The Rockford Files: Why the Spin-Offs Failed

this is Jim Rockford at the tone leave your name and message I'll get back to you for nearly 50 years TV's greatest private eye has been meaning to return our calls on NBC's comedy drama The Rockford Files celebrated by fans and critics alike The Rockford Files redefined both the detective genre and what viewers should expect in a lead protagonist but beyond its charismatic star the show also produced many memorable Side characters some of whom were given a chance at spin-off Glory with three backdoor pilots and these aren't your typical backdoor Pilots mind you in stark contrast to most potential spin-offs these episodes are actually pretty good we've got big stars medium stars car chases Nazis getting punched and a famous TV writer's first draft of his magnum opus but each backdoor pilot was not bound for similar success who hit their Mark and who disappeared in a cloud of dust find out on behind the back door pilot The Rockford Files oh I can see you're going to keep us in [Music] stitches when it came to investigating crimes on 1970s prime time there was only one sector you went to private coming out of Vietnam and Watergate with a cynical eye towards The Establishment TV viewers were ready to put their trust into problem solvers outside of America's corrupt institutions if the police won't help us we'll simply have to take the law into our own hands yeah yeah a lot of people are doing that these days tvpi were a dime a dozen during the Ford and Carter years bringing us names like Canon banich Barnaby Jones and Harry O but one private eyes stored above the cheap suits and cold coffee to become regarded as the greatest television pi ever Jim Rockford indelibly played by James Garner who you working for well that's confidential Larry kirkoff created by producer Roy Huggins and serial litterbug stevenh J canel The Rockford Files was a Friday night staple on NBC where it earned heaps of critical Acclaim 18 Emmy nominations and five wins thanks and large part to Garner who defined the role with every man charm and World weary wit you can't be that stupid oh sure I can I've been doing stupid things all day the polar opposite of the Macho Noir hean willing to dive head first into danger Jim preferred the path of least resistance free of threat turmoil and day-to-day annoyances there aren't any Heroes they die young see his gun is deadly mine's in a cookie job an excon willing to skirt the law if it was morally correct Rockford's methods would Place him in the neutral good slot between Columbo's lawful good and Dr Richard Kimble's chaotic good he joined the likes of Elliot Gould's Philip Marlo and Darren mcgavin's Kack as a beaten down investigator who always broke even at the bottom why don't you go home and sleep it off yeah yeah right right I go sleep it off his fee $200 a day plus expenses which even before adjusting for inflation would make him one of the highest paid Freelancers today nevertheless Rockford lived a very frugal life in a Malibu Beachside Trail then again it's within walking distance of a dynamite taco stand so expect a hefty bump on Zillow as iconic as the character was so was his ride a Sierra gold Pontiac Firebird espre a car Rockford brandished like a guns Slinger twirling a revolver the cheaper sibling to the flashier Firebird formula the espre model was specifically chosen by Garner to reflect Rockford's humbler persona but like the character it hid much more because what Garner drove during production was actually a Firebird formula remodeled to look like an espre which the actor took full advantage of Garner was considered one of the best stunt drivers in Hollywood and popularized the stylish J Term later redubbed the Rockford canel was so worried about Garner's aggressive stunt driving that production tried replacing him with a series of stunt drivers but nobody could match Garner's skills keeping him in the driver's seat you all right all right good and what's a road trip without a killer track the Rockford theme composed by Mike post and Pete Carpenter hit number 10 on the Billboard charts in 1975 and even went on to win a Grammy and it's popped up in everything from news radio hi this is Jimmy James I'm not in right now but leave a message I'll get back to you to the all Marlin wayin sibling movie sex tuplets take it away Jack [Music] joining Garner on the recurring cast first and foremost is Noah beer Jr as Jim's dad Rocky often comprising the funniest and most heartfelt moments in the show the scenes between Garner and be have a charm and Spark rarely seen between TV Fathers and Sons Beth's in jail Beth what's she in jail for 3 days we also have Sergeant Dennis Becker Jim's only tenuous connection to the LAPD often called upon when things get too hot hey Dennis I drop by to ask you no are you going to let me finish whatever it is it's no I got a couple of tickets to Lakers game tomorrow night no then there's Beth Davenport Jim's lawyer and occasional girlfriend it' be a lot easier if I could look at you when I'm talking to you not for me but a good Pi is nothing without his wretched Hive of scum and villainy and nobody fills that role better than Angel Martin Jim's old prison buddy and the proposition is in a real kind of gray area legally speaking but the Rockford Rogues Gallery runs deep and contains some pretty recognizable faces like Rita Moreno Tom cich and two guys who were given a chance at their own backdoor pilot during Rockford's thirdd season you and me like that like that huh right both introduced in season 2 Isaac Haz as Gandalf Fitch and Lewis GSA Jr as Marcus Hayes were immediate hits among fans Gandy Fitch a former debt collector turned xcon ruled the cell block he shared with Rockford whom he gave the caddy nickname Rockfish I never did like you Rockfish well you were never too high on my list either on the other end of the spectrum is Marcus Hayes Jim's former parole officer and frequent Slinger of lies and exaggerations oh come on Jim what did I ever do to you what did you ever do to me okay now forget that one time fortunately his were more believable than his hairpiece together with gandy's muscle and Marcus's mouth not to mention the collective Swagger of 20 men this team up would make for a formidable backdoor pilot in season 3 and surely a wrecking crew of this caliber would earn an equally bombastic episode title something explosive something compelling something matrimonial yes if ever an episode title needed a helpful thumbnail image this would be it but it's by Design as both the title and the wedding related scenes are red herrings meant to keep the viewer guessing as for our a story it kicks off with Gandy looking for a new line of work after the bar he's bouncing for starts cracking down on unnecessary roughness hey Rockfish you know what you need yeah a seamstress a partner but being the Lone Wolf he is Rockford politely declines I just don't work that way I like to keep my business quiet and looks to enlist Pi entrepreneur Marcus Hayes as gandy's new benefactor after a winning first impression I don't like him Gandy and Marcus embark on their new mismatched partnership in the back of Marcus's extended trial period limo I like your style Gandy direct forthright no misunderstandings yeah I know I got pluck right and it's here that Gandy comes up with a new nickname for Marcus just another Gabby hm Gabby and Gandy could that have been a punch your title hard to say but that raises an interesting question can a button down smooth talker ever collaborate let alone cooperate with a fiery Loose Cannon and could that pairing make for an entertaining Dynamic both the Rockford files and Tango and cash answer with an emphatic yes with Gandy off his back Jim continues working on a County Probate case tracking down the air to a six 00,000 fortuneo a case that Gandy inadvertently blabs over lunch some guy named o Hur he croaked and left $600,000 in a suitcase and he's got a brother Marcus considers the business potential and tries to beat Jim to locating the air with a 40% finders fee as its own reward but little do any of them know that the mobs also in Hot Pursuit as the money technically was theirs and if they happen to kill the guy who helped steal it all the better like open world RPG each party takes their own unique path towards completing their mission for Jim's plus 10 Charisma and resourcefulness it's a scam involving Memorial flowers I suppose I should look at the accounts and see what you've been supplying and uh I may want to make a change course course the mob chooses Espionage and Taps the probate office phone as for Marcus and Gandy their dungeon crawling Adventure unfortunately leads them into a Bonafide Nazi Tavern a chilling reminder of the prevailing sickness of theme restaurants Marcus does his best to talk his way out of the situation but that's not what any of us want to see there we go yes before Indiana Jones or Swing Kids The Rockford Files tapped into the near Universal love of seeing Nazis get pummeled getting the info they needed Marcus and Gandy flee the scene and eventually make their way to the aonomus Polish wedding where their target is booked as the wedding accordion player and as a bonus we get a glimpse of the wedding song trends of 1977 don't forget the song no I won't I've got it it's raindrops it's their song it's everybody's and BJ Thomas catches a stray The Jig Is up once all three parties converge toward the oneman band and the room turns into a mark Brothers comedy with a wheezing accordion wedding cake fumble and allout bedum among the well-dressed Elite Gandy again helps clean up the trash and finds Marcus's secret off button how do you shut this dude up put him to sleep and everything but with little room to explain their way out of this one our three Heroes end up in the back of a police cruiser just like an Attack the Block I watch you always arrest the wrong people Marcus relates to Jim how Gandy would make a useful partner to which Gandy replies shut up Gabby Gabby and Gandy sounds like a puppet show okay fine we'll go with Polish wedding but misleading titles aside Gabby and Gandy are an electrifying pair and make for a great watch and with lots of screen time for the star the episode feels less like a back door pilot and more like your weekly Rockford episode it currently stands at a strong 8.3 on on IMDb which makes NBC passing on the spin-off a tragic mystery in an essay on the failed spin-off Nathan ward of crime reads put it best at a time when black actors on crime dramas often played pimps Street Walkers drug dealers or addict informance this attempt at a spin-off series with two black detectives was ambitious that Gabby and gandi was not picked up is disappointing this was gossett's Final appearance on the Rockford files but Isaac Hayes would return The Following season for the episode Second Chance where he guest stars alongside real life duet partner Dion Warwick wonder if she saw that coming I think that anyone watching this show can benefit from speaking to a psychic Rockford's next attempt at a spin-off required an unusual comingling of TV universes in the fall of 76 NBC aired a TV movie pilot called Richie brockelman the missing 24 Hours co-written by Steven canell and Steven botko of Dennis Fran's but Fame this Standalone 90minut special was an attempt to launch a series focused on an eager 22-year-old upstart Pi played by the then 30-year-old Dennis Dugan centered around brockman's first case involving an amnesiac Suzanne plette the special earned only middling ratings and wasn't picked up for a series well uh however as months went by there was still some interest in the character so in season 4 canel and NBC decided to bring brockelman into Rockford's world for a 2-hour finale entitled the house on Willis Avenue and fair warning if you're a fan of hey that guy drinking games you will need a stomach pump by the end of the episode because hey there's Adam cartright hey there's Johnny Fever hey there's Perry white hey there's kak's boss hey there's Mrs Elkins hey there's Paul Fifer's grandfather for the sake of everyone's liver just watch for fun the episode begins at the end of a level five snooping Mission by private investigator Joe Tuli stumbling upon something big he teases a bombshell Discovery with his client Al Stever played by WKRP DJ and Head of the Class teacher Howard Hessman but you ain't going to believe it it's spooky and like some sap on the xfiles who's learned too much he's immediately apprehended by agents of Unknown Origin then we get the first of many badass onliners from Pernell Roberts that's nice page one right out of the book but before you can say Miranda writes we're off to Joe tuli's funeral filled with all the pis he's mentored through the years I you do Rockford getting ready but something doesn't sit right with Jim about the way Tulie died Joe got hit by a gas truck on a freeway he never used the freeway Rockford is not the only one who smells something fishy about tuli's death enter Richie brockelman who uses a rock forian ruse to gain access to tuli's coroner report the two cross paths during their investigations and Richie tells Jim of his skepticism about tuli's cause of death somebody was hit by a truck not necessarily Joe Tuli is the thing that's enough to push Rockford into a situation he usually tries to avoid a team up meanwhile the agents who na Tuli also catch fellow Pi Vern St Cloud snooping around tuli's office he's trafficked to an underground parking garage and interrogated by the evil data security CEO G McGregor via a wireless carto car polygraph a feature that didn't come standard until the 1982 kit Michael that man is lying not now kit after a sob story about hunting for leads and a double hernia they decide to let him go Q pernell's acid bite and when they fix that hernia be sure they don't let any guts fall out you're running kind of short as it is Trapper John M Dam team Rockman makes its way to the Willis House address and stumbles upon an industrial AC unit which you know shouldn't be there look Mr Rockford I'd really like to work on this with you I mean either you let me in or I do it myself but we do things my way all right hey just lay it on the line I'm all yours boss but Brown coat and peach fuzz dig too deep for the comfort of the private security goons who try to take the duo out permanently Richie holds his own as Jim's understudy and evades the henchmen but cracks begin to form in our leads already shaky Alliance what do we do now I don't know why don't you come up with something for a change you need a mentor go back to college find an old criminology Professor but Richie doesn't want an academic he wants Rockford and dropped some hints for Jim to adopt him like a surrogate Pi Dad I just think that sometimes it's good to sit down and and and talk things out like like you and I have been doing we then get to see McGregor's full capacity for evil using his data Center's master key to plant false arrests and allegations into Rockford's police files yes sir Mr Rockford looks very unsavory facing a life on the lamb Rockford decides to use himself as bait to get face to face with the enemy I have a hunch that if he grabs me I'm going to learn a lot more than Vern St Cloud did Rockford triggers the alarm in tuli's office and Pernell Roberts reminds us he missed his calling as a oneliner action hero oh I can see you're going to keep us in stitches detained and held against his will aboard a luxury Chopper Rockford learns about tuli's fate he's currently involved in the Citrus industry he's fertilizing a Grove in Northern California and although this is a backdoor pilot for Dennis Dugan James Garner gets the big soapbox speech regarding Data Mining and privacy overreach that's as relevant today as it will be when the Sun Burns Out private security companies with private police Powers companies who employ ex cops and FBI agents what are you up to Mr McGregor by nearly two decades this episode beats 1995's the net as the god they were talking about this even then Benchmark our whole world is sitting there on a computer you're tapped into 15 or 20 computers you're in the private information Mark your DMV records credit cards you can add or subtract from somebody's credit rating you can infer somebody's a dead beat Social Security medical history stomp somebody into the ground using computer technology as a club it's all right there just begging for somebody to screw with they've done it to me and you know what they're going to do it to you to my knowledge none of this is illegal well it sure is hell ought to be that was one too many pokes at the private security Hornet's Nest welcome to the citus industry Mr rord but thanks to Richie's ability to hide and be real quiet Rockford commanders the chopper and flies them to the mountains I guess people underestimate you all the time don't they son oh yeah I count on it that night the duo infiltrates the Subterranean facility where everyone's private records are held and Duke their way out when their cover's blown punching not one not two but three night Watchmen underscoring Rockford's Hardline awab stance Richie yells fire in the crowded foot chase calling all police all fire units in deadrock Canyon there's a monstrous fire and is all ready to squeal once they arrive back home Jim Rocky Richie and Stever hear about the Swift arrests of McGregor and his goons on the expository news arrested with Mr McGregor were Derek Hallstead and France Gunderson both heads of large European security firms and a warning about the danger if Data Mining and privacy overreach go unchecked but why does a company install a secret underground computer center right in the middle of one of the world's largest cities here here high fives all around Jim invites Richie over anytime for a pi topi chat well looks like you found a place to come and talk son oh what the hey Pop this looks like the beginning of a beautiful shared time [Music] slot Richie Brockman private eye premiered in March 1978 in Rockford's time slot Garner and Dugan recorded a few TV spots to give fans the heads up my friend Jim here is letting me have his time slot for 5 weeks well not exactly letting me have it I sort of took it anything you want to say go right ahead it's your time slot not exactly just for 5 weeks basically it's Rockford year 1 the series had the junior detective taking on foes like Vegas con artists and corporate embezzlers the recurring cast included Hill Street Blue Star Barbara Boston and Clark grisell's dad John Randol Mike post and Pete Carpenter returned for the Show's theme song but billboard bound it was not unfortunately without a hit show to pair with it NBC aired only five episodes of Brockman to dismal ratings and to this day the show isn't available outside of bootleg recordings come on while episodes of Richie brockelman occasionally aired within Rockford's syndication package the Quasi spin-off achieved neither the popularity nor the Acclaim of the show it used as a launching pad which is a shame because Dugan is great as brockelman a character that could have easily been Rockford's Scrappy do if Dugan didn't play the role so well but Dennis Dugan did okay since he went on to direct tons of Adam Sandler movies come to think of it Richie Brockman does sound like the name of a Sandler character of the three backdoor pilot attempts the house on Willis Avenue was the most successful on paper but there's one more that carries far far more cultural significance cell and company made one last spin-off attempt in what would penultimately become the second to last episode of The Rockford Files and scripting duties were given to none other than the mighty David chase the future Sopranos Creator was already a season TV Scribe by 1979 having written for kch and the Robert Wagner Pi series switch and with 18 Rockford scripts under his belt at that point Chase had the chops to make his 19th episode of success which he did kind of because what might have died on the vine in the Rockford Universe would one day change the TV landscape opening on a studio back lot meant to look like the East Coast it doesn't take long for this Rockford episode to feel a little off and sure enough Chase is treading familiar stomping grounds and introduces a covs coffin that'll have to wait to be addressed but here's where we meet up with our potential breakout Stars two guys Eugene and Mickey what kind of guys you ask you tell them there's a couple of guys out here can help with this problem he's having here's a couple of guys took care of a very unpleasant matter for you couple of guys ain't afraid to jump in with both feet get their hands dirty couple of guys who would like to be remembered so it's settled then as with the previous back door it's Mickey and Eugene are returning characters having been introduced in the season 5 episode The Jersey bounce also pinned by Chase but for this outing our leads have given up on their violent Coke binges and instead opt for a Kinder gentler brand of scumbag more suitable for Prime Time quite frankly my feelings are hurt here no hey that's just the way I feel about it Mickey and Eugene are gangster traines hoping to one day break into the lucrative world of organized crime to put it more cruy these guys wish they were Paulie and Christopher oh but being neither wheelers nor dealers their efforts are less racketeering and more merry K see that Hong Kong it's better than that Japanese stuff too bad they were only a couple of decades shy of a real hot seller Mickey laments their non-status in the criminal underworld we operators in this neighborhood we ain't connected upright we don't have respect but Eugene suggests they climbed them off a ladder by fixing a little vandalism matter plaguing the former Crime Boss Mr Lombard we get the creeps responsible and Bing we have lumbar attention and if you figure Bing just means bada bing but faster it sounds like a solid plan they get the low down on a car seen scoping out Lombard's house from their own version of Huggy Bear and go on a stake out to catch the prankster throwing dead animals onto Lombard's yard and as luck would have it they spot the carcass toss and hoodlum and Tackle all 80 lb of him off his Schwin it's all over you jack inside they deliver the little delinquent to Lombard who no longer deals in scrapes but in scripture Sports and the scriptures yes the former mob boss might have a couple of marbles loose Allah Uncle Jr can I have some ice cream wait there okay reinterpreting what it means to be a Godfather Lumbard informs our two mukes he's no longer in the mob business I don't wield power anymore he wields his power over me finding themselves back at the Bottom Rung Eugene throws a pity party that only paully walnuts can put into perspective I work like a slave and what do I get nothing you ever feel like nothing good was ever going to happen to you yeah and nothing did so what but things go from blah to worse for our Junior Goombas as the kid they tackled is none other than Anthony Jr the misfit son of the north Jersey mob boss Tony Anthony you might be Vaguely Familiar with their rebooted versions where where is he Lear these things of course protoc Carmela defends the boy in dialogue that could have easily been dubbed by Edie Falco he is 12 it is an age of transition transition he's going to transition is way R into military school if he keeps this up and he means it too either in this life or the next I look like a total jerk off all yelled out Tony forgives his son and orders a more physical message for Lombard Mickey and Eugene but wait aren't we forgetting somebody don't worry this episode seems to have two got to be kidding me Jim Rockford is quickly dispensed of in this episode spending the majority of the first half offc screen at a police station after his car and belongings were stolen at the Newark Airport stole a car finally out he makes his way to the home of the client he was meeting with Lombard's daughter Renee just in time to really get involved with the ace story a and deliver the episode's key line welcome to New Jersey in the aftermath Rockford informs Renee that he prefer to keep his nose clean and intact so he stepping off the mob tied case hitting another brick wall with Lombard Mickey and Eugene decide to take their lead on the shooters car to Tony leveraging themselves back into the mafia mix Tony Martine has missed the north Jersey we could come out of this in very strong position and find themselves face to face with the father of the kid they manhandled Mr Martin let me say first that we didn't know thanks to some fancy moves and a limo doing 15 on an empty road the unwise guys make a quick getaway but let's check back in on Rockford see how he's huh I guess those Boardwalk t-shirts don't lie give me some help but the feud between Lombard and Tony reaches a boiling point when Tony and his men kidnap Renee and we learn it's all to pressure Lumbard into convincing the church to bury Tony's mobbed up cousin Vincent in a Catholic Cemetery typical family dispute realizing the jam Lombards in Mickey and Eugene tried kidnapping the corpse in an effort to make a hostage exchange for Renee they're caught in the act by Tony and his henchmen step back from my cousin and a brawl ensues Tony they're both down Jim and Lumbard arrived with the police and toe and Renee is rescued safe and sound and the episode ends with Mickey Eugene and Jim wondering what Adventures lay ahead yeah anything can happen absolutely that's how guys like us operate with an Abrupt cut to Black it's up to the viewers interpretation as to what happened next Eugene did get made eventually actor Greg antonacci went on to portray Phil leotardo right-hand man Butch deconcini in the final season of The Sopranos he been done before and it was wrong then as for the backdoor pilot NBC decided to pass on just a couple of guys and took them on a nice quiet boat trip but that's not to undercut the sheer novelty of it all a darkh humored drama about a mafia family from the pen of David Chase decades before The Sopranos that alone deserves one curious watch still saddled with a mediocre 6.2 on IMDb The episode has the lowest rating of the entire Rockford series incredible you hear that incredible it's no coincidence that the least loved Rockford Files episode has the least amount of James Garner but it's also a reflection of how revered The Sopranos is that its earliest Incarnation looks even worse when mentioned in the same breath kind of like its follow-up up but David chases said he learned an invaluable lesson while working with Steven J canel remarking your hero can do a lot of bad things he can make all kinds of mistakes can be lazy and look like a fool as long as he's the smartest guy in the room and he's good at his job that's what we ask of Our Heroes a character formula that could easily apply to both Jim and Tony The Rockford Files ended its initial run on January 10th 1980 and made several returns in the mid90s in TV movie form but with Garner older and creakier due to a life of harsh stunt work not to mention the loss of Noah be as Rocky the revivals never achieved the same spark as the original series as opposed to the literally unwatchable reboot starring dermit M roon that NBC attempted in 2010 unwatchable both because the pilot never aired and it's reportedly terrible the show was set to Star M roon as Rockford with Alan Tok as Dennis Becker and Bo Bridges as Rocky but the series was quickly killed after a disastrous pilot with blame ranging from poor direction to a miscast lead but the real reason for a Rockford failure Remains the Same the less James Garner you have the less people are interested well me too why don't we just wrap it up and go home nearly a half a century since it premiered The Rockford Files continues to justify its status as one of the greatest shows in television history able to go toe-to-toe with the prestigious TV it helped Inspire thank you now if he'd just return our calls I'll get back to you thanks for watching subscribe to Atomic Abe and click the notification Bell to be alerted when new episodes are released like behind the back door pilot check out our video on these seven potential spin-offs that Murder She Wrote tried to make stick I made a deal with the TV people

Channel: Atomic Abe

Views: 100,685

Keywords: The Rockford Files, James Garner, The Rockford Files reboot, The Rockford Files streaming episodes, Dennis Dugan, Dennis Dugan The Rockford Files, Richie Brockelman, Richie Brockelman Private Eye, The Rockford Files spinoff, 1970s TV

Id: k0Hu3WM6Hto

Length: 31min 59sec (1919 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 15 2023