A Televisual Feast

This episode has to be the series best so far and for a couple unrelated reasons. First, it’s the most artistic. The story’s simple and unadorned. Rockford’s on a case. Director Vincent McEveety has a bunch of sequences with just music and sound effects, no dialogue. They probably take up a majority of the episode’s running time and it’s a fantastic move. It creates a unreal feel and, as it’s competently done–and, more importantly, mixed well with the regular Rockford on a case scenes–it’s a fantastic move.

The second reason is very, very simple: Rockford wins. Finally, Rockford makes out in the end. It’s great.

The opener, where the dialogue-free motif is established, features Rockford and Suzanne Somers. According to the end credits, Somers is an important character (maybe the music-heavy editing had to do with something in post), but as it plays, it’s just a wonderful Rockford sequence. I suppose it makes more sense she’s a case than a vacation romance, but who cares?

Jill Clayburgh’s great as the girl in the episode (Somers doesn’t even have any lines, just smiles) and the whole thing has a wonderful feel. Amazingly, when the end comes around and it has to get nearer to being a traditional episode (Rocky shows up), it ties perfectly again. Robert Hamner is an outstanding writer for the series, giving Garner lots of outstanding scenes. I was when it was over.

3.5