The Rockford Files: Season 6

Description

As the final season of The Rockford Files comes to DVD, say “goodbye” to the five-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning series that earned 18 nominations during its six-year run! James Garner returns as ex-con-turned-private-eye Jim Rockford – the role that earned him the Primetime Emmy Award. Join the wisecracking Rockford as he dabbles in the world of the elite, flirts with an old flame, and takes on the mob in the series’ last – and most exciting – season. This must-own three-disc set, available for the first time, includes all Season Six episodes and features incredible guest stars, such as Tom Selleck (Magnum P.I.), Michael Des Barres (Nip/Tuck), Larry Manetti (Magnum P.I.), and more! Intelligent and entertaining, it’s no mystery why The Rockford Files remains the most celebrated detective show of its time!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