The Rockford Files (TV Series) The Man Who Saw the Alligators (1979) User Reviews

Minimal Spoiler - A special Rockford that bears further investigation

[CoastalCruiser · 8/10 · 23 September 2013]

I'm writing this review because the point of just how terrific an episode this is has not yet been made. There are two fulcrums that this episode turns on. One, it is a near movie length run time at 78 or so minutes. Secondly, it is written by 'The Sopranos' creator David Chase.

David gets to spread his creative wings in this episode thanks to the extra time allotted. You have a mob bad guy who is fresh out of jail, and out to get our beloved 'Jimmy'. OK, big deal. What makes the story great is the large numbers of timeouts we get from the action for pure genius dialog. Each of the extended dialog scenes are gems that run the gamut from hilarity to morbidity. From absurdity to reality. The lines the characters are throwing at each other is the backbone of this episode that only a genius such as Mr. Chase can craft. The two-dimensional characters so typical of TV length stories pop out into 3 dimensions under David's care. We actually get to see the human underpinnings of the super-selfish sociopathic gangsters (just as with The Sopranos).

For some, this episode will run slowly. But for those who like character driven pieces I wholeheartedly recommend you tune in to this one for a special treat!

A Taxing Time for Jim Rockford

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 7 January 2013]

We all dread a tax audit even Jim Rockford who is in a line of work and charges unusual deductions for unusual situations. He's planning a working fishing trip in a cabin with his accountant Sharon Acker. But then Lt. Becker comes by with a warning that George Loros is out of prison and looking for James Garner. Five years ago Garner worked with the police in a sting operation in which Loros got a nasty gunshot wound which gives him a lot of pain. Now why he fixated on Rockford is really not made clear as Garner wasn't even the one who shot him.

Strange are the workings of a criminal mind even one in pain. Loros is determined to gt Rockford and the bosses who as we know don't like unauthorized hits are also trying to stop Loros. Not that they care about James Garner or anyone else nearby if they should be nearby.

So all the parties meet in that cabin where Rockford is stuck with Acker and his old pal Angel. Why is Stuart Margolin there, just playing whatever angles come up. Oh, and all he has is a BB rifle to defend himself.

It's interesting to see how Garner gets out of this one, but this is a nicely paced well written Rockford Files episode.

Soprano's meets the Rockford's David Chase style.

[mm-39 · 9/10 · 26 March 2019]

The Italian American mobster with serious family problems is out for Jim. Jim just had root canals and is drugged up and not ready for The Man Who Saw the Alligators. We see another version of Tony Soprano here with family, mother, and brother issues. The mobster hates, California, nice people, and most of all Jim Rockford! Jim goes in hiding while the Soprano's style family drama unfolds. This wild dog of a man hunts down Jim for revenge and I love Jim's reply nothing going make you feel better I know your kind. When Jim get's the upper hand just like all you tough guys when confronted we see the man melt down with his deep rooted family problems. The Man Who Saw the Alligators under the bed saw his own family. Moving, train wreck of an episode. Everyone knew this episode was going end by in a passive aggressive, then violent way. 9 stars.

60 Minute Version

[zsenorsock · 9/10 · 2 September 2006]

I've only seen the 60 minute version of this episode, but I think its terrific. Interested "Rockford" fans should be sure to check out Woodrow Truesmith's informative commentary on the 90 minute version.

George Loros is back playing the same New York mob hit-man he played back in "To Protect and Serve". It turns out he really wasn't killed in that episode, but survived to serve time in prison. But now he's out and he's sworn to get revenge on Jim Rockford and kill him.

Loros is a lot better here than he was as Eddie in "Only Rock and Roll Will Never Die", but I still don't like his performance very much. He must've saved Garner's life one time or another. I can see no other reason to explain his multiple appearances on "Rockford" and "The New Maverick".

But he is at his best here in a great episode that mixes a lot of comedy (Jim just got his wisdom teeth pulled and is facing an IRS audit) and action. Stuart Margolin is good again as Angel, and even does something uncharacteristic--he goes out of his way to warn Rockford he's in danger! Rocky and Dennis both appear in the 60 minute version, and Rockford is still the main focus of the episode, unlike what Mr. Truesmith reports about the longer, extended version.

A 90-minute Rockford -- if you can find it intact.

[WoodrowTruesmith · 9/10 · 24 March 2006]

The episode, unlike the normal hours or occasional two-parters that filled two hour-long slots, ran in a 90-minute slot. Given the length of network TV shows at the time, it probably ran 78 minutes. For syndication, the 52-minute Rockfords were cut to 44 minutes (by contrast, today's network shows are about 41 minutes long -- nearly one-third of each hour is advertising.) This longer-than-usual episode was cut to shreds to make it an hour episode. Fingers crossed for a full-length release on the Season 5 DVD.

SPOILER BELOW...

"The Man Who Saw the Alligators" resurrected the character of hit-man "Anthony Boy" Gagglio (played by a truly scary George Loros, more recently Ray Curto on 'The Sopranos'). Anthony Boy had been shot to death in an earlier episode, "To Protect and Serve", but in this episode reference was made to him surviving with a lot of surgery, so that he is now required to make frequent trips to the bathroom.

Rockford and his fetching accountant repair to an isolated mountain cabin to prepare for an IRS audit. Jim is also recuperating from dental surgery. But his luck continues downhill with the arrival of Anthony Boy and his erstwhile partner Syl, now bent on revenge for Rockford getting them shot and arrested. Rockford is actually a secondary character this time around, as the story centers on Anthony Boy, and his betrayal by his little brother and his mother...to mob boss Joseph Minette (Joseph Sirola, nasty as always). Minette doesn't want Anthony Boy stirring up trouble -- so he plans to wipe out EVERYBODY at the cabin.

A funny, chilling and tragic Rockford episode, with its theme of maternal betrayal a foretaste of writer David Chase's later series, 'The Sopranos.'

George Loros is an underrated actor

[TomSunhaus · 9/10 · 30 July 2023]

This episode is another 'Anthony Boy' one. The melodrama is about family. Shows like this exemplifies what makes Rockford Files watchable. What makes drama are characters & their interaction. "Why did you shoot at him." "Because I thought I would hit him, meatball." Classic.

Stephen J. Cannell has chase scenes, but the show is made because of characters & their interaction. The pilot show had another actor for Rockford's dad, but Noah Beery Jr made the character real. Stuart Margolin was a constant gem as Angel Martin.

The location of the show was important part of the activity. Another reviewer stated the show was weighed down by certain activities, but the pacing of this episode was excellent & it covered a lot of ground. There were multiple threads to the plot & all were handled adeptly.

Tax 101

[safenoe · 6/10 · 29 September 2020]

George Loros resembles Javier Bardem from No Country for Old Men in this special Rockford Files episode that has a focus on revenge and tax. Who would have thought? This episode isn't for everyone, especially those who aren't into the prosaic tax deduction discussions that Rockford engages in at the end.

Question About the Trivia Note

[barneyo · 29 October 2007]

Maybe I'm reading it wrong. The trivia tidbit left about this "Rockford" episode says that rains were preventing the completion of its filming, as well as that of the first episode of "B.J. and the Bear" which was to air the same night, and that NBC decided to expand both to 90 minutes each. How do you catch up on delayed shooting schedules by increasing the shows' lengths?

I do see an announcement today at TVShowsonDVD.com that it is the 90-minute version of this episode that is being released on the fifth-season DVD.

Trekkies may recognize guest star Sharon Acker from the "Star Trek" episode "The Mark of Gideon," which had the memorably eerie scene of her and Kirk witnessing a bunch of faces looking at them through a window of a seemingly otherwise deserted Enterprise from outside the ship.

Rockford's not all there

[feindlicheubernahme · 7/10 · 23 January 2024]

It's only through reading the other reviews here that I realised that this episode was originally feature-length. The version I've just watched came in at just under 49 minutes. No wonder there was a disjointed feel to it, with certain things seeming skipped over.

For example, no explanation was given as to why Anthony's old boss sent his men after him. I didn't even know if they wanted to kill Anthony or take him back to the boss. Or why his brother had betrayed him. And it was only pretty late on that I realised that Jim and his accountant were an item. Most scenes showing us that they were a couple must have been left out (although I had wondered why she was so conscientious in her job as to invite a client to her weekend retreat in order to finish their tax returns!)

The one thing I am clear on is just what an irredeemably awful b*stard Angel is. Breaking into Jim's trailer to use his phone and order a luxury meal on his tab! Would he have carried on for the whole time Jim was away if he hadn't been interrupted? Probably. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I can't even begin to fathom why Jim is supposed to regard the little creep as a friend.

This is a hard one to score, since I know I missed out on at least half an hour of the original content. But still, even a shredded Rockford Files is better than a full episode of most other shows, so I'll go for a 7. Hopefully, one day I'll get to see the full version.

Too much melodrama

[DrSivana · 4/10 · 14 January 2012]

Sub-par for a Rockford Files episode. It was too long, and the long drawn-out scene at the cabin was something that would have fit in better in the 1966 Adam West Batman (balpeen hammer anyone?) than in the street smart Rockford Files. Weighed down by badly done armchair psycho-drama. Garner's acting, and the acting of the crime boss and the Italian mother make the best of an over the top script.

I saw the 78 minute long DVD version. By Season Five, they seem to be running out of new types of car chases, so we have more of the mind game stuff. Sometimes it works (the episode "Guilt" is an example of that). Also, because Rockford is a PI who has to be in mortal danger regularly, mafia types show up a lot by Season 5. Often it works, this time it didn't. Still worth watching.

A different gator

[stones78 · 20 July 2012]

This episode is slightly against the norm, at least the latter half is, as it's basically filmed in a secluded, wooded cabin as Jim and his accountant go over tax returns. The brightest aspect is the performance of George Loros, who plays "Anthony Boy" Gagglio, who just got released from prison and is looking for a vendetta against Rockford, who supposedly helped put him in jail, although this wasn't fully revealed here. Loros is a frequent Rockford guest star, and he plays Gagglio perfectly, and really looks the part. I was also impressed with Joseph Sirola(Jospeh Minett)and Penny Santon, who plays Anthony's mother, and the 2 share a delicate scene together when discussing her wild son. As usual, Rockford and Angel have great chemistry together, as Angel flees to the cabin after getting smacked around by Anthony; Rocky and Dennis have a scene or 2 for good measure. In the beginning of the episode, Rockford had major dental work, as he had wisdom teeth pulled, and I have to wonder if James Garner really had dental work done during the filming, as he is a consummate professional. The ending may want the viewer, such as me, wanting a bit more than we got, as Anthony finally catches up with Rockford, and the other goons finally catch up with Anthony, and Angel's prized car, Lucille, gets blown up by Rockford as a diversion to escape, which they do. This is still a decent episode, but not close to my favorite.

Different versions

[catdaddyd · 5/10 · 31 July 2021]

The hour and14 minutes version was on Netflix when they had it. Peacock streams only a 51 minute version, WHY? And of when it is shown on tv it is cut down to 40 some odd minutes. Can't really add anything else that the other reviews have stated already.

Filled out and slow

[mikemikeparker · 4/10 · 22 August 2022]

They had to expand it to 90 minutes and it shows. Inconsequential chat and totally incidental characters spoil what could have been entertaining. Even Garner can't save this...