The Rockford Files

I recall seeing one of the first episodes when it aired in October '74, and not being that impressed. In the end, I was hooked on this gentle but deceptively captivating series. It sums up what is best about episodic television when a good cast, writers and production crew gets together. Garner is perfect for the role doing his "everyman" schtick. His comedic ability is also put to very good use (the later episodes with "Lance White" - Tom Selleck - are just soo funny, as Garner is always left eating dust!). The supporting roles are also extremely well filled. Simply extremely good television that everyone involved can feel proud of.

I remember my father watching "The Rockford Files" when it first came on the air, I was too young to remember it then, but was able to catch it on re-runs on A&E a few years back, and it is currently shown on two channels here in Canada. James Garner is the easy-going, laid back Jim Rockford. He has a big heart, yet always seems to come out on the short end of the stick. Garner does an excellent job as Rockford, and while I haven't seen much of his other work, he seems to play the same character. Some great supporting actors as well. Noah Beery as the worried father Rocky, Joe Santos as his put-upon cop buddy Dennis. One of my all-time favorite characters has to be Angel Martin, played perfectly by Stewart Margolin, the con "buddy" of Jim's. Very clever opening to each show, with the answering machine message. Obviously dated by the styles and settings, but still an excellent series that stands up well today. I'd give the series as a whole a solid 5 out of 5 stars.

This series brought to full maturity the development of James Garner in television characters. First there was Garner's Maverick days when he was one of a group of tin horned gamblers who were living by their wits & conning people. It is a classic Western series which introduced Garner to fame.

Garner then started getting movies roles like The Great Escape where he is a con man again, & romantic comedies with Doris Day. While some of his movie roles were good, he never quite became a major movie star. One of his lesser known roles, The Wheeler Dealers is an interesting film to see as he is the star role in it & the premise is a stock broker.

Jim then came back to TV with Nichols (also know as The James Garner Show). This is the first show with Cherokee Productions where Jim was well cast as a turn of the century western cowboy who didn't like violence. Sadly, this series failed in spite of introducing Margot Kidder to Americans, folks just weren't ready for Garner with little action & a bad NBC time slot.

Then, came Rockford, which went deeper into all the characters Garner had developed & became a smash. This shows main carry over from Nichols is Angel (Stuart Margolin) who was a main stay in both shows. Rockford added Noah Berry & a lot of good actors. It had sharp unpredictable scripts. It also introduced special effects wizard Steven J Cannell & established production company Glen A Larsen to putting it together.

The marriage was made in heaven. The combination of these skyrocketed into a great series in which the main character seems to be stuck getting nowhere, but we love them so much we feel for them. In the end, Rockford still has the tin horn of Maverick, the con man from his other roles, the romance from his leading man movie days, & his spirit from Nichols, all developed into the essential formula.

Some of the scripts do show some small holes, but with a wink & a grin, Jim Garner pulls it off smoothly. The character make up & entertainment are so good, you don't care. Just call & leave the message, Jim will get back with you.

This was probably the greatest part James Garner ever played. He was essentially playing himself, an easy going guy caught in oddball situations mainly brought on by loony clients or by his former ex-con friends. The character of Jim Rockford was not unlike his other defining role of Bret Maverick. Also, the supporting cast was great as well. Noah Beery Jr. was perfect as Rocky, Jim's father, who was always trying to get his "Sonny" to give up the detective business and join him in the trucking business. Joe Santos was great as Dennis, Jim's main contact on the LAPD who reluctantly helped Jim by giving him information on various cases. Gretchen Corbett was great in her role as his girlfriend/lawyer Beth Davenport who would always be there to get him out of a jam. But, perhaps the most memorable character was Angel, played by Stuart Margolin. Angel was, and still is, the biggest weasel in television history. He would often be responsible for getting Jim into the odd predicaments he would get into.

Also of note, this was the first hit from the mind of Stephen J. Cannell after years of writing for Adam-12. Cannell is probably one of the greatest writers in television history and this is where it all began.

What the hell kind of a detective is this? The guy's not strong jawed, self-righteous and brave, and he seldom even carries a gun, much less shoots anyone. Since he consistently gets stiffed by his clients, he has to live hand to mouth in a cheesy trailer in a parking lot. (The trailer, incidently, is only crummy on the outside. Inside, it's comfortable, well furnished and clean, much like Rockford's character.)

Even the cops in this excellent series are presented as human, not as cardboard heroes. They've got the same pecking order problems at work that most of us have. In fact, ALL of the characters in this series seem to have some depth.

One of the most amazing things about the show's plots is that they hardly ever had to be resolved by gunfire because the writers were too lazy to come up with anything else.

Jim Garner's charm was a big part of the show's success, but it was the superb writing that made "The Rockford Files" so consistently entertaining. Many of the stories would have made first rate movies, particularly some of the two parters.

I'll never forget Angel begging Rockford for help after getting himself thoroughly enmeshed with the mob through his own stupidity and greed. Rockford chews him out, explains exactly why he ought to let him go right down the drain, and challenges him to come up with one good reason he should help him.

"Because you're my friend," Angel says, leaving Rockford without a comeback.

A friend like that, I could use.