Jim Rockford Returns

[Megotastrophe]

Not a bad actor really. He can handle the subtle humor and the action. I like it

[monitor_ep]

David sorta has James Garner look so that is going to be easier, but most people today have never watched the original.

My household will be tuning in to watch it.

[BudgetMego]

His father Dave Roberts was the weatherman on one of my local news stations. WPVI channel 6.

[Megotastrophe]

The Hawaii 5 0 reboot was...ok. I never watched an episode of the Magnum PI reboot. This, maybe. How about Mannix next lol.

[TrekStar]

I was a fan of James Garner and the Rockford Files tv show, so I’ll give this a watch.

[sprytel]

Rockford Files was innovative in its day for how it broke a season into season long arcs, and for having a complex main character who wasn't polished and wasn't quite a hero. David Chase, who worked on Rockford, went on to build on that approach for the Sopranos. And today, a lot of modern TV works borrows from that DNA. So I worry a Rockford remake may have trouble standing out to today's viewers.

It is similar to the issue that John Carter had, coming over 30 years after the legacy of Star Wars. Even though John Carter did it first, modern audiences had seen so many imitators that it felt like a cliche.

[MRP]

I think a big challenge is going to be the changes to the way TV is paced and the approaches to storytelling. The 70s were unique in the way stuff was paced and set up in screenplays, for both movies and TV. Modern screenwriting has very different approaches and very different ideas of how to pace a story. A lot of the Rockford Files appeal was that 70s approach to making stories on screen, and Garner's skills as a performer complemented that perfectly. But it's not the 70s any more and those approaches are not done in Hollywood anymore, so it will be impossible to recapture the feel of what the Rockford Files was.

And that can be a good or bad things. I like Boreanz. I think he'll do well, and it could be a very good modern detective show. But even with all that, it might not capture the feel of what Rockford Files was and therefore fail to meet the expectations of some of the expected viewer base. I hope I remember to check it out when it airs. I want to like it, but I think it's going to be hard to recapture the vibe that made Rockford Files so unique and memorable. And its where I think modern remakes like Hawaii 5-0 and Magnum fell down. There were good modern TV shows, but they didn't capture the vibe of the shows they were based on, and probably would have been better received if they had just been their own modern shows featuring cops and detectives in Hawaii rather than trying to invoke the legacy of the shows they were remakes of.

-M

[PNGwynne]

I'm in, I like Boreanz and hope this is good for him. I love the original show.

And Spry--I really enjoyed John Carter. I so hoped for a trilogy--and merchandising.

[Megotastrophe]

Im trying to think what we are gonna be looking for in the reboot. The main character PI, is he still gonna have one cop friend? Angel, the probably criminal friend? The dad? The trailer house? The gold Firebird?

[Klosterheim]

I started to think that The Rockford Files would never be remade, so I'm surprised that there is a new one.

It looked like they have his car, but a different trailer.

I watched the original many times, a new one will never have the same feel or the memory of the time period, and the different way people were portrayed. The majority of people in the world used to behave differently, and carry themselves differently.

Many stories were more relatable.

New shows seem set in an unknown world at times.

I still have to watch the rest of the 1990's Rockford Files TV movies, I'll probbally watch those before checking out the new one.

Usually I skip most TV remakes, but I might watch the first episode, would have to think about, I guess it someone has it on - I will watch some of it.

It's just that the original was so good for many reasons.

And, one small reason is I enjoyed the actors from their older movies.

The Great Escape being a big one.

In addition, The Rockford Files led me going back and watching great movies like Support Your Local Sheriff and Support Your Local Gunfighter.

[Megotastrophe]

Maverick and Return of Maverick were such fun series. I even liked Gatner in Simple Rules. At the same time, Boreanaz has already played the snarky imvestigator in Bones, will this change from that? Will any of the actors from his other 3 or 4 series be a part of this? Would it be fun to see the Spike actor as the cop who can't stand him? The guy who played the bug doctor as the reformed convict Angel? Emily or Sara showing up as an old flane? Or maybe both of them and he has to prove them innocent?