Ben Jones

COM 290

February 7, 2003

The Rockford Files

The Rockford Files is a detective drama that aired on NBC from 1974 to 1980.  The main character, Jim Rockford, played by James Garner, became one of the most popular private investigators on television, ranking right up there with Mannix and Magnum, P.I.

            James Garner was not always James Garner, though.  He was born James Baumgarner in 1928.  After serving as a merchant marine, he got a chance to act in 1954 in a Broadway musical called The Caine Mutiny Court Martial.  He learned the art of acting by reading the lead actors their lines from behind the curtain1.

            His big break happened when he was co-starred in Maverick in 1957.  His popularity grew with the audience and he was soon the lead character on the show1.

            He used his TV stint to propel him into movies for the next 20 years until he jumped into The Rockford Files.

            As a show, it ranked No. 12 in the 1974-75 season, and remained very popular throughout its run2.

            The show was an hour long every episode, and aired weekly.  The show filmed 123 episodes, plus one pilot.  It also produced eight “made-for-television” spin-off movies2.

            The show was about an ex-con-turned-private-investigator who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work.  He was neither cowardly nor lazy.  Just a bit on the cautious side.  His lifestyle made him popular with the audience because he appeared more realistic and easy to relate to by viewers2.

The type of drama was “Leader,” which is where the leader’s (Jim Rockford) values are violated by others.  Then the leader will either correct or take the blame.  The show usually ended in Rockford’s values being reestablished.  Part of the purification process for Rockford was to mobilize other members of the cast.

Some of those cast members include Police Sgt. Dennis Becker (his only friend on the force), Angel Martin (Rockford's former cellmate in prison), Beth Davenport (his attorney who frequently has to show up and bail Rockford out of jail) and his father Rocky (occasionally helps out his son when not a trucker.) 3

The typical episode finds Rockford taking on a seemingly simple case that turns into something much bigger, or stumbling onto an unrelated mess while in the course of his regular investigations3.

The show won a number of awards including an Emmy for best drama in its fourth season.

Although it went off the air in 1980, it continues to air in syndication.  The show to this day still has a large following.

 

Sources:           1: http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Garner,%20James

                        2: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0072093

                        3: http://www.rockfordfiles.org/actors/