Episode 111: The Family Hour

January 29th, 2023  |  1 hr 33 mins

1970s, 70s, big mac, good goons, james garner, jim rockford, mastadons, p.i, rip stuart margolin, rockford files, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy learn a lot about family in S3E3 The Family Hour. Jim and Rocky find Marin, a young girl, seemingly abandoned on Jim's doorstep. They can't help but try to find her family, but are quickly drawn into some kind of scheme centering on Marin's father involving creeps, death threats, narcotics and a cattle prod. A patron suggestion, this episode also finishes our look at writer Gordon T. Dawson, who delivers another great script that is matched by compelling performances from both series regulars and guest stars. Not really a mystery, not really a whodunit, this episode really ramps up the tension while keeping a solid emotional backbeat. It's a good one!

Episode 110: Crack Back

December 31st, 2022  |  1 hr 32 mins

1970s, 70s, bethisode, good moves, gretchen corbett, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, reza badiyi, rockford files, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy go to the courtroom in a "Bethisode", S3E21 Crack Back. Beth is defending a rising football star accused of murder during a violent robbery - but her defense is being compromised by someone stalking her. Jim wants to help her out with both, of course, but has to navigate what Beth wants (the best for her case) with what he wants (the best for her). It's our final wrap on prolific director Reza Badiyi, and with a great Juanita Bartlett script and wonderful performances from all of our favorites, it's a very strong episode!

Episode 109: A Fast Count

November 27th, 2022  |  1 hr 49 mins

1970s, 70s, boxing, james garner, jim rockford, math, p.i, rockford files, squared circle, steiner math, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy get in the ring with S5E10 A Fast Count. Jim is invested in a promising young boxer, but when his manager Morry is pulled in by the feds for a bribery charge, Jim reluctantly agrees to protect his investment by figuring out who is framing Morry and why. It seems that a rival manager and Used Car Queen "Right On Ruth" is behind it, but the more Jim digs the weirder the whole thing gets. This was a really fun episode to go into detail on, and we go to town on the math involved in the boxing industry, among other asides. Highly recommended!

Episode 108: The Jersey Bounce

October 30th, 2022  |  1 hr 30 mins

1970s, 70s, bo hopkins, coop, coupla guys, david chase, james garner, jim rockford, low tide, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy take a trip to the first appearance of Eugene and Mickey in S5E3 The Jersey Bounce. Our "coupla guys" rent a house next to Rocky, and after some serious threats are made, a dead body shows up. Jim is implicated and needs legal counsel, finally hooking up with disbarred attorney John Cooper to turn the tables on our two dim-witted wannabes. Don't look for continuity, but this is a very Rockford-y episode that we enjoyed quite a bit!

Episode 107: Just a Coupla Guys

October 16th, 2022  |  1 hr 35 mins

1970s, 70s, bathroom fight, david chase, james garner, jersey, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, sopranos, television, tv

After fielding the recordings on our answering machine, Nathan and Eppy take a trip to Jersey in S6E10 Just a Coupla Guys. This is a very Rockford-lite episode, centering instead on two hapless Jerseyites who want to make it in with the mob. A backdoor pilot for a never-produced show, this David Chase-written episode foreshadows a lot of what ended up in the Sopranos, but doesn't really give us what we come to the Rockford Files for.

Episode 106: Exit Prentiss Carr

September 25th, 2022  |  1 hr 32 mins

1970s, 70s, bay city, james garner, jim rockford, mills watson, p.i, rockford files, romance, shirtless goon, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy go to Bay City in S1E4 Exit Prentiss Carr. An old flame hires Jim to find her husband, but he only finds the body. When the Bay City police rule it a suicide, Jim has to figure out who is lying to him and why, all while keeping one step ahead of the local cops who have it out for him personally. A very well-paced early season episode, we really enjoyed watching Jim do PI things while still settling into the character we would get to know so well!

Episode 105: The Deuce

August 21st, 2022  |  1 hr 30 mins

1970s, 70s, james garner, jim rockford, jury duty, mills watson, p.i, physical evidence, rockford files, sweet caroline, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy spend some time in the jury box with Jim in S5E15 The Deuce. It looks like a drink driver hit and killed a woman, but some trouble details give Jim reasonable doubts. The driver asks Jim to keep looking into it, and each thread he pulls on uncovers another lie. The strength of this episode is seeing so much of Jim's day-to-day, and an excellent performance from Mills Watson as the accused who takes an opportunity to turn his life around!

Episode 104: Return to the 38th Parallel

May 29th, 2022  |  1 hr 37 mins

1970s, 70s, cold read cons, james garner, jim rockford, ned beatty, p.i, rockford files, tank stealing, television, train to oxnard, tv

Nathan and Eppy get to hear some of Jim's Korean escapades in S3E9 Return to the 38th Parallel. An old commander of his, played by the always-delightful Ned Beatty, comes calling out of the blue. Down on his luck, he takes a case that Jim turns down - but it turns out to be only the first step in a more elaborate scheme to use Jim to get to a big insurance company finders fee. A fun episode that turns from a mystery to a chase, we really enjoyed talking about this one!

Episode 103: Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs

May 15th, 2022  |  1 hr 54 mins

1970s, 70s, flapjacks, green corn tamales, james garner, jim rockford, lauren bacall, p.i, rockford files, royalty, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy take on a stand-out double-length episode in S2E6 Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs. Lauren Bacall guest stars as a Kendall, a woman mysteriously marked for death. After a chance encounter at a restaurant, her friend and patron Princess Irene Rachevsky hires Jim to find out who's trying to kill Kendall. The investigation leads from yacht parties to hotel rooftops to organized crime and back, all while we get to enjoy Garner and Bacall's on-screen chemistry. One of the more memorable late-season episodes, this one gave us a lot to enjoy and discuss!

Episode 102: Beamer's Last Case

April 24th, 2022  |  1 hr 29 mins

1970s, 70s, beamer, electronic olive, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, square jacks, television, tv, valentino

Nathan and Eppy return to Paradise Cove in S4E1 Beamer's Last Case. Jim returns from a shortened vacation to find that someone has stolen his identity - and not only that, but wrecked his car and gotten him into trouble with some serious people! Once Jim tracks down the culprit, a mechanic named Freddie Beamer, the rest of the episode is a quick-thinking quest to keep both Beamer and Jim from getting shot as a result of Beamer's mistakes. Plus, it features Jim's sometimes-cat Valentino! We found this a delightful romp to kick off the fourth season of the show.

Episode 101: Star Trek TNG: A Fistful of Datas

April 1st, 2022  |  1 hr 9 mins

1970s, 70s, beeswax, data, holodeck, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, television, the ancient west, tng, tv, worf

Welcome to Twenty Dollars a Day, the podcast where we explore our favorite holodeck adventures in the Star Trek universe! Nathan and Eppy go back to the Ancient West in TNG S6E8: A Fistful of Datas. The Enterprise has some well-deserved down-time, and Worf can't invent enough work to keep him from spending quality time with his son Alexander in the Ancient West town of Deadwood. Elsewhere, a test of Data's interface with the ship crosses some wires, and suddenly the villains of the Western adventure... are all Data. Sure, it's a silly episode, but it's also charming in its enthusiastic homage to Western films, and we had a really fun time talking about it.

Happy April, everyone! This is our fourth look at a Star Trek holodeck episode that follows on the themes of our first love, The Rockford FIles. Hope you enjoy it!

Episode 100: Episode 100 Spectacular

March 27th, 2022  |  1 hr 4 mins

100 episodes, 1970s, 70s, james garner, jim rockford, navelgazing, p.i, recommended episodes, rockford files, spectacular, television, tv

It's our 100th episode of Two Hundred a Day! To celebrate this milestone, we draft our picks for recommended episodes of our own show. If you've joined us recently, these are some of our most fun, interesting and memorable episodes. Thanks so much for listening!