The Rockford Files
Deadlock in Parma
Season 6, Episode 12 · Aired 1980-01-10
Synopsis
In the series finale, Jim Rockford drives off into a California sunset in his wounded Firebird, after being ensnared in a small-town council battle with big implications. While trout fishing in the mountains, the vacationing PI becomes the emergency proxy for a fellow angler, an environmentalist councilman, felled by appendicitis. But the seemingly-innocuous proposition for a Parma city park, attracts a trailer load of New Jersey mobsters who urge Rockford to keep his vote green, or sleep with the fishes. Meanwhile, this town council in the land of endless propositions, acts to force their temporary member Rockford to go fishing under the moonlight, but not in Parma.
From the desk: The guide closes on “Deadlock in Parma” (1980-01-10) — a series bookend worth the package context. Garner vs. studio lawsuits are Hollywood lore.
In the series
This episode is part of The Rockford Files (1974–1980) on NBC.
The anti-hardboiled PI — answering machine, beat-up Firebird, real exhaustion.
Key cast
- James Garner as Jim Rockford
- Noah Beery Jr. as Joseph 'Rocky' Rockford
- Joe Santos as Sgt. Dennis Becker
- Stuart Margolin as Angel Martin