"The Rockford Files" Quickie Nirvana (1977)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Meta Rosenberg

Writers:

David Chase (writer)
Roy Huggins (creator) ...

TV Series:

"The Rockford Files" (1974)

Original Air Date:

11 November 1977 (Season 4, Episode 7)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Rockford ends up regretting allowing an eccentric hippie woman to use his address temporarily, when her ex-boss sends a pair of thugs after her to retrieve some money he put in her care. |

Plot Keywords:

Police | Detective | Answering Machine | Sting Operation | Malibu

Cast

James Garner	...	Jim Rockford
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford #2 (as Noah Beery)
Joe Santos	...	Police Det. Dennis Becker
Valerie Curtin	...	Jane Patten / Sky Aquarian / Gopi / Hester
Kip Gilman	...	Alan Bayliss (as Kenneth Gilman)
Quinn K. Redeker	...	Gordon Borchert (as Quinn Redeker)
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Maceo Prentiss
Lawrence Cook	...	Dijan (as Larry Cook)
James Luisi	...	Lt. Doug Chapman
Patricia Pearcy	...	Pavarthi
Carl W. Crudup	...	Eddie McBrair (as Carl Crudup)
Elta Blake	...	Ann
Aesop Aquarian	...	Cook
Michael Grandcolas	...	Panhandler
Dan Magiera	...	Conga Drummer

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions

Quotes:

Jim Rockford: This is Jim Rockford. At the tone leave your name and message, I'll get back to you.
Anonymous Caller: [Beeep] Hey, I saw your ad in the classified: three African goats for sale. I keep calling and all I get is the machine. Is that a typo in the paper our what?

Reach for the Sky

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I guess every show in the late 60's through the 70's had their hippie/Krishna new age show and this is "the Rockford Files" one.

Jane Curtin's cousin Valerie plays Sky Aquarian, a new age Krishna type who has been meditating and staying in a shelter on the beach. After Jim agrees to let her have her last check from the latest job she's been fired from sent to her at his trailer, he suddenly gets in the middle of a murder, blackmail, and a missing $30,000.

The script is very typical David Chase, and that's a good thing. He always does a good job showing the motivations and reasoning of the bad guys (which probably lead to his work on "The Sopranos"). He also gives us some nice moments like the one where Rockford takes on a couple of goons who are following him (one with the name Dijion!) and actually seems to manage to beat THEM up fora change, and then disengage their parking brake so their car rolls away downhill!

Curtin is actually pretty solid as Sky. She's pretty whiny, but that's the character. Watch her scene in the trailer as she subtly plays the whole thing constantly standing a little too close to Garner--in the body bubble as it were. This episode seems to be loaded with writer- actors. While Curtin wrote a lot of TV episodes including the "Marfy Tyler Moore Show" and the Robin Williams movie "Toys", Quinn Redecker, who plays Gordon co-wrote the story for "The Deerhunter" among other projects.

Dennis finally gets out of the office and out of running plates to work an undercover stakeout. He demonstrates his marksmanship while Jim figures out a way to use the stakeout to his own advantage (more inspired writing!). While Sky actually takes a cookie from Jim's cookie jar and doesn't notice the gun!

The final scene though it defines Sky's character, comes off a bit flat. She's given up her Krishna lifestyle and now changed her name to Hester and is now deeply involved in a Jesus cult with a charismatic preacher. It just feels unsatisfying, especially after the clever ending involving the stakeout.