show which led to Wilcox's departure in the Summer of 1982, Estrada also had a fall-out with Tom Reilly too after Reilly was arrested for drug possession by the LAPD in real life in early 1983, which was of course a double whammy for Estrada whcih also resulted in Bobby being replaced by Bobby's kid brother(Bruce Penhall)in the Spring of 1983 as Ponch's new partner in the last 3 episodes of CHiPs before its cancellation in the Summer of 1983.
Something else that baffled me about the Sixth Season of CHiPs was Ponch(Erik Estrada) was Mary-6 and Bobby(Tom Reilly)was Mary-7, but in the first 5 seasons of CHiPs, Ponch was Mary-4 and Jon was Mary-3.
Therefore, Ponch should've either stayed as Mary-4 or became the new Mary-3 or should've made Bobby the new Mary-3 when Jon departed the show, but I guess the producers wanted to keep it simpler by having only 1 number apart from one another, since Ponch was Jon's partner in the first 5 seasons and then became Bobby's partner in the last season.
Unfortunately Larry Wilcox left the show after CHiPs Fifth Season run on NBC since Wilcox felt that Estrada was getting the Rolls Royce of the treatment from the producers on the set.
This season also takes me all the way back to memory lane when CHiPs was on NBC every Sunday night at 8PM too.
This is also the season when Ponch gets his brand spankin new blue '82 Pontiac Trans Am and no longer has his old brown Firebird anymore, which was a major upgrade for Ponch.
In fact, Ponch's '82 Trans Am was just like the Knight 2000 was on KNIGHT RIDER, since Ponch's Trans Am was the same exact year, make, model, and body style as KNIGHT RIDER with the exception of all the sprucing and modifications that KNIGHT RIDER had that Ponch's Trans Am didn't have.
It's just too bad that Ponch couldn't have traded in his brown Firebird for his '82 Trans Am in the 5th Season when Jon was still his partner, since Ponch's new Trans Am would've been a coll comparison to Jon's blue 4X4 GMC stepside pick-up that Jon had from Season 2 thru Season 5, since Jon's pick up had outclassed Ponch's Firebird big time, but at least Ponch's '82 Trans Am would've had some better and interesting competition to Jon's GMC pick up.
It was also interesting seeing
-Richard Simmons doing a cameo appearance in the "Meet The New Guy" episode
-Johnny Lee do a cameo singing appearance in the "Country Action" episode with his "Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys"
-Famous newscaster(Stu Nahan) doing a cameo appearance in the "Something Special" episode
-Donny Most in the "Rock Devil Rock" episode during his co-starring days on HAPPY DAYS
-Bobby Beronsini's orangutangs(Poppy)in the "Country Action" episode
-Adam Rich in the "Fallout" episode after his co-starring days as Nicholas on EIGHT IS ENOUGH
-Phil Silvers in the "Hot Date" episode after his co-starring days on THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW
-Mickey Gilley doing a cameo appearance in the "Country Action" episode
-David Hasselhoff's first wife(Catherine Hickland) in the "Hot Date" episode before her co-starring days on ALL MY CHILDREN
-Former Dodger player(Tommy Lasorda) in the "Meet The New Guy" episode
-Evel Knievel(Robbie Knievel) as Shake Patterson in the "Something Special" episode
-Laura Branigan in the "Fox Trap" episode singing her hit song "GLORIA"
-Former football player/actor(Jim Brown) in the "High Times" episode
-Julie Newmar in the "This Years Riot" episode after her co-starring days as the villianess(Catwoman) on BATMAN
-Cassandra Peterson guest starring as Elvira in the "Rock Devil Rock" episode and again in the "Things That Go Creep In The Night" episode.
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DVD ~ Martin Milner
DVD ~ Martin Milner
DVD ~ Robert Fuller
DVD ~ Martin Milner
DVD ~ William Shatner
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