CHiPs
Vigilante
TV Flash files “Vigilante” as hour 88 of 139 in the TV Flash guide — CHiPs (1977–1983) on NBC, season 4, episode 19, aired 1981-05-03, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E19: listed hour 88 of 139 in the CHiPs guide, hour 19 of 21 in season 4. It aired 1981-05-03 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Hawk and the Hunter” (S04E18). Next is “Dead Man's Riddle” (S04E20).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When Getraer and his family are harassed by a mysterious vandal, Ponch and Jon step in to find out who is behind it all.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Vigilante sit in the CHiPs guide?
S04E19 is listed hour 88 of 139 — hour 19 of 21 in season 4, season 4 episode 19.
When did CHiPs S04E19 air?
Vigilante aired 1981-05-03 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…