CHiPs '99 (1998)

the audience applauded

best movie i've ever seen.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

After a 15-year self-imposed retirement from the CHP, Ponch reunites with his partner Jon to break up a car-theft ring in this reunion TV movie entitled,CHiPs '99.This lighthearted action-adventure is set from where the old show left off. Jon and Ponch have not been partners for years.But when a car theft ring starts to do a puzzling series of car thefts,they get reunited to solve this mystery. Part of the fun of the show is watching the two leads as they try to adjust to the innovations of modern police work, including new bikes and wireless radios that keep them in constant contact with their senior officer.While there was a lot to be desired from this TV movie considering that it feels so out-of-date when it was shown as compared to when the TV series was still on the air,it felt somewhat fun to see both Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada reprise their roles as Jon and Ponch respectively for loyal fans of the said TV cop series.

I never thought I'd ever see it happen. The cast of CHiPs reuniting and doing a new reunion movie, and even more than that, it reunited Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada, who finally decided to bury the hatchet and forget about their personal issues with each other. Oddly enough, they both were co producers as well. I was surprised this didn't air on NBC, but then again, about a decade ago, this was a hot show that aired on TNT, like the same way the Dukes of Hazzard received new popularity on TNN during that time. It's hard to believe it's now been 10 years since CHiPs 99 aired on TNT. And hopefully, maybe it will get released on DVD someday along with the series. The movie is interesting in that we see how the CHP has changed in the last 15 years, especially in terms of the new motorcycles they used. For the most part, this movie, I feel was written with the memory of season one more than any other season and it almost completely ignored the characterization and story lines of the final season, as bad as that season was. In season six, Officer Jon Baker left the force and was replaced by Officer Bobby "Hot Dog" Nelson and later his brother Bruce, who went through Cadet training before becoming a CHP officer before series end. Ponch by that time, had matured into the more responsible training officer. Ponch, while still a character had become what Jon was. Most of that was tossed out the window in this movie. Ponch once again was the "Hot Dog" and Jon was a little more strict this time. One can only guess that when Ponch left the force, he did before Jon came back, explaining why they hadn't seen each other in so long. The only element of season 6 was the inclusion of Bruce Penhall as Bruce Nelson, who gets promoted to Sergeant in this movie, but gets injured and out of the story not long afterwards. Artie Grossman is back as a plain clothes Detective and surprisingly, Brodie Greer is back as Barry Barikza, who also mysteriously vanished in season 6. Joe Getraer is now Police Commissioner and Jon Baker is now Captain of the CHP and is married. His beautiful blonde wife, Sandy is also a CHP officer. Ponch retired from the force some years ago, married the crash victim from the series pilot episode, and had a son. Ponch's wife got sick and died, and now he is raising his son, Frank Jr. What I didn't care for in this movie, were the two new young guys. Sergeant McFalls was not bad. A nice cop like Jon, but Roulette, is not only an exaggeration of Ponch, but also a resident a---hole!! You just love to hate this guy and his rivalry relationship with Ponch occurs when he cites Ponch for speeding. Ponch returns to the force, but unlike his buddies, he never rose in the ranks and is therefore, still a motor officer.All in all though, it was great to see Ponch and Jon go riding together again after 15 to 16 years. Flashback scenes from the pilot episode, plus the scene where they pull over a bicyclist, whom they pulled over when he was a kid in the pilot was priceless. While not as great as the original series, CHiPs 99 has its charm and I recommend it as much as the series. I give it 2 thumbs up!!

Only 2 things didn't make since....Jon as Captain on morning roll call, isn't this a sgt. job? Grossman as detective he should be a square badge at KMart.

Finally, the long-awaited CHiPs '99 movie!! Special thanks to TNT for making all CHiPs fans' dreams come true. We get to see all of our favorites (except Harlan and Bonnie) return to the screen and update us on what has been happening in their lives over the past 15 years!The movie is fabulous--the cool 70's style that first caught my attention, somewhat somewhat to the 90's. It is interesting to see both how the CHP has changed and how the characters (most especially Ponch and Jon) have changed. Yes, there are parts that were very unbelievable, but then again, this is CHiPs, and it only adds to the fun. It's also great to see that it's still possible to produce quality TV today that isn't too profanity-filled/etc. for family viewing. My favorite scene was a much-publicized one in which Jon (Larry Wilcox) really really does his own stuntwork on top of a moving bus--quite impressive!My only regret is that while we see a lot of Getraer, we don't see much use made of Baricza, Grossman, and Bruce Nelson...their appearances seem almost like cameos. The two new officers (Roulette & McFall) never quite catch my interest, either...they seem like exaggerations of the most distinctive characteristics of Ponch & Jon (really brash & really nice).A must-see if you watched CHiPs between 1977-83...pay special attention to the explanation (or lack thereof) of Jon's return to the force (since he wasn't around during the 1982-83 season) and how the writers handle the fact that 2 of Ponch's former partners are hanging around in the movie. Definitely worth the wait!