By Erin Free
In this regular column, we drag forgotten made-for-TV movies out of the vault and into the light. This week: the 1979 double episode “Roller Disco” from the classic TV series CHiPs, starring Erik Estrada, Larry Wilcox, Robert Pine, Leif Garrett and Bill Daily.
Yes, yes, full disclosure – this is not actually a telemovie per se, but rather a double episode of the very popular TV series CHiPs, which ran from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983 on major US network NBC. The show was also extremely popular in Australia (any child of the 1970s and 1980s will likely have fond memories of this one), and follows both the on-road investigations and personal lives of two motorcycle cops serving on the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
CHiPs made a superstar out of Erik Estrada as cheeky, charming Officer Frank “Ponch” Poncherello, but this was very much a two-man show, with Larry Wilcox equally essential as his more down-home partner Officer Jon Baker. Another major player was the duo’s boss Sgt. Joseph Getraer, nicely played by Robert Pine, father of current superstar Chris Pine. Mixing humour with action, intrigue and drama, CHiPs is a wondrously easy, enjoyable watch, a vibe which was totally lost in the horribly unnecessary 2017 big screen version with Dax Shepard and Michael Pena.
In the 1970s, TV shows were particularly keen to jump on board trends and pop cultural fads to pull in audiences, with the great Charlie’s Angels probably the most striking example of this. Over several seasons, the glamourous trio of female private investigators were seen, to name just a few, riding skateboards, tangling with bodybuilders, and roller-skating. Though a different kind of crime-fighting show, CHiPs was certainly not averse to embracing cultural trends either, with its hard-working motorcycle cops seen jet-skiing, disco dancing and skydiving.
The greatest tilt CHiPs ever made at the pop cultural zeitgeist, however, came with the double episode opener of its third season. Screened back-to-back (making it feel more like a telemovie) on September 22, 1979, “Roller Disco: Parts 1 & 2” represents not just a pop cultural high-water-mark for CHiPs, but also a pop cultural high-water-mark for 1970s US network television. If you’re looking for a TV time capsule of that singularly colourful decade, this is hard to beat, sitting comfortably alongside the likes of Battle Of The Network Stars and Celebrity Challenge Of The Sexes.
In the wild, heady days of the 1970s, roller-skating gained traction as a popular pastime and disco dancing became huge thanks to the classic 1977 film Saturday Night Fever; when some genius decided to combine the two, it was on, and when the producers of CHiPs had the incredibly bright idea of populating an in-episode roller disco with big name (and not-so-big-name) celebrities, an indelible moment in 1970s pop culture was brilliantly crafted. This double episode of CHiPs, however, doesn’t just, ahem, skate by on this singular premise, instead packing its 100 minutes or so with multiple of-their-era moments that occasionally defy belief…in the best possible way.
Like all CHiPS episodes, “Roller Disco” runs on several overlapping stories that differ wildly in tone. The lead story involves Jon and Ponch’s dealings with pop star Jimmy Tyler (1970s superstar Leif Garrett) and his longtime manager Balford (Bill Daily, best known as Larry Hagman’s hapless best friend in the classic sitcom I Dream Of Jeannie), whose relationship has hit a crossroads. The exhausted Jimmy just wants a break while Balford pushes him to the edge to keep him on top.
While Jon and Ponch work to patch things up between the pair, there’s also a trio of roller-skating thieves terrorising Venice Beach, which is in the grips of roller-skating fever. Led by the icy Lita (played by fascinating 1970s-era Greek-born character actress Helena Kallianiotes, who memorably featured in Five Easy Pieces and Kansas City Bomber), the trio might just implode before the California Highway Patrol even catches up with them because Ty and Romo (NFL superstars and Blaxploitation figureheads Fred Williamson and Jim Brown) want to break out on their own and prove that they’re more than just Lita’s muscle-on-skates.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a couple of unhinged outliers (Larry Linville aka Major Frank Burns from M*A*S*H and F Troop’s Larry Storch!) out on the roads intentionally causing major traffic accidents; a young kid (Bobby Rolofson) getting into all manner of mischief inspired by the criminal antics of the aforementioned roller-skating thieves; and a pair of young roller-skating lovelies (Kathrine Baumann, Pamela Bowman) who capture the attentions of Jon and Ponch. And rolling its way right across the whole double episode is the pressure put on Ponch to organise an appropriate list of big names for the upcoming fund-raising California Highway Patrol roller disco. Can the charming motorcycle cop do it?
There’s a lot going on in the CHiPS “Roller Disco” double episode, but it all hangs together nicely, curiously united by a common theme of male partnerships in turmoil. Leif Garrett pouts effectively while he tries to break away from the goading, old-school management style of Bill Daily, who brings an appropriate air of jaded desperation to his role. Fred Williamson and Jim Brown – whose superstar cache actually makes them feel a little too “big” for their roles of mere criminal side players here – stoke up a lot of sympathy while also executing a few cool skating moves. The Larry Linville and Larry Storch subplot, meanwhile, is so loopy and near inexplicable that it actually works, while also providing the episodes’ series-essential moments of mild vehicular carnage.
It’s a fun double episode indeed, but all roads lead, of course, to the celebrity roller disco, which Ponch only manages to organise thanks to the vast celebrity connections of Bill Daily’s Balford, who pulls plenty of off-screen strings to make it all happen. When the celebrity roller disco finally unspools on screen, it plays out surprisingly in almost documentary-style fashion. There’s no real “drama”, so to speak, just a voiceover commentary as various celebrities take a spin around the roller rink to strut their moves.
Did you ever think you’d see Hollywood superstar (and eventual A-Team boss man) George Peppard groove away stylishly on roller-skates? What about Richard Hatch from Battlestar Galactica? Or Grizzly fucking Adams himself, Dan Haggerty? The CHiPS roller disco is a truly extraordinary spectacle, with the added likes of Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley), Melissa Sue Anderson (Little House On The Prairie), Todd Bridges and Dana Plato (Diff’rent Strokes), Nancy Culp (The Beverly Hillbillies), Tina Louise (Gilligan’s Island), Earl freakin’ Holliman (with two broken wrists!) and many, many more simply skating by the cameras, and not even delivering any dialogue. Complete with Leif Garrett performing his pop hit “Give In” at the roller disco, this is almost like mainlining 1970s nostalgia itself.
More than just the delirious pop culture spectacle at its centre, the wide-ranging, star-studded CHiPs: “Roller Disco” double episode is the finest example of one of the 1970s’ most amiable and enjoyable cop shows really firing on all cylinders.
Availability: The CHiPs “Roller Disco” double episode is available to buy for $4.00 apiece on YouTube, with both eps available in a crystal-clear, remastered presentation.
If you enjoyed this review, check out our other vintage telemovies Dawn: Portrait Of A Teenage Runaway, Young Love, First Love, Escape From Bogen County, The Death Squad, Hit Lady, Brian’s Song, The Defiant Ones, A Cry For Help, Trilogy Of Terror, Policewoman Centerfold, Smash-Up On Interstate 5, Something Evil, Savage, A Step Out Of Line, The Boy In The Plastic Bubble, The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission, A Very Brady Christmas, The Gladiator, Elvis, The Rat Pack, Silent Victory: The Kitty O’Neil Story, Terror Among Us, The Hanged Man, Hardcase, Charlie’s Angels: Angels In Vegas, Vanishing Point, To Heal A Nation, Fugitive Among Us, To Kill A Cop, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Police Story: A Chance To Live, Murder On Flight 502, Moon Of The Wolf, The Secret Night Caller, Cotton Candy, And The Band Played On, Gargoyles, Death Car On The Freeway, Short Walk To Daylight, Trapped, Hotline, Killdozer, The Jericho Mile, Mongo’s Back In Town and Tribes.
