The WORST episodes of The Rockford Files

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

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
Just a Coupla Guys
star
5.37
49 votes

#1 - Just a Coupla Guys

Season 6 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/14/1979

Jim travels to New Jersey to help a reformed mob boss, who two punks are trying to get into the mob through.

No Fault Affair
star
5.75
48 votes

#2 - No Fault Affair

Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/30/1979

Rita Capkovic stays with Jim after she is beaten up by her pimp when she wants to find a new line of work...

Directors: Corey Allen
The Return of the Black Shadow
star
6.16
49 votes

#3 - The Return of the Black Shadow

Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/17/1979

John Cooper goes after the biker gang which attacked Jim and his date Gail - Coop's sister...

Directors: William Wiard
The Gang at Don's Drive-In
star
6.21
57 votes

#4 - 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
The Queen of Peru
star
6.26
86 votes

#5 - 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
Local Man Eaten by Newspaper
star
6.58
55 votes

#6 - Local Man Eaten by Newspaper

Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/8/1978

While investigsting a tabloid newspaper who are stealing medical information on celebrities, Jim recieves some bad press after his client, the celebrity doctor is shot dead...

Directors: Meta Rosenberg
The Attractive Nuisance
star
6.60
88 votes

#7 - 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
Second Chance
star
6.66
58 votes

#8 - 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
Caledonia – It's Worth a Fortune!
star
6.70
108 votes

#9 - Caledonia – It's Worth a Fortune!

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/6/1974

Hired by Jolene Hyland, Jim helps her try and locate a fortune buried somewhere in Caledonia by her terminally ill husband Gerry, whose former partner Leonard wants a piece of the action...

Directors: Stuart Margolin
Paradise Cove
star
6.72
61 votes

#10 - Paradise Cove

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/28/1979

Although he is trying to be evicted from Paradise Cove and is subject to an audit for a Court Judgment, Jim investigates an old mystery involving whiskey and gold bullion...

The Jersey Bounce
star
6.73
86 votes

#11 - The Jersey Bounce

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/6/1978

Jim stands accused of murdering one of Rocky's neighbours party guests when matters get out of hand, but Jim's counsel seems pre-occupied so puts his fate in the hands of legal researcher John Cooper...

Writer: David Chase
The Prisoner of Rosemont Hall
star
6.85
60 votes

#12 - 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
The Battle of Canoga Park
star
6.89
90 votes

#13 - 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
Roundabout
star
6.91
55 votes

#14 - Roundabout

Season 1 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/7/1975

Jim is hired to pass on an inheritance to a young woman in Las Vegas, who acts very strangely and appears not to really want the money...

Directors: Lou Antonio
Trouble in Chapter 17
star
6.92
92 votes

#15 - 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
Profit and Loss (2)
star
6.93
104 votes

#16 - Profit and Loss (2)

Season 1 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/27/1974

PART 2 - LOSS After being charged with filing a false police report, Jim and Rocky continue to investigate Fiscal Dynamics Incorporated...

Directors: Lawrence Doheny
Black Mirror (2)
star
6.93
45 votes

#17 - Black Mirror (2)

Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/24/1978

Jim tries to trace Megan's stalker, who is a patient with a dual personality.

Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die (2)
star
6.95
57 votes

#18 - Only Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die (2)

Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/26/1979

Jim finds a missing Record Producer murdered and believes it is linked to a talent agency ran by organised crime...

Deadlock in Parma
star
7.00
51 votes

#19 - Deadlock in Parma

Season 6 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/10/1980

Jim gets in trouble when while on a fishing trip he agrees to cast a proxy vote for a friend who sold his deciding vote out to both sides.

Love is the Word
star
7.00
51 votes

#20 - Love is the Word

Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/9/1979

Jim meets with Megan who asks for his help in clearing her fiance of murder charges.

Directors: John Patterson
Writer: David Chase
The Family Hour
star
7.04
97 votes

#21 - The Family Hour

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/8/1976

Rockford and his father become the unlikely babysitters of a wandering nine-year-old girl when her father goes missing.

Directors: William Wiard
Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs (1)
star
7.06
53 votes

#22 - Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs (1)

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/12/1979

Jim is hired by a Princess to protect her friend and investigate who wants her killed...

Directors: William Wiard
South by Southeast
star
7.06
83 votes

#23 - 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
Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs (2)
star
7.06
48 votes

#24 - Lions, Tigers, Monkeys and Dogs (2)

Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/12/1979

Jim traces a killer via a barman, florist and gangster in order to establish who ordered the Princess' friend killed...

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The Man Who Saw the Alligators
star
7.08
51 votes

#25 - The Man Who Saw the Alligators

Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/10/1979

When a hit-man Jim helped imprison is released threatening revenge, Jim goes into hiding, but Angel unfortunately reveals his friends hideout...

Directors: Corey Allen
Writer: Roy Huggins
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