CHiPs - 'The Complete 6th and Final Season,' The Complete Series' DVDs! Date, pricing, plus front and rear cover art for both titles!
Posted by David Lambert	3/16/2017
Rev up for action adventure and zoom back to the early 1980s with CHiPs! Season six of the hit series kicks off with Ponch (series star and all-around heartthrob Erik Estrada) becoming the training officer of new rookie Bobby Nelson (new series regular Tom Reilly - Valley of the Dolls), and the two soon go undercover as outlaw bikers in an effort to catch illegal weapons hijackers. Plus, some of the CHP personnel worry that a robot is going to replace them, Kathy (series star Tina Gayle) closes in on dognappers, three beautiful rock 'n' roll singers are in danger of being kidnapped by a sex slave ring and Ponch takes a part-time job as a model for a jeans company, but discovers stardom takes him away from his real work: the rewarding job of putting criminals behind bars. Guest stars this season include David Caruso (CSI: Miami), Phil Silvers (The Phil Silvers Show), Julie Newmar (TV's Batman) and singer Laura Branigan. A week from tomorrow, the new CHIPS (official spelling) theatrical film from Warner hits cinemas. It was written by, directed by, and stars Dax Shepard (Parenthood). The film co-stars Michael Peña (former drummer for Nico Vega; acted in films such as Walkout, World Trade Center and Ant-Man). Shepard's wife Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars, House of Lies) also appears, as does Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live). Based on the previews publicly available, the new movie is aimed at a new generation, targeting the audience with a film that's played mostly for laughs (a more brazen style of humor than seen on the original TV show..."chip happens," and the like), and some action on wheels. It flips the script on the police partnership, with Shepard's "Jon Baker" being the less-experienced law officer this time around...but more experienced on a motorbike. Fans of the original program do not often have a good time seeing the shows they enjoyed in their youth get remade in a way that doesn't have the same tone as the original. I was looking forward to a film that gave me an updated version of the show I loved as a kid, and was disappointed at the mocking feeling when I saw the trailers. But who knows? I haven't seen the whole move yet. So even though I'm skeptical, the new CHIPS MIGHT possibly be a fun film, even though it's done in a decidedly different style than the television series it's based on. But for older folks (or new young fans!) who still want their CHiPs as seen in the late 70s and early 80s, Warner Home Video is ready to deliver! The sixth and final season of the show, which stars Erik Estrada as "Officer Frank Poncherello" and Robert Pine as "Sgt. Joseph Getraer," is now in-the-works for DVD. Larry Wilcox ("Jon Baker") had left the series after the fifth season, so Tom Reilly joined the cast as "Officer Bobby 'Hot Dog' Nelson." Also joining the show's cast later on was Speedway World Championships winner (1981 and '82) Bruce Penhall, as "Officer Bruce Nelson" (Bobby's younger brother). There were 22 episodes in the final season, and they included guest stars such as Tommy Lasorda, Richard Simmons, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Peter Marshall, Don "Donny"/"Donald" Most, Cassandra "Elvira" Peterson, future Metallica bass guitarist Robert Trujillo, George Murdock, Moon Zappa, Robbie Knievel, Charlies Napier, Robbie Rist, Julie Newmar, Rhonda Shear, Beverly Adams (ex-wife of Vidal Sassoon, and later engaged to Erik Estrada), Bryan Cranston, Tony Perez, Playboy Playmate Kathy Shower, Dennis Haskins, Melody Anderson, David Caruso, Phil Silvers, Catherine Hickland, Jim Brown, Danny Bonaduce, country singer Johnny Lee (as himself), Natalie Schafer, pop star Laura Branigan, George Chakiris, Robert Hegyes, Terry Kiser, Nina Axelrod, Miguel Ferrer, Soleil Moon Frye, Heather O'Rourke, Stephen Furst, Rich Little, Kelly Preston, Royal Dano, and many more! Amazon.com has added a pair of pre-order listings: one is for CHiPs - The Complete 6th and Final Season, a 4-DVD set priced at $24.98 SRP. The other, priced at $129.99 SRP, is CHiPs - The Complete Series. Both are shown to have a street date of June 6th, and both show package cover art (seen below). No other details are included, and we're not sure if The Complete Series set will also include the 15-year-reunion telefilm, CHiPs '99 (it's been available as an MOD release for DVD since 2012, though, and since it's sold as an MOD while the rest of the show is not, we're not optimistic that it would be included as part of that set...plus it's not mentioned on the rear box cover, shown below!). Our thanks to reader Joe Matallo for the heads-up about these releases! Here's the artwork: 1 1 1