This is one of my favorite television shows. There is something very down-to-Earth about it. This television show doesn't avoid the seedy sides of L.A., like other shows do. You see a wide area of L.A. and surrounding areas over the six seasons that it aired. L.A. must have been an exciting place during the 70s. James Garner plays Jim Rockford, an ex-con private detective. He is always broke. He can fight, but also gets his ribs broken (literally, actually). He is irritable, demanding, and suspicious, but really starts to care once he gets involved in a case. He usually doesn't get paid in the end. There are interesting characters. There is a police Sargent called Denis (Joe Santos). He is two-faced. He pretends to be Rockford's friend, but secretly is working to get him arrested. There is Lieutenant Diehl, who is a mean officer, who only cares about his own self-interest. There is his sometimes ally, played by Stuart Margolin, who is fickle and self-serving. Then, there is his father, Rocky, played by the late Noah Berry, Jr. who always is there to go fishing and be cool about everything in life. James Garner is gifted at being charming and able to play make believe characters, in the hope of getting information. This is one of my favorite shows. I wish I was in L.A. during the 70s.
Review of The Rockford Files
