The Rockford Files

[Little Garwood]

James Garner's 10 Best Rockford Files Episodes Ever, according to some "business dude" website.

10. White on White and Nearly Perfect (Season 5; Oct 20, 1978)
09. The Girl in the Bay City Boy's Club (Season 2; Dec 19, 1975)
08. A Bad Deal in the Valley (Season 2; March 19, 1976)
07. Counter Gambit (Season 1; Jan 24, 1975)
06. Beamer's Last Case (Season 4; Sep 16, 1977)

05. This Case is Closed (Season 1; Oct 18, 1974)
04. The Real Easy Red Dog (Season 2; Oct 31, 1975)
03. So Help Me God (Season 3; Nov 19, 1976)
02. Find Me if You Can (Season 1; Nov 1, 1974)
01. Profit and Loss (Season 1 Dec 20-Dec 27, 1974)

Let's just say that I strenuously disagree with a number of the author's choices--no The Hammer of 'C'' Block?!?--but then I'd wager that every Rockford fan's top 10 list would be different.

BTW, Amazon currently offers the complete series for $29.96.

[Pahonu]

James Garner's 10 Best Rockford Files Episodes Ever, according to some "business dude" website.

10. White on White and Nearly Perfect (Season 5; Oct 20, 1978)
09. The Girl in the Bay City Boy's Club (Season 2; Dec 19, 1975)
08. A Bad Deal in the Valley (Season 2; March 19, 1976)
07. Counter Gambit (Season 1; Jan 24, 1975)
06. Beamer's Last Case (Season 4; Sep 16, 1977)

05. This Case is Closed (Season 1; Oct 18, 1974)
04. The Real Easy Red Dog (Season 2; Oct 31, 1975)
03. So Help Me God (Season 3; Nov 19, 1976)
02. Find Me if You Can (Season 1; Nov 1, 1974)
01. Profit and Loss (Season 1 Dec 20-Dec 27, 1974)

Let's just say that I strenuously disagree with a number of the author's choices--no The Hammer of 'C'' Block?!?--but then I'd wager that every Rockford fan's top 10 list would be different.

BTW, Amazon currently offers the complete series for $29.96.

Quickie Nirvana has to be on the list. My personal favorite.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hi Chris,
Nope, Union College in Cranford, NJ. Shep appeared there quite a few times and yearly had a gig at the High School in Summit until
just before he passed away. By the late 80's he'd only draw 200 people there but on the other hand he spent a lot of time inter acting with the audience, it was great. He valued Jersey as a resource, it was America writ small as he termed it, Jersey Diners were a special source of fascination. Seinfeld credits him with his entire career and interest in humor. If you were a kid growing up in the late 1950's thru the early 80's in the NYC area and were hip, you went to sleep every night at 10 pm listening to him on WOR. Since my mother went to Hammond High with Shep, we'd look up his buddies like Flick in their Yearbook when he mentioned them on the radio. He made a uncredited cameo in the now 5 star classic "The Christmas Story", he's the bearded man who chides Ralphie for cutting in line to see Santa.

Good one Chris, I'm sending you a Red Ryder BB gun as a prezzie, but be careful lest you shoot your eye out.

-------------------------------------------------------
"Sweater Girls! That's one mystery I'd like to unravel"...Bob Hope

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Pahonu: "Quickie Nirvana has to be on the list. My personal favorite."

Hi Pahonu,
I found the below quote from that episode online, it might have been edited but it sounds right:

Jim: You've flipped from Ashram to water tank and back! Are you any happier for it? Look around you. You see a lotta bliss out there?
Sky: I don't think I've done so bad for being 32 years old.
Jim: You're 40. I've seen your driver's license.
Sky: I was 40, but I'm making positive affirmations! I'm 32. I'm youthing myself.
Jim: You're 40!
Sky: But I don't want to get old.
Jim: Well, neither do I!
Sky: But you see we don't have to. Not if...
Jim: There's nothing you can do about it. That's the way it is. I'm sorry to be the bearer of the bad news. There's no easy answer, you know. No quickie nirvana. You don't like it, tough! Join the club!

[Little Garwood]

"That's the sound of one hand clapping."

"Quickie Nirvana" is an all-time great episode; I'd be surprised if it were left off of any devoted Rockford Files aficionado's top 10 list.

What I've long appreciated about 1970s shows is when they critique or otherwise skewer the dopier aspects of the decade's trends. This is something most 1980s shows did not do, and if there was ever a decade ripe for ripping, it would be the '80s.

[Pahonu]

Pahonu: "Quickie Nirvana has to be on the list. My personal favorite."

Hi Pahonu,
I found the below quote from that episode online, it might have been edited but it sounds right:

Jim: You've flipped from Ashram to water tank and back! Are you any happier for it? Look around you. You see a lotta bliss out there?
Sky: I don't think I've done so bad for being 32 years old.
Jim: You're 40. I've seen your driver's license.
Sky: I was 40, but I'm making positive affirmations! I'm 32. I'm youthing myself.
Jim: You're 40!
Sky: But I don't want to get old.
Jim: Well, neither do I!
Sky: But you see we don't have to. Not if...
Jim: There's nothing you can do about it. That's the way it is. I'm sorry to be the bearer of the bad news. There's no easy answer, you know. No quickie nirvana. You don't like it, tough! Join the club!

This is from the scene where she and Jim follow the leader of the ashram she was a part of when he takes of for San Diego with a bunch of their money. She's losing confidence in he choices. She even has a hamburger with Jim while supposedly being a vegetarian. Love this episode! Garner's sarcasm and skepticism is in peak form, but the end is a bit sad.

[Pahonu]

"That's the sound of one hand clapping."

"Quickie Nirvana" is an all-time great episode; I'd be surprised if it were left off of any devoted Rockford Files aficionado's top 10 list.

What I've long appreciated about 1970s shows is when they critique or otherwise skewer the dopier aspects of the decade's trends. This is something most 1980s shows did not do, and if there was ever a decade ripe for ripping, it would be the '80s.

It is very entertaining in that way. That's the best line in the show. I also love Rockford's response when she says she's focusing on her consciousness. 'Consciousness'? You're practically UN-conscious 24 hours a day! This episode has such good dialogue!

[Little Garwood]

Here's a scene with Roger E. Mosley as "Electric Larry" in the S3 episode Dirty Money, Black Light.

Mosley, Selleck, and Manetti all have Rockford credentials; too bad John Hillerman didn't show up.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hi Guys,
The episode "To Protect and to Serve" is a good one..
It boasts a script that on the surface seems like just another PI plot about protecting a witness.
But it was really about people's empty lives and the bad choices they embrace to attempt to give it meaning.
Not just the Bad Guys but most everyone in this episode is shown to be flawed or making poor decisions.
Shame faced Dennis Becker protests to his wife he was only out having a few beers with a female cop groupie, but both his and his wife's nuanced reaction and
the subtext indicated - to me at least - something more was going on.
The professional hit man is obsessed with killing Rockford because of his own meaningless rules that say he has to get even, at the expense of knowingly blowing
his chance to get away before the cops arrive.
The beautiful, on the run witness "heroine" Rockford is protecting is only a witness because she was the mistress of the Mafia's book keeper.
But the episode is centered on police groupie Lianne Sweeny whose entire
life revolves around either filling her nights with one night stands with policemen or listening to police calls on her radio in the darkness.
Joyce Van Patten as Lianne gives the best acting job of the entire Rockford Files run. She inhabits the role, she doesn't just fill the screen but gets inside the viewers head.
Near the end you want to stand and cheer when a disgusted Becker finally gives Lianne her comeuppance -

"You don't hate crime, you don't hate criminals. You hate people. You hate Life."

In a standard series that would have been the satisfying end.
But Rockford Files is one of the greats, and in the last scene a few minutes later on it was shown how cruel Becker's words were.
They left her with nothing, all her illusions gone, sitting in the dark alone with nothing but her self loathing and the now mocking police
calls on her radio.

------------------------------------------------
Elvis impersonator to Alf, a furry, orange 3 foot tall alien: "Can I pet you?"
ALf: "Only above the waist."

[Pahonu]

Hi Guys,
The episode "To Protect and to Serve" is a good one..
It boasts a script that on the surface seems like just another PI plot about protecting a witness.
But it was really about people's empty lives and the bad choices they embrace to attempt to give it meaning.
Not just the Bad Guys but most everyone in this episode is shown to be flawed or making poor decisions.
Shame faced Dennis Becker protests to his wife he was only out having a few beers with a female cop groupie, but both his and his wife's nuanced reaction and
the subtext indicated - to me at least - something more was going on.
The professional hit man is obsessed with killing Rockford because of his own meaningless rules that say he has to get even, at the expense of knowingly blowing
his chance to get away before the cops arrive.
The beautiful, on the run witness "heroine" Rockford is protecting is only a witness because she was the mistress of the Mafia's book keeper.
But the episode is centered on police groupie Lianne Sweeny whose entire
life revolves around either filling her nights with one night stands with policemen or listening to police calls on her radio in the darkness.
Joyce Van Patten as Lianne gives the best acting job of the entire Rockford Files run. She inhabits the role, she doesn't just fill the screen but gets inside the viewers head.
Near the end you want to stand and cheer when a disgusted Becker finally gives Lianne her comeuppance -

"You don't hate crime, you don't hate criminals. You hate Life."

In a standard series that would have been the satisfying end.
But Rockford Files is one of the greats, and in the last scene a few minutes later on it was shown how cruel Becker's words were.
They left her with nothing, all her illusions gone, sitting in the dark alone with nothing but her self loathing and the now mocking police
calls on her radio.

------------------------------------------------
Elvis impersonator to Alf, a furry, orange 3 foot tall alien: "Can I pet you?"
ALf: "Only above the waist."

Hey Dobie,

I just got finished watching both parts. I DVR'd it yesterday and today. I agree with everything you said, and the ending WAS great... and tragic.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Hi Guys,
The episode "To Protect and to Serve" is a good one..
It boasts a script that on the surface seems like just another PI plot about protecting a witness.
But it was really about people's empty lives and the bad choices they embrace to attempt to give it meaning.
Not just the Bad Guys but most everyone in this episode is shown to be flawed or making poor decisions.
Shame faced Dennis Becker protests to his wife he was only out having a few beers with a female cop groupie, but both his and his wife's nuanced reaction and
the subtext indicated - to me at least - something more was going on.
The professional hit man is obsessed with killing Rockford because of his own meaningless rules that say he has to get even, at the expense of knowingly blowing
his chance to get away before the cops arrive.
The beautiful, on the run witness "heroine" Rockford is protecting is only a witness because she was the mistress of the Mafia's book keeper.
But the episode is centered on police groupie Lianne Sweeny whose entire
life revolves around either filling her nights with one night stands with policemen or listening to police calls on her radio in the darkness.
Joyce Van Patten as Lianne gives the best acting job of the entire Rockford Files run. She inhabits the role, she doesn't just fill the screen but gets inside the viewers head.
Near the end you want to stand and cheer when a disgusted Becker finally gives Lianne her comeuppance -

"You don't hate crime, you don't hate criminals. You hate people. You hate Life."

In a standard series that would have been the satisfying end.
But Rockford Files is one of the greats, and in the last scene a few minutes later on it was shown how cruel Becker's words were.
They left her with nothing, all her illusions gone, sitting in the dark alone with nothing but her self loathing and the now mocking police
calls on her radio.
-----------------------------------------------
Elvis impersonator to Alf, a furry, orange 3 foot tall alien: "Can I pet you?"
ALf: "Only above the waist."

Hey Dobie,
I just got finished watching both parts. I DVR'd it yesterday and today. I agree with everything you said, and the ending WAS great... and tragic.

Hi Pahonu,
The scene between Dennis and his wife is a tribute to good acting/writing, embracing the Hemingway rule that less is more. Mrs. Becker's scant few words
to Dennis are packed with emotion and accusation and a hurt expertly delivered by the actress Pat Finley. Dennis's guilty face/excuse is fooling no one, Rockford can
only stare off elsewhere in embarrassment. It's one of those times where two people deeply in love communicate more with the unspoken than the spoken word.
They both know Dennis is lying, that Lianne could never come between them and won't even now, so how could you Dennis you SOB.
All in a fast 60 seconds.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Sumbitch. Rockford and this woman from an episode from The Invaders both have the same phone number.

Rockford's phone:



Woman's phone from The Invaders:

Great catch, Chis! Hope you come back and post again, as we miss your sense of humor as well.

[80s Big Hair]

youtu.be/5X7XGmS6Pe4

Having only occasionally watched this as a child, I am pleasantly surprised at what a quality show it was. It is better than Magnum, P.I. in my opinion (is that considered blasphemy?). Currently I am on season 5, so I only have a little left. I enjoy the gigantic 1970s cars. I find those weird radio phones in cars silly and enjoy the 1970s clothing. There are more car chases in Rockford than Magnum which were staples of the 1970s and 1980s action shows. Both shows sped up the film to make them appear more exciting. They also added squealing tire sounds (even if on a dirt road!). Wrecked cars also had an uncanny knack of exploding. Manetti, Mosley, and Selleck, have parts on Rockford and Beery (Rocky) has a part on Magnum. It is too bad that Garner dd not have a part on Magnum. It seems that in the 1970s and the 1980s revolvers were popular. In both shows they often show them being shot at targets far away which is just silly for any handgun. A little thing about Rockford is that his car often gets fixed after it is damaged right away. Also surprising to me was that despite Angel being in the pilot, he does not make an appearance on the show until late in season 1. Season 1 also started out kind of slow. Maybe it just took time for the people to get comfortable with the show.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

youtu.be/5X7XGmS6Pe4

Having only occasionally watched this as a child, I am pleasantly surprised at what a quality show it was. It is better than Magnum, P.I. in my opinion (is that considered blasphemy?). Currently I am on season 5, so I only have a little left. I enjoy the gigantic 1970s cars. I find those weird radio phones in cars silly and enjoy the 1970s clothing. There are more car chases in Rockford than Magnum which were staples of the 1970s and 1980s action shows. Both shows sped up the film to make them appear more exciting. They also added squealing tire sounds (even if on a dirt road!). Wrecked cars also had an uncanny knack of exploding. Manetti, Mosley, and Selleck, have parts on Rockford and Beery (Rocky) has a part on Magnum. It is too bad that Garner dd not have a part on Magnum. It seems that in the 1970s and the 1980s revolvers were popular. In both shows they often show them being shot at targets far away which is just silly for any handgun. A little thing about Rockford is that his car often gets fixed after it is damaged right away. Also surprising to me was that despite Angel being in the pilot, he does not make an appearance on the show until late in season 1. Season 1 also started out kind of slow. Maybe it just took time for the people to get comfortable with the show.

Hi 80's Big Hair,
Good for you to re-discover Rockford Files. Jim is basically an updated Bret Maverick. It's funny that you enjoy "the gigantic 1970's cars".
Back then I would watch 40 year old Bogart/Cagney movies and marvel how big they were.
Exploding cars are of course a Hollywood staple. A cop told me that almost never happens in real life. On cheaper productions, since the
advent of VCR's etc, you can often 'pause' and see the car blowing up isn't the hero's car. It's either a stock footage shot or they bought
a junker and destroyed that instead.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Les to Claire: "Oh stop it Claire. You're like a poison. Take a little bit and you're finished. But too much becomes an antidote."
Blonde Ice (1948)

[80s Big Hair]

Hi 80's Big Hair,
Good for you to re-discover Rockford Files. Jim is basically an updated Bret Maverick. It's funny that you enjoy "the gigantic 1970's cars".
Back then I would watch 40 year old Bogart/Cagney movies and marvel how big they were.
Exploding cars are of course a Hollywood staple. A cop told me that almost never happens in real life. On cheaper productions, since the
advent of VCR's etc, you can often 'pause' and see the car blowing up isn't the hero's car. It's either a stock footage shot or they bought
a junker and destroyed that instead.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Les to Claire: "Oh stop it Claire. You're like a poison. Take a little bit and you're finished. But too much becomes an antidote."
Blonde Ice (1948)

Yes, I suppose it depends on what you grew up with. While I am old enough to remember the big boat cars of the 1970s (born in 1971), I mostly remember the subcompact crap cars of the 1980s as that is what my parents drove and what I learned to drive on. They were slow and unreliable. Heck, even a Ferrari 308 GTB was slow compared to the 1970s cars. This was due to the new emission standards put in place.

One very funny example of Magnum, P.I. speeding up the film on the car scenes involves Magnum driving one of the 1980s subcompact crap cars. It is shown whipping around a corner at high speed without any leaning. I believe it was a Chrysler product (possibly AMC) and the episode might have been "LA". The next time I see the episode I will make a clip out of it as it really is funny.