What Hath Rockford Wrought?

The Other Eyes of The Rockford Files   Much like Maverick, Rockford co-creator Roy Huggins' other hit show starring James Garner, The Rockford Files delighted in poking fun at its own genre, seeding the show with numerous cock-eyed takes on the private eye. Here are the most memorable: Gandolph "Gandy" Fitch  Created by Gordon Dawson … Continue reading What Hath Rockford Wrought?

Lance White (The Rockford Files)

Created by Stephen J. Cannell "Hunches don't come from any place, Jim, they're just hunches. That's how we solve our cases. We get hunches, they turn out to be right, and the case gets solved. Gee, I don't know how you survive as a private investigator, Jim. You don't seem to know any of this … Continue reading Lance White (The Rockford Files)

B.L. Stryker

Created by Christopher Crowe Smirk Alert! Burt Reynolds played B.L. (BUDDY LEE) STRYKER, a retired New Orleans cop turned slacker Miami P.I. living on his beat-up old houseboat and tooling around town in his equally beat-up Caddy, operating on the fringes of Florida's hoity-toity Palm Beach, sniffing out work, in a series of made-for-TV movies … Continue reading B.L. Stryker

Thomas Magnum (Magnum, P.I.)

Created by Donald P. Bellisario & Glen A. Larson I just don't get it. Never has such a so-so show had such a large impact on the genre as the MAGNUM, P.I. A watered-down and beefcaked-up Rockford Files wannabe, utilizing Hawaii 5-O's discarded props and then-rising star (and former cigarette commercial star) Tom Selleck... Okay, okay, I … Continue reading Thomas Magnum (Magnum, P.I.)