Customer Reviews

The Rockford Files - Season Five

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Season Five continued the fine writing and impeccible acting that defined The Rockford Files as one of televisions best ever offerings.

In addition, this season has some fantastic guest stars: Rita Moreno, Bo Hopkins, Tom Selleck, Abe Vigoda, Robert Loggia, Jason Evers, Robert Alda, Kathryn Harrold, Mary Fran, Erin Gray, Ted Shackelford, Paul Koslo, Dennis Dugan and Harold Gould to name just a few.

A few of my favorite episodes from this season include:

White on White and nearly Perfect - Wherein Jim works with Lance White (Tom Selleck), a goody two shoes Detective who always comes up smelling like a rose, usually at Rockford's expense.

Black Mirror - A two parter where Jim protects and falls in love with a blind psychologist played by the scrumptious Kathryn Harrold.

A Different Drummer - A strange but absorbing tale that has Rockford on the trail of a sociopath who is harvesting organs from live donors.

Episode list and original air dates are as follows:

Heartaches of a Fool 9/22/1978
Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead 9/29/1978
The Jersey Bounce 10/6/1978
White on White and Nearly Perfect 10/20/1978
Kill the Messenger 10/27/1978
The Empty Frame 11/3/1978
A Three-Day Affair With a Thirty-Day Escrow 11/10/1978
A Good Clean Bust With Sequel Rights 11/17/1978
Black Mirror (1) 11/24/1978
Black Mirror (2) 11/24/1978
A Fast Count 12/1/1978
Local Man Eaten by Newspaper 12/8/1978
With the French Heel Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind? 1/5/1979
The Battle-Ax and the Exploding Cigar 1/12/1979
Guilt 1/19/1979
The Deuce 1/26/1979
The Man Who Saw the Alligators 2/10/1979
The Return of the Black Shadow 2/17/1979
A Material Difference 2/24/1979
Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job (1) 3/3/1979
Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job (2) 3/3/1979
A Different Drummer 4/13/1979

What a shame there's only one more season (and a truncated one at that) of the Rockford files to go after this. Hopefully they'll include all the reunion shows with the 12 episodes of Season Six.

Oh and don't forget "At the tone leave your name and number, I'll get back to you."

The Rockford Files, in case you haven't seen it, is one of the best examples of dramatic television in the 1970's (if you have seen it you already know that). The Rockford Files was/is a witty, well written "detective" show, a genre that was extremely popular in the 70's and 80's. If you like Magnum P.I. or Simon and Simon or any other show like that then you'll like The Rockford Files. Rockford did the same thing before they did it, only better.

James Garner was absolutely perfect as Jim Rockford. It's just about impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. The show's writers and producers managed to find a perfect balance of drama and comedy (with the comedy coming in the form of dry, sarcastic one liners, usually coming from Rockford) without hurting the dramatic impact of the stories.

The fifth season of the show found those writers and producers on a roll. The Rockford Files was one of those shows that never saw a slip in quality. It was a great show from start to finish. And now nearly the entire run of the series is available on DVD.

Watching the DVD's is almost like going back in time - these episodes (for the most part) haven't looked this good since they first aired back in the 70's. It's nice, too, to be able to watch uncut episodes (as a couple minutes from each episode of shows from that era are cut for additional ad time when shown on TV in syndication). Unless you watched the shows in the 70's you might not even know what you were missing when watching the shows in syndication - but now you will get to see those scenes previously deleted for commercial time.

If you're a fan of detective shows with a wry sense of humor then The Rockford Files is for you.

"The Rockford Files" was a wildly popular, and now, iconographic, television detective series based on the life and work of Jim Rockford, a private detective living in southern California in the 1970's. The series is undoubtedly one of the best television shows ever produced: so good that one almost winces when the word "television" is mentioned in context with the show. Although television was the format and forum for the series, the work lays clearly outside the norms of "good television," and moves into areas generally only found in film and drama.

Jim is a genuinely good-hearted, but nevertheless cynical, hero of the common man who makes his sometimes meager income pursuing his unusual and often dangerous job. As an ex-con himself who spent time in jail for a crime he did not commit (and for which he eventually received a full pardon), Jim's street smarts equip him to move through all types of dangerous and unexpectedly dramatic situations that arise as he works his way through his revolving caseload, the "files" part of "The Rockford Files." Jim's response to questions about his daily rate, usually asked by someone in most every episode, is "200 dollars a day, plus expenses." Jim's duties might be to look for a missing person, collect on a debt owed, solve a crime, or anything else that someone might hire a private detective to do.

Jim makes frequent use of his friend in Los Angeles Police Department, Sgt. Dennis Becker, to get important information, but as often as not, pays the favors back by providing help to Becker which allowed Becker to make arrests. Jim claims to be averse to picking up any job that involves real danger. He owns a gun, but rarely uses it, and makes a point of telling anyone who will listen that he doesn't like guns. Nevertheless, it is Jim's care for the individual that generally moves him into danger to help someone else in need. His closest real friend, Angel Martin, is a small-time grifter and con artist who is always trying to con someone out of a few dollars, but never manages to lose Jim's friendship for reasons that may rest more with Jim's sense of responsibility to a person who needs SOMEONE to care for him than for more selfish reasons.

Jim's gold Pontiac Firebird became one of the enduring visual representations of the decade. The car was routinely bruised, dinged, crashed, vandalized, and in one episode, even blown up, but was nevertheless kept in steady repair throughout the entire run of the series. Few automobiles have been so closely identified with a dramatic character while never being the central focus of attention.

The Rockford Files was well-known for extremely strong plot lines, with virtually every episode in the run of the series an outstanding piece of dramatic writing and acting set to full musical score. The music in the first season or two is often exceptionally strong, where we often discover entire episodes seemingly a continuous musical score underpinning the story. (The theme song for the series, played at the beginning of every episode and revisted within episodes as variations on a theme, was immensely popular during the series run, and was catchy enought to be released commercially on the radio waves at some point in the show's run.) Individual episodes focus on a variety of themes, either comic, intrigue, mystery, problem solving, and others, but the common thread in them all is life as viewed through the lens and experiences of Jim's efforts to stay out of trouble while he faces trouble. Episodes typically contains enough twists and turns to keep even the most seasoned watcher on the edge of the seat in trying to figure out the angle or angles that are at play. The commanding and reassuring presence of James Garner, a greatly-loved figure in American movies and television, carries virtually every scene while keeping the plot believable and engaging. The fact that the series could maintain such high levels of realistic credibility while not allowing the viewer to assemble all the pieces until the near end of each episode is simply a marvel of narrative storytelling. These are some of the best examples of premier storytelling in the history of television, and arguably, film.

Many reviews of television shows contain lists of "best" episodes. In my own mind, it is simply not possible to create such a list for The Rockford Files. To do so would perhaps do some injustice to the series, because virtually every episode is "good" in the basic sense. Yes, there are indeed some episodes that are archetypical examples of mastery in video storytelling, but to be perfectly honest, you can basically pick any episode of The Rockford Files at random, and, assuming you understand the basic premise of the show, chances are you'll have a great viewing experience. But perhaps this is a series best watched by starting with Season One, and watching each episode in order, so that one can fully appreciate the cast of characters, their relationship to one another, and the unfolding story of Jim's life. Along the way, we come to love Rocky as a father and human being, appreciate Denis as an honest and hard-working police officer, admire Beth as a skilled and knowledgeable lawyer, and feel some level of understanding, and yes, even sympathy, for Angel as he cons his way through small-time scams. Running through it all is Jim, a person who often puts others above himself, and has a touch of humanity that appeals to most everyone, and easily makes the series one of the most endearing to ever appear on television.

I have to say, it's hard to rate Season 5 any less than the previous four seasons on DVD, but because it's missing Beth, and seems not to have nearly enough Angel, I guess I can take one star away. Still, I believe this may be my favorite detective series. James Garner is completely believable and natural as the laid back detective. He brings a self-depricating, anti-hero charm to Jim, not a coward, just smart enough to know that you can't dodge a bullet when the gun is pointed at your chest.

Since it's more the same of what I love, I guess I'm wondering what will happen with Season 6, which was only half over when Garner had to leave for health reasons. I'd like to suggest that it would be nice if Universal combined Season 6 with the movie length comeback of the Rockford files of the 90's.

Video quality is not remastered for high-def, but that shouldn't matter, since what we're dealing with here are studio masters, which were printed on giant tape sets for broadcasting in the 70's. The quality is really no better or worse than the previous DVD releases - in fact, it's basically what they probably looked like when they debuted originally, and that is part of their charm - so don't let that stop you from purchasing this very entertaining collection.

Viewing Rockford after all these years, I realize that my own nostalgia and an appreciation for the groundbreaking aspects of this show is much of its appeal. Pre-Rockford TV heroes typically swaggered and talked tough and never failed. Supporting characters were shallow "yes men/women" who were present to make their hero look good. Rockford, however, is surrounded by much more richly drawn and quirky characters--some true and loyal, all of them very human and many with questionable ethics and hidden agendas. Human weakness is often an important part of the plot and, occasionally, our hero fails. Clients lie, don't pay their bill and sometimes don't appreciate Jim's (clever and fruitful) efforts. In other words, Jiim's life can be just a little bit like ours--and we relate to him because of it. It's worth watching every episode.

I think this 1978-79 Season of this detective drama was the best and probably the most successful season of them all throughout Rockford's whole 6-year run on NBC along with the fact that this was also the last full season of THE ROCKFORD FILES since Rockford's 6th Season was only a half season since this private detective drama was cut short all of the sudden in the Winter of 1980, due to James Garners chronic back & knee problems.

Therefore, Garner was getting tired and Rockford was running out of steam along with the fact that THE ROCKFORD FILES started becoming overshadowed by THE DUKES OF HAZZARD when the Dukes made their debut on CBS in the Winter 1979 which conflicted with Rockford's 9PM Friday night time-slot on NBC which resulted in Rockford losing a lot of viewers thru the Dukes along with the fact that Rockford was huffing & puffing while Bo and Luke Duke were humming along.

Additionally, this is the season when Rockford's often irritated cop buddy Det. Dennis Becker(Joe Santos) from the LAPD gets promoted to lieutenant as well as the first season without Rockford's foxy attorney girlfriend Beth Davenport(Gretchen Corbett)since Beth departed from the show in the 2nd half of Rockford's Fourth Season due to the fact that the inclusive Gretchen Corbett had unfortunately left the show in the Winter of 1978 due to a salary dispute over her contract with Universal leaving us mourning the loss of Beth which unfortunately gave Becker's hard-nosed superior officer Lt. Doug Chapman(James Luisi) a.k.a. "Chappy" an advantage over Rockford whenever he got busted, since the drop-dead gorgeous Beth wasn't around to back Rockford up anymore like she did in the first 4 seasons after Beth made her last appearance in January of 1978 in "The Attractive Nuisance" episode, plus I also noticed that Rockford's reckless con-artist buddy Angel Martin(Stuart Margolin) started coming out less and less in this season as well as the 4th and 6th Seasons of THE ROCKFORD FILES and I'm just kind of surprised that Beth's departure from this private detective show didn't make the ratings go down, at least not to the point where NBC had cancelled Rockford right away or even right after completing a successful 5th Season of THE ROCKFORD FILES on NBC either.

Rockford's 5th Season was also the season when Rockford met and befriended disbarred lawyer and ex-biker John Cooper(Bo Hopkins), whom ends up helping Rockford nab the culprits who framed Rockford for murder in "The Jersey Bounce" episode and then helps Rockford infiltrate the motorcycle gang that raped Cooper's sister(Laurie Jefferson) and clobbered Rockford in the "The Return Of The Black Shadow" episode.

It's just too bad that they didn't provide a bonus episode from The Rockford Files Sixth Season on this 1978-1979 Season DVD of Rockford like The Rockford Files-Season Four DVD had a bonus episode from the Fifth Season, by adding the "White On White & Nearly Perfect" episode on it, because it would've been cool if they would've at least provided one bonus episode from the 1979-80 Season of Rockford on THE ROCKFORD FILES-Season Five DVD.

As a matter of fact, it would've been awesome if they would've added the "Nice Guys Finish Dead" episode from Rockford's 6th Season on this 1978-79 Season DVD of The Rockford Files since it was probably the best episode from the Sixth Season, just like the "White On White & Nearly Perfect" episode was probably the best and most intriguing episode in the Fifth Season, especially since the "Nice Guys Finish Dead" episode is the episode when Rockford reunites with the eccentric hot shot private investigator Lance White(Tom Selleck) at a private eyes convention where a murder ends up taking place at leaving Rockford teaming up with the almost perfect Lance White again to solve the homicide leading Rockford to be outclassed by the impeccable Lance White again, since the goody two shoes Lance White ended up stealing the show again at Rockfords expense since the astounding Lance White ended up making all the leads and finding all the clues and being the hero again for being the private investigator who solved the case practically K.O.ing Rockford in the process, just like Lance White did in the "White On White & Nearly Perfect" episode, except the stellar Lance White ended up getting the trophy for being private investigator of the year in the "Nice Guys Finish Dead" episode, which Rockford had won originally at the beginning of that episode, which of course was before the Senators death took place there.

In addition; Rockford's Fifth Season also had some interesting guest stars in it too such as
-Tom Selleck in the "White On White & Nearly Perfect" episode before his co-starring days as the Hawaiian beach-bum private detective(Thomas Magnum)on MAGNUM, P.I.
-Jerry Douglas in the "A Good Clean Bust With Sequel Rights" episode during his earlier co-starring days as John Abbott on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS
-Sorrell Booke in "The Jersey Bounce" episode before his co-starring days as the corrupt Hazzard County Commissioner(Boss Hogg) on THE DUKES OF HAZZARD
-James Sikking in the "A Good Clean Bust With Sequel Rights" episode before his co-starring days as Lt. Howard Hunter on HILL STREET BLUES
-Carl Franklin in the "Black Mirror" episode before his co-starring days as the overzealous Col. Deckers sidekick(Capt. Crane)on THE A-TEAM
-Richard Moll in the "A 3-Day Affair With A 30-Day Escrow" episode before his co-starring days as the tall bald baliff(Bull Shannon)on NIGHT COURT
-Dennis Holahan in "The Battle Ax & The Exploding Cigar" episode before his co-starring days on GENERAL HOSPITAL
-Bo Hopkins in the episodes "The Jersey Bounce", "Man Eaten By Local Newspaper", and "Return Of The Black Shadow" before his co-starring days on DYNASTY
-Oscar nominee(Rita Moreno) making a recurring role in the "Rosendahl & Gilda Stern Are Dead" episode
-Ken Tigar in the "Local Man Eaten By Newspaper" episode before his co-starring days on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, DYNASTY, & DALLAS

In fact, I found it amusing seeing Richard Moll getting beat up by Rockford after a lowlife hoodlum called Ludes(Richard Moll) caught him off guard and broke into Rockford's trailer in Malibu in the "Three Day Affair With A Thirty Day Escrow" episode, plus I find it intriguing that I didn't quite notice Sorrell Booke with the mustache as Rockford's new attorney in "The Jersey Bounce" episode along with the fact that THE DUKES OF HAZZARD premiered on CBS 3 months later after Sorrell Booke's guest starring appearance on THE ROCKFORD FILES.

Unfortunately, THE DUKES OF HAZZARD K.O.'d THE ROCKFORD FILES in the ratings and you could say the Dukes were killing Rockford since the Dukes had outclassed Rockford big time, because for one thing Jim Rockford was outclassed by the Duke boys, since Bo(John Schneider) & Luke(Tom Wopat) were both eyecandy and a lot younger, a lot spunkier, more energetic, and more attractive than Rockford(James Garner)was especially since Garner was already an old-fart why Wopat and Schneider were still young-farts just getting started in their showbiz career.

For another, the General Lee had outclassed Rockford's bronze Firebird.

For another THE DUKES OF HAZZARD was a lot more hilarious than THE ROCKFORD FILES was along with the fact that this show was already passed its honeymoon phase while the Dukes were just starting their honeymoon phase of the show.

Therefore you could say that John Schneider(Bo)and Tom Wopat(Luke)were peaking while James Garner(Rockford)was creaking since Garner had ran out of gas & reached a saturation point with his Rockford character getting tired of resuming that role which became more & more obvious since you can tell that Rockford started to limp & drag more & more in the last 2 seasons of THE ROCKFORD FILES as opposed to the Dukes since Bo & Luke Duke were full of lots of energy and steam and years ahead of them during Rockford's last 2 seasons and cancellation on NBC in early 1980 when THE DUKES OF HAZZARD was in the middle of its 2nd Season on CBS.

Therefore you could say that the Dukes were killing Rockford as well despite the fact that it was mostly health issues that prevented James Garner to proceed with doing THE ROCKFORD FILES any longer, not low ratings although THE DUKES OF HAZZARD easily added fuel to fire in terms of Rockford's cancellation in January of 1980 after the Dukes premiered in January of 1979.

So now that Universal has had Rockford's 5th Season on DVD for a while since the beginning of 2008 and since Univeral already has all 8 Seasons of MAGNUM out on DVD and Warner Bros. already has all 7 seasons of THE DUKES OF HAZZARD on DVD, I can hardly wait till THE ROCKFORD FILES 6th Season finally gets put on DVD, which I'm hoping will be released on DVD by the end of this year so it can at least be released in time for a X-Mas present by the end of 2008 along with the fact that Rockford's 1979-80 Season was also the last and final season of this show as well as the shortest season of them all since James Garner(Rockford)had to quit doing the show, due to illness.

Therefore, Rockford's short-lived 1979-80 Season led us to the conclusion that Rockford had some unfinished business on the show leaving us wondering if Rockford was still making his living as a private investigator or not, but Joe Santos had later on became a part-time co-star on MAGNUM, P.I. as Magnum's cop buddy(Lt. Nolan Page)in that shows last 2 seasons.

It was also wonderful being able to watch all these episodes of Rockford complete & uncut like they were shown on their original air-dates on NBC as opposed to how they were shown in reruns on A&E, TNN, TV Land, and WGN which deleted too many scenes & had too many commercial disruptions.

Rockford's 5th Season also takes me all the way back to memory lane when NBC's motto was "NBCSee Us", which was NBC's motto from the Fall of 1978 thru the Spring of 1979 when I was still living in the unpopular Imperial Valley.

In the meantime, I've got some wonderful news for all you classic private detective drama fans out there that are underway for the Spring of 2010.

The detective drama MATT HOUSTON-Season 1 is scheduled to be released on DVD Tuesday March 9th, 2010 and SIMON & SIMON-Season 4 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday April 6th, 2010 and are now both available for pre-order as we speak.

Season 5 might be worth the price of admission alone for an episode entitled "White On White and Nearly Perfect".

In this episode, our favorite PI, our world-weary and cynical Jim Rockford is coupled with Lance White, played to perfection by Tom Selleck. While poor Jim lives and works out of a trailer, is continually stiffed by his clients for his fees and is constantly bumping heads with the LAPD and Lt. Chapman in particular, Lance White can do no wrong.

Lance's office is as big as the Taj Mahal, everybody he comes in contact with is forever in his debt, it seems, because Lance saved his / her life at one time or another and Lt. Chapman is little more than a groupie when he's around Lance.

Of course, Lance gets the girl in this episode, who just happens to be the daughter of the head of an international defense contractor and at their wedding, Lance's father-in-law announces his retirement and is turning over the company to Lance.

Jim Rockford was one of the best television characters ever created. He was a thoroughly likeable guy and you were always hoping that once, just once, poor Jim would enjoy a great payday.

But you knew that it would never come. You can't help but think of the old adage "if I didn't have bad luck, I would have no luck at all" when thinking about Jim Rockford.

This show ran for about 6 years (sadly with the release of season 5, we only have one more season to enjoy)and week in and week out,the writers came up with superb stories and some of the best writing around. Just listen to Rickford when somebody's giving him a hard time. Nobody - and I repeat NOBODY - came up with better comebacks than Jim Rockford. While other televsion PI's relied on toughness or connections to get the job done, Jim relied on the gift of the gab, a con and a scam. And he played them to perfection..!!

The show also enjoyed an excellent supporting cast as well - the hallmark of any great show - with characters like Rocky (his dad), Angel Martin (a sleazy ex-con who happened to be Jim's cellmate at San Quentin), Beth Davenport (Jim's lawyer), Dennis Becker (a sargeant on the LAPD and Jim's friend) and several other recurring characters.

Jim Garner is one of those guys who is just so damn likeable - in common with all of the characters he plays - and he always made it look so effortless. While some stars give off a vibe of being unapproachable, Jim Garner is one of those guys who you would feel comfortable sharing a beer with and watching a football game with.

This was a great television show and I'm so pleased that the entire series is being released as quickly and as economically as possible (unlike so many of the other cash grabs where a season is released in 2 volumes)

If you enjoyed this show 30 / 35 years ago, treat yourself to this season - and seasons one through four - and relive a great series.

You won't regret it..!

Overall, a pretty dreary collection, especially in comparison to the first four magnificent years. In Season Five, there is no Beth Davenport, minimal Angel Martin, and almost half the episodes are clinkers: "Empty Frame"(Berkeley revolutionaries hijacking a Pacific Palisades art collection? In 1978??); "Three-Day Affair"; "Black Mirror"; "Local Man Eaten"; "Nehru Jacket"(bottom of the barrel); "Battle Ax"; "Guilt"; "Material Difference"; "Different Drummer".

Of course, there are good things too. John Cooper(who should've been given more time). The emergence of Lt. Chapman. But for me the saving grace of the whole year and worth the price of the DVD set is the uncut "Man Who Saw the Alligators".

Originally a 74-minute episode(as it is here), but always shown in syndication in 48-minute form, this classic Rockford was written by David Chase, obviously warming up for "The Sopranos". Yes, the role of Momma Gagglio is rather annoying, either because of actress Penny Santon or because of Corey Allen's direction of her(at times, she is low-key and complex, so perhaps it was Allen). Other than that, all the new footage is great. We see the decision by Anthony Boy's mom to allow her own son's murder, and this deepens everything, particularly George Loros's wonderful performance as the son. (As it does Joey Aresco as brother Richie.) The road trip stuff between Anthony & Syl is tough and funny. But the real highlight is Joe Sirola, who steals the show. Sirola is a legendary character actor, and has never been better than he is here. Instead of spinning off that silly Richie Brockleman, Cannell & Co. should have created a new show based on Joseph Minnette. (In a way I guess David Chase did just that.) All this really does make 48 minutes which were already classic Rockford into something very special.

The moment you hear the theme song to Rockford Files you are compelled to leave whatever you are doing and come watch. Once you get the hang of the menu selections (done in picture format instead of title) it is easy to navigate around the DVD. Watching the shows brings back a lot of memories and reinforces what great TV is all about.
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I have enjoyed watching my old favorite show, "The Rockford Files-Season 5". Shows on now are just horrible and I watch older better shows from the 60's and 70's. I sure miss good shows on television these days!!