CHiPs
Forty Tons of Trouble
TV Flash files “Forty Tons of Trouble” as hour 79 of 139 in the TV Flash guide — CHiPs (1977–1983) on NBC, season 4, episode 10, aired 1981-01-11, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E10: listed hour 79 of 139 in the CHiPs guide, hour 10 of 21 in season 4. It aired 1981-01-11 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Crash Course” (S04E09). Next is “11-99: Officer Needs Help” (S04E11).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Jon and Ponch uncover a clever plot to transport stolen construction equipment to foreign buyers.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Forty Tons of Trouble sit in the CHiPs guide?
S04E10 is listed hour 79 of 139 — hour 10 of 21 in season 4, season 4 episode 10.
When did CHiPs S04E10 air?
Forty Tons of Trouble aired 1981-01-11 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…