I don’t think this YouTube capture of the ChiPs theme song does it justice, but I have to say it has to be one of the best scores ever written for an opening title sequence. Everything flows so nicely with the overhead highway shots and the close-ups of the motorcycle gear. Yes, the music is Disco inspired, but it seems to hold up even today.

The reason ChiPs worked as a TV show is because I think most of us are stuck in an office somewhere while these two guys are riding out in the California sun having small adventures. I’m even jealous of Officer Jon Baker’s apartment. It seems so sunny and clean and perfect, then I look at the mess I’m sitting in and wonder why I didn’t sign up for the police academy when I was younger.

I suppose police work is not all that exciting–there’s not an overhead car crash that jumps the railing every day and many of the women you meet are not tanned beauties, they’re crack whores–but it is a nice fantasy. I used to watch this show on my Grandma’s old, but very big TV with some cookies and root beer. That was the absolute best.

I tried to look up Officer Bonnie Clark, the hot blond who looked like she was on the verge of getting wrinkles (maybe she smoked). She did look good in a uniform. Surprisingly, there’s not much to say about her. She did a lot of TV acting and then her IMDB filmography ends in 1984. ChiPs was the highlight of her career. I couldn’t complain about that I guess. Do some TV and then retire to do something else and enjoy the quiet life. If she married, I’m sure her husband demanded she dress up in that uniform for special occasions.