Once again an old girlfriend gets Jim in trouble. Susan Howard (Donna Krebs on "Dallas") stars as Sandra, an old flame who asks Jim to help her father, bait salesman Charlie (Eddie Firestone in his last and best appearance on the show). Three years ago when working for an oil conglomerate, Charlie stole $500,000. Now the statute of limitations is up and he can't be prosecuted for the crime, but he wants Jim to help him return the money. This of course is NOT as easy as it sounds and gets Jim arrested, beat up and perplexed trying to figure out what's going on.
The hook on the statute of limitations is a very clever idea and makes a nice point in this episode. The scene where Jim deals with the kidnappers is a classic. There's also a clever scene shot at an ice skating rink where Rockford engineers a kidnap exchange that I don't remember ever seeing on any other show (the guy who counts the money for Carbone is Jim's brother Jack). And Beth (the fetching Gretchen Corbett!) has a brief but amusing scene as Jim borrows her car after she's once again got him out of stir. There are also excellent scenes between Sgt. Becker and Rockford as well. The writing in this episode is all very crisp.
Comic actor George Wyner makes his 3rd of 4 appearances (this time as Steinberg) and its one of his strongest performances. The only negatives in this episode are the lack of chemistry between Garner and Susan Howard and the over the top scene-chewing performance of Richard LaPore as Lt. Hall. It would have been better if LaPore toned it down a bit. He really makes you appreciate Lt. Diehl and Lt. Chapman's scorn!
Finally, one note at the end--there's a lot going on in this episode, but if you notice crime does pay.--the Carbone family walks away with the $500,000!
The hook on the statute of limitations is a very clever idea and makes a nice point in this episode. The scene where Jim deals with the kidnappers is a classic. There's also a clever scene shot at an ice skating rink where Rockford engineers a kidnap exchange that I don't remember ever seeing on any other show (the guy who counts the money for Carbone is Jim's brother Jack). And Beth (the fetching Gretchen Corbett!) has a brief but amusing scene as Jim borrows her car after she's once again got him out of stir. There are also excellent scenes between Sgt. Becker and Rockford as well. The writing in this episode is all very crisp.
Comic actor George Wyner makes his 3rd of 4 appearances (this time as Steinberg) and its one of his strongest performances. The only negatives in this episode are the lack of chemistry between Garner and Susan Howard and the over the top scene-chewing performance of Richard LaPore as Lt. Hall. It would have been better if LaPore toned it down a bit. He really makes you appreciate Lt. Diehl and Lt. Chapman's scorn!
Finally, one note at the end--there's a lot going on in this episode, but if you notice crime does pay.--the Carbone family walks away with the $500,000!