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!

Episode 78: The House on Willis Avenue

December 27th, 2020  |  2 hrs 4 mins

1970s, 70s, computers, information society, jackie cooper, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, pilot, richie brockelman, rockford files, spinoff, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy finally tackle a long-anticipated long episode, S4E21 The House on Willis Avenue. Split into two episodes for syndication, this episode is both a pilot for a spinoff show about young investigator Richie Brockelman, and an issue episode tackling the growing use of private data by unscrupulous private entities (in this instance, a technophile villain played to great effect by Jackie Cooper). Still relevant today, we found this episode to be a well-told story that blended all of its agendas well into an entertaining and memorable whole. Highly recommended!

Episode 77: The Trouble with Warren

November 29th, 2020  |  1 hr 21 mins

1970s, 70s, beth, family, flute playing, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, television, turkey, tv

Nathan and Eppy spend some quality family time with Jim, Beth and her annoying cousin in S3E11 The Trouble with Warren. When Warren is framed for murder, Beth turns to Jim for help. Despite his best efforts Jim ends up investigating the case, and then once another body surfaces he needs to solve it in order to save both their hides. We found this one to be a "meaty middle" episode, with a lot of things to like but nothing in particular to recommend it. That's the problem with this show, the episodes are all too good!

Episode 76: A Material Difference

October 25th, 2020  |  1 hr 29 mins

1970s, 70s, blue jeans, hit man, james garner, jim rockford, kgb, mr jones, p.i, rockford files, television, tv

Nathan and Eppy go under cover to talk about S5E19 A Material Difference. Angel has the perfect scam - pretend to be a hit man, take the half up front and move on. Unfortunately his first gig involves international espionage, and a chance meeting with Jim draws Rockford in against his will. This is a wild romp of an episode! We found it to not be totally solid around the edges but a joy to watch, especially for the focus on the Jim-Angel dynamic, one of our favorites!

Episode 75: The Dog and Pony Show

September 27th, 2020  |  1 hr 27 mins

1970s, 70s, bananas, james garner, jim rockford, p.i, rockford files, salvador allende, television, therapy, tv

Nathan and Eppy join Jim and Angel in group therapy for S4E5 The Dog and Pony Show. In lieu of a jail sentence for something Angel stole and hid in Jim's car, this therapy group is a pretty good deal, until fellow participant Mary Jo has someone actually break into her house. Jim agrees to help, and a couple of goons and one Firebird chase later realizes that something Mary Jo knows is putting them all in danger. A listener suggestion, we really enjoyed this David Chase-written episode - it has all the elements we love about the show, as well as a familiar face that delighted us upon his surprise appearance!