200 Dollars a Day Plus Expenses - A Rockford Files Podcast

You gotta be a fan of the podcast to get that title. We've got the FBI. We've got the ATF. We've got the LAPD. We've got USCG. Sadly no BB King, BBC or Doris Day. We've got the DIA, wait, not the CIA?  Well whatever, but we've got an alphabet soup of agencies this week. Classic bungling federal agencies in a 70s show, a clear sign of the times. The selling bad weapons thing, that happened, mo...

Jon often calls me a fashion faux pas.  I have no idea whey, but it fits with the episode.   It's probably also true, but that's neither here nor there. Rene Auberjonios!  WK Stratton! Erin Grey! Directed by Ivan Dixon! I've used too many exclamation points in this post! Yeah a pretty good set of 70s guest stars. Making fun of fashion is fun, especially in 1979. I almost always use...

I'm happy with this week's title, in case you were wondering. Lots of Sopranos refugees this week. Coop is always welcome, I like Bo Hopkins. Jim's working under cover for the National Investigator which is clearly standing in for the National Enquirer. A couple of nice pulls by Jim this week, one to The Day The Earth Stood Sill and one sort of meta one to Garner's character in The Great Escape. A...

Tried something a little different with the title this week. Boxing! Mary Frann! All boxing trainers look like Kenneth McMillan. Hey, I should also mention that's Rocky Echeverria, you may know him as the way more white boy name, Steve Bauer.  It's his life, and his name, but Rocky is just a better name, change it back! We've got cons inside of cons this week. A big news story this week was V...

Had to stick with the theme for the title. We get a lot about multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder as it is now called).  The three faces of Eve and Sybil were FICTION. Unlike most two parters, or ones that were double episodes, there is no padding in this one. Kathryn Harrald, the actor for Megan, eventually did become a therapist!  I wonder if this episode h...

Look, I couldn't help it. But, a blind character with a PhD in psychology, even if the actor is not blind and it was 50 years ago, means a lot to me. I will likely talk a lot about the importance of representation in media (As I have noted before, I write these things before we record). Much of the performance in Part 1 (this was originally a 2 hour episode) by Kathryn Harrlod as Megan is remarkab...

As I oft note, not all of my 'clever' titles are good, or even clever. I adore this one.   We've got Chapman with no power. We've got a little Dennis. We've got Jim GETTING PAID. We've got this amazing show not giving a shit that two of the main characters in the story are a gay couple.  It's never mentioned, it is not played for laughs (as it was at the time, I'm looking at you Three's...

Tough title this week. Some 'problematic' as the kids say, portrayals of 'unnamed scary Arab culture' in this one.  I suppose that's a sign of the times, but it was a bit weird.  This is an occupational hazard of looking at 50 year old media.   There's also a lot of BS psychobabble (that is, to be fair, portrayed that way) in this one.  I approve. This has nothing to do with th...

Again, some of my 'clever' titles are better than others. Special thanks to friend of the show Chris Cooling who went down a rabbit hole with Steve. Oh man, so much meta commentary on 70s detective shows. Oh, also, join the 70s detectives Facebook group , it's fun! I love Hector Elizondo in everything he is in.  And that is a lot of stuff, everything from the West Wing to Rockford, hell, he w...

We're Canadian, we don't kill people... ( unless they really need it) . Another fun one this week. Jon is a little sick. Hey Dennis becomes a lieutenant! I like the deputy chief character. The Captain Crunch thing was real, and then the show didn't run with it, I wonder what happened there? Steve and I have had oral exams, they can be, fascinating. Wait, a car chase without the firebird? As God is...

Easier bad title this week. Oh man, a Lance White episode. I sort of wish Lance was spun off rather than Magnum, but I dunno about the character driving a whole series. Sellick is great in this one. Of course so is Jimbo. I think we can call Pope JP 1 a friend of the show. There are a lot of clocks in this episode. Not PIRATED CASETTES! We have to handle this ourselves.... Lance White, walking Lin...

Toughest title to come up with in a long time. David Chase doing Soprano things. Indeed, I wonder if these guys know Carmella and Tony. It's always good when horrible people do bad things and then you get to watch their fall. They are hilariously stupid (just like a crime family David Chase invented years later...) There's eventual talk of a spinoff! Plus, you get Jacques Renault from Twin Peaks b...

I didn't want to use dead here, just so as not to scare my Mom... ABE VIGODA. ROBERT LOGGIA. RITA MORENO! Hell of a cast this week. Also, the title is a pretty nice joke. Hey, in one scene Steve and my expertise could both be brought to bear. Herb Tarlek? Dennis gets a lovely necklace as does Rocky. mp3 download

Tough title for the opener of season 5. Wait, 100 episodes? Ahh the rise of country music in the late 70s. Willie Nelson started to get some mainstream radio play, as did quite a few other country artists at this time.  It was disco and country for a time. Obvious Jimmy Dean parody is obvious. Rocky trucking! No Angel, no Dennis... Some solid hijinks this week as well. A couple of genuinely f...

Oh and Katie Sackhoff is there rather than Dirk Benedict. Yup, there is a pilot order for a reboot of our show. By our show I don't mean the podcast, though Jon has kind of weaseled his way in... We discuss our thoughts on the reboot. Is it a good idea? Should it happen? Will it happen? Who are some actors who could play Jimbo, Angel, Rocky, Beth etc? Oh, Happy New Year, and back to the regular ne...

It's between seasons. It's the Christmas season. We're doing a Christmas show, if you don't like it, well, first off, bah humbug, secondly, what did you pay for the podcast? Steve, Jon and I welcome some guests this episode: Those guests are, in no particular order:  Anthony Marco from  Best Episode Ever . Jeff Andrews from the  70s TV Detectives . Chris Cooling from the  Forgo...

It's between seasons 4 and 5 of Rockford. It's between seasons 1 and 2 of Baa Baa Black Sheep. That means it's 1978! We decided to invite a couple of our friends on to tap about 1978 in tv, including Best Episode Ever 's Anthony Marco and the 70s Detectives' Jeff Andrews. Boy NBC sucked then. Lots of stuff sucked then. Jon reminds us that WKRP did start then! Habs won the cup, so there's that. Mos...

  Oooh, we're going off the board for 50 Jack. After season 4 of the Rockford Files wrapped, Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, premiered.  It lasted only 5 episodes sadly. Many people believe that Richie was introduced in 'The House on Willis Avenue' but that's not true!  Indeed, on October 27, 1976, NBC aired the made for TV movie pilot 'Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours' and w...

Time for one of our season wrap-up episodes. This of course makes sense as we just finished season 4. Hey, I buried the lede, it's Jeff from the 70s TV Detectives! Some people don't like Richie Brockelman, I don't understand these people. What episodes were the best? Which ones weren't? Where does Rockford fit in in the 70s detective pantheon?  We ask Jeff. How did the show mirror the 70s? mp...

These titles are getting odder.  That said, I like this one. Oh man, part 2 moves quickly. 'Hi Vern, getting any?' Steve informs me that is the sam dispatcher as in Adam 12! I still chuckle at Trapper John playing BJ. The thing of it is is, that's a wilco. 'Do you have a 38 automatic?' We saw the actor who played Sgt. Coopersmith like two episodes ago! The title card at the end, wow. Don't po...

There are four 'that's a wilco's' in this episode.  When I say 'episode' I'm talking about roughly the first half of 'The House On Willis Aveenue', which might be my favourite episode, other than Boy King, the other Richie Brockelman episode. RICHIE! Some people don't like Richie.  I don't understand these people. That's a wilco. The thing of it is is. I love how Richie sees Jim as a her...

Oddly proud of this title. Ooh, ooh, Rockford goes to College! Steve and I were not profs in the 70s, but we know more about universities than most people... Lady, telling your dead boyfriend's mom 'at least he found love' is not the flex you think it is. Some general late 70s anti Arab paranoia played for laughs in this one.  That said, the laughs are eventually at the expense of the bozo se...

Lame title. How often are my titles non lame? This is the sort of almost trope that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest got going. Nurse Ratchet is three people... I have some expertise here, well, I'm not *that* kind of psychologist, but, I know some stuff through osmosis from my colleagues.  No seriously, I do know some things.   A couple of great Star Trek actors this week. Pop culture in...

I'm oddly pleased with this title. Steve tells us about North by Northwest. This is a sort of odd episode. I like the 70s angle of corrupt but also inept federal agencies, Watergate break in anyone? Jim has some good lines. The goons, hired goons, are great this week. I think our main character hangs out with Joy and the rest of those jet setters at the Hotel California.  (Yes I can always fi...

I'm much prouder of this title than I should be. A bit of behind the scenes this week, I didn't edit out our pre show banter! Great guest star week. Oh I wish that I had Jesse's girl. BUS CHASE! These people are like the jet setters in that Mad Men episode . The difference is that the people in that Mad Men episode had some class.  These people just have some crass.  Thank you. I feel ba...