CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: December 6, 2005 Distributor: Universal Home Entertainment Cast: · James Garner · Joe Santos · Noah Beery Jr. · Stuart Margolin · Gretchen Corbett Grade: B+
After James Garner was Bret Maverick, he played a character named Jim Rockford on a television series called The Rockford Files. On that show he played the wry and no-nonsense private investigator and ex-convict, who received a full pardon for a crime of which he was innocent. Each week on the show Rockford encounters adventures fed to him by the “client-of –the-week” guest star or stars, who mostly just picked his name from the phone book, and they lead Rockford into danger kicking-and-screaming. Rockford, above all, wants everything to be resolved peacefully, but it seldom, if ever, came to that of course.
The show ran on NBC from 1974-1980 and was Garner’s 2nd successful series, following Maverick. Universal Home Entertainment has now released season one of The Rockford Files on a 3 double-sided DVD set, and much like the Rockford character it is a no nonsense collection, bereft of much in the way of special features. All the extras are on side A of disc one, with all the rest of the space on the discs being filled up with the 23 episodes that made up the first season of the show. The only feature worth noting is a recent interview with the aging James Garner where he discusses the Rockford character and his memories about the show and some of the people he worked with. This DVD collection isn’t about the features, it is about the episodes.
I became a fan of the Stephen J. Cannell and Roy Huggins created (and written by Cannell and a host of others) series after it entered re-runs in the early 1980’s. I never watched it during its initial run, but I quickly fell in love with the show and its cast of quirky characters that included Emmy winner Stuart Margolin as Rockford’s shady buddy, Angel, Joe Santos as Det. Dennis Becker, Rockford’s friend at the LAPD who helps him out of trouble repeatedly, Noah Beery Jr. as Rockford’s father, Joseph, and Gretchen Corbett as Rockford’s attorney, Beth Davenport. All of the actors play off of James Garner comfortably and their characters have some flesh to them, and that they aren’t one dimensional is a credit to the show’s writing.
As gentle as The Rockford Files seems now as we look back on it in these days of “extreme” and “edgy,” it does carefully examine certain moral issues and is fair with them. I also find it interesting to watch the use of locations in and around Los Angeles. It is interesting because I can see the changes that have happened since the days the show was produced when I go driving in L.A. And speaking of driving, James Garner did much of the driving on the show and yes, that was him in that Firebird doing stunts. He has been a professional race car driver and he helped teach the other stunt drivers on the show how to do some of the maneuvers.
This DVD collection exists to promote the episodes of the show, and not extras, so if you’re not a fan of The Rockford Files but are interested in seeing the show sans commercials, then season one is the place to start. If you are already a fan then this is obviously a must own collection. I was a bit surprised when I went back and watched some of the episodes, as I haven’t seen the show in quite a few years. Jim Rockford was more than capable of holding his own in just about any situation, and this ability to adapt serves him, and us, in good stead as we enjoy his exploits. The show has dated qualities, but enough contemporary relevance remains to make The Rockford Files worthy of the time you may spend watching it.
