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Friday, December 9, 2016

Show Notes: Episode 12, Chips

*The ratings for CHiPs were never stellar; it's best season was its third, when it ranked 18th. It was NBC's highest-rated scripted series that year, though (Real People was NBC's top rated show that season). It was 25th in season 2, 24th in season 4, and then fell out of the top 25 for its final seasons.

*The "scrub" who replaced Jon in the series' final season was Bobby "Hot Dog" Nelson. 'Nuff said. Later in that season, the actor who played Nelson was busted for marijuana, an event that apparently irritated Erik Estrada, who had already driven off Larry Wilcox. Enter real-life cycling star Bruce Penhall as Bruce Nelson. Bobby's younger bro and Ponch's new partner.

*Leif (pronounced "Layf," not "Leaf") Garrett was a sensation in his heyday, but not as successful on the charts as Jimmy Tyler. In real life, Leif's biggest hit was "I Was Made for Dancing."

*Larry Linville is best known for stooging for Hawkeye on M*A*S*H as Frank Burns. The great Larry Storch was Agarn on F Troop and has been in many, many other roles as well, including Professor Whoopee on Tennessee Tuxedo.

*Jim Brown was one of the greatest NFL players of all time. Fred Williamson is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but he was pretty bad-ass in Hell Up In Harlem. He was hired for Monday Night Football's 1974 season to replace Don Meredith but tanked so badly he was replaced by Alex Karras after the exhibition season, never having called a regular season game.

*The California Highway Patrol was formed in 1929 and has jurisdiction over all county and state highways, but it also has wider jurisdiction, apparently including, yes, Venice Beach. As the official website says: As a major statewide law enforcement agency, the secondary mission of the Department is to assist in emergencies exceeding local capabilities. The CHP also provides disaster and lifesaving assistance.

*Actors and Others for Animals is a real organization that has served SoCal since 1971. The current president=JoAnne Worley! In a message on the group's website, she credits Earl Holliman, who is in 'Roller Disco" as the then-leader of the organization, with being a great teacher and paving the way.

*Dax Shepard's feature film adaptation of CHiPs is really going to happen. Warner Brothers just gave it a March 24, 2017 release date. Unlike the PG-rated TV show, which as we note was family friendly and devoid of, say, gun violence, the movie will be "Rated R for crude sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language, some violence and drug use. " Most of that was behind the scenes on the TV show, though we still have our suspicions about the proclivities of  Balford and Jimmy Tyler.

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