I have to disagree with the previous reviewer about the casting of the book author; she wasn't meant to have any chemistry with Jim! I thought she was great as the superstar anti-feminist author who really is a bit of a hypocrite. One thing that consistently impresses me about this show is that it avoided being preachy about the issues of the day. The only token argument we get is Rocky having his say about women and Jim responding with his more progressive opinion. (LOVE YA JIMBO!) Then any "argument" is completely dropped in favor of showing the characters (the author and her husband) as human - she's preaching the "total womanhood" lifestyle while not doing her own cooking and cleaning, and he's genuinely distressed about their relationship while also cheating on her. No right or wrong, just Jim Rockford ambling through the mess they're all making. Unfortunately as far as the mystery goes, I solved it as soon as the brother came on screen. No suspense there.
6 Reviews
Guest starring Claudette Nevins
safenoe29 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Claudette Nevins, who passed away only recently (Feb 2020) guest starred in this episode. Claudette played a feminist author who escapes various attempts on her life. I like The Rockford Files, a series I grew up with. Great to it live on through reruns. Interestingly, American architect legend I.M. Pei is mentioned by Jim in this episode.
Selfishness wears many outfits....
ronnybee211229 June 2021
At heart,this story is about a selfish lady author that is riding high by surfing a wave of fame and fortune by playing a role of a 'reformed ex-radical feminist' during a time of big societal change. It doesn't take long for the viewer to see that this is one selfish,complex,and mixed-up lady! Much of what she does is self-serving and is calculated around getting publicity for her next project, ie. More money,more fame,more literary acclaim,etc.
She is not above using theatrics, dramatics, subterfuge,lies of ommission,...(all the old standbys!) in order to keep things moving her way.
(Other people need to help her or get out of her way!) Wild episode.
She is not above using theatrics, dramatics, subterfuge,lies of ommission,...(all the old standbys!) in order to keep things moving her way.
(Other people need to help her or get out of her way!) Wild episode.
Never judge a book...
stones789 July 2015
This is one of the few episodes that I would've never guessed the ending, or even the middle, as it was very well written, and had some surprises along the way. Some of the faces include Claudette Nevins, who I thought was average, Ed Nelson, who I thought was great, Arlene Martel, Arthur Wilson, and Donna Baccala, who didn't do that much after this. We get a few nice shots of the beach, the Firebird, and a few cool scenes with Dennis and Rocky. I think the writers of Columbo might have "borrowed" the opening scene from this episode, which has a famous female writer addressing a group of women, with Rockford being the only male in attendance; in the Columbo episode, he was the only male listening to another famous author, played by Ruth Gordon, but I digress. The writing was so good here that you may not know who to sympathize with, or which person is really the evil one. How they manage to add twists and turns in just under an hour is beyond me. I would recommend you try and catch this whenever you get the chance.
Not bad but formulated.
mm-3923 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Trouble in Chapter 17 is a watchable episode. There is an author worried about attempts on her life. There is many plot twists, and a double life. Rockford hates domestic cases and the Trouble in Chapter 17 shows why. A annoying client, and even more annoying husband. A few plot twists with the surprised ending was predictable. The characters, ending etc was on the formulated side with flat characters and a too cut and dry ending. I stilled liked it. 6 out of 10 stars. Not a re-watch episode tho!
The Write Stuff
zsenorsock3 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Juanita Bartlett has written a very good mystery here about Ann Louise, an author (Claudette Nevins) who hires Jim because she thinks someone (feminists who hate her book--"Forever Feminine") is trying to kill her. Jim suspects she's faking the whole thing for publicity, but then her agent is killed and its a whole new ballgame.
While the mystery is actually pretty good and there are some comedy moments in this episode (when Ed Nelson first approaches Rockford, he punches him in the face for apparently no reason!) I think the problem with this one is the casting of Claudette Nevins in a role written for "The Maltese Falcon's" Bridget O'Shaunessey (Mary Astor). That is a woman who piles one lie on top of another without hesitation as she runs her little game. Just don't buy Nevins as the character. And there's no chemistry between her and Garner either.
In fact, Garner seems really angry when he catches on to her con. Rockford generally appreciates a good con, but this time he's angry about the way she's run it and the innocent people that get hurt. It goes way beyond the usual disdain he has in these situations. He does have an amusing moment at the beginning as he walks into a book lecture with an entire hall full of women and his scenes with Ed Nelson seem comfortable, but the stuff with Nevins just falls flat which sinks the whole episode down to the level of a standard detective show.
While the mystery is actually pretty good and there are some comedy moments in this episode (when Ed Nelson first approaches Rockford, he punches him in the face for apparently no reason!) I think the problem with this one is the casting of Claudette Nevins in a role written for "The Maltese Falcon's" Bridget O'Shaunessey (Mary Astor). That is a woman who piles one lie on top of another without hesitation as she runs her little game. Just don't buy Nevins as the character. And there's no chemistry between her and Garner either.
In fact, Garner seems really angry when he catches on to her con. Rockford generally appreciates a good con, but this time he's angry about the way she's run it and the innocent people that get hurt. It goes way beyond the usual disdain he has in these situations. He does have an amusing moment at the beginning as he walks into a book lecture with an entire hall full of women and his scenes with Ed Nelson seem comfortable, but the stuff with Nevins just falls flat which sinks the whole episode down to the level of a standard detective show.
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