The BEST episodes of The Rockford Files season 4

Every episode of The Rockford Files season 4, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Rockford Files season 4!

Emmy® winner James Garner stars as the offbeat Jim Rockford, an ex-con-turned-private-investigator who would rather fish than fight but whose instinct on closed cases is more golden than his classic Pontiac Firebird. From his mobile home in Malibu, this wisecracking private eye takes you on the cases of the lost and the dispossessed, chasing down seemingly long-dead clues in the sun-baked streets and seamy alleys of Los Angeles.

Last Updated: 9/28/2024Network: NBCStatus: Ended
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The House on Willis Avenue (2)
star
9.29
34 votes

#1 - The House on Willis Avenue (2)

Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/24/1978

Jim and Ritchie continue to investigate their mentor's death and follow leads to a massive computer data storage company who have a plot in a desert canyon.

Directors: Hy Averback
Watch Now:Amazon
The House on Willis Avenue (1)
star
8.90
50 votes

#2 - The House on Willis Avenue (1)

Season 4 - Episode 21 - Aired 2/24/1978

When his mentor is found dead in a road accident, Jim teams up with young P.I. Ritchie Brockleman following up leads on a murder and find a lot more than they bargained for.

Directors: Hy Averback
Watch Now:Amazon
Irving the Explainer
star
8.15
78 votes

#3 - Irving the Explainer

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/1977

The legacy of a famous director haunts Rockford as he digs into the man's past and discovers Nazi sympathies and a missing painting worth millions.

Directors: James Coburn
Writer: David Chase
Watch Now:Amazon
The Competitive Edge
star
8.11
54 votes

#4 - The Competitive Edge

Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/10/1978

Crazy is as crazy does, and Rockford's heading for the mental ward when a health club doctor unmasks his top-secret cover and attributes his weird behavior to psychological problems.

Directors: Harry Falk
Watch Now:Amazon
Hotel of Fear
star
7.76
58 votes

#5 - Hotel of Fear

Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/2/1977

Angel's living the high life in return for his testimony against a hit man. But does living in the lap of luxury mean he'll pay the ultimate price?

Directors: Russ Mayberry
Watch Now:Amazon
Beamer's Last Case
star
7.70
69 votes

#6 - Beamer's Last Case

Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/16/1977

Even if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Rockford's not feeling the love when he returns from a vacation and finds that someone has taken on his identity and antagonized his clients.

Watch Now:Amazon
A Deadly Maze
star
7.64
64 votes

#7 - A Deadly Maze

Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/23/1977

The pressure is on when a bizarre scientist asks Rockford to look into the disappearance of his wife in order to study Rockford's reaction to frustration.

Directors: William Wiard
Watch Now:Amazon
The Mayor's Committee from Deer Lick Falls
star
7.60
86 votes

#8 - The Mayor's Committee from Deer Lick Falls

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/25/1977

A group of small-town citizens are hiding a much bigger crime when they hire Rockford first to find their fire truck—and then to find and dispose of one of their former residents.

Directors: Ivan Dixon
Watch Now:Amazon
Dwarf in a Helium Hat
star
7.56
84 votes

#9 - Dwarf in a Helium Hat

Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/27/1978

A wrong-number phone call has Rockford rushing to find and protect its intended recipient, Jay Rockfelt, from imminent kidnapping and death.

Directors: Reza Badiyi
Watch Now:Amazon
Quickie Nirvana
star
7.36
33 votes

#10 - Quickie Nirvana

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/11/1977

Rockford thinks he's doing a good deed when he allows a hippie girl camping outside his trailer to use his mailing address. But their harmonious relationship comes to a jarring end when thugs working for a high-powered attorney come to call.

Directors: Meta Rosenberg
Writer: David Chase
Watch Now:Amazon
Requiem for a Funny Box
star
7.32
56 votes

#11 - Requiem for a Funny Box

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/4/1977

The joke falls flat when a second-rate comedian frames Rockford for the murder of his former partner.

Watch Now:Amazon
Forced Retirement
star
7.26
89 votes

#12 - Forced Retirement

Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/9/1977

Corporate corruption comes bubbling to the surface when Rockford investigates a company creating an offshore drilling device and then has his cover blown when he meets up with Angel and one of the company's officials.

Directors: Alexander Singer
Watch Now:Amazon
The Dog and Pony Show
star
7.25
60 votes

#13 - The Dog and Pony Show

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/1977

It's mind over matter when Rockford helps a frightened young woman with mental issues overcome her problems with the mob.

Directors: Reza Badiyi
Writer: David Chase
Watch Now:Amazon
The Paper Palace
star
7.23
88 votes

#14 - The Paper Palace

Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/20/1978

Rockford reluctantly agrees to help a prostitute find the people who have been sending her death threats and discovers that—if she survives—she could be in for a rags-to-riches ending.

Directors: Richard Crenna
Watch Now:Amazon
South by Southeast
star
7.06
83 votes

#15 - South by Southeast

Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/3/1978

There's trouble south of the border when Rockford is mistakenly abducted by federal agents and then asked to help them protect an international playgirl. .

Directors: William Wiard
Trouble in Chapter 17
star
6.92
92 votes

#16 - Trouble in Chapter 17

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/1977

Rockford must read between the lines when he investigates mysterious death threats against a best-selling author.

Directors: William Wiard
The Battle of Canoga Park
star
6.89
90 votes

#17 - The Battle of Canoga Park

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/1977

Danger appears on Rockford's doorstep when a gun he hid in a cookie jar appears at the scene of a brutal crime.

Directors: Ivan Dixon
The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall
star
6.85
60 votes

#18 - The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall

Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/17/1978

Hazing rituals at a local fraternity get fatally out of control when Rockford's young friend and an Arab student are murdered.

Directors: Ivan Dixon
Second Chance
star
6.66
58 votes

#19 - Second Chance

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/1977

An illustrious singer is in the spotlight when Rockford and his former cellmate, Gandy, work to find the person who wants her silenced forever.

Directors: Reza Badiyi
The Attractive Nuisance
star
6.60
88 votes

#20 - The Attractive Nuisance

Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/6/1978

The past refuses to stay buried when a retired FBI agent comes to the truck-stop café seeking revenge against Rocky's old partner in crime.

Directors: Dana Elcar
The Queen of Peru
star
6.26
86 votes

#21 - The Queen of Peru

Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/16/1977

A dangerous beachside transaction between Rockford and some jewel thieves has a change of fortune when a family barbecuing nearby happens upon the priceless gems.

Directors: Meta Rosenberg
Writer: David Chase
The Gang at Don's Drive-In
star
6.21
57 votes

#22 - The Gang at Don's Drive-In

Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/13/1978

A beleaguered author asks Rockford to look into the cold case of a murdered high school girl and the suspects who want the case permanently put on ice.

Directors: Harry Falk