User Reviews

I don't think any television series introduced so many wonderful characters to the viewing public as did The Rockford Files. Even in a brief appearance Paul Fix who mentored James Garner in the private eye business gets himself killed when he gets to deep into something he does not understand, he's got both Jim Rockford and Richie Brockelman to back him up. As Sam Spade said quite eloquently, when your partner is killed you're supposed to do something about it. How much more true for a mentor.

It's quite a caper that Garner and Dennis Dugan jump into. An LA county supervisor is under the thumb of a conglomerate planning to build a giant computer complex for storage of information for nefarious purposes. Jackie Cooper is putting the thing together, but Philip Sterling the supervisor stands in the way until he's blackmailed. Another supervisor Howard Hesseman is fighting a rear guard action.

Pernell Roberts plays Cooper's muscle, but in a really memorable role is Simon Oakland who is yet another private eye trying to muscle in on the action to wherever it leads. He has a memorable confrontation with Garner and Dugan.

This together with the usual Rockford Files regulars makes up for a memorable episode.

This episode provides a shockingly clear example of how far we as a society have shifted on issues of privacy. "The House on Willis Avenue" aired in 1978. Now, we sign our soul away for the right to store everything about us on our preferred ecosystem. The episode ends with a warning that clearly we didn't heed. "Our liberty may well be the price we pay for permitting this to continue unchecked."

This is perhaps the best Rockford Files I've seen to date, the writing is simply superb, the actors are terrific, and the overall vibe of this episode is riveting. There's a fine ensemble of guest stars, including Jackie Cooper, Pernell Roberts, Dennis Dugan(plays Richie Brockelman), Howard Hesseman, and Simon Oakland, yet they all have important roles revolving around some kind of a computer community(if you will) and the murder of a fellow private investigator who happened to be Rockford's mentor; Jim is suspicious because this man hated the freeway, although the dead body turns out to be some poor guy involved in a truck accident, and the mentor(Tooley)was killed and buried somewhere else. Tooley was hired by Al Steever(Hesseman)to do some research on a shady councilman, who has some dealings with the shady Garth McGregor, brilliantly played by Cooper, who's the mastermind behind the computer development. This episode took place in 1978, and I wonder if the term "computer" had a negative connotation as this evil technology to take over the world; at the end of this episode , there's a short statement or public service announcement regarding how the "computer" may in fact exist and is legal, which I found very odd but I digress. This was a 2hr segment and the finale of season 4 and it was a great conclusion and I'm certain Rockford fans were excited for season 5. There were some fine moments that I need to mention such as the serious discussion Jim and Richie have about being an investigator, and Jim tells Richie that you have to satisfy yourself before you please anyone else; you don't normally see Jim open up like that and it was a welcome sight. Simon Oakland was great as the feisty Vern St. Cloud and much reminded me of his Tony Vincenzo character from Kolchak: The Night Stalker, as he's very easy to lose his temper. The scenery was once again very impressive as there were many beautiful shots, even from a helicopter which kidnaps Jim. Speaking of James Garner, he limps very badly throughout the latter half of the episode(Rockford gets injured diving under his trailer); he had several knee operations because of the Rockford Files, and I bet the limping was indeed due to a bad knee and coincidentally this was the final episode of that season. If I had any qualms, one would be how easy Jim and Richie escape the computer compound and avoid getting shot by security, especially how badly Jim limps, and there's not enough of Dennis. Lastly, I found it difficult to believe that Richie could simply sneak on a helicopter even though there were others on there. That being said, this was as close to perfect as any episode I've seen, and there's many great moments and actors to make this a quality show.

The Rockford team not only gives us a great fictional thriller but a look at how private companies in the 21st century would in fact invade and control our lives. That makes this extended episode entertaining and disturbing at the same time. Great interplay with "Son" on solving this thorny mystery.

This is a great 2-part episode with a lot of great characters. Simon Oakland does a fine job playing the obnoxious Vern Saint Cloud. Pernell Roberts from Bonanza plays an understated part as a bald bad-guy boss of a shady operation. As others have pointed out,Dennis Dugan as Richie Brockelman is the only flaw in this multi-faceted gem of an episode. A little tweaking of the Richie Brockelman character would have worked wonders to improve the whole show. His annoyingly childish 'gee whiz' demeanor gets old quickly and eats up a lot of valuable screen time. If they simply had the Brockelman character talking less it would be a big improvement. It was indeed a treat to see Paul Fix,(from 'the rifleman') play a small part. Chances are you will recognize many of the other actors also. All-in-all it is a great 2-part episode of a truly great tv series. Watch and enjoy !

Like many of you, I'm a long-time fan of both The Rockford Files (1974), and Mr James Garner.

One of my favourite things about modern tech, and, in this case, streaming television, is it lets us watch WHAT we WANT, WHEN we WANT.

I love getting in bed, and watching an episode, or two of this great show.

This episode is - outside of the story, from a purely 'what the future predicts' and a 'retro-tech' POV, both interesting, and - in some parts, funny (Not 'jokey-funny, but 'look at the old 'high tech', and a little portentous view of things to come.

All we know at the beginning, is the episode's 'baddy' is a man named Garth McGregor.

As most people under the age of about 30 can't imagine life before WiFi, and all which modern tech brings, this episode was an attempt to show what can happen in an unchecked future.

It brings a smile to my face, as I write this, on my MiniPad,, I'm holding in my hands something FAR more powerful, With far more memory, speed, etc, than ALL of the MASSIVE 'Iron side's (old massive computers) seen in this 2-part story.

It's also funny to see Mr McGregor's 'secuity' staff acting as if they're above the law, and can do whatever they want (just from that opening scene, where an older investigator's calling his client from a roadside payphone, when the 'security' guys (led by (Pernell Roberts), come barrelling down the road, jump out of their cars - guns drawn, and acting as if they'd just grabbed a mass murderer, with an semi-automatic in his hands.

These 'security' goons are employed by the afformentioned Garth MacGregor, who's a former detective, himself, who's always had a fixation on gadgets, and tech, and power (NO, I don't mean electrical current, rather, the power from having Info at one's fingers in an instant.

The 'high-tech' secuity' talk's so ludicrous, and the most comtrived-soumding 'codes' (as an example, when Vern St Cloud's in the deceased's office, a hidden mic picks him up, and the next shot's of some massive flourescent-lit room, with lots of 'blinkenlights', and typewriter sounds (as old printers used everything, from daisy-wheels, and honest-to-goodness typewriters which have been fitted out with equipment, enabling them to make a printout). Some (70s) suited guy rushes to a phone, when '35679 KLM' lights up. He pushes the 'button' by its name, and rather than seeing what he's got to do on even an old CRT screen, he opens up a teensy-weensy 3-ring note binder, with even MORE lists of 'codes'. When he gets to the name he was looking for ('Joe Tooley OFFICE I NS TALLALATION 1/27. DORMANT SOUND ACTIVATED: PHOME RECIEVER'), then he gets up (wearing a phone headset) from sitting in front of what looks like the control board of a nuclear power plant, and spout;, 'we just got a kick-off one of the dormant mics, number (then, in a cheesey-soumding, police dispatch voice); '3-Fiver, 6, 7, niner, L, W'.

The person he's rattling this ...'verbiage' to (Pernell Roberts) starts saying, that party's been 'neutralised'...(I have to remind myself, this ISN'T a cheesy spy film), ... we'll notify a unit', old SansaBelt slacks says, 'that's a wilco'.

Just tack on, 'good buddy' to that last bit, and I can hear the song, Covoy playing,to all CB radios.

Again, I remind myself, I'm currently holding a device which could easily blow that room -sized mass of 70s 'computer' away, and it fits in my hand, with NO cables (though I'd love to grow a 70's pornstache, and wear the groovy Dacron blazer (in mid-70's brown, of course).

The 'funny' aspect of this episode, is ALSO the important point of this story about privacy, it's VALUE, and that it must be safe-guarded (esp from Garth McGregor types), from being eroded - as well as freely given - away.

Sadly, MOST people under the (afformentioned) age of 30 barely grasp this, whereas, we ALL understood that we've each have a RIGHT to our privacy., and its importance to maintain it. The under 30's crowd would probably just say, 'privacy, schmivacy - just let me be famous on f-book'.

I don't like giving spoilers, and with this episode it's especially hard to do. If a person under the age of 30 watches this, the 'clues' Rockford comes across won't make ANY sense, but, to those of us older, as well as those of us who remember things like going to high school computer class, which had its 'network time', and writing all those codes ('10 if 1+X = > than..., Then GOTO....'), printed out on those huge, lined greenish-timted sheets of perforated 'computer paper', we 'get it'.

Things like Jim and Richie going into an abandoned house, and finding a MASSIVE industrial-size a/c unit IN-side, and taking up practically half of a room, and all those MASSIVE power cables (yes; the 70s was the age of REALLY BIG stuff for computers) will more than likely register a 'huh?' out of so-called Millenials.

I guess it's only fair to dislike both Jackie Cooper, and Pernell Roberts, as the characters they play are just oily and sleazy.

The biggest negative thing about this episode is one thing; it's the first appearance of Richie Brockleman (Dennis Dugan) on this series.

I've never liked Dennis Dugan on this show. He NEVER stops babbling, and it's supposed to show how 'clever/cute' he is. Ugh. Even worse is when he also is in another Rockord 2-parter, in which his father - played by terrific, Harold Gould - and ostensibly, they're supposed to be Jewish, and quotes his dad by descring someone as a real 'gonstemacher'. When he relays this to Jim, he says - in his awful, SOUTHERN twang, 'thats Jewish for...'😳. Excuse me?!?! There's NO SUCH LANGUAGE, dummy! It's Yiddish, but Dugan wouldn't know anything, because he's a dreadful actor (and director).

This episode's believed by many, to be a back-door introduction of the character Richie Brockleman,.and whenever Mr. Dugan (who plays - annoyingly - Brockleman), is on-camera, he acts like nails-on-a-blackboard, and my concentration's shot. I'm stuck between being highly bothered by his incessant babbling, about utterly unrelated topics, as well as his 'gee- whiz, golly-willickers' put-on naievté, that I can't focus on those nuggets which might be revealed in amongst his bleating. Brockleman gets irritating very fast, and as this episode is twice the length of a standard episode, this means, it gets hard to watch - just due to him - very early on.

The ultimate point of this story has to do with privacy, it's VALUE, and that it must be safe-guarded (esp from Garth McGregor types).which makes watching this episode a really interesting, topical plot - years ahead of its time, all the more infuriating.

tt0688073], I think isn't just a good episode, but, considering when it was made, it foresaw by approximately 30+ years the kind of invasive practices which our modern lives are constantly under, a very important episode.

Sadly, now, more than half a CENTURY later, MOST people under the (afformentioned) age of 30 barely grasp this, whereas, we ALL understood that we've each. RIGHT to privacy., and its importance to maintain it. The under 30's crowd would probably just say, 'privacy, schmivacy - just let me be famous on f-book'.