The beloved ’70s detective
series The Rockford Files got off to
a, well, rocky start, when the show’s first installment, titled “Backlash of the
Hunter,” was broadcast as a telefilm several months
before weekly episodes began airing. As developed and written by series
producers Stephen J. Cannell (later to become the king of the escapist action
show) and Roy Huggins (who previously created the series The Fugitive and Maverick),
the Rockford Files pilot contains
most of the elements that gave the series its laid-back charm. Ex-con Jim
Rockford lives in a trailer on the beach in Malibu, soliciting clients through an
ad in the phone book. Something of an upbeat cynic, Jim expects the worst from
people but hopes for the best. Perfectly capable of holding his own in fights, Jim nonetheless
relies on avoidance, deceit, and trickery, since he’d rather do things the easy
way. His network includes a crass LAPD detective; a squirrelly career criminal
whom Jim met in the slammer; and Jim’s own dad, Joseph “Rocky” Rockford, a
beach bum who handles odd jobs while Jim’s in the field. Most important of all,
the pilot has James Garner in the leading role. Formerly the star of Higgins’
series Maverick, Garner is perfectly
cast as a seen-it-all smartass who endures humiliating setbacks as often as he
scores unlikely victories.
Alas, the pilot movie tells a convoluted, inconsequential, and uninteresting story that’s delivered by way of one-dimensional characters and laborious plotting. The pilot also lacks the avuncular presence of series costar Noah Beery Jr., who played Rocky in the weekly episodes. (The pilot’s Rocky is Robert Donley, a capable actor who cannot match Beery’s avuncular flair.) As for the actual storyline, it’s a whodunit about a hobo killed at an LA beach, and Jim’s client is the hobo’s daughter, Sara (Lindsay Wagner, who later toplined The Bionic Woman). Clues eventually connect the murder to an old crime in Las Vegas, but the actual case is secondary to what the pilot reveals about Jim’s methodology. He cheats during fights. He lies to authorities and informants and suspects. He cuts deals on his day rate because clients are few and far between. “Backlash of the Hunter” is frustratingly uneven, though Garner’s charm and the skill of the supporting cast—which also includes Michael Lerner, Stuart Margolin, Bill Mumy, Joe Santos, Nita Talbot, and the indestructible B-movie icon William Smith—compensate for the iffy narrative. Once The Rockford Files found its groove, the series ran for six seasons, leaving the air in 1980, and then resurfaced between 1994 and 1999 for eight TV movies, all featuring Garner.
Alas, the pilot movie tells a convoluted, inconsequential, and uninteresting story that’s delivered by way of one-dimensional characters and laborious plotting. The pilot also lacks the avuncular presence of series costar Noah Beery Jr., who played Rocky in the weekly episodes. (The pilot’s Rocky is Robert Donley, a capable actor who cannot match Beery’s avuncular flair.) As for the actual storyline, it’s a whodunit about a hobo killed at an LA beach, and Jim’s client is the hobo’s daughter, Sara (Lindsay Wagner, who later toplined The Bionic Woman). Clues eventually connect the murder to an old crime in Las Vegas, but the actual case is secondary to what the pilot reveals about Jim’s methodology. He cheats during fights. He lies to authorities and informants and suspects. He cuts deals on his day rate because clients are few and far between. “Backlash of the Hunter” is frustratingly uneven, though Garner’s charm and the skill of the supporting cast—which also includes Michael Lerner, Stuart Margolin, Bill Mumy, Joe Santos, Nita Talbot, and the indestructible B-movie icon William Smith—compensate for the iffy narrative. Once The Rockford Files found its groove, the series ran for six seasons, leaving the air in 1980, and then resurfaced between 1994 and 1999 for eight TV movies, all featuring Garner.
The Rockford Files: FUNKY
