the rockford files

i was looking forward to getting the rockford files on DVD. finally i got it. the first season. i appreciate stories based on private detective archetypes. but after having watching 5 or 6 of the episodes, i see that every episode mirrors somewhat every other episode. the private detective himself, rockford, is an ex-con, something that cops like to point out. they say he's crud. he runs into extreme anger from the cops. he deals with wealthy people who are able to afford his services. there is a car chase. there is danger. and it ends on a funny note. often he doesn't even get paid, and he ends grinning, as if, as james garner says, he's not in it for the money. the main thing that i like about the series is that it was made at a time before the cop was the main character of virtually every show. so a common man, living in a trailer, was the main character, and was always defiant to people in power. in the 80's we got movies based on cops as main characters, and starting with reality TV shows on late at night, we now get to see poor people, addicts, down on their luck, being almost tortured by cops who eventually find the rocks of crack cocaine that they've hidden in their mouth or in their wallet. cops, as a show, is the opposite of the rockford files: in cops, the cop himself is the main character, and the poor are oppressed because of their addiction. and it's on every night now where i live. could it be said that the poor don't know any better than to get addicted? or if they are addicted, do they deserve to be oppressed by the police? and do everyday citizens have to watch that if they turn on the TV set? the idea that justice is something beyond merely what the police do is something that draws anger: cops get angry at rockford when he says something about the law. "you yardbird lawyers..." likewise, the cops get particularly scornful when they find a lawyer who has passed out, having done too much cocaine or other drugs. "the wheels of justice turn slowly," they say, implying that a lawyer is the worst of all scum. most people in the rockford files are angry, except those who have a scheme, or who are working an angle. people have their own business, and go about their own business. as one philosopher said, society is best served if we all as individuals go about our own business. take care of your own business. but the private detective is the one who must go about finding out other people's business. and if he is a common man, who has been to prison, he has several strikes against him, and he has to be tough. that's the good thing about rockford files: he's tough, it's a job he can do, he's not in it for the money, and he has a sense of humor.

but now that i've seen a number of first season rockford files shows, it occurred to me i don't need the other seasons. if you've seen a few episodes, you pretty much know what's going to happen in a show.