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.
Love those awesome J-turns!! Only on ROCKFORD!!!!
It's funny you say the first season is kind of slow but it's my favorite season. A lot of the later season episodes (especially after season 4) I found to be a bit of a slog to get through. It's funny because the show was still winning all these Emmy awards right up until the very end. In fact it wasn't until about the 3rd season when the show really began to win big with the critics and start getting all these Emmy noms and wins thrown at it. I suppose that's why many consider the middle years to be the show's high point. Somehow the first 2 seasons seemed to slip under the radar. But I personally find those early seasons to be more entertaining, more fresh, and just more consistent in quality. Garner was also at the top of his game. Though my personal favorite episode is actually from season 3 - the excellent two-parter "The Trees, the Bees, and T.T. Flowers" with the excellent Strother Martin!
But on the whole season 1 is my favorite. I love the mysteries he comes across in this season, like "Sleigh of Hand" (which has a personal connection to him and a darker tone) - it really keeps you guessing to the end what happened. I love the long moments of quiet of just Jimbo snooping around and planning ahead his strategy (like in "Exit Prentiss Carr"). I love the many "desert driving" scenes that are scattered all throughout season 1. Somehow the first season feels more outdoorsy and has a stronger Southwest U.S. desert feel to it. Even the pilot episode (which is excellent!!) has that great scene in the desert towards the end. "The Dark and Bloody Ground" is one of my favorites of the entire series and finds Jimbo in a DUEL-like situation (remember that Spielberg thriller??) with a truck chasing him across the desert trying to kill him. Love it!
Yep there's just something about season 1 that was lacking in the later seasons. Some might say the writing improved in the later seasons or that the episodes got more intricate but I personally think some of the later episodes just became needlessly convoluted. Sometimes less is more. I suppose maybe I appreciate the simplicity of the earlier seasons. I still think the show had excellent writing and acting from the get-go.
I was watching S5E20-21 "Never Send a King Boy to Do a Man's Job" today and was wondering what the heck kind of bizarre car the Odette character was driving. Late in the show I got a good look at it:
What? A Firebird station wagon? It existed. It was a prototype and only two were built. The Rockford Files is mentioned in the linked article. Too bad it did not go into production as it was pretty cool.
T.Q. wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 4:55 pm
I've never seen a single episode of The Rockford Files.
Should it be first on my list after I'm done Hawaii Five-0?
I'd give it a whirl, T.Q. I got the Blu-Ray box set a few months back and watched the first few episodes. Season 1 was always my favorite. I have fond memories of watching the show during my college years. It was Streets of San Francisco at 8am, The Rockford Files at 9am, and then back to back Hawaii Five-O at 10am and 11am. Great times! On a more somber note, Rockford is what I was watching when the second plane hit the tower at 9:03am on that fateful day 9/11. I just happened to flip the channel during the Rockford commercial to either CBS, ABC, or NBC and saw the first tower on fire. Then as they were talking about it I saw the second plane fly into the other tower. It was chilling! Needless to say I watched nothing but the news coverage for the rest of that day. Sorry, I digressed...
Anyway, yes it was a cool PI show and if you like PI shows (you're already a MAGNUM fan) then I'd definitely recommend it. Plus in many ways MPI is like a spiritual successor to ROCKFORD. Both feature a likable hero who is fallible and not perfect and who sometimes gets the short end of the stick by getting beat up or stiffed by clients. Both are often broke and just trying to stay above water. Also you get some cool car chases on ROCKFORD with Jimbo's Firebird. Much more than we ever got with the Ferrari on MPI. I suppose they were trying to be extra careful with the Ferrari whereas they really took that Firebird (multiple Firebirds) to task and really beat it up! Ultimately the show was very well written with snappy dialogue and a first-rate performance from James Garner!
Edit: Have you at least seen the 2 episodes with Selleck as "Mr. Perfect PI" Lance White?
Seriously, Ivan gave a good description of the series. It’s my favorite show ever. James Garner was a great actor, or rather, reactor. His reactions to the characters around him are so entertaining. The supporting cast are very different types from MPI. In an unusual circumstance for what is essentially a neo-noir hard-boiled detective type series, he has family. His father Rocky is in many episodes, played by Noah Beery. He also has an actual friendship with his police contact Dennis Becker, played by Joe Santos, not just a working relationship. Many of the stories revolve around relationships or circumstances associated with people he was once in prison with. For that reason and more, he also has a close friendship with his attorney, Beth Davenport.
The writing is superb in the series, probably second only to Garner’s performance. Ivan and I disagree about the best seasons though. I find the first season more traditional in terms of detective series, whereas later episodes are more creative and outside the box in my opinion. Nothing like Magnum’s dream episodes, but with some fascinating characters and unusual motivations. There are also several episodes very “of its time” in the 70’s, including my favorite, Quickie Nirvana, with counter-culture and cult-like themes. It also has quite a bit of humor associated with Rockford’s reactions to it all.
The Rockford Files was repeated for years in the UK, and I'm pretty sure anyone British around my age who had a TV on the mid 80s will remember two things about this - the answering machine and the best TV theme ever* (* another debate).
I watched the very first episode a little while back and apologies to Rockford fans, but I was sadly slightly underwhelmed by it. I know I should probably give it another go though and do plan to do so at some point.
jno wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 3:26 am
The Rockford Files was repeated for years in the UK, and I'm pretty sure anyone British around my age who had a TV on the mid 80s will remember two things about this - the answering machine and the best TV theme ever* (* another debate).
I watched the very first episode a little while back and apologies to Rockford fans, but I was sadly slightly underwhelmed by it. I know I should probably give it another go though and do plan to do so at some point.
As I wrote in the comment above, I think the series was pretty typical of its genre in its first season. It relied heavily on James Garner’s celebrity and drew a large audience. Its ratings dropped in season two, but unusually, it’s popularity remained consistent for the next five seasons while typical series see a slow decline. After winning several Emmy Awards, the series became even more creative in my view, seasons 3-5 being the best.
I would pick the 3rd season 2-parter "The Trees, the Bees, and T.T. Flowers" as my favorite. It has the wonderful Strother Martin as a guest star! But I just love the whole story of that one - greedy land development deal and trying to get an old man committed. One thing I'll say for ROCKFORD is that its 2-parters for the most part were all pretty outstanding, something not often the case with many others shows (FIVE-O included). In particular the pilot episode "Backlash of the Hunter", "This Case is Closed", "Profit and Loss", "Gearjammers", "To Protect and Serve", "The House on Willis Avenue", "Black Mirror".
jno wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 3:26 am
I watched the very first episode a little while back and apologies to Rockford fans, but I was sadly slightly underwhelmed by it. I know I should probably give it another go though and do plan to do so at some point.
Was that the pilot "Backlash of the Hunter" or "The Kirkoff Case" with James Woods? Honestly both are excellent episodes! It's those early episodes that I really dig. The next one "The Dark and Bloody Ground" is one of my favorites!!
IvanTheTerrible wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 8:03 pm
I would pick the 3rd season 2-parter "The Trees, the Bees, and T.T. Flowers" as my favorite. It has the wonderful Strother Martin as a guest star! But I just love the whole story of that one - greedy land development deal and trying to get an old man committed. One thing I'll say for ROCKFORD is that its 2-parters for the most part were all pretty outstanding, something not often the case with many others shows (FIVE-O included). In particular the pilot episode "Backlash of the Hunter", "This Case is Closed", "Profit and Loss", "Gearjammers", "To Protect and Serve", "The House on Willis Avenue", "Black Mirror".
I very much agree about the two-part episodes being excellent and The Trees, the Bees, and TT Flowers is probably my favorite of them. The first half of Gearjammers is so fun to watch as Jim discovers this whole life Rocky has that he’s completely unaware of. The second part is solid, but not as much fun. To Protect and Serve is also among my favorites. The House on Willis Avenue, with Richie Brockleman, was certainly prescient for the 1970’s with its plot centering on computer data collection on people’s lives!
I don’t believe Backlash of the Hunter was originally a two-part episode. It was a unusual 90 minute long pilot episode that was stretched into a two-parter for syndication. Still solid, but without Noah Beery as Rocky, it always seems a bit “off” to me.
jno wrote: ↑Thu May 27, 2021 3:26 am
I watched the very first episode a little while back and apologies to Rockford fans, but I was sadly slightly underwhelmed by it. I know I should probably give it another go though and do plan to do so at some point.
Was that the pilot "Backlash of the Hunter" or "The Kirkoff Case" with James Woods? Honestly both are excellent episodes! It's those early episodes that I really dig. The next one "The Dark and Bloody Ground" is one of my favorites!!
James Woods was excellent in The Kirkoff Case. I prefer it to the pilot but both are good. The Dark and Bloody Ground introduces Beth. It’s a winner just for that! I think her best episode is A Portrait of Elizabeth.
T.Q. wrote: ↑Wed May 26, 2021 4:55 pm
I've never seen a single episode of The Rockford Files.
Should it be first on my list after I'm done Hawaii Five-0?
It is excellent. You should do it. I haven’t seen a lot of episodes but what I have seen is objectively entertaining. You’ve got to like Garner though. That’s sort of a prerequisite.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
I seem to recall reading somewhere a long time ago that the networks tried to tone down the humor in ROCKFORD and tried to make it more serious. Apparently Garner was having none of that and basically told them that if they want it more serious they should get Jack Lord to play the part. He threatened to quit if they tried to make it more serious. Not sure how accurate that is. But apparently they did try to tinker with it during season 2 (not sure what the changes were) which I think caused it to drop in the ratings, before picking up again during season 3.
IvanTheTerrible wrote: ↑Fri May 28, 2021 10:06 pm
I seem to recall reading somewhere a long time ago that the networks tried to tone down the humor in ROCKFORD and tried to make it more serious. Apparently Garner was having none of that and basically told them that if they want it more serious they should get Jack Lord to play the part. He threatened to quit if they tried to make it more serious. Not sure how accurate that is. But apparently they did try to tinker with it during season 2 (not sure what the changes were) which I think caused it to drop in the ratings, before picking up again during season 3.
There is substance in what you state, IvanTheTerrible! My least-favorite TRF episode is the ultra serious “Love is the Word” (S6). It doesn’t help that I dislike Kathryn Harrold’s performance—she’s a poor woman’s Katharine Ross. It is by no means an awful episode, as even the least of TRF is superior to many shows’ “best”, but “Love is the Word” is easily Rockford’s lowest point.
