Private eye Jim Rockford (James Garner) begins his
final year--not counting eight TV movies--by trying to hang on to
his beachfront property ("Paradise Cove"). That matter settled with
the aid of legal eagle Mariette Hartley, with whom Garner made a
series of Polaroid commercials, Rockford proceeds to tangle with
socialite Lauren Bacall ("Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs"), rival
P.I. Tom Selleck ("Nice Guys Finish Dead"), and
hooker-turned-hairdresser Rita Moreno ("No Fault Affair"). All his
closest companions are along for the semi-final ride: Angel (Stuart
Margolin), Lt. Becker (Joe Santos), and his father, Joseph (Noah
Beery Jr.), who continues to needle his son about settling down.
"When I'm ready, Rocky--not when you are," Jim replies.
Of
the season, standout episodes include "No Fault Affair" due to
Moreno's Emmy-caliber work (and despite a bad makeup job) and "Just
a Coupla Guys," which writer David Chase (The Sopranos)
presents from the point of view of two small-time hoods. Throughout,
Rockford enters the 1980s in the same business-casual style he left
the '70s. The times were changing--note the references to disco and
new wave in the Chase-penned "Only Rock 'n' Roll Will Never
Die"--but Jim remained the same, which is as it should be, except
the network landscape was also changing, and the meat and potatoes
of The Rockford Files was giving way to flashier fare.
Consequently, the sixth year tops out at 12 episodes. Though
"Deadline in Parma" appears as the series finale, it's a fairly
lackluster note on which to conclude six great years. Fortunately,
the set as a whole serves as a welcome reminder why Rockford will
always be one of America's favorite TV detectives--humble,
chivalrous, and decidedly un-quirky--they just don't make 'em like
that anymore. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
