This two hour show was the pilot for "The Rockford Files". There is a different Rocky in the show as Robert Donley would make his only appearance as the character. Noah Beery, Jr. would take over the role for the rest of the series, which turned out to be a great idea. Donley's Rocky isn't nearly as much fun as Beery's and he seemed to be more interested in shaking down his own son for money than anything else.
Rockford is not a particularly easy-going guy in this episode as he seems very concerned about whether or not his client can pay him. We see Rockford asking for a credit check, something he should have done in the future.
Two other supporting characters do show up: Joe Santos as Dennis Becker, Rockford's weary friend on the police force, and Stuart Margolin as Angel Martin, Rockford's shady, but sometimes helpful (not often enough) friend from prison.
There is an emphasis in this show that Rockford only handles cases that the police are no longer investigating. This would be de-emphasized in later shows, although Rockford never gets along well with the police during the show.
Like many stories in the series, the plot gets wrapped up in a hurry at the end and the first 90 minutes of this episode have a lot of atmosphere and opportunities for Rockford to be Rockford.
