Episode Archive

138 episodes of Two Hundred A Day since the first episode, which aired on December 23rd, 2016.

  • Episode 126: Aura Lee, Farewell

    November 12th, 2023  |  1 hr 24 mins
    1970s, 70s, brass cupcake, jackie cooper, james garner, jim rockford, lindsay wagner, p.i, poe, robert webber, rockford files, soup, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy say goodbye to Jackie Cooper (as a director) in S1E14 Aura Lee, Farewell. Jim is asked by sometime-girlfriend-and-previous-client Sara to look into the so-called overdose death of her friend Aura Lee. Once his investigation turns up a State Senator and a slick bunko artist, things get really intense. This is a tight episode with lots of our favs (Robert Webber! Dennis getting mad! Soup!), and we enjoyed both the story and showcase of how it's actually pretty hard to date Jim, when you get right down to it.

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    Episode 125: Say Goodbye to Jennifer

    October 22nd, 2023  |  1 hr 38 mins
    1970s, 70s, big fish, hector elizondo, james garner, jim rockford, noir, p.i, red turtleneck, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy join Jim as he travels to the morgue, the dentist and Seattle in S1E18 Say Goodbye to Jennifer. Hector Elizondo guest stars as Mitch, a Korean War buddy of Jim. It looks like the woman he's infatuated with, Jennifer, died in a car accident, and Jim has little patience for Mitch's insistence that she's alive. But once a mobster starts threatening him for sniffing around, he takes up Mitch's offer to look for Jennifer in Seattle - and then things get really intense. This noir-inspired episode is atypical in style, and also stands out as a tight story with great performances!

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    Episode 124: William Wiard Retrospective Rewind

    August 27th, 2023  |  1 hr 46 mins
    1970s, 70s, best of, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, retrospective, rockford files, television, they're all good episodes, tv, william wiard

    Nathan and Eppy end our Summer of Wiard by rewinding back through the entire Wiard Rockford Filesography. This excuse gives us a good way to chat about some of the show's most standout episodes, and we assemble a Recommended Viewing list of our 6 most recommended Wiard-directed episodes, one from each season. A fun conversation! We also go to our answering machine to field questions and comments from listeners on recent episodes.

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    Episode 123: Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die

    August 14th, 2023  |  2 hrs 7 mins
    1970s, 70s, bowling shirts, george loros, james garner, japanese country and western, jim rockford, mercedes 450, p.i, rock n roll, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy complete the Wiard World Tour with this two-parter, episodes 3 and 4 from season 6: Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die. Show favorite George Loros guest stars as Eddie, a prison buddy of Jim's now working for rock star Tim Ritchie. He reaches out to Rockford to find a missing member of Ritchie's entourage, but the mystery of what happened mostly backgrounds the (anti) romance of Eddie with reporter Whitney Cox. Jim navigates Eddie's neuroses, an on-going court case, the mob and the whims of a rockstar who has it all in this two-parter that we find almost too relaxed in its storytelling (even though the character stuff is Very Good).

  • Episode 122: Claire

    July 30th, 2023  |  1 hr 23 mins
    1970s, 70s, dummy theft, j-turn, jackie cooper, james garner, jim rockford, linda evans, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy head back to the first season to meet another of Jim's old flames in S1E17 Claire. After a rough breakup and years of separation, Claire calls Jim for help. Of course he agrees to do what he can, but she isn't being straight with him and he needs to figure out who's life is in danger and why before it's too late. Co-starring Linda Evans and Jackie Cooper, this episode hits a lot of our "classic" themes, though maybe lacking a little something to make it stand out from similar plots.

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    Episode 121: Heartaches of a Fool

    July 16th, 2023  |  1 hr 28 mins
    1970s, 70s, a real one, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, sausages, television, triads, tv, willie nelson

    Nathan and Eppy continue to tour the William Wiard-verse with S5E1 Heartaches of a Fool. After a truck accident lands Rocky in the hospital, Jim is determined to find out who caused it and hold them accountable. His quest leads to a country music star, a sausage-smuggling operation and a brewing war between corrupt union officials and a Chinese gangster. This might be the perfect episode for our show, even without considering the two Willie Nelson songs on the soundtrack. Highly recommended!

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    Episode 120: The Return of the Black Shadow

    June 25th, 2023  |  1 hr 19 mins
    1970s, 70s, bo hopkins, coop, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, physics jokes, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy go back to their old ways in S5E17 The Return of the Black Shadow. This was a hard one for us, folks! After a biker gang assaults Jim and abducts and sexually assaults his date, Coop's sister Gail, Coop relives his past as a biker to infiltrate the Rattlers and get revenge. Content Warning: this episode hinges on Gail's rape, and we talk about that as well as all the Rockfordishness that we do like in this episode.

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    Episode 119: A Deadly Maze

    June 11th, 2023  |  1 hr 26 mins
    1970s, 70s, broken nose, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, pina colada, rockford files, tartar sauce, television, trans am, tv

    Nathan and Eppy join Jim as he reluctantly takes on a missing persons case for an unemotional client in S4E13 A Deadly Maze. The money is good, but the case is just weird, and even after Jim finds the client's wife, he can't let go of the feeling that something else is going on. This is an episode with a meaningful reveal, which made the overall very fun story a little less scintillating than it might be going in cold. Certainly recommended, it's an off-beat script with a fantastic proportion of Rockfordishness. Piña Colada!

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    Episode 118: The Fourth Man

    May 21st, 2023  |  1 hr 32 mins
    1970s, 70s, detroit, fishing buddies, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, read you your rights, rockford files, sharon gless, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy take a flight into the start of the third season with S3E1 The Fourth Man. Jim's friend Lori, an airline booking agent, can't figure out why she's being stalked by a seemingly up-and-up rare coin collector. The menace escalates as Jim calls on the expertise of everyone in the main cast to discover the secret he's willing to kill to conceal. This season opener features a fun blend of action, mystery and tradecraft as we re-enter Jim's world for a third year.

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    Episode 117: Trouble in Chapter 17

    April 23rd, 2023  |  1 hr 30 mins
    1970s, 70s, ascot, feminism, james garner, jim rockford, marriage, p.i, publicity, rockford files, tacos, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy enter the publishing world in S4E2 Trouble in Chapter 17. "Feminity not feminism" author Ann Louise Clement wants to hire Jim as a bodyguard, which isn't his beat. But after witnessing an apparent attempt on her life, he can't not look into it. Unfortunately for Jim, Ann Louise is more interested in publicity than preservation, and he begins to suspect it's all a farce - until her agent is killed in an apparent case of mistaken identity. This snappy Juanita Bartlett episode isn't an "issue" episode, but we appreciate the chance to talk about how she uses the show to contrast progressive and retrograde ideas about feminism, as well as enjoy all of the Rockfordishness we know and love.

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    Episode 116: Star Trek DS9: Our Man Bashir

    April 1st, 2023  |  1 hr 24 mins
    1970s, 5 million francs, 70s, bashir, bond, ds9, garak, intelligence agent, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, star trek, television, tv

    Welcome to Twenty Dollars a Day, the podcast where we explore our favorite holodeck adventures in the Star Trek universe! Nathan and Eppy join the crew of Deep Space 9 for some thrilling spy action in S4E9 Our Man Bashir. Doctor Bashir is enjoying his new holo-adventure as a Bond-esque superspy when Garak crashes the party. Unfortunately, a transporter accident puts the patterns of the bridge crew into the story, and suddenly Bashir and Garak have to contend with the possibility of their actions having real-life consequences. An homage to James Bond, of course, this episode features a refreshing twist on the "stuck on the holodeck" trope while also grounding the romp with nods to long-running DS9 storylines.

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    Episode 115: Love Is the Word

    March 26th, 2023  |  1 hr 28 mins
    1970s, 70s, blind, james garner, jim rockford, kathryn harrold, megan, p.i, relationships, rockford files, roller disco, squish magazine, television, tv, wedding

    Nathan and Eppy finish the Megan Dougherty cycle with S6E5 Love Is the Word. After a lengthy absence, Jim finally returns to Megan only to find that she's gotten engaged! Fair enough, but when her fiancé is accused of murder, of course Jim is going to help find out what's going on. This episode isn't really about the mystery, but it gives us an incredible look at the complicated relationship between Megan and Jim, and how they both process it coming to an end. We find this one a great, if bittersweet, way to say goodbye to Megan.