Chas. Floyd Johnson Movies
- 2003
Combining the best elements of JAG and CSI, the CBS crime series Navy NCIS focused on an elite, independent unit of the U.S. Navy, which, in its pursuit of military-related criminal investigations, was answerable to no higher authority -- and thus, of course, was utterly impartial and incorruptible. The head of the series' Naval Criminal Investigative Service was the fiercely independent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon. His team included eccentric coroner "Ducky" Mallard (David McCallum), streetwise ex-homicide detective Anthony Dinozzo (Michael Weatherly), longtime Secret Service operative Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander), and irreverent young goth-girl lab tech Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette). Created by Donald P. Bellisario, Navy NCIs first aired September 23, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
James Garner is reunited with several of his fellow cast members from the Rockford Files series in this made-for-TV sequel. It all begins when schoolteacher Ernie Landale (Hal Holbrook), the husband of private eye Jim Rockford's ex-prostitute friend Rita Kapkovic (Rita Moreno), is accused of child molestation. Never mind that the evidence is circumstantial at best, flimsy at worst: The Media have already tried and convicted Landale, irresponsibly whipping up a journalistic frenzy that turns all of the benighted teacher's associates and friends against him. All, that is, except Jim Rockford (Garner), who, together with Landale's attorney Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett) and police lieutenant Dennis Becker (Joe Santos), is prepared to move heaven and earth to find the actual pedophile and clear Landale's name. Filmed in 1997, The Rockford Files: If It Bleeds, It Leads made its CBS debut on April 20, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1987
Season Seven of Magnum, P.I comes to spectacular conclusion--one that was originally intended to be the series' final episode. Wounded in a violent shootout, the comatose Magnum (Tom Selleck) hovers between life and death. From his vantage point in "Limbo", Magnum tries to communicate with his friends, to warn them that his ex-wife Michelle may soon be murdered. Coming to Magnum's rescue--in a manner of speaking--is the spectre of his old Navy buddy "Mac" MacReynolds (Larry Manetti). Though Magnum, P.I. had indeed been cancelled at the end of its seventh season, the series was brought back the following year by public demand--necessitating a hasty "rethinking" of this episode's now-famous closing image. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1984
Leslie Uggams guest stars as jazz singer Alexis Carter, with whom T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) had fallen in love during the Vietnam war. Now that Alexis has apparently come back into his life, T.C. hopes to rekindle the romance. This turn of events positively baffles Magnum (Tom Selleck), who knows only too well that Alexis precipitates disaster wherever she goes--and sure enough, the lady is presently on the lam from a Detroit drug ring over an $18,000 "misunderstanding." Leslie Uggams sings "Nowhere to Run" and "Here's That Rainy Day" in this episode, which also features a rare acting appearance by musical legend Chuck Mangione. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
In his first major TV project since Kojak, Telly Savalas stars as maverick Philadelphia criminal lawyer Nick Hellinger. He heads to Houston to defend a syndicate accountant accused of murder. The government seems inordinately interested in the case, as well it should be: The accountant is actually an undercover agent. Mob boss (Rod Taylor) also puts pressure on Hellinger in regards to the case. Hellinger's Law was the pilot for a series that looked as though it was an easy sell; but when it came down to the line, CBS, despite allegedly ordering several scripts to be written, decided not to go with the show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Season six of The Rockford Files marks the return of James Garner as wryly humorous ex-con turned private eye Jim Rockford -- but not for long. Weary of the role, fed up by constant quarrelling with the production staff over story values and working conditions, and racked with pain from a variety of job-related injuries, Garner abruptly quit the popular series just before shooting wrapped. With no star, there was no Rockford Files, and the show was canceled -- leaving one announced episode, "Never Trust a Boxx Boy," uncompleted and abandoned. But before this could happen, the season opens with "Paradise Cove," highlighted by the much-publicized guest appearance of Mariette Hartley, who was then appearing with Garner in a series of popular camera commercials. (The warm rapport between the two actors was so persuasive that many viewers assumed they were married, prompting Hartley to half-seriously go around wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the message "I am not Mrs. James Garner!".) This is followed by the two-parter "Lions, Tigers, Monkeys, and Dogs," with guest-star turns by Hollywood icons Lauren Bacall and Dana Wynter. Other highlights during the series' final season are the return appearances of Tom Selleck as the insufferably lucky P.I. Lance White in "Nice Guys Finish Dead," James Whitmore Jr. as casually unscrupulous detective Fred Beamer in the same episode, and Rita Moreno in her Emmy-winning role as troublesome prostitute Rita Capkovic in "No Fault Affair." And speaking of Emmies, Rockford Files co-star (and occasional writer and director) Stuart Margolin this season walked home with his second gold statuette for his portrayal of Jim Rockford's delightfully untrustworthy former cellmate Angel Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
James Garner is back as Jim Rockford, an ex-con turned private eye with a penchant for righting old wrongs (and a predilection for getting beaten up by those who don't want those wrongs righted) in season five of The Rockford Files. Also returning are Noah Beery Jr. as Jim's dad Rocky, Joe Santos as his "friendly enemy," police detective Dennis Becker, and Stuart Margolin as Jim's delightfully duplicitous former cellmate Angel Martin, a role that would earn Margolin an Emmy award this season. And though Gretchen Corbett, who played Jim's attorney girlfriend Beth Davenport, is no longer on the series, her function as "legal liaison" has been filled by Bo Hopkins as disbarred lawyer John Cooper. Also introduced this season is Jim Rockford's bete noir, dazzlingly handsome rival private detective Lance White, whose incredible luck (vital clues seem to literally appear out of nowhere at all the right moments) and irritatingly unerring intuition is a continual source of outrage and embarrassment for Mr. Rockford. Lance White is superbly played by Tom Selleck as sort of a dry run for his more famous starring portrayal of Magnum P.I. in the TV series of the same name. Additionally, Rita Moreno makes a return appearance in her Emmy-winning role as abrasive "working girl" Rita Capkovic in the cleverly-titled episode "Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead"; and Dennis Dugan is back as boyish, baby-faced private eye Richie Brockelman (a role he also played in his own spin-off series) in the two-part "Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
Ex-con turned private eye Jim Rockford (James Garner) continues serving the cause of justice by reopening closed cases in his own cynical, deceptively disheveled fashion in season four of The Rockford Files. The proceedings begin with "Beamer's Last Case," in which Jim must deal with someone who is impersonating him -- and taking all of his business in the process! The guest stars on this one include James Whitmore Jr. as the titular Fred Beamer, as well as James Garner's former Maverick co-star Jack Kelly. Later on, Isaac Hayes returns in the role of enterprising ex-convict Gandolph Fitch, this time in the company of Dionne Warwick, in "Second Chance." Also: veteran kiddie-show host and voice-over expert Chuck McCann is seen as a comedian whose precious collection of jokes is "kidnapped" and held for ransom in "Requiem for a Funny Box"; a pre-Dallas Larry Hagman appears in "Forced Retirement"; a post-M*A*S*H Larry Linville shows up in "A Deadly Maze"; and the two-part season closer "The House on Willis Avenue" serves to introduce Dennis Dugan as baby-faced greenhorn private eye Richie Brockelmann, who would soon be spun off into his own series. Best of all, "The Paper Palace" showcases Rita Moreno in her Emmy-winning performance as troublesome prostitute Rita Capkovic. In addition to Moreno, The Rockford Files itself was also honored with an Emmy this season, for Outstanding Drama Series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
James Garner won an Emmy for his continuing performance as disheveled, cynically humorous ex-convict turned private detective Jim Rockford during season three of The Rockford Files. This honor may very well have been due to Garner's work in the season's best and most pungent episode, "So Help Me God," in which Rockford finds himself enmeshed in a maze of governmental bureaucracy when he is forced to testify before a grand jury -- a nightmarish situation which, as noted in the episode's closing titles, could happen to anyone in the audience! Also in the cast this season are familiar supporting players Noah Beery Jr., as Jim's dad Rocky; Gretchen Corbett as Jim's attorney girlfriend Beth Davenport; Stuart Margolin as Rockford's humorously untrustworthy former cellmate Angel Martin; and Joe Santos as Rockford's police department pal (and severest critic), Detective Dennis Becker. New to the cast is James Luisi as Dennis' superior Lt. Doug Chapman, who, like his predecessor Alex Diehl, seems to have a permanent grudge against the insouciant Mr. Rockford. As for the season's guest stars, Sharon Gless -- long before Queer as Folk -- makes a return appearance in the opening episode "The Fourth Man"; Burt Young of Rocky fame is seen in "The Family Hour"; Veronica Hamel (Hill Street Blues) and Ned Beatty are in "Return to the 38th Parallel"; Oscar-winner Strother Martin plays the title character in the two-part "The Trees, the Bees, and T.T. Flowers"; comic actress Joyce Van Patten is cast against type as a dangerous obstreperous "police groupie" in another two-parter, "To Protect and Serve," and finally, "The Becker Connection" serves to reunite James Garner with his former Maverick co-star Jack Kelly. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
- 1976
Despite his animosity towards his former parole officer Marcus Hayes (Louis Gosset Jr. in his first series appearance), Jim (James Garner) agrees to take a case on Hayes' behalf. Jim is to investigate the possibility of criminal involvement in the high-stakes bidding for a valuable pro-basketball franchise, ostensibly to help out Hayes' employer, Athletics commissioner Martin Eastman (David White). It turns out, however, that Eastman never hired Hayes...and with the commissioner turns up murdered, Jim begins to wonder what exactly his old "friend" Marcus is really up to. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
Fashion model Margaux Adams (Doria Cook) places a frantic phone call to lawyer Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett)--and shortly thereafter turns up dead. At Beth's personal request, Jim (James Garner) agrees to investigate Margaux' murder, beginning with a visit to fashion designer Bob Coleman (Robert Webber). When Coleman is knocked off as well, Jim finds himself up against some decidedly unfashionable mobsters who have their dirty fingers in some industrial espionage. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Introduced as a 90-minute TV movie in March of 1974, The Rockford Files began its weekly, hour-long series run in September of that year. The opening episode, "The Kirkoff Case," finds ex-con turned private eye Jim Rockford (James Garner) trying to prove that his earnest but obnoxious young client (played by James Woods, Garner's later co-star in the made-for-TV feature My Name is Bill W.) did not murder his parents as claimed. In the first season's second episode, Gretchen Corbett is introduced as Jim's lawyer girlfriend Beth Davenport, who hires our hero to clear her client of a murder charge. Throughout the rest of the season, Jim is aided and abetted by his crusty dad Rocky (Noah Beery Jr.), his likeable (if not entirely honest) former cellmate Angel (Stuart Margolin), and, reluctantly, by his police-department contact Detective Dennis Becker (Joe Santos). Meanwhile, Dennis' superior Lt. Alex Diehl (Tom Atkins) can't shake himself of the conviction that Jim's prison record was somehow deserved -- especially when the private eye utilizes unorthodox methods to get results. Although the main focus is on star Garner, season one of The Rockford Files affords generous screen space to a variety of guest stars. A pre-Cagney and Lacey Sharon Gless is seen along with Joseph Cotten in the two-part "This Case is Closed"; a young Jill Clayburgh shows up in "The Big Ripoff"; Joan Van Ark (Dallas) and Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky & Hutch) are seen in "Find Me if You Can"; Shelley Fabares, halfway between The Donna Reed Show and Coach, guests in "Caledonia -- It's Worth a Fortune"; Linda Evans, likewise 'twixt and 'tween The Big Valley and Dynasty, appears in "Claire"; and future Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner can be seen in "Aura Lee, Farewell." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Garner, Noah Beery, Jr., (more)
