Highway Patrol
Christmas Story
TV Flash files “Christmas Story” as the last listed hour of season 1 — Highway Patrol (1955–1959) on Syndication, season 1, episode 39, aired 1956-06-25, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E39: listed hour 39 of 156 in the Highway Patrol guide, last listed hour of season 1. It aired 1956-06-25 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Prospector” (S01E38). Next is “The Search” (S02E01).
Viewer FAQ
Where does Christmas Story sit in the Highway Patrol guide?
S01E39 is listed hour 39 of 156 — last listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 39.
When did Highway Patrol S01E39 air?
Christmas Story aired 1956-06-25 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Start with Crawford barking ten-four over freeway crime. Semi-documentary dispatch is the form; you have the show in one chase.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Highway Patrol proved first-run syndication could own the culture: Broderick Crawford's bark, endless freeways, and ten-four as national grammar. Watch it in 2026 as the radio-dispatch crime show that taught America cop-talk — gravel voice, squad cars, and a non-network hit that still sounds like a scanner.
Ten-four, and the living room answers. First-run syndication, 1955–1959, Ziv Television, 156 episodes of Chief Dan Mathews leading California Highway Patrol officers against hijackers, killers, and road crime in semi-documentary bark. Broderick Crawford's gravel, William Boyett's sergeant, endless freeways, radio codes as national grammar. Highway Patrol did not need a network logo to own the night. It sounded like a scanner you could not turn off. On the palate: asphalt, a dispatch speaker, and a closing shout…
Filed against
- Broderick Crawford as Dan Mathews
Broderick Crawford's bark made Highway Patrol a first-run syndication hit — endless freeways, ten-four as national grammar, gravel voice as the brand. Squad cars and radio-dispatch crime that taught America cop-talk without a network…
- William Boyett as Sgt. Ken Williams
William Boyett’s Sgt. Ken Williams rode Highway Patrol as ten-four infrastructure — Broderick Crawford’s bark, endless freeways, first-run syndication that owned the culture. Radio-dispatch crime that taught America cop-talk: gravel…