The Rockford Files (TV Series) Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die: Part 1 (1979) User Reviews

Another prison buddy

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 7 October 2014]

Jim Rockford seems never to run out of old prison buddies whom he can't say no to. Look at how much he helps Angel Martin out of the scrapes he gets in. In this case it's George Loros who originally is from New Jersey and had his peripheral involvement with some people in an organization led by Tony Soprano no doubt.

In this case this involves the disappearance of the record producer of rock star Kristoffer Tabori. Tabori has some problems as well as he is the recipient of a palimony suit.

My problem with this one is the same as with the second part. Loros comes off as such a nice guy you can't quite believe him to be part of entourage of a celebrity dealing with security. In fact all he does is moon about another groupie, Marcia Strassman who has also disappeared.

Good but not up to the usual high standards I get from The Rockford Files.

Rockford 'n Roll

[safenoe · 6/10 · 16 October 2020]

Kristoffer Tabori (son of legendary director Don Siegel) and Marcia Strassman (Welcome Back Kotter) guest star in this rock 'n roll themed two-parter. Marion Yue also guest stars. This is one of the few episodes where Jim gets shot, in the leg no less. It's a shame this was one of the last episodes of The Rockford Files, with the series abruptly ending mid-season.

The opening scene indictment of the adverse effects of gorging on bad news speaks volumes.

The Mark of Loros

[zsenorsock · 6/10 · 23 September 2006]

There's a lot of good things in this episode, but for me the performance of the highly touted George Loros as Jim's love sick friend Eddie just weighs down the whole show. And typically for season six of the series, a idea that might have made a good episode gets stretched into a two parter that only kills the pace and adds unnecessary filler.

This time Rockford gets involved in the music business when he's hired by his ex-con friend Eddie to find a missing person for rock giant Tim Ritchie (Kristoffer Tabori--director Don Siegel's son!). The object of Eddie's puppy love is music journalist Whitney (Marcia Strassman, fresh from her role as Mrs. Kotter on "Welcome Back, Kotter"). Jim gets a chance to resurrect his "Jimmy Jo Meeker" character as he tries to get information from a Korean country western singer, Marcia gets to make a remark about her old co-star John Travolta, and we get to see the next to last appearance on film of Lenny Baker as Richie's manager, Ronny Martz. Baker made one final appearance on "Taxi" before dying of cancer at the age of 37.

Rockford's inside joke with Eddie Lo Presti

[iamrockford-56724 · 30 May 2017]

In this episode,Rockford meets up with his old prison buddy Eddie Lo Presti and as they are in the early stages of their banter, Rockford says to Eddie "the last time I saw you, you were in loafers and a trench coat". Funny inside joke on George Loros'previous role as Anthony Boy in "To Protect and Serve" and also the same role in "The Man Who Saw the Alligators" where he was clad in loafers and a trench coat.

Long ride

[ronnybee2112 · 7/10 · 26 December 2019]

I love this show,some episodes more than others. This 2-part episode is disjointed and confusing. And it is far too long. It should have been 1 episode. While it is not entirely bad, there are many much-better episodes of both the 1 and 2-part variety to choose from amongst this fine series. Please watch it for yourself and tell us what YOU think!

Another episode of "Rockford" that presages "The Sopranos"

[btimmer · 31 March 2006]

David Chase shows in this episode some of the themes that he would use in "The Sopranos". In particular in this episode, Rocky is addicted to watching TV news that continually shows bad news, not unlike Livia Soprano.

The episode also brings back George Loros (who also appeared in "The Sopranos") who had been in two earlier episodes as a New Jersey hit man. This time, he plays a good guy, one of Rockford's seemingly endless group of friends who were in San Quentin with him.

The mob plays a role in this two-parter, although just tangentially and the mobster is supposedly a Jewish man involved in the record business, not unlike Hesh (Jerry Adler) from "The Sopranos".

It's only Rockford 'n' roll, but I like it

[stones78 · 10 October 2011]

Let me begin by saying this is another typical solid episode, although slightly longer than it should be, but has great writing and performances as is usually the case with this fine show. This is from the final season, and this is from 1979, and I would also say this episode has more pop culture references than any other show I can recall. Names such as Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, and John Travolta are mentioned, plus there's a few mentions of the word disco, including a few girls on skates roaming inside a rock star's mansion. George Loros, who's a bad guy in other episodes, played a major part here as he teams up with Rockford to help locate a missing man, who happened to be best pals with star Tim Richie(Kristoffer Tabori)and is feared either dead or rumored affiliations with the mob; a reason why this friend of Richie split town is because Richie was dabbling in disco music, which is actually par for the course in 1979, as both Jagger and Stewart were criticized for changing their rock music to a more disco friendly beat. Marcia Strassman plays a newspaper writer, and her performance is about average, as I find her character slightly annoying. There is a hilarious scene with both Rockford and Eddie(Loros), who were both shot earlier, as they swat each other where they sustained injuries in the shootings; this happens because Rockford criticizes Eddie's affection for Whitney(Strassman), who pays him no mind. You really have to watch this scene to give it proper justice.

Intrigue as to what happened to Richie's friend was starting to wane on me, and soon after, Rockford digs up the man's body and for a while no one knows who killed him. It finally comes to fruition that two French brothers, who were seen in an earlier court case involving Richie and his former lover, were the murderers. I don't quite recall the motive, but I'm sure cash was involved. Like I said above, the is a very long and sometimes tedious episode, and I rarely feel this way about this great show; that being said, it's still solid enough to keep enough of your interest, plus include Rocky for some scenes, the Firebird, and some beautiful scenery which makes the episode a solid one, but not the best. Lastly, even though Rockford gets shot in the knee, I bet that James Garner's knee problems were acting up around this time, as he has a very noticeable limp during the latter half of the episode, as knee problems and other ailments caused him to leave the show.