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.

Episode 87: Season Two Draft Special

July 11th, 2021  |  1 hr 20 mins

1970s, 70s, draft, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, retrospective, rockford files, season two, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy have talked about every episode of Season Two, and celebrate with a draft of our favorites! Both a retrospective of the season and a walk down memory lane for our own show, we really had a great time assembling this list of ten great episodes of The Rockford Files.

Episode 86: The Real Easy Red Dog

June 27th, 2021  |  1 hr 30 mins

1970s, 70s, baby racket, james garner, jim rockford, malarky, p.i, rockford files, television, the diel deal, tv

Nathan and Eppy finish out Season 2 of The Rockford Files with s2e7 The Real Easy Red Dog. Jim is hired to look into an apparent suicide, and indeed discovers some evidence of murder - but he was hired under false pretenses in the first place! Tina, also a PI, just needed Jim to throw the cops off from her own case, but now they have to work together to solve a murder before the killer comes after them. It's a tight episode with great plotting and some wonderful visual flairs, we really liked this one!

Episode 85: Joey Blue Eyes

June 13th, 2021  |  1 hr 26 mins

1970s, 70s, con to con, james garner, james luisi, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, sweet tooth, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy cover the penultimate episode (for us) of Season 2, Ep17 Joey Blue Eyes. Beth has an ex-con friend who's running into trouble with their straight restaurant business, and despite initial friction, Jim finally agrees to help out. Between loan sharks, Beth, Angel, quick cons and sparkling dialogue, this episode just exudes Rockfordishness. It's also the first appearance of James Luisi on the show, as villain Burt Stryker, and he's just as entertaining as his later recurring role as Lt. Chapman. This is a good one, folks!

Episode 84: Where's Houston?

May 30th, 2021  |  1 hr 29 mins

1970s, 70s, houston, james garner, jim rockford, oil, p.i, red herrings, rockford files, television, the diehl deal, tv

Nathan and Eppy continue the second season tour with S2E20 Where's Houston? One of Rocky's old buddies comes to Jim for help after receiving a ransom demand for his granddaughter Houston - but it shortly becomes clear that, not only did he not have any money, she wasn't even kidnapped! Unfortunately, he turns up dead, sending Jim on the hunt not only for who killed him, but what the whole fake kidnapping was about, all while handling Houston's building emotions. A great character episode!

Episode 83: Foul on the First Play

May 16th, 2021  |  1 hr 17 mins

1970s, 70s, james garner, jim rockford, jimbo, lou gossett jr, marcus hayes, needed that money, p.i, parole, rockford files, sleaze, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy explore the origin episode of one of our favorite guest characters in S2E21 Foul on the First Play. Lou Gosset Jr. plays Marcus Hayes, a fast talking PI who needs Jim's help to untangle a sticky situation concerning the purchase of a new basketball franchise. Marcus was, at the time, Jim's parole officer and they didn't part on good terms... but once Hayes tricks Jim into taking a beating on his behalf, they need to work together to come out the other side in one piece. A satisfying meal of an episode!

Episode 82: The Deep Blue Sleep

April 30th, 2021  |  1 hr 20 mins

1970s, 70s, beth davenport, french press, green sedan, gretchen corbett, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, robert webber, rockford files, taco stand date, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy start wrapping up Season 2 with S2E5 The Deep Blue Sleep. Beth needs Jim's help to find out what happened to a model friend, and the search leads to a fashion designer, a shady business deal and, of course, the mob. One of the few creative contributions from producer Chas. Floyd Johnson, we enjoyed the twists and character business in this one a whole lot!

Episode 81: Star Trek Voyager - Bride of Chaotica!

April 1st, 2021  |  1 hr 12 mins

1970s, 70s, arachnia, chaotica, holodeck, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, photonic, planet x, rockford files, star trek, television, tv, voyager

Welcome to Twenty Dollars a Day, the podcast where we explore our favorite fictional characters in the Star Trek universe! Nathan and Eppy discuss the adventures of Captain Proton in Voyager S5E12 Bride of Chaotic! Tom Paris and Harry Kim just want to have a nice time playing out the latest chapter of the Captain Proton holonovel, but the ship runs afoul of photonic beings that think the black-and-white pulp is real. Of course, the only way to solve this mess is for Captain Janeway to take on the role of Arachnia in order to bring the vile Dr. Chaotica down before the program causes real destruction to the photonic visitors. Everyone in this one is clearly having a blast, and we really enjoyed 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 80: A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights

March 21st, 2021  |  1 hr 22 mins

1970s, 70s, freeze turkey, hector elizondo, hostage game, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy join Jim in S5E6 A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights, as he's hired to babysit the celebrity cop Frank Falcone (Hector Elizondo) in advance of a big toy line opening. Falcone isn't exactly the role model he's being advertised as, and after he beats up his ex-partner, Jim gets fired - but now they're both being followed by goons from Calumet City, IL. Jim and Frank need to work together to figure out who's in danger and stop a hit before it's too late! We found the plot of this episode to be pretty unremarkable, but the Jim-Frank dynamic makes for a good vibe, and we had fun talking about it. Freeze, Turkey! Plus, we debut our new Answering Machine segment to address listener feedback!

Episode 79: Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job

February 21st, 2021  |  1 hr 51 mins

1970s, 70s, big store, con game, egyptomania, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, racing, richie brockelman, rockford files, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy complete the Richie Brockelman duology with S5E19-20, Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job. Richie's dad has been muscled out of the family printing business by an unscrupulous villain. The only way he can see to get it back is to run a con game on the mark... and that's where Jim comes in. Split into two episodes for syndication, this is another 2-hour-timeslot episode which gives us plenty of breathing room to appreciate all of the work that goes into a "big store" con game. This is really a wonderful episode, and we break it down in terms of the con game strategy Jim and Richie use before going into the scenes. Highly recommended!