CHiPs: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of CHiPs Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
Suicide Stunt
Oct 4, 1981
Ponch and Jon struggle to keep their eyes on a visiting motorcycle star who keeps pulling screwball shenanigans all around town in the pursuit of love.
Vagabonds
Oct 11, 1981
Our determined CHP team outwits a family of con artists who are scamming drivers by staging auto accidents. Four-time Academy Award nominee Ed Harris (HBO's Westworld) guest stars.
Moonlight
Oct 18, 1981
Ponch and Jon's 4th anniversary as partners is nearly ruined when a toxic-chemicals dumper (William Lucking, Sons of Anarchy) has a near-catastrophic semi truck crash.
The Killer Indy
Oct 25, 1981
Caitlyn Jenner (as Bruce Jenner) joins the squad as Officer Steve McLeish, but a harrowing street race may make his first day his last.
Weed Wars
Oct 31, 1981
Drug syndicates are being reckless on the road and loose with the law. A boy puts a hex on Ponch for asking him too many questions.
Anything But the Truth
Nov 8, 1981
Jon and Steve ditch their bikes for a wild ATC (all terrain cycle) adventure with a beautiful compulsively lying witness to a strong of hit-and-run robberies.
Bomb Run
Nov 15, 1981
Ponch's recent flying lessons really come in handy when crooks bomb an air show. It's going to take a flight of fancy to stop them.
Diamond in the Rough
Nov 22, 1981
Steve makes a daring arrest for Grand Theft Moped, while Jon responds to a bank robbery that leads him on a wild car chase.
Finders Keepers
Nov 29, 1981
A henchman tracking Steve nearly runs him down, while Jon falls head-over-heels in love with a gorgeous country western singer. Academy Award nominee Amy Madigan guest stars.
Fast Money
Dec 5, 1981
Hijackers use a new high-tech device to rip off highway couriers, while Ponch gets a "new" roommate. Shelly Berman (Curb Your Enthusiasm) guest stars.
Concours d'Elegance
Dec 13, 1981
The guys uncover a clever scheme when they inquire about a wealthy man who's embezzling from his family's antique-car charity auction.
Mitchell & Woods
Dec 18, 1981
In this spin-off episode, Officers Paula Woods and Melanie Mitchell are promoted to detectives to investigate a homicide.
Breaking Point
Jan 3, 1982
Ponch's sister is in town. Plus he has a serious accident that has him contemplating never riding a motorcycle again.
Tiger in the Streets
Jan 10, 1982
Juvenile "bump and tag" drivers interrupt the capture of a tiger that escaped from a wild animal park. Pioneer comedian Slappy White lends some levity.
Bright Flashes
Jan 17, 1982
Ponch races in a sprint car and is temporarily blinded by a thief's laser, causing him to crash. HE and Jon pay a visit to an odd character (George "Goober" Lindsey) to get some an
Battle of the Bands
Jan 31, 1982
It is quite the battle for Ponch and Jon to apprehend a band of destructive punk rockers who steal the guitars from their competitors and induce a riot. Plus disco-dancing Ponch se
Alarmed
Feb 14, 1982
A former CHP officer trains female thieves who target Jon's car. Ponch and Jon keep the peace between a car alarm expert and his daughter, who is figuring out her life.
In the Best of Families
Feb 21, 1982
A stolen cruiser is chased down the wrong side of the freeway, causing a huge car crash. A family of crooks gets buzzing on an armored car heist by posing as CHP officers.
Silent Partner
Feb 28, 1982
Jon learns a life lesson -- and a legal one -- after arresting a man he assumes is drunk. Ponch has a hot, hearing-impaired date.
Flare Up
Mar 7, 1982
Jon is in a serious situation after breathing in a blast of chlorine gas. Ponch is accused of assault by a former juvenile delinquent.
The Game of War
Mar 14, 1982
Former military soldiers take their games to the streets and aid in the jet-pack escape of a criminal during a prisoner transfer. HQ plays host to an all-night CHP chess match.
A Threat of War (a.k.a. Karate II)
Mar 21, 1982
The leader (Danny Bonaduce) of an armed martial arts gang threatens Ponch and Jon, but the duo's own expert fighting skills turn out to be the gang's downfall.
Trained for Trouble
Apr 4, 1982
A gang of dogs and primates rob a bank and get away, making monkeys out of the CHP. And Ponch discovers he has a male stripper look-alike.
Ice Cream Man
Apr 18, 1982
Ponch performs a harrowing rescue of a driver careening off a cliff and then goes on to save an ex-con and former CHP officer from a devastating explosion.
Overload
May 2, 1982
Ponch and Jon take to the sea in a thrilling wetbike chase, while Ponch's "little black book" is in danger of being exposed by hackers.
K-9-1
May 9, 1982
Drug-sniffing canines score some impressive major busts, but when one dog is injured in a close call, Ponch fights to keep the loyal pooch on active duty.
Force Seven
May 23, 1982
The stakes are sky-high when an LAPD team of martial arts experts gets a precarious assignment -- finding and disarming a devastating missile attack.