The Rockford Files: Season One

James Garner created two iconic television characters; the first was affable gambler Bret Maverick, the second was Jim Rockford, the hardboiled but softhearted private eye of this fondly remembered 1974-80 series. Since this three-disc package does not include the feature-length pilot, an introduction is in order: after serving five years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Rockford was granted a pardon and now makes a meager living as a private eye specializing in cases the police consider closed. He's a thorn in the side of Detective Dennis Becker (Joe Santos), who notes in one episode, "every time you come in here with a bloody nose, morale goes up ten points." Rockford is not your standard-issue TV private eye—from the mobile home he shares with his father (Noah Beery Jr.) to his beat-up Firebird, his life is distinctly unglamorous (each episode humorously begins with answering machine messages to Rockford from debt collectors, clients leaving town without paying his fee, and other petty humiliations). Over the convoluted course of each case, Rockford invariably gets beat up or finds himself framed for one misdeed or another; fortunately, he is continually bailed out by attorney Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett) and aided by Angel, a former cellmate (Stuart Margolin). The Rockford Files was a Top 15 show in its inaugural season and was a multiple-Emmy-winner over its six-year run; three decades later this charming series still holds up well, thanks to Garner's timeless appeal, Mike Post's classic theme song, and a stellar roster of veteran and younger character actors who enliven each of the 23 episodes collected here. Among them: James Woods and Abe Vigoda ("The Kirkoff Case"); Joseph Cotten ("This Case Is Closed"); Jill Clayburgh ("The Big Ripoff"); Lindsay Wagner ("Aura Lee, Farewell"); Ned Beatty ("Profit and Loss"); and Hector Elizondo ("Say Goodbye to Jennifer"). In a brief bonus interview, Garner reflects on the series and remarks that he couldn't wait to "get back to work the next day." It still shows. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)