User Reviews

This season six episode is a throwback to some of the better episodes of the past. It's funny, has a pretty good mystery and features good performances all around.

The story begins with Rockford getting a phone call from an old friend he's known since they were 15 (though he's never been seen or mentioned in any previous episodes). The next thing you know, two goons are breaking down Rockford's door and taking him to see "da boss".

They meet in a meat locker (where writer Willens has a guy punching the meat ala Rocky Balboa!) and its determined Rockford's friend George Neff has sent him something in the mail that belongs to "da boss".

After that, it becomes a chase for the package, and Willens provides a few good twists and turns along the way, making this an excellent episode to watch. There's a good scene in Angel's apartment in which Angel projects his own death and again later when Rockford notices some of Neff's things have wound up in Angel's apartment.

Sadly, Shel Willens only wrote this one episode of "The Rockford Files". But Garner must have liked his work because he brought him back on "Bret Maverick" a few years later.

Hard to believe this is the third last episode of The Rockford Files (until it was revived in telemovies in 1994). Despite it being broadcast for the first time over 40 years ago, it's timeless. Seeing Rockford and the gang on the hunt for a missing parcel brings back the nostalgia for sure.

The Big Cheese stands the test of time.

This is one of the final episodes from the great Rockford Files, and it probably should've been considered to be the last one because there are many reasons this segment is a winner. First off, many of the core characters are heavily involved, especially Dennis Becker and Doug Chapman; I especially enjoy the way the latter detests Jim Rockford and is constantly suspicious of him. This is a pretty good story about an old friend of Jim's who gets killed because of a scathing ledger he wrote to show guilt on a union boss in the meat packing industry. I thought James Garner did a commendable job of being depressed through much of this episode, and it clearly shows. There's even a scene where he almost punches Angel's lights out, because he's angry that Angel took some of his late friend's personal belongings. It turns out that Angel has a good connection in the newspaper industry where the murdered guy worked. There are some scenes with Jim's dad, Rocky(always nice seeing him), several shots of the trailer, the Firebird, and even a shot of Jim at the taco stand munching on his favorite snack, the taco. I liked when Rockford meets the crooked boss in the dark train ready to tune him up. Angry Jim always works for me.

This has the feel of the better earlier episodes of the great series and is easily one of the better of the final 2 seasons, especially the poor final season. It's sad to say that Jim's ship is getting ready to sail in 2 more episodes which I'll write about the final one. It turns out the big package everyone's fighting over is nothing but a large piece of cheese. Talk about the big irony.

Well, this was an OK episode overall, but there were a couple of gems. In my view the bad guys seem to rarely receive the punishment they deserve for the dastardly things they do to Rockford and others, but in this episode there was a bit of satisfaction in that area. For one thing, two bad guys nearly buy it while chasing Jim when they run in front of a Mac truck. Pow! Flattened 'em. They lived though. To bad.

For another, Jim apparently roughs up the head bad guy of the episode (off camera) after his henchman are retired (the two who got flattened by the tractor). That's unusual for Rockford.

But the really good part is that Lt. Chapman has his karma come back on him, not once, but twice. Check out the scene where he is at the post office and the postal supervisor has him nearly pulling his hair out because she won't let Chapman intimidate her. She is a stickler for the rules, just like Chapman... so he gets that thrown back in his face! Ha ha. His reaction was reminiscent to how Chief Inspector Dreyfus would get when he was being tortured by Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther.

Even better, check out the end of the episode where Chapman takes a call from his accountant (he is being audited) and tells him to lie about his taxes, while unbeknownst to Chapman a Treasury agent is sitting across his desk next to Rockford.

We love you Lt. Chapman!