Jump the Shark????
Mitchum22
the latest rube weighing in on Rockford:
[QUOTE ON]
a.. 30 reasons why the Rockford Files stinks: 1) Rocky. What an annoying,
stupid old coot this guy is. Always full of wisdom, always telling everyone
what to do, knows everything about people and the world. He learned it from
driving a truck. If Jim Rockford were a real man, he'd a kicked this jerk
into the Pacific by episode 5. 2) No blacks. OK, no real blacks. Just a
bunch of conniving, ex-con junkies. The RF has more clichés about 70s blacks
than any "Shaft" rip-off. 3) No Jews. Again, except money-grubbing conmen,
like that jerk bailbondsman. And everyone in Hollywood knows that James
Garner is an anti-Semite. That, more than his psychopathic obsession with
money, is what got him in trouble at the various studios. 4) Where's the
Pacific? The guy's got a trailer on the beach, how come nobody ever uses the
water? I have an idea, and it's number: 5) Jim Garner is a fat pig. Thinking
about it now: thank God we never had to see Jimbo in a bathing suit. Just
watch the guy run around and punch people -- his butt is bigger than
Cannon's. 6) The show always has it both ways. Meaning, Jimbo is a loser,
and yet he's smarter than everyone else. Cops, attorneys, newsmen, mobsters,
everyone. Jim Rockford is the smartest man on the planet. THEY WHY IS HE
LIVING IN THAT F**KING TRAILER?!? 7) Ed Robertson wrote a book on the show.
'Nuff said. If that pinhead "did" the show, you know it's got to be crap. 8)
Homophobia. From the very first episode with Jim taunting a much bigger man
about being gay -- then suckerpunching him with a hand full of quarters --,
the entire show was filled with Garneresque homophobia. At the same time,
Rockford clearly belonged with Diehl & Chapman more than he did with Beth.
You just know that Garner and James Luisi were getting it on. 9) The
writing. Has anything from that scummy decade of the 70s dated worse than
the humor on this show? And the point of the humor is always the same -- Jim
Rockford is smarter than everyone else? Oh, yeah? THEN WHY IS HE LIVING IN
THAT F**KING TRAILER? 10) Continuity. The dipshits in this NG have already
pointed out about 10,000 lapses in continuity in the series. In fact, any
one episode has a continuity problem every minute. Guess Jimbo was too busy
being smarter than everyone else to notice. 11) Jimbo's hair. What the f**k
is that stuff? Looks like a dead possum fell on his head. 12) Beth
Davenport. Man, what an uptight pre-Yuppie she is. Poor Jim. Stuck with such
a power-mad tightass. 13) Gandolph Fitch. What was Isaac Hayes doing playing
"Tom" with Fat Jimmy? Fitch is always saved by Wise Rockford when he clearly
had far more street smarts and toughness than Jimbo could ever dream of. Oh
well, the old Plantation lives on at 29 Cove Road. 14) Why didn't the show
make use of Malibu other than Jim's trailer? Very interesting place, Malibu.
Phillip Marlowe & Lew Archer spent much time there. But not
Jimbo-as-in-Bimbo. He'd rather be humping up driveways in Agura. 15) Why was
Jimmy never offed? He lived in a totally exposed area and outsmarted the
most evil aspects of organized crime practically every show. How 'bout
"Requiem for a Funny Box" -- another anti-fag show, btw -- where the old don
has his own son killed because he is homosexual. (Hey, there's a believable
story turn.) He's going to kill Paulie but let Blimpo Jimbo live? Come on!
16) Moronic plots. Just watched the loooong episode with Lauren Bacall and
you know what the damned story hinges on?: the Princess wants to blow Lauren
away because she reminds her too much of high school! Man, not even
"Airwolf" could get away with that one. 17) Jimmy's clothes. I know this is
the 70s, but "Holy Zachary All, Batman!" John Water used Rockford's clothes
to dress the cast of "Polyester". 18) Angel Martin. Honestly now, would
anybody put up with 1% of this guy's shtick? This clown almost gets Jimmy
killed every-other-show and Jim -- who in his heavenly superiority drops
relationships right-and-left -- keeps up the friendship? Yeah, sell me
another one. 19) Guest Stars. How come all the guest stars are more
interesting than Rockford, yet Jim hogs the camera like it's stuck to his
face? And, of course, he's always smarter than they are. (Smarter than
Hector Elizondo?! That'll be the day!) 20) Becker. There is a whole list of
problems I could list surrounding this joker. For now, I'll list one: WHY
THE HELL DOESN'T HE THROW THIS CHEAP FELON ROCKFORD IN JAIL?! Let me put it
another way: WHY THE HELL ISN'T HE KICKED OFF THE LAPD FOR NOT THROWING JIM
THE FELON IN JAIL?! Rockford commits about 27 crimes per show, most of which
Becker knows about. If this were real life, Rockford would be Becker's
huckleberry, stooge, fink. Dennis would have this guy on the string for the
rest of his life, not the other way around. 21) The mob. Dozens & dozens of
episodes about the mob. In Los Angeles, Brooklyn, New Jersey. And what
always happens? Jimbo-as-in-Bimbo outsmarts them all. Never gets shot. Never
gets blackmailed. Never has his dad Rocks-in-the-Head threatened. No sir,
not our Jim! Bleech. 22) Meta Rosenberg. Now all of us here know what the
score really is in the SoCal entertainment business. A business controlled
by, as Oliver Stone once put it, "cocksucking vampires". Well, Meta
Rosenberg is the worst of them all. A lying skank with literally more dead
bodies under her smelly bed than Al Capone. If you believe nothing of what I
write here, believe this one: this is one evil bitch. 23) The geography of
the show. Or should I say the lack of it. The Rockford Files makes no use at
all of California. Where are the mountains? The desert? The water -- as I
mentioned before? Palm Springs? San Francisco? Sacramento? San Diego? No use
of any of this. Why? Because Jim Garner was a lazy, fat pig who didn't what
to go more than 5 miles from his house. Another reason Universal had such
problems with the guy. 24) Jimmy Joe Meeker. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! We're supposed
to believe in this chump as some kind of genius conman?!? His cons are
laughable. He tips his hand every time. (Great example. The episode where
Jim's friend Eddie sets him up for the poker game rip off and Jim sets up a
sting to get the money back. About 40 minutes into that episode, Eddie
recognizes one of the guys in Jim's sting by his cleanliness obsession. Well
guess what? IT'S FORGOTTEN!! The show just goes on and Eddie buys into the
moronic scheme. Something about buying $10 million bucks of stock
certificates.) 25) The driving. Oh Lord, the endless driving. You can just
see the story conferences: WRITER 1: Man, I'm stuck in Act 3. I just don't
see how we can make it convincing that Jim beats the shit out of those 4 big
guys. WRITER 2: Are you kidding? With our audience? WRITER 3: I think #1 is
right. Those 4 guys are too big. WRITER 1: Wait! Let's have Jim beat the
shit out of only 3 of them, then have the 4th one chase him by car for 5
minutes. WRITER 3: Great! And we can have the 4th guy drive his car over a
cliff and have it explode right before commercial! WRITER #1: With Jim
looking into the canyon with that sympathetic yet superior look he always
gets. WRITER #2: Great! 26) Humor. Our should I say "humor" -- 'cause it's
always the same. Stooge says something funny. Jimbo tops him. Stooge cowers.
Jim says something superior. Again, always the same point. Jim Rockford is
God. Yeah, "The Rockford Files" is the most narcissistic show ever created.
27) The Un-Americanism of the show. Everything is shit on this show. Cops.
Doctors. The CIA. The FBI. Teachers. Newsmen. Businessmen. EVERYBODY. And
you know why? 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT AS SMART AS JIM! 28) Locations, locations,
locations. Not only do they not make use of California on the show, but they
use the same locations over and over again. Whether it's that big white
Georgian house or Harry's estate in the Fiscal Dynamics show or Becker's
house or the Wilshire office building -- over and over the same locations
used for different episodes. Do they think we're stupid? Yeah, I guess we
are since we're watching "The Rockford Files." 29) Animals on the show. I'm
no ASPCA freak, but Jim's treatment of the world as his own personal shit
pile doesn't preclude animals either. He kicks them, makes fun of them, puts
them in dangerous situations, then forgets them. And why should he remember
them. He's Jim Rockford! God, Jim Garner's ego is even bigger than his butt.
30) Jack Garner & Luis Delgado. Why oh why do we have to look at these 2
walking corpses every episode? OK, one's your brother and one's your lover,
but please have some consideration for the audience. These guys are ugly
beyond belief!
[QUOTE OFF]
VERY strange(and stupid), don't you think? The poster knows lots about the
show, yet hates it to death. This sickness seems to infect lots of "writers"
over at "Jump the Shark". Is there a name for this disease?
Craig Unkrich
wrote:
>Shit, obviously that website prints anything. Below is a paste-and-cut of
>the latest rube weighing in on Rockford:
>
>[QUOTE ON]
>
>a.. 30 reasons why the Rockford Files stinks: 1) Rocky. What an annoying,
.
<whole lotta bullshit>
.
.
ome consideration for the audience. These guys are ugly
>beyond belief!
>
>[QUOTE OFF]
>
>VERY strange(and stupid), don't you think? The poster knows lots about the
>show, yet hates it to death. This sickness seems to infect lots of "writers"
>over at "Jump the Shark". Is there a name for this disease?
Ya I'd have to agree: VERY. I didn't bother to read the whole thing.
Can't answer your question, but good luck.
Just was thinking (ya, like I am going to debate this nonsense):
Never have I heard of some direct correlation between brains and
affluence. Besides, he liked his (I won't censor myself like the
writer did) fucking trailer. Rockford once put it best: "It has
character".
RNeill22
>show, yet hates it to death. This sickness seems to infect lots of "writers"
>over at "Jump the Shark".
One or two of the points he makes might actually be valid criticisms. A couple
are even ones we've pointed out here ourselves. Unfortunately, he couches it
all in such inflammatory verbiage and surrounds it with such absurd drivel,
that he undercuts those few valid points he did make.
> Is there a name for this disease?
Self-loathing Rockford-phile?
>2) No blacks. OK, no real blacks. Just a
>bunch of conniving, ex-con junkies
He seems to be forgetting about the SWAT team commander in TT Flowers or James
McEachin in This Case Is Closed--among others.
3) No Jews. Again, except money-grubbing conmen,
>like that jerk bailbondsman
If the Brockelman family isn't Jewish, where did they learn expressions like
"gonster-macher?"
>the entire show was filled with Garneresque homophobia.
The gay characters in "The Empty Frame" weren't treated homophobically.
>Beth
>Davenport. Man, what an uptight pre-Yuppie she is. Poor Jim. Stuck with such
>a power-mad tightass.
Does anyone know where I can find power-mad tightass pre-Yuppie like Beth to
get stuck with?
>14) Why didn't the show
>make use of Malibu other than Jim's trailer?
Like Tim Ritchie's mansion and Pepperdine ?
>16) ..... Just watched the loooong episode with Lauren Bacall and
>you know what the damned story hinges on?: the Princess wants to blow Lauren
>away because she reminds her too much of high school! Man, not even
>"Airwolf" could get away with that one.
I think he's right about that one. It is a moronic plot.
>18) Angel Martin. Honestly now, would
>anybody put up with 1% of this guy's shtick? This clown almost gets Jimmy
>killed every-other-show and Jim -- who in his heavenly superiority drops
>relationships right-and-left -- keeps up the friendship?
I think James Garner has raised this same question himself in interviews.
>About 40 minutes into that episode, Eddie
>recognizes one of the guys in Jim's sting by his cleanliness obsession. Well
>guess what? IT'S FORGOTTEN!! The show just goes on and Eddie buys into the
>moronic scheme
That always struck me as an odd glitch, too, but not enough to ruin the
episode.
No point in replying to all his comments. Maybe 3 or 4 legitimate criticisms
surrounded by psychosis aren't worth more than a few seconds consideration.
RN
Someone
news:20030609165343...@mb-m03.news.cs.com...
> No point in replying to all his comments. Maybe 3 or 4 legitimate criticisms
> surrounded by psychosis aren't worth more than a few seconds consideration.
Actually, the list makes for some entertaining reading. Didn't one of
the regulars here post something similar to this a year or two ago under
an alias, as a gag?
I think it may be a joke because, not only does the writer have knowledge
of the series gained only by obsessively watching it (like all of us here do), but
his accusations themselves are contradictory. For example, all the perceived
bigotry of the plots (homophobic, anti-semitic, etc.) are put on Garner, but
I don't remember ever seeing him with a writing credit. Furthermore, he then
goes on to trash Rosenberg for ... being "one evil [jew] bitch" and refers to
shows he think have a homophobic bent as being "anti-fag."
I laughed while reading it, and I think that was the desired result.
dw
"Someone" <som...@somewhere.org> wrote in message
news:vea3cj1...@news.supernews.com...
years ago and after everyone flamed him/her he came clean that it was a
joke.
And no the use of the term "someone" above was not referring to you, as you
are someone also.
RNeill22
>From: "dw" chev...@telusplanet.net
>> I think it may be a joke because,
>> I laughed while reading it, and I think that was the desired result.
Maybe it was intended as "a joke," but I find that's often a chicken shit dodge
some people use. They say something they really do mean and then back away
from it by saying "Ha, ha. I was just joking!"
In so doing, they make the point they wanted to make all along, but don't have
to have the cojones to defend it or come up with the evidence to back it up.
It's the coward's way of making a point.
bcnmason
I agree with your assessment, RNeill. This person is obviously a flake in
my opinion. I'm not even going to bother to comment any further.
Brian
Ovid
"RNeill22" <rnei...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:20030609165343...@mb-m03.news.cs.com...
righter
the
> >show, yet hates it to death. This sickness seems to infect lots of
"writers"
> >over at "Jump the Shark".
>
> One or two of the points he makes might actually be valid criticisms. A
couple
> are even ones we've pointed out here ourselves. Unfortunately, he couches
it
> all in such inflammatory verbiage and surrounds it with such absurd
drivel,
> that he undercuts those few valid points he did make.
The question on my mind is how the hell did this guy watch every episode
(he's shown he knows the series) if he hated it so much? This guy's got
enough problems without us adding to them. I'll pray for his soul tonight.
>
> > Is there a name for this disease?
How about scum-bucketitus?
>
> Self-loathing Rockford-phile?
He goes beyond self-loathing.
>
> >2) No blacks. OK, no real blacks. Just a
> >bunch of conniving, ex-con junkies
>
> He seems to be forgetting about the SWAT team commander in TT Flowers or
James
He seems to be forgetting a lot. Let's try and lead this guy back to the
flock. Repeat after me: Rockford is GOOD. Rockford is GOOD. Etc., etc.
> McEachin in This Case Is Closed--among others.
>
> 3) No Jews. Again, except money-grubbing conmen,
> >like that jerk bailbondsman
>
> If the Brockelman family isn't Jewish, where did they learn expressions
like
> "gonster-macher?"
>
> >the entire show was filled with Garneresque homophobia.
>
> The gay characters in "The Empty Frame" weren't treated homophobically.
Not to mention that Jimbeaux has been a lifelong "freewheeling Liberal" so
he wouldn't be caught dead attacking any alternative demographic.
>
> >Beth
> >Davenport. Man, what an uptight pre-Yuppie she is. Poor Jim. Stuck with
such
> >a power-mad tightass.
>
> Does anyone know where I can find power-mad tightass pre-Yuppie like Beth
to
> get stuck with?
>
> >14) Why didn't the show
> >make use of Malibu other than Jim's trailer?
>
> Like Tim Ritchie's mansion and Pepperdine ?
His story is riddled with holes.
>
>
> >16) ..... Just watched the loooong episode with Lauren Bacall and
> >you know what the damned story hinges on?: the Princess wants to blow
Lauren
> >away because she reminds her too much of high school! Man, not even
> >"Airwolf" could get away with that one.
>
> I think he's right about that one. It is a moronic plot.
Let's not encourage this creep.
>
> >18) Angel Martin. Honestly now, would
> >anybody put up with 1% of this guy's shtick? This clown almost gets Jimmy
> >killed every-other-show and Jim -- who in his heavenly superiority drops
> >relationships right-and-left -- keeps up the friendship?
>
> I think James Garner has raised this same question himself in interviews.
I think it fits well with the character. He's smart, but highly flawed.
>
> >About 40 minutes into that episode, Eddie
> >recognizes one of the guys in Jim's sting by his cleanliness obsession.
Well
> >guess what? IT'S FORGOTTEN!! The show just goes on and Eddie buys into
the
> >moronic scheme
>
> That always struck me as an odd glitch, too, but not enough to ruin the
> episode.
>
> No point in replying to all his comments. Maybe 3 or 4 legitimate
criticisms
> surrounded by psychosis aren't worth more than a few seconds
consideration.
>
> RN
Somebody get him a prescription of cyanide.
Tony DeAngelo
Mitchum22 wrote:
Is there a name for this disease?
>
>
>
I think it's called trolling. As you noted, the weird thing (to me) is
how detailed and looong this letter was. For someone who hated the show
so much he sure managed to watch it a lot, no? I'd be hard pressed to
tell you ANYTHING about the Margaret Cho show, except that she was in it.
No, I think this guy is just trolling. The funny thing is, I DO know
people who don't "get" TRF at all. By and large, they are the same ones
who look at a Picasso and say "he got the proportions all wrong, my five
year old could have done better."
Tony DeAngelo
RNeill22 wrote:
>
>>16) ..... Just watched the loooong episode with Lauren Bacall and
>>you know what the damned story hinges on?: the Princess wants to blow Lauren
>>away because she reminds her too much of high school! Man, not even
>>"Airwolf" could get away with that one.
>
>
> I think he's right about that one. It is a moronic plot.
I disagree. It's a farfetched plot (small town girl-turns into royalty)
but psychologically I think it's sound, and I imagine nobody is more
likely to meet someone like this than a Hollywood exec, for example.
Think about it. This princess is from Simi Valley (which is brilliant,
as there is a double-entendre there) originally. Her best friend from
childood is seemingly always by her side. There is a saying "nobody is
worshipped in his own hometown" meaning it's hard to by totally
awestruck by someone whom you've seen crap his pants, skin his knee and
cry, pick his nose, etc. etc. Lauren Bacall is a constant reminder that
the "princess" is a total imposter, she's actually some small town girl
with a funny last name who probably got in trouble in high school and
had to sneak across the border for an illegal abortion. Every time the
"princess" looks at L.B. THAT'S the person she sees. L.B. is stunned by
that, as we are. But hey, I was stunned when Freddie Prinze shot
himself, when O.J. went ballistic, and when Winona Ryder shoplifted.
RNeill22
>I'd be hard pressed to
>tell you ANYTHING about the Margaret Cho show, except that she was in it.
"All-American Girl" was a pretty good series. The ratings were lousy, but the
characters were fun and the stories amusing. The episode directed by Quentin
Tarantino ("Pulp Sitcom") will probably become a sought-after collectors item.
RNeill22
>From: Tony DeAngelo aj...@adelphia.net
>and I imagine nobody is more
>likely to meet someone like this than a Hollywood exec, for example.
Well, that's a possibility. Perhaps it could be excused / justified with an
"it could only happen in LA" explanation.
Gary Moheban
> I disagree. It's a farfetched plot (small town girl-turns into royalty)
but psychologically I think it's sound, and I imagine nobody is more likely
to meet someone like this than a Hollywood exec, for example.
Yes. The mistake alot of people make when calling a plot "farfetched" is
that they are applying real life criteria to television drama. All TV and
film plots are at least somewhat "farfetched" when compared to real life,
and that's the whole point. If you want to see real life, go sit on a park
bench and watch the world go by. Or rent a documentary.
To me, the criteria should be is it "farfetched" by TV drama standards and
is it true to the overall series and characters? "Lions, Tigers, ..." plot
is not "farfetched" by this definition.
> Think about it. This princess is from Simi Valley (which is brilliant, as
there is a double-entendre there) originally. Her best friend from childood
is seemingly always by her side. There is a saying "nobody is worshipped in
his own hometown" meaning it's hard to by totally awestruck by someone whom
you've seen crap his pants, skin his knee and cry, pick his nose, etc. etc.
Lauren Bacall is a constant reminder that the "princess" is a total
imposter, she's actually some small town girl with a funny last name who
probably got in trouble in high school and had to sneak across the border
for an illegal abortion. Every time the "princess" looks at L.B. THAT'S the
person she sees. L.B. is stunned by that, as we are. But hey, I was
stunned when Freddie Prinze shot himself, when O.J. went ballistic, and when
Winona Ryder shoplifted.
Good analysis! "Lions, Tigers, ..." was not that bad of an ep and I have
always been surprised at the number of people who dislike it. As you
pointed out, the Princess had plenty of motivation to want to kill Kendall,
so the plot was not "farfetched" in that regard. I thought Lauren Bacall
was pretty good as Kendall and I liked seeing her on the show. I enjoyed
Jim's reactions to not fitting in with the blue blood crowd. Plus, isn't
Hollywood full of people from humble beginnings who are now considered
"royalty"? So again, in that regard, the plot was not too much of a
stretch.
A middle of the pack, ep, in my opinion.
Weltanscha the cranky
Yup. He was just trolling. There's no way the guy would know so much about
the show if he didn't like it a lot. Another big clue would be the complaint,
toward the end, about the way Jim mistreats animals all the time. That was
obviously thrown in there to make it very clear the poster wasn't being
serious. It was the equivalent of complaining that the show had too many space
aliens in it. Why anyone took this seriously, I have no idea.
I enjoyed it. Well, I enjoyed it better when he posted it before. After which
he admitted that he loves the show. Check it out in Google.
He does have a point about all the endless driving. I do like the car chases
when something especially clever happens, but for the most part it's just one
car chasing another in the usual manner. And sometimes it's just driving, no
chase at all. Five minutes of watching Jim drive his car to someone's house.
I understand that sometimes shows come up short on content, and they have to
put in some filler. I just wish that those would be the parts they'd cut out
when trying to make space today for those extra commercials. The shows WGN
broadcasts here in Chicago make cuts anywhere. In the middle of conversations,
in the middle of critical plot developments, absolutely anywhere. There has to
be a special place in Hell reserved for people who do that.
BTW, if I were making the list, I'd add one more thing I've noticed: No matter
what surface the characters are walking on, it usually sounds like they're
walking on wood.
- Tom
"The 'Palestinians' are vermin -- and like vermin they should be summarily
exterminated."
- Gregory Morrow, genocide enthusiast
RNeill22
>>>Yes. The mistake alot of people make when calling a plot "farfetched" is
that they are applying real life criteria to television drama. All TV and
film plots are at least somewhat "farfetched" when compared to real life,
and that's the whole point. If you want to see real life, go sit on a park
bench and watch the world go by. Or rent a documentary.
>>To me, the criteria should be is it "farfetched" by TV drama standards and
is it true to the overall series and characters? "Lions, Tigers, ..." plot
is not "farfetched" by this definition.
That's a very astute observation and I'd like to explore it further.
Most fiction movies and TV shows do seem to take place in some non- "real life"
world, as you say, where "farfetched" or absurd situations and characters are
accepted as normal. In most TV dramas, the main characters live in this
Hollywood-ized fictional version of reality and simply accept these events and
behavior and situations and people as normal and act as though it's not all
"farfetched."
Part of what has always appealed to me about The Rockford Files and the Jim
Rockford character is that even though the stories often do take place in that
Hollywood version of the real world, Jim Rockford reacts to the farfetched
elements the same way a real life person would when faced with those types of
situations or that kind of behavior. Jim is savvy enough about old movies, bad
TV shows and Hollywood cliches that he makes fun of them when he sees them
going on around him. I'll provide a few examples:
In "Paradise Cove," CC Calloway tells Jim on the phone something like: "I'll
meet you under the pier at Midnight." Jim sarcastically retorts: "Where did
you get that? The Late, Late Show? I'll meet you at the bar in The Sand
Castle in 30 minutes."
In "Only Rock N' Roll Will Never Die," Whitney Cox says that she didn't mean to
throw the rock at Jim's head, she was only trying to make a noise to distract
him, so she could escape from Brian Charles' garden. Jim says condescendingly:
"Oh, come on! That didn't even work on the Cisco Kid!" (Even though Jim
himself used it successfully in "New Life, Old Dragons.")
In one episode, the cops arrest Jim in the parking lot. The older cop tells
the rookie: "Nice bust." Jim smugly retorts: "I don't know. I thought it was
kind of sloppy myself. John Wayne would've kept the sun at his back."
In "Feeding Freezy," Jim snottily asks Dennis about the gun Dennis has
begrudgingly given him: "Gee, you mean I can't fan it like Roy Rogers?"
You can go through the episodes and find numerous examples of Jim making fun of
TRF characters for behaving like characters in old movies or of Jim making fun
of absurd plot twists and ridiculous situations that strike him as far-fetched.
(Like in "White on White And Nearly Perfect," when he's in the car with the
barking dogs and wheezing millionaire and says: "They can't hurt us; they'll be
laughing too hard.")
So, yes, TRF does take place in that TV World where other TV shows take place,
but at least Jim usually makes fun of the cliches and absurdities before the
audience can. Stephen Cannell carried this idea over into Tenspeed and
Brownshoe, where Jeff Goldblum became the real life guy commenting on contrived
TV drama situations: "We're in a stolen ambulance... taking Hitler's Doctor to
a football game!"
I think the Lance White character was created as a contrast with Jim to show
how a standard cliche TV private eye would not only function, but thrive in,
that cliche-infested Hollywoodized version of reality.
One problem with "Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs" is that Jim, as far as I can
recall, doesn't make fun of the stupid plot twist at the end. The
Jump-The-Shark troll said something about not even "Airwolf" being able to get
away with something that farfetched. It might have gone a long way toward
redeeming the episode if Jim Rockford had said something like that instead. He
could roll his eyes condescendingly, raise his voice into that high-pitched "I
don't believe this crap" octave and said:
"Your best friend wanted to kill you because you knew she was an American girl
and not a real Princess? Aw, come on! Even "Airwolf" wouldn't try to foist
off a lame plot like that!"
Lauren Bacall would reply: "I know Jim. But she was very disturbed..."
and the audience would get a kick out of regular guy Jim making fun of the
farfetched TV plot.
Part of what makes The Rockford Files such an enduring show for me is that I'm
familiar with a lot of old and new movies and TV shows and I recognize the sort
of cliches and traditions it usually skewers. Someone asked recently what we'd
learned from TRF. It has affected my life in that when I watch a movie (from
any era) that contains far-fetched elements, very often I think "I wish Jim
Rockford were in that scene, making fun of what the character just said" or
"...making fun of what just happened." The characters who are in most movies
and TV shows often react to the absurd situations without rolling their eyes or
making condescending commentary. Part of the problem with "Lions, Tigers,
Monkeys and Dogs" is that it's one of the few TRF episodes that inspires me to
think: "I wish Jim Rockford was in this story making fun of how bad it is!"
Unfortunately, Jim *is* in the episode and he's accepting it just as though he
were Lance White, Mannix, Steve McGarrett, Kojak or any other TV crimefighter
whose used to existing compatibly with farfetched Hollywoodized TV plots. I
expect more from Jim Rockford, Juanita Bartlett and The Rockford Files. With
"Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs," they aimed low and achieved it.
What really cheeses me off is that, even though TRF exposed and skewered so
many cop show / bad movie Hollywood cliches, post-Rockford "entertainment"
continues to rely on them! If I were a TV or movie writer or producer, I'd be
embarrassed to expect viewers to take seriously a cliche that had already been
parodied on national TV. As a viewer, I'm insulted when I watch a movie or TV
show and recognize a recycled idea that Jim Rockford has already rolled his
eyes at.
Mitchum22
which
> he admitted that he loves the show. Check it out in Google.
>
Oh my God, you're right:
bcnmason
"Gary Moheban" <gmoh...@mn.rr.com> wrote in message
news:8jIFa.10596$fe.1...@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> "Lions, Tigers, ..." was not that bad of an ep and I have
> always been surprised at the number of people who dislike it.
> A middle of the pack, ep, in my opinion.
Gary, for me anyhow, it certainly wasn't one of my favorite episodes.
I can buy the storyline and all, even if it's a bit of a stretch. Lauren
Bacall was superb, (as one would come to expect),...but I really thought
that the whole episode was one big "snooze fest". I've often mentioned that
I thought many of the one hour episodes could have used the extra hour, or
even half hour. With this particular episode, I thought one hour would have
been enough. Given all the two hour episodes, or two-parters that aired,
this one fell short of the mark in my opinion.
Brian
Tony DeAngelo
stranger than fiction" is true. It can afford to be. Remember the kid
in the jeep a few months ago? He was hit by a passing motorist on the
interstate,flipped his Jeep, flew 30 feet in the air, and grabbed ahold
of power lines on the way down. He reached in his pocker, called for
help, and he was fine. You can't write that in a script (and hope to
get it published).
Of course TV has to be taken with a grain of salt. Wasn't it Woody
Allen who said that movies are life with the boring parts taken out?
The Princess's inner hatred for LB was clever, IMO, and not something to
make light of. Her hatred of Kendall(LB) was really self-hatred, and
it's that complex character development that makes TRF so compelling.
Time and again, in characters as disparate as Tim Ritchey and Gandy we
see people forced to ask themselves "who am I, really?" and "Was it all
worth it?". Questions which we often do not ask ourselves in the
business of our daily lives.
I love LB, and liked how much Rocky was in this episode, but must admit
that it wasn't one of my very favorites (it merely rates a terrific).
Still, some of my very favorite episodes are some of the most fabulous,
or unbelievable.
Oh, and about that stereotype thing. I couldn't agree more. I remember
reading in Robertson's book that Cannell created Jim as sort of an
"anti-Mannix" and he cites the episode of "Mannix" where this little
lisping kid hires him and he asks "how much is it" and Mannix says "how
much do you have?" and the kid reaches into his pocket and pulls out
like a plug nickel, a ball of string, and a broken slingshot and Mannix
says "that's just enough!" before he solves the case, jets to Rio, and
has dinner with the President. It was truly enough to make you puke.
Someone
news:bc8akd$gg439$1...@ID-168438.news.dfncis.de...
> Oh my God, you're right:
>
>
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=29fca08a.ef466f10%40usw-ex0103-019.remarq.com&rnum=1
Yeah, and Rob went on to reply to his own post, refuting every insult! Everyone
had a good laugh with that exchange. Gee, it's been three years!
Adam H. Kerman
>He does have a point about all the endless driving.
It's L.A. What else do people do?
UNCLEOSCAR
Gary Moheban
> "Mitchum22" <mitc...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Oh my God, you're right:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=29
fca08a.ef466f10%40usw-ex0103-019.remarq.com&rnum=1
> Yeah, and Rob went on to reply to his own post, refuting every insult!
Everyone had a good laugh with that exchange. Gee, it's been three years!
In what post does Rob refute every insult he made? In the follow-up post
that I see, he is unapologetic. Are you getting this guy mixed up with
someone else?