The Rockford Files
1 9 7 4 - 1 9 7 9 (USA)
125 x 60 minute episodes
"This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your
name and message. I'll get back to you"
Mistrusted by the police, set up by his own
clients and continually beaten up in a most un-macho fashion by anyone
who could get a shot off, Jim Rockford was the ultimate good guy
Private Eye (working for $200 a day + expenses).
Jim lived a less than glamorous life in a
beach side green and white 50-foot caravan (or 'trailer' for
our US chums) located at 2354 Pacific Coast Highway in the Paradise
Cove Trailer Colony. Rockford's compassion for society's outcasts
embroiled him weekly as the underdog in bizarre investigations. While
his good heart often caused him to give up his salary, it did earn him
the warm friendship of ex-cellmate Angel Martin (Stuart Margolin) and
Lieutenant Dennis Becker (Joe Santos).
Jim's firm grasp on reality (unlike so many
TV private dicks) was apparent in statements such as "I'm not going in
there, I could get killed!" . To this end, our fearless hero never
carried a gun and in fact did not even have a permit to carry one!
Unlike most private detectives, Jim did not
enjoy a close working relationship with the police department. This
was primarily because he was an ex-con. Although he ultimately
received a full pardon, Jim had served 5 years for an armed robbery he
didn't commit. The police also disliked Rockford because of his
ability to solve cases they had already closed!
"Jim, It's Norma at the market. . . . It
bounced. You want us to tear it up, send it back, or put it with the
others? "
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