NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Mill Creek Entertainment bring the mid 70's TV series The Rockford Files to Region 'A' Blu-ray. I have watched about 1/2 the boxset consisting of 22 Blu-ray discs. There are 4 discs per the first five seasons (2 for the final 6th season), with usually six (or five) 50-minute, episodes on each disc.

NOTE: While this doesn't have the 1.5 hour pilot - it does have the two episodes entitled 'Backlash of the Hunter' which it was derived from.

NOTE: These are the slightly shorter 'edited fro syndication' episodes - not the one that were original broadcast.

Hence with so much 'Rockford' on each dual-layered Blu-rays - and despite being in 1080P the bitrate are low and the image quality can vary from poor (with occasional compression artifacts and jaggies) to a solid jump above SD information in the original 1.33:1 frame. I wouldn't say I was disappointed but would hope there will be a better transfer available - possibly in Europe. On an HD system it is superior to SD (I tested) and I appreciate the ability to access six full episodes without changing the disc (pure laziness, I agree.) Overall, I would consider the image substandard considering other television shows we've seen on Blu-ray (The Six  Million Dollar Man, The Incredible Hulk, Columbo, etc.)   

What was highly enjoyable was the iconic 'main theme' to The Rockford Files by Pete Carpenter and Mike Post presented in 2.0 channel 24-bit DTS-HD Master in original English. Effects center around the car chases, and aggressive interaction - where Jim is usually on the losing end of a punch-up but its the music that I felt benefitted the the most to the lossless transfer. There are no subtitles on these Region 'A'-locked Blu-rays.

I have found no extras at all which is a shame because even the DVDs had some brief interview with Jim Garner reminiscing about The Rockford Files.

The Mill Creek Blu-ray boxset is bare-bones and the price reflects that. It's about $3 / BD at present and I'm a huge fan of the show so I throw this one whenever to indulge myself in some nostalgic and a unique 70's detective show. James Garner brings the characters of Jim Rockford to the level of 'the everyman' extremely well and the episodes were mostly well-written with engaging characters; his dad Joseph (a.k.a. Rocky) played by Noah Beery Jr., his best friend Sgt. Dennis Becker of the LAPD played by Joe Santos, his lawyer/girlfriend Beth Davenport (Gretchen Corbett), and his former cell-mate Evelyn "Angel" Martin (Stuart Margolin). There are plenty of guest-stars and quasi-regulars including Simon Oakland, Michael Lerner, Gerald McRaney, Bo Hopkins, Diana Muldaur, Joan Van Ark, Ned Beatty, Isaac Hayes (who called him 'Rockfish'), Lindsay Wagner, Susan Strasberg, Linda Evans, Louis Gossett Jr., Strother Martin, Joyce Van Patten, Lauren Bacall, Sharon Gless, Tom Selleck ('perfect' Lance White in two of the best episodes) , Jackie Cooper, Luke Askew, Kenneth Tobey, Kim Hunter, Stacy Keach Sr., Jill Clayburgh, Joseph Cotten, Shelley Fabares, Lee Purcell, William Smith, Paul Michael Glaser, Joseph Campanella, John Saxon, Burt Young, Barbara Babcock, Edward Binns, Jack Carter, Larry Hagman, Mariette Hartley, Constance Towers, Dick Gautier, James Woods, Leif Erickson, Steve Landesberg, Roger E. Mosley Rob Reiner, Dionne Warwick, M. Emmet Walsh, Rick Springfield, Glenn Corbett, Suzanne Somers, Willie Nelson and many more. The price is right even if the package is imperfect.

Gary Tooze