CHiPs
Tow Truck Lady
TV Flash files “Tow Truck Lady” as hour 65 of 139 in the TV Flash guide — CHiPs (1977–1983) on NBC, season 3, episode 20, aired 1980-02-09, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E20: listed hour 65 of 139 in the CHiPs guide, hour 20 of 24 in season 3. It aired 1980-02-09 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Off Road” (S03E19). Next is “The Strippers” (S03E21).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When a tow truck driver is suspected of stealing cars to make ends meet, Jon and Ponch enlist the help of the driver's daughter.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Tow Truck Lady sit in the CHiPs guide?
S03E20 is listed hour 65 of 139 — hour 20 of 24 in season 3, season 3 episode 20.
When did CHiPs S03E20 air?
Tow Truck Lady aired 1980-02-09 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…