The Rockford Files

[Pahonu]

that’s almost a list I just put together!

There you go!!! That didn't hurt too much, did it?

H5O did change substantially in 12 years and I agree with your assessment. The same is really true of MPI. The first season or two seem very different than later seasons, particularly 7. Death and Taxes, Little Girl Who, Laura, Forty, and Limbo among others are so serious. The lighthearted elements from earlier seasons seemed to be lacking, and I tend to watch them less for that reason. MPI did find its footing pretty quickly after the pilot though. I think Rockford actually took a little longer to find it’s groove, but the end of season one was pretty much there.

I would say that HFO, TRF, and MPI found their groove right from the get-go! For me it's all right there at the very start. And some of my favorite episodes too! There are some shows (SIMON & SIMON comes to mind, BONANZA is another) that needed another season or two to find its groove. But not the above three.

I agree on the other two, but Rockford started off a little different. Unlike the 4 principle actors in MPI and H5O who appear from the start, Rockford is slow to bring these characters in. For example, in the first 10 or so episodes, Angel appears only once, in the pilot with a different Rocky, Beth only appears 2 times, and even Dennis appears in only about half of them. It’s pretty much the Rockford and Rocky show. I know you like the lone wolf pi aspect, but those character interactions are what I love. They’re significantly lacking in the first part of season one.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

that’s almost a list I just put together!

There you go!!! That didn't hurt too much, did it?

H5O did change substantially in 12 years and I agree with your assessment. The same is really true of MPI. The first season or two seem very different than later seasons, particularly 7. Death and Taxes, Little Girl Who, Laura, Forty, and Limbo among others are so serious. The lighthearted elements from earlier seasons seemed to be lacking, and I tend to watch them less for that reason. MPI did find its footing pretty quickly after the pilot though. I think Rockford actually took a little longer to find it’s groove, but the end of season one was pretty much there.

I would say that HFO, TRF, and MPI found their groove right from the get-go! For me it's all right there at the very start. And some of my favorite episodes too! There are some shows (SIMON & SIMON comes to mind, BONANZA is another) that needed another season or two to find its groove. But not the above three.

I agree on the other two, but Rockford started off a little different. Unlike the 4 principle actors in MPI and H5O who appear from the start, Rockford is slow to bring these characters in. For example, in the first 10 or so episodes, Angel appears only once, in the pilot with a different Rocky, Beth only appears 2 times, and even Dennis appears in only about half of them. It’s pretty much the Rockford and Rocky show. I know you like the lone wolf pi aspect, but those character interactions are what I love. They’re significantly lacking in the first part of season one.

I believe Joe Santos was featured as a "guest star" during the 1st season but I think he was in almost every episode. I didn't feel like there was a lack of Dennis that first season. And Beth is introduced quickly in the second episode (one of my favorites) - "The Dark and Bloody Ground". In fact that episode is pretty much the Jim and Beth show. Angel is really the only one who I think only appears once in the first season (not counting the pilot) - in "Counter Gambit". He doesn't really become a recurring cast member until season 2. So aside from him, the cast is pretty much all there. But yes Jim does fly a bit more solo in season 1 which I don't mind at all.

[Pahonu]

that’s almost a list I just put together!

There you go!!! That didn't hurt too much, did it?

H5O did change substantially in 12 years and I agree with your assessment. The same is really true of MPI. The first season or two seem very different than later seasons, particularly 7. Death and Taxes, Little Girl Who, Laura, Forty, and Limbo among others are so serious. The lighthearted elements from earlier seasons seemed to be lacking, and I tend to watch them less for that reason. MPI did find its footing pretty quickly after the pilot though. I think Rockford actually took a little longer to find it’s groove, but the end of season one was pretty much there.

I would say that HFO, TRF, and MPI found their groove right from the get-go! For me it's all right there at the very start. And some of my favorite episodes too! There are some shows (SIMON & SIMON comes to mind, BONANZA is another) that needed another season or two to find its groove. But not the above three.

I agree on the other two, but Rockford started off a little different. Unlike the 4 principle actors in MPI and H5O who appear from the start, Rockford is slow to bring these characters in. For example, in the first 10 or so episodes, Angel appears only once, in the pilot with a different Rocky, Beth only appears 2 times, and even Dennis appears in only about half of them. It’s pretty much the Rockford and Rocky show. I know you like the lone wolf pi aspect, but those character interactions are what I love. They’re significantly lacking in the first part of season one.

I believe Joe Santos was featured as a "guest star" during the 1st season but I think he was in almost every episode. I didn't feel like there was a lack of Dennis that first season. And Beth is introduced quickly in the second episode (one of my favorites) - "The Dark and Bloody Ground". In fact that episode is pretty much the Jim and Beth show. Angel is really the only one who I think only appears once in the first season (not counting the pilot) - in "Counter Gambit". He doesn't really become a recurring cast member until season 2. So aside from him, the cast is pretty much all there. But yes Jim does fly a bit more solo in season 1 which I don't mind at all.

Beth appears in in only episode 2 and 3 in the first half of the first season. Dennis appears in episodes 1,2,3, and 8 of the first half. He is in almost all the remaining episodes, but not almost every episode of the season as you state you feel.

That is precisely my point. By the second half of the first season, the characters are relatively set, and I enjoy many of these episodes, but the first half is definitely not that, including Angel’s absence.

[Little Garwood]

This time around I didn’t watch S1 in broadcast order (I started with disc 4) but there appeared to be long stretches where Rockford didn’t have his supporting players. For me, the scenes in which they do appear alongside Garner have an energy that other scenes do not.

David Spielberg as Sgt. Tom Garvey is in 2 episodes. Garvey isn’t anything like the weary Dennis Becker and. However, I think Spielberg—always a reliable actor—has a decent rapport with Garner, but imo Spielberg (or perhaps Sgt. Garvey) is too slight a presence for those surroundings. Garvey is the cleanest thing in that otherwise rundown, worn-out police precinct!

Season one has a ton of night scenes…and not “Day for Night”, either. Universal TV productions usually eschewed the dreaded “Day for Night” cheapness many other series employed. However, as commendable as night scenes are, I prefer subsequent seasons and their SoCal daytime location shooting. If I had grown up there and then, it would no doubt have been a huge nostalgia trip whenever I revisited The Rockford Files.

[Little Garwood]

Watched The Long Morrow, Mariette Hartley’s Twilight Zone episode last night and in her delightful commentary track she mentioned the legendary Polaroid commercials she made with James Garner. Hartley also appeared in Paradise Cove, TRF’s S6 opener (which I rated an .


youtu.be/MA8f2L-FCmE

[Pahonu]

Watched The Long Morrow, Mariette Hartley’s Twilight Zone episode last night and in her delightful commentary track she mentioned the legendary Polaroid commercials she made with James Garner. Hartley also appeared in Paradise Cove, TRF’s S6 opener (which I rated an .


youtu.be/MA8f2L-FCmE

Love it, thanks!

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I think that's what I really like about season 1. It feels more hard-boiled, there are more mystery aspects, it feels more like a detective show. Some of the later season episodes become too "late 70s" for my tastes, from the crazy fashions to the emulation of what was popular at the time - be it disco or rock 'n roll or what have you. Episodes dealing with psychics, health gurus, feminists, chanting hippies, rock stars, etc. I guess you could call it "ripped from the headlines" but sometimes I felt they were trying too hard to stay trendy. Let's take the latest trend and throw Rockford into the mix, where we know he doesn't belong. It certainly could make for some excellent scenes and dialogue but at the same time it would make me miss the more classic detective tropes of the early seasons.

I see your point about appreciating the detective skulking through the night, as Rockford often does in S1, but the ‘70s was the “Me Decade”, an indulgent era which deserved serious lampooning, so Rockford taking on those things you mention is what I like so much about those later seasons.

I’ve also long held the view that private investigators (and rogue cops like Harry Callahan) are outsiders no matter the era and exist on the fringes of society, serving not only as problem solvers but also as wry and cynical observers of the world’s madness. Private eyes are as far removed from the everyday world as a character can be. They’re transitory figures in every respect: Their home lives are usually nonexistent; their relationships are limited to brief interactions with vile snitches and catty civil servants who provide them with leads. Outsiders like Rockford, to quote Tony Vincenzo in Kolchak: The Night Stalker, “don’t have a rapport with society.” They move freely within society while never truly belonging to any aspect of it (look how Rockford gets along with most of his fellow private eyes).

I would miss the mystery elements of episodes like "The Dark and Bloody Ground" or "Exit Prentiss Carr", where you follow Rockford as he follows the clues and tries to put 2 and 2 together. I like the quieter moments of those episodes. There's an atmosphere of mystery there that I like, as we sit in the car with Jimbo and just observe what he observes. Then we see someone exit the house, then we follow them for a few minutes, then the next clue pops up. We see Jimbo quietly rummaging through someone's house looking for clues. I really like all that sort of stuff. In the later seasons Jim would get stuck with some type of sidekick or someone else just tagging along. The focus was more on banter and dialogue than the actual crime-solving. It's like writing witty dialogue (and as much of it as possible) became the most important thing.

Plots can only hold my interest so many times and a surprise twist only works once. I prefer character interactions and a script with insightful dialogue which I might not always notice the first time I watch. A great script can inform the viewer as to what makes characters tick, and they can comment contemporaneously on the time in which the series was made, which it does by default anyway although not always in the way it intended!

Garwood,
Really good stuff, especially the bit about PI's being the perennial outsiders, topping it off with a quote from one of my all time favorite TV characters, Tony Vincenzo(Simon Oakland).
You and Ivan and Pahonu always have interesting back and forths.

[Little Garwood]

Garwood,
Really good stuff, especially the bit about PI's being the perennial outsiders, topping it off with a quote from one of my all time favorite TV characters, Tony Vincenzo(Simon Oakland).
You and Ivan and Pahonu always have interesting back and forths.

Thank you. What I do here amounts to little more than “screaming into an abyss”, but I sincerely appreciate any and all positive comments.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Bo Hopkins has passed away.
Born February 2, 1938, he died on May 28, 2022.
He was a secondary actor in many first class if not classic movies which speaks well of the esteem directors such as Sam Peckinpah held him in.

On The Rockford Files he memorably played John Cooper, Rockford's lawyer, in three episodes.
Hopkins also appeared on Garner's classic series "Nichols", which Garner said was the best thing he ever did on TV though it only lasted one season.
If it ever comes out on DVD, grab it!

Bo also guested with Slim Pickens on a memorable 1973 Hawaii 5-0, "One Big Happy Family" as chillingly murderous members of a family of white trash come to Hawaii.
 It's on my list of 10 best Hawaii 5-0's.

Bo is best remembered for The Wild Bunch, and for his dying words therein which fans never ceased asking him to repeat when they met him:
“How’d you like to kiss my sister’s black cat’s ass?"

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Bo Hopkins has passed away.
Born February 2, 1938, he died on May 28, 2022.
He was a secondary actor in many first class if not classic movies which speaks well of the esteem directors such as Sam Peckinpah held him in.

On The Rockford Files he memorably played John Cooper, Rockford's lawyer, in three episodes.
Hopkins also appeared on Garner's classic series "Nichols", which Garner said was the best thing he ever did on TV though it only lasted one season.
If it ever comes out on DVD, grab it!

Bo also guested with Slim Pickens on a memorable 1973 Hawaii 5-0, "One Big Happy Family" as chillingly murderous members of a family of white trash come to Hawaii.
 It's on my list of 10 best Hawaii 5-0's.

Bo is best remembered for The Wild Bunch, and for his dying words therein which fans never ceased asking him to repeat when they met him:
“How’d you like to kiss my sister’s black cat’s ass?"

Bo was great in everything! But that Five-O episode "One Big Happy Family" definitely stands out! Also saw him in Sam Peckinpah's THE WILD BUNCH, THE GETAWAY, and THE KILLER ELITE. As well as with Burt Reynolds in WHITE LIGHTNING.

[terryfromkerry]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnZNVDJwkug

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnZNVDJwkug

Thank you for this link, Terry. Kind of a shock to see Bo as an older gent, he was always so youthful.
After viewing this I just had to go watch a Bo Hopkins episode of The Rockford Files.

I tuned in the infamous "The Jersey Bounce" in the vain hope it had somehow improved with age.
Quite the opposite, the supposed Jersey accents the nitwits - both the actors and their characters - employed were even more crap than I had remembered.
The taller nitwit Mickey mentions to his buddy Eugene a restaurant, "Vito's Little Napoli".
Pronouncing the last word "Na-pole-Lie".
Kosher it ain't, the paisans I grew up with  would have slapped Mickey on the forehead and said "stunod, it's Nap-o-lee, like Dino sings it in That's Amore. Whadda idiot."

The only good parts were Bo's scenes, introducing him as Rockford's new legal advisor after Jim's lawyer Beth Davenport had moved on.

[terryfromkerry]

LND you're welcome. He still has the boyish face and I love his humility.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnZNVDJwkug

Thank you for this link, Terry. Kind of a shock to see Bo as an older gent, he was always so youthful.
After viewing this I just had to go watch a Bo Hopkins episode of The Rockford Files.

I tuned in the infamous "The Jersey Bounce" in the vain hope it had somehow improved with age.
Quite the opposite, the supposed Jersey accents the nitwits - both the actors and their characters - employed were even more crap than I had remembered.
The taller nitwit Mickey mentions to his buddy Eugene a restaurant, "Vito's Little Napoli".
Pronouncing the last word "Na-pole-Lie".
Kosher it ain't, the paisans I grew up with  would have slapped Mickey on the forehead and said "stunod, it's Nap-o-lee, like Dino sings it in That's Amore. Whadda idiot."

The only good parts were Bo's scenes, introducing him as Rockford's new legal advisor after Jim's lawyer Beth Davenport had moved on.

How was Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) in this episode? I seem to recall he played a lawyer too?

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnZNVDJwkug

Thank you for this link, Terry. Kind of a shock to see Bo as an older gent, he was always so youthful.
After viewing this I just had to go watch a Bo Hopkins episode of The Rockford Files.

I tuned in the infamous "The Jersey Bounce" in the vain hope it had somehow improved with age.
Quite the opposite, the supposed Jersey accents the nitwits - both the actors and their characters - employed were even more crap than I had remembered.
The taller nitwit Mickey mentions to his buddy Eugene a restaurant, "Vito's Little Napoli".
Pronouncing the last word "Na-pole-Lie".
Kosher it ain't, the paisans I grew up with  would have slapped Mickey on the forehead and said "stunod, it's Nap-o-lee, like Dino sings it in That's Amore. Whadda idiot."

The only good parts were Bo's scenes, introducing him as Rockford's new legal advisor after Jim's lawyer Beth Davenport had moved on.

How was Sorrell Booke (Boss Hogg) in this episode? I seem to recall he played a lawyer too?

Ivan,
Sorrell Booke was very good as the befuddled lawyer who Beth's old law firm assigned to represent Rockford.
Bo Hopkins did all the legal research and advised him as he had been disbarred.
If you were ever tempted to watch this mess again, just skip past the Mickey/Eugene scenes and watch the Sorrell/Bo/James Garner scenes.
They are pretty good. Garner's helpless reactions to Sorrell's incompetence are entertaining.