Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 74
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Popular Culture Review
“They won’t. The attempt this morning was against a woman
alone and unarmed.”
“And the next time it will be against a woman alone and un
armed.”
“You’re not armed?”
“No.”
“But you’re a private investigator. Why don’t you carry a gun?”
“Because I don’t want to shoot anybody.”
In the pilot episode of The Rockford Files (March 27, 1974), later re
named Backlash o f the Hunter, Rockford discusses fees with Sara (Lindsay Wagner),
a potential client:
Sara: “I want to retain you Mr. Rockford, I need help.”
Rockford: “I hope you can afford me.”
Sara: “But you haven’t even heard what I want.”
Rockford: “You’re right. But if we could just talk about my fee
first, we will probably save a lot of time. I cost $200 a day plus
expenses.”
Sara: “$200?”
Rockford: “Plus expenses. And I only handle criminal cases
that are closed. It’s not like it is on TV. I get myself messed up
in an LAPD active file and I can get my can shot off, my li
cense pulled and probably get booked for obstructing justice.”
Sara: “Where did you get this wonderful finishing school ap
proach?”
Rockford: “People come to me all the time. Sit right there where
you’re sitting and cry their eyes out. Old women who want
their sons out of jail. Girlfriends, fathers — all of them with
problems. I used to be a softie and listen and then we’d get
around to money and they couldn’t pay, so they left and I’d be
depressed and that was that. It was turning me off on my busi
ness so now I do it this way.”
Sara duly writes a check and Rockford accepts the case. Later he confronts Jerry
Grimes, a tough “player,” just after telling Sara that he is off the case for good. He
spots Grimes following his car, so he parks outside a bar and goes inside. Rock
ford heads for the men’s room, where he removes the soap container from the
wash basin, and spreads the liquid soap on the floor and waits. Jerry then walks in.
“You got to be one of the dumbest-looking apes I ever saw”,Rockford states, and