stones78 Review of Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Waterbury Will Bury You

The Rockford Files: Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Waterbury Will Bury You (1977) Season 3, Episode 13

Sticks and Stones and Rockford

[7 July 2011]

This clever episode has many familiar faces you should notice, like Simon Oakland, Cleavon Little, James Karen, and Val Bisoglio and it revolves around a plot causing the private detectives to lose their licenses, and we later find out that a large company named Waterbury is behind the scheme. Rockford is hired, and after some hard work, uncovers the unusual plot to discredit these poor guys trying to earn a living; one of them works in a shoe store, and another is collecting unemployment and has fallen on hard times. Oakland is his usual funny and boisterous self, although Little was more subdued for much of the latter half of the episode, which was curious; Bisoglio shows up about halfway and unfortunately gets beaten to death, which visibly upsets Rockford. I thought the diversion the 3 men create is a great scene to get inside Waterbury to steal a file which eventually gets the company in serious trouble. In what may be the best moment of the series, watch as Rockford's Firebird smokes a Corvette as it does the famous 180 which leaves the other car with the thugs in the dust. This is a very solid episode and the show is running more smoothly than the earlier seasons.