CHiPs

CHiPS, named for the world-famous California Highway Patrol (CHP), ran for 139 episodes over six seasons which aired from September 15, 1977 to July 17, 1983. The series followed single young, motorcycle officers Francis Llewellyn 'Ponch' Poncherello (Erik Estrada) and Jonathan 'Jon' Baker (Larry Wilcox) in their daily patrols of the sunny freeways in and around the greater Los Angeles area.

Ponch and Jon

Their commanding officer was Sergeant Joseph Getraer (Robert Pine), handsome too, but in a fatherly sort of way (he's also the father of uberstud Chris Pine, the most current incarnation of Star Trek's Captain Kirk).

In real life CHP motorcycle officers rarely ride in pairs, and to account for this anomaly, the story line in the first season set Ponch on probation and assigned Jon to him as his field training officer. Later they were just portrayed as a team with no explanation for the pairing.

The studly couple patrolled LA's highways and freeways until season five (1981-82) when Officer Steve McLeish (played by Bruce Jenner) replaced Estrada for seven episodes. Wilcox left the series after season five and a new officer - Bobby Nelson (played by Tom Reilly) rode Jon's C-Series Kawasaki.