This is a terrific episode, and probably one the better ones from the second season, which to me, had many hit or miss shows. I would tell any person who's interested in becoming a fan to watch episodes starting in 1976, when the show was in true form, as I'm not a huge fan of the first two seasons, even though the latter episodes of this particular season were from 1976. John Saxon gives a strong performance as Dave Delaroux(Rockford says "ole Dave" many times), and Beth is smitten with him, and guess who's jealous? Look for a great scene in the trailer as Dave tries to hire Jim, and Beth does her best to make Jim and the trailer look presentable to Dave, who recently hired Beth for a reason I forget. If you know anything about Saxon, you should know that he's a martial arts expert, as both he and James Garner trained under the legendary Bruce Lee, and Saxon uses martial arts in this episode; I'm not certain of Garner's skills in this department, as he doesn't use that technique here. There are some familiar faces as Rockford veteran actor Joe E. Tata, who starred in a total of 8 episodes, Wayne Tippit(Agent Dan Shore), James Murtaugh(A1 steak sauce guy), and Ned Wilson, from the epic Salem's Lot from 1979. It boils down to Dave being a crook, and he concocts a plan to steal $2 million under a portrait of Beth, although I thought Rockford figures this out too easily and too conveniently. I was also slightly disappointed in how easily Jim traps Dave by pinning his arm behind his back, considering Dave is a martial arts expert, as he should be able to break free before the police come to arrest him. The rest of the episode is in very fine form with solid performances by all involved.
Review of A Portrait of Elizabeth
