Another bad idea? I'd say the original Rockford Files was one of those shows where it wasn't really interesting enough, worth watching without its lead actor. It could be good but early money I'd put this on the same level as remaking The Honeymooners without Jackie Gleason. Which they did attempt several years ago. http://screencrave.com/2010-03-01/dermot-mulroney-cast-in-rockford-files-remake/
I remember nothing about the show except for the theme. <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TXtpoO_DlDM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TXtpoO_DlDM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Absolute complete ignorance (not stupidity, just ignorance, big difference). The Rockford Files is one of the best shows ever created and my personal favorite. The writing alone was worth it, as evidenced by one of its 3 principal writers being David Chase, the creator and writer of The Sopranos. Yes, it had its car chases and fistfights, but more importantly, the shows involved complicated plots and twists that went far beyond horribly cliched shows of the 70s like Starsky & Hutch, Baretta, and Kojak. The show should win an award of the basis of episode titles alone: Dwarf in a Helium Hat Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Waterbury Will Bury You Local Man Eaten by Newspaper The Man Who Saw the Alligators The Battle-Axe and the Exploding Cigar 3-Day Affair with a 30-Day Escrow Never Send a Boy King to do a Man's Job Won the Emmy Award for Best Drama, Garner won for Best Actor, Margolin won for Best Supporting Actor twice, and the writing won multiple awards from several different sources. If you're a huge fan of 3-second frame TV shows like most of the ones out today, you'll probably dislike this show. But if you like quality TV, as in you don't think The Twilight Zone is boring because it's in black-and-white and doesn't have blood-and-guts every week, you'll love this show. As far as the remake, power to them. Will never top the original, but it's worth a shot.
This is one of the rare instances where a remake is a good idea: Rockford was too good of a character (and show) to let be forgotten. The problem here is casting. You need someone charismatic as hell to play Jim Rockford, and Dermot Mulroney doesn't cut it. And, of course, if they change the theme song, they will be dead to me.
I think this could work: it's a decent template for a lone, neutoric detective show; and that premise probably still has a few more good series in it. Mulroney is unremarkable/catatonic enough that he could play a seemingly self-deprecating, laid back (?) detective. For some reason I'm also thinking a Tom Cavanaugh, Steven Weber or a Tom Everett Scott could pull this off.
