Before he became a television icon in his own right on 'Magnum, P.I.,' Emmy winner Selleck played too-slick rival Lance White to Garner's Rockford in two episodes of the classic 1970s private-eye series. NBC is remaking 'Rockford' with Dermot Mulroney in the title role, and while Selleck wishes him well, he feels a Garner-less 'Rockford' just might not be 'Rockford.'
'They ought to cast Jim Garner,' Selleck tells Zap2it. 'I'm a little prejudiced because he was really a formative influence on me, even a mentor in so many ways, even though he probably wouldn't admit to it if he was aware of it."
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5 comments:
An uphill battle is right. I can only assume NBC doesn't plan to attempt to win over those of us for whom James Garner and only James Garner is Rockford. They must be going for a younger audience, folks for whom Rockford isn't an iconic part of their lives.
The only way this vaguely works is to present it as Rockford Jr. with Garner aboard as the father, the original Jim filling in for Rocky.
Max Allan Collins has a brilliant idea. Too brilliant, probably, for the people in charge of the remake.
Seems to me the remake geniuses did the same kind of thing with an earlier Garner series, a classic western.
These things never really work. There is only one James Garner, and he left an indelible stamp on his work. Plus, you can still see him in his prime all over TV.
Good for Selleck.
And I don't care what anyone says, that Max Allan Collins is one smart guy. Great idea. If they must do it, that's the only way to go.
The big problem with using James Garner is apparently his health. He apparently suffered a stroke in 2008, and while his prognosis is good, I just don't know if he's well enough for as major a roles as Rocky was in the original series (in the new version Beau Bridges has been cast as Rocky).
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