Backlash of the Hunter
- Episode aired Mar 27, 1974
- TV-PG
- 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Jim helps a woman whose father was murdered, after LAPD abandoned the case.Jim helps a woman whose father was murdered, after LAPD abandoned the case.Jim helps a woman whose father was murdered, after LAPD abandoned the case.
Luis Delgado
- Luis Delgado
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRobert Donley portrayed Joseph "Rocky" Rockford only in the pilot. Noah Beery Jr. would pick up the role for the duration of the series. Donley's portrayal was shown to be slightly seedy, as demonstrated by allowing his son to be the victim of an attempted shakedown by his Records Clerk acquaintance.
- GoofsThe file folders Angel looks through for Rockford are all unlabeled.
- Quotes
Jim Rockford: You know what's wrong with karate Jerry? It's based on the ridiculous assumption that the other guy will fight fair.
- Alternate versionsSyndicated repeats are split into two parts, with an alternate opening sequence that features the series' title card over a shot of Rockford's mobile home with the answering machine message, regarding Lt. Chapman's birthday, playing in the background. This opening removes any shots of Noah Beery as he does not appear in the episode.
- ConnectionsFollowed by The Rockford Files: Deadlock in Parma (1980)
Featured review
Solid start to a classic series
(Spoliers!) Some other reviews have described this pilot episode as lasting 2-hours, but that is the syndicated version which was split into two hour-long episodes. In fact, the pilot lasts 73 minutes including closing credits.
The performances are all solid, but as someone else said, there are a few gaping plot-holes (exactly how Mrs. Elias found Nick Butler is unexplained, as is her motivation for sending him to medical school. And how did she and Jerry Grimes ever make a connection? they don't appear to have too much in common. And where exactly did Jim and Sara find that cement truck, anyway?). I would tend to chalk these unsolved-mysteries up to poor editing, as Rockford Files remains one of the best-*written* series ever. But nonetheless, they do detract from the effectiveness of the episode.
Noah Beery later made the "Rocky Rockford" role his own, but there's no need to disparage Robert Donley's performance here.
It's easy to see how Lindsay Wagner became one of the TV's biggest stars of that era -- really, she was just stunning. On the Season-One DVD, there is a bonus interview with Garner in which he expresses regret that Wagner's character wasn't included in more episodes. It seems clear that she was intended to be a recurring character, but it just never happened.
The action scenes are standard-mid-70s. When Rockford shoots a small-craft plane out of the air with a snub-nosed revolver... well, obviously that's not terribly realistic. The fight in the men's room is clever. (How strange, in 2011, to hear the good guy use the word "queer" in a disparaging way. That -- to say the very least -- would never happen today!)
The humor, the vaguely anti-establishment worldview, the LA scenery (plus some Vegas, too) -- it's all there.
The performances are all solid, but as someone else said, there are a few gaping plot-holes (exactly how Mrs. Elias found Nick Butler is unexplained, as is her motivation for sending him to medical school. And how did she and Jerry Grimes ever make a connection? they don't appear to have too much in common. And where exactly did Jim and Sara find that cement truck, anyway?). I would tend to chalk these unsolved-mysteries up to poor editing, as Rockford Files remains one of the best-*written* series ever. But nonetheless, they do detract from the effectiveness of the episode.
Noah Beery later made the "Rocky Rockford" role his own, but there's no need to disparage Robert Donley's performance here.
It's easy to see how Lindsay Wagner became one of the TV's biggest stars of that era -- really, she was just stunning. On the Season-One DVD, there is a bonus interview with Garner in which he expresses regret that Wagner's character wasn't included in more episodes. It seems clear that she was intended to be a recurring character, but it just never happened.
The action scenes are standard-mid-70s. When Rockford shoots a small-craft plane out of the air with a snub-nosed revolver... well, obviously that's not terribly realistic. The fight in the men's room is clever. (How strange, in 2011, to hear the good guy use the word "queer" in a disparaging way. That -- to say the very least -- would never happen today!)
The humor, the vaguely anti-establishment worldview, the LA scenery (plus some Vegas, too) -- it's all there.
helpful•340
- mobile707
- Jul 29, 2011
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Filming locations
- Simi Valley, California, USA(Driving to Las Vegas, wedding chapel shooting, car and plane chase)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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