My 50 Favorite Classic TV Characters: James Garner as Jim Rockford

You may have heard that a reboot of The Rockford Files has been picked up by NBC and will debut in January, with David Boreanaz playing ex-con turned private investigator Jim Rockford. Boreanaz has an impressive TV track record, and as a fan of both Buffy and Angel I think that casting is about the best we could hope for – given the current state of entertainment media we should just be glad it’s not Kevin Hart.

There was probably a time I would have been excited, or at least intrigued, by the prospect of a new take on a classic show. But after the reboots of Magnum and Matlock and Walker I no longer trust today’s crop of writers and producers to deliver a series that would capture even 10% of the appeal of the original.

Could Boreanaz still make it watchable? Perhaps – but it’s hard to imagine he could achieve the same indelible impression as James Garner’s portrayal of Jim Rockford.

One reason it worked so well is that Garner already had experience in the same type of character. In Maverick he played the antithesis of a rough-and-tumble cowboy hero. He tapped into that same persona here: the anti-hero, clever but cynical, smart-tongued and always preferring to talk himself out of a fight than start one. And never averse to bending or breaking a law to suit his purpose.

Once asked if there was anything he wouldn’t do for money, he replied that he wouldn’t kill for it or marry for it. “Other than that, I’m open to about anything.”

Initially he became a detective because he served time for a robbery he didn’t commit and wanted to take on cases that had been closed by the police. But series creators Stephen J. Cannell and Roy Huggins gradually moved away from that premise as it seemed too noble a pursuit for such an ambiguous character. Cannell and Garner both enjoyed exploiting the hard-luck aspects or Rockford, who didn’t always reap the rewards from solving his cases. I doubt any TV detective was stiffed more often by his clients.

The Rockford Files surrounded its star with quality performances and quality touches, starting with the answering machine messages that opened each episode, followed by that funky Mike Post theme. 

There were fights and car chase scenes for those who preferred a traditional private eye series – Jim really knew how to handle that Pontiac Firebird - but there was a welcome component of comedy as well. 

Like Maverick, Rockford was a con man at heart, taking on phony identities to catch opponents off-guard and intimidate or trick them into giving up the information he needed. Those scenes were the highlight of every episode.

Great support was provided by Noah Beery, Jr. as his father, who never gave up hoping Jim would become a truck driver, and Joe Santos as one of the few cops who could stand him. I looked forward to Gretchen Corbett’s appearances as the lawyer always bailing him out of trouble (and jail), but I couldn’t stand Stuart Margolin as Rockford’s skeezy former cellmate Angel. Clearly, I’m in the minority on that one because Margolin won two Emmys for that performance.

The show also had some wonderful guest stars –Lindsay Wagner, Isaac Hayes, Diana Muldaur, and recurring appearances from Tom Selleck as dim but perfect detective Lance White, and Dennis Dugan as Richie Brockelman, whose spinoff series disappeared after five episodes.

But without Garner I doubt anything else would have mattered. Few shows have been so successfully fueled by the charisma of one lead actor. That will be the challenge facing David Boreanaz. 

Rockford wasn’t John Wayne or John Wick – he was the first TV private eye to break his hand when he hit someone. But he still projected a strength and resilience, with a healthy dose of swag, that belied his insistence that he was never a tough guy.

Can today’s television pull that off? I wish them luck, but I don’t think they understand masculinity without the word “toxic” in front of it.