The Jersey Bounce (6 Oct. 1978)

Wrongly accused of beating a man to death, Jim discovers the best legal advice he can find is from disbarred lawyer John Cooper.

Director:

William Wiard

Writers:

David Chase (teleplay), Roy Huggins (creator),

Stars:

James Garner, Noah Beery Jr., Joe Santos

Cast

Episode cast overview:
James Garner	...	Jim Rockford
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford (as Noah Beery)
Joe Santos	...	Dennis Becker (credit only)
Sorrell Booke	...	Wade G. Ward
Greg Antonacci	...	Eugene Conigliaro
Gene Davis	...	Mickey Long (as Eugene Davis)
Luke Andreas	...	Arthur Nodzak
Bo Hopkins	...	John Cooper
Elta Blake	...	Celeste
Jim Scott	...	D.A. Cowan
Doney Oatman	...	Dawn Nodzak
George Planco	...	Cop
Tony Brande	...	Judge Carmine Rossi
Walter Olkewicz	...	Mac Amodeus
Paul Teschke	...	Carl Gibbons

Storyline

Wrongly accused of beating a man to death, Jim discovers the best legal advice he can find is from disbarred lawyer John Cooper.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1978 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 30, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Roy Huggins-Public Arts Productions, Cherokee Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Eugene Conigliaro: [Brooklyn accent] Hey, you wanna do the number? Cuz I'm ready! C'mon! C'mon!
Jim Rockford: [sneers] How about that. Harry Misanthrope.
Eugene Conigliaro: [ignorant of Shakespeare] Are you by any chance referrin' to anybody who's present here in the festivity?

User Reviews

Time to fly the Coop

The most notable aspect for me in this episode is the introduction of Bo Hopkins as John Cooper, who plays Rockford's sidekick and potential attorney. Beth is mentioned a few times as leaving the firm, as Rockford is charged with a murder of someone he supposedly threatened, although he didn't commit, and he seems apprehensive of his appointed attorney, who's played by Sorrell Booke(you'll remember him as Boss Hogg), who has other cases and a monster movie on his mind. The 2 "Joisey" guys annoy both Rockford and Rocky with their noisy(rhymes with Joisey)parties and general annoyances, which include one of the bums tossing a rock at Rocky and bloodying his temple, for which I felt sorry for him as he did nothing but walk inside his house with his groceries. To make a long story short, the 2 guys murdered their party guest in order to impress a local mob boss; I believe this guy was assaulting his girlfriend, and she turns out being the sister of the mob boss. I can't say that's a motive I've ever heard anywhere else, so I give the 2 guys credit for at least trying.

A scene worth mentioning is when Rockford and Coop talk with this clearly abused woman, and as she tells her story about her late boyfriend, she also mentioned that he knew of someone who knew the Eagles(rock band), who were very popular during the run of the Rockford Files; I link this show and the band, because when they disbanded around 1980, this show ended too. Coincidence? I do like Coop and there's a cool scene where he and Jim share a beer at some bar discussing the case; even though he mumbles a bit when he speaks, I think they do share some chemistry. Lastly, when they talk to a girl impregnated by Conigliaro, she says something about when she saw him dancing, she knew he was Italian, which is funny because I'm Italian and I can't dance.