CHiPs
Death Watch
TV Flash files “Death Watch” as hour 50 of 139 in the TV Flash guide — CHiPs (1977–1983) on NBC, season 3, episode 5, aired 1979-10-13, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E05: listed hour 50 of 139 in the CHiPs guide, hour 5 of 24 in season 3. It aired 1979-10-13 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “High Octane” (S03E04). Next is “Counterfeit” (S03E06).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
After a fellow officer is killed, Ponch and Jon investigate a crooked stuntman who has been causing accidents as part of an insurance scam.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Death Watch sit in the CHiPs guide?
S03E05 is listed hour 50 of 139 — hour 5 of 24 in season 3, season 3 episode 5.
When did CHiPs S03E05 air?
Death Watch aired 1979-10-13 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Ponch, Jon, or the crashes?
Buddy unit plus spectacle. Estrada fever is the idol weather; Wilcox is the partner; stunts are the freeway punctuation.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Ponch and Jon ride California freeways like a suntan commercial with crash inserts. Erik Estrada fever, motorcycle-cop buddy comfort, contract-holdout drama off-camera. Light action, highway spectacle, and the 1970s idea that law enforcement could look like a beach poster between pileups.
Open on a freeway that photographs like a suntan commercial with crash inserts. NBC's CHiPs (1977–1983), from Rick Rosner: two CHP motorcycle officers patrol Southern California, combining rescues, chases, and buddy banter. Larry Wilcox's Officer Jon Baker, Erik Estrada's Officer Frank Ponch Poncherello, Robert Pine's Sgt. Getraer. Estrada became a major late-1970s TV idol; elaborate vehicle stunts supplied the crash inserts. Tone stayed lighter than many crime dramas of the era. Light action, highway spectacle,…
Filed against
- Larry Wilcox as Officer Jon Baker
Larry Wilcox's Officer Jon Baker rode CHiPs like a suntan commercial with crash inserts — Ponch fever, motorcycle-cop buddy comfort, California freeways as spectacle, the 1970s idea that law enforcement could look like a beach poster. TV…
- Erik Estrada as Officer Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello
Erik Estrada rode the freeway as Officer Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello on CHiPs — suntan-commercial California, motorcycle-cop buddy comfort, crash inserts, and 1970s law enforcement that looked like a beach poster between pileups. TV Flash…
- Robert Pine as Sgt. Joseph Getraer
Robert Pine's Sgt. Joseph Getraer kept CHiPs from becoming only a suntan commercial with crash inserts — Ponch and Jon riding California freeways, Erik Estrada fever, motorcycle-cop buddy comfort. Light action, highway spectacle. TV Flash…