Magnum p.i. (1982) – Double Jeopardy and The Last Page

  Thomas (Tom Selleck) meets one of his screen crushes when a film, Tahiti Kill, based on one of Robin Masters’ bestsellers is doing some shooting on the estate in the first episode this week, Double Jeopardy. It was written by Reuben Leder, Babs Greyhosky and Bill Taub, and aired 25 February, 1982. When Higgins…

The Rockford Files (1978) – The House on Willis Avenue

  Season four of The Rockford Files comes to a close with this feature-length episode that aired 24 February, 1978, and was written by Cannell himself. The phone gag this time around features a call from the phone company, advising him that there is  an end to his service coming… in two minutes. And I…

Magnum, P.I. (1981) – Tropical Madness & Wave Goodbye

  Robert Hamilton writes an episode this week, well, originally aired 12 November, 1981, that causes some great strain on Thomas’ (Tom Selleck) and Higgins’ (John Hillerman) relationship in Tropical Madness. When a young English woman, Jennifer Chapman (Devon Ericson), seems to prefer Higgins to Magnum, Thomas is a little suspicious, but Higgins, flattered by…

The Rockford Files (1977) – To Protect and Serve Parts 1 & 2

  A cop groupie causes all manner of trouble in the two-parter I look at this week. David Chase wrote this episode, which originally aired 11 March, 1977 with the second part following a week later on 18 March. The phone gag for the first episode featured a female friend of Rocky’s (Noah Beery Jr.)…

The Rockford Files (1976) – The Family Hour & Feeding Frenzy

  This week private investigator Jim Rockford (James Garner)gets mixed up in some serious trouble, and it’s up to his quick wits, and friends to keep him out of jail… First up is The Family Hour, which aired October 8, 1976, and was written by Gordon T. Dawson. The phone gag is from a friend…

The Rockford Files (1976) – The Italian Bird Fiasco & Where’s Houston?

  Private investigator Jim Rockford (James Garner) tackles a couple of interesting cases in this week’s installment of The Rockford Files. First up we have The Italian Bird Fiasco, which originally aired 13, February 1976, and was directed by film legend Jackie Cooper. It was written by Edward J. Lasko. The phone gag this time…

The Rockford Files (1976) – The No-Cut Contract & A Portrait of Elizabeth

This week private investigator Jim Rockford (James Garner) is in trouble again. The first episode, written by Cannell, himself is a lot of fun. It originally aired 16 January, 1976, and features Wayne Tippit, back as Agent Shore, Becker (Joe Santos), Angel (Stuart Margolin) and Beth (Gretchen Corbett). The phone gag is all in Spanish,…