Episode Archive

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

  • Episode 99: The Gang at Don's Drive-In

    March 13th, 2022  |  1 hr 30 mins
    1970s, 70s, freefall to ecstacy, hatted assassin, james garner, jim rockford, oxnard, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy meet an old friend of Jims in S4E15 The Gang at Don's Drive-In. Jack Skowron, former best-selling writer and current alcoholic, is in LA chasing down stories for a new book with Jim's help. When he gets beat up, Jim starts to suspect there's more to his agenda, and has to uncover the sordid story behind a decades-old high school party gone wrong. A fun watch overall, with a sometimes-muddled story elevated by screen chemistry and some truly all-timer Rocky and Dennis appearances!

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    Episode 98: A Different Drummer

    February 27th, 2022  |  1 hr 34 mins
    1970s, 70s, james garner, jesse welles, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, surgery, television, tv, your time is my time

    Nathan and Eppy take a look at the final episode guest starring Jesse Welles, S5E20 A Different Drummer. Jim witnesses a bizarre surgical procedure while in the hospital, and obsessively tracks down the surgeon to find out what's going on. Starting out a mystery, and transitioning to a character study of a horror-movie-inflected villain, this was an interesting episode to end the fifth season on. Unfortunately, it has the least Jesse Welles of her three appearances, but her airheaded "anti-Rockford" is a memorable character to round out her time on the show.

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    Episode 97: A Plus Expenses Special

    February 13th, 2022  |  56 mins 55 secs
    1970s, 70s, james garner, jim rockford, mcgoohan, p.i, plus expenses, rockford files, television, theme songs, tv

    We're starting off our 2022 with a public Plus Expenses episode. We record one of these before every episode of Two Hundred a Day, and it goes out to our supporters on Patreon. If you dig getting this kind of chat along with your main Rockford Files discussion, consider subscribing to the Patreon for as little as $1/episode. Thanks for listening!

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    Episode 96: Roundabout

    December 26th, 2021  |  1 hr 33 mins
    1970s, 70s, geronimo, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, sad clown, television, tv, vegas

    Nathan and Eppy return to Las Vegas in S1E22 Roundabout. Jim is hired for a straightforward gig to find an insurance beneficiary - Nancy, the beneficiary, isn't making much money as a Vegas lounge singer, but it seems simple enough to give her a check. But when she runs, then is grabbed by goons, Jim has to act fast to save his paycheck. The final episode of Season One takes us to the Vegas lounge, a clown selling hot dogs and the Hoover Dam. It's a fun one!

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    Episode 95: The Dexter Crisis

    December 12th, 2021  |  1 hr 26 mins
    1970s, 70s, ashtray, broken hand, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, roulette, television, tv, vegas

    Nathan and Eppy go to Vegas in S1E10 The Dexter Crisis. Jim is hired to find Susan, a woman who suddenly took off, and quickly ends up partnered with her roommate Louise as they head to the only lead they have: Las Vegas. They find Susan quickly enough, but then a sudden attack, a rival PI and a mysterious suitcase complicate the story. Jim needs to find out what's going on to get paid, and the chase takes us down a number of scenic Nevada byways. A fun episode that features some foundational Rockfordishness, we enjoyed it despite a few little dangling plot threads.

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    Episode 94: The Becker Connection

    November 28th, 2021  |  1 hr 25 mins
    1970s, 70s, becker, cops, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, salami, television, tv, two lemons and a watermelon

    Nathan and Eppy get to see Jim helping out a friend in S3E16: The Becker Connection. Becker's been moonlighting with the Narco squad, and suddenly some stolen heroin shows up in his car tire! Suspended while under investigation by internal affairs, Dennis turns to Jim for any help he can provide - which involves Angel, a washed-up Vegas comedian, and turning the tables on a crooked cop. We get to see a lot of good character beats woven into a fun plot, and found this one a great episode that really delivers what we tune into the show for!

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    Episode 93: Irving the Explainer

    October 31st, 2021  |  1 hr 19 mins
    1970s, 70s, hollywood murders, james garner, jim rockford, occam's razor, p.i, rockford files, spoilers, television, tv, watteau

    Nathan and Eppy dive into one of the most oddball episodes, S4E8 Irving the Explainer. It's an intentionally obtuse episode that really benefits from seeing it cold - if you haven't, be warned that we might spoil the fun with our discussion! Written by David Chase, this episode seems to be a pretty polarizing one, and we talk about the various lenses through which you can view it to find the fun. Content warning: the episode isn't really about Naziism, but it contains references to Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, and includes newsroom footage of Hitler in the opening credits.

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    Episode 92: South by Southeast

    October 17th, 2021  |  1 hr 22 mins
    1970s, 70s, james garner, jim rockford, mistaken identity, no superiors, north by northwest, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy join Jim in an unexpected trip across the border in S4E18 South by Southeast. Due to a mistaken postal address, Jim is taken for a CIA operative and whisked away for a high-stakes meeting with a rich socialite, who he quickly discovers is in trouble herself. Despite a serious class divide, we watch romance blossom while Jim does his best to keep her from danger. This fun character study of an episode uses the North by Northwest homage framing to get things going, so if seeing Jim get out of his element is something you enjoy, this is one to check out for sure!

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    Episode 91: Friends and Foul Play

    September 26th, 2021  |  1 hr 55 mins
    1970s, 70s, 90s, chapman, drop a flag, james garner, jim rockford, movie, old man fight, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy return to 1996 to talk about the fifth TV movie, Friends and Foul Play. Jim's friend Babs ends up dead after asking him to help her find out more about the murder of her son. Before he can even start to investigate, Captain Chapman turns up with a class of criminology majors, messing both with the crime scene and with Jim's efforts - so, of course, he has to join the class himself in order to skirt Chapman's ire and bring Babs killer to justice! It's always a blast seeing all the characters we know so well effortlessly re-inhabited, and this Stephen Cannell script is full of classic Rockfordishness. Though there's a few plot elements that seem to sprawl out of nowhere, we really enjoyed this visit to the movies!

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    Episode 90: Listener Q&A Special

    September 12th, 2021  |  1 hr 11 mins
    1970s, 70s, james garner, jim rockford, listener q&a, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy answer some listener questions! We talk about the origination of Angel, the relationship between James Garner and his writers, the place of the show in the continuity of detective TV, music from the show, and more. Thanks again for all the great questions, listeners!

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    Episode 89: Caledonia - It's Worth a Fortune!

    August 29th, 2021  |  1 hr 16 mins
    1970s, 70s, banjo, buried treasure, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, sid haig, stamps, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy spend some time in the Firebird in S1E11 Caledonia - It's Worth a Fortune! Jim is hired by a woman who's imprisoned husband buried a treasure trove, and she wants to find it in order to help get him the medical help he needs. However, he only gave her part of the puzzle. After her old flame appears with the other half, Jim has to both deal himself in and somehow keep them working together to find the fortune. Directed by Stuart Margolin, this is a fun, concentrated romp chock-full of Rockfordishness!

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    Episode 88: Requiem for a Funny Box

    July 25th, 2021  |  1 hr 23 mins
    1970s, 70s, bad jokes, james garner, jim rockford, lobster a la kenny bell, maxine, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

    Nathan and Eppy go to the comedy club in S4E6 Requiem for a Funny Box. Washed-up comedian Kenny Bell asks Jim for some help after his "funny box" is stolen, but the exchange draws Jim into a mob murder! Untangling the murder requires Jim to suffer through getting the real story from the self-interested Kenny. Content Warning: This episode has quite a reveal (which we talk about in our intro) having to do with virulent homophobia and related off-screen violence. This is a good episode with some serious tonal shifts that make it interesting, but not necessarily one we'd recommend over other episodes.