Season 3 of Maverick
I wasn't planning on buying this because it was quite a bit more expensive than the previous 2 seasons but the more I watched I realized this season has quite a few episodes I really loved. Although I don't think it is quite as strong as season 2 and has a few more duds, it does have quite a few classic episodes. Of course it is the last full
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Hmm, you make a good point. I wasn't always impressed by what I did see, so I haven't really had a lot of motivation to watch more of the solo Bart episodes. But then I did find some I loved sometimes, like The Goose-Drownder, so I really should try some more. One can really only fairly judge after watching them all.
Jack definitely could handle the show, but I question whether it would have faltered as badly if he had been the one to leave instead of James Garner. Even with lackluster scripts, I kind of wonder if the later seasons would be more appreciated today if James had stayed. The brother episodes are a lot of fun, but I think overall they had more solo episodes for both of them than combined episodes, so I don't know that I think the show's popularity came mainly from the sibling angle.
Definitely true. Even within what we've got, though, he's kind of a mystery.
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I actually always enjoy Kelly's performance and Bart even if the script is lackluster. It's the same with Garner. Garner had some bad scripts too in my opinion but he had less because he left before the show really went down hill. I don't think the show woukd have survived with Garner.
Garner had a lot of successes in his career but he also had failures. It doesn't matter how good an actor you are if the script and direction isn't good. That being said I enjoy more of Garner post Maverick performances than Kelly's. I love Kelly as Bart but nothing else he did stands out to me (and Ive watched a few things). But I enjoy a lot of Garner's other roles.
As for the brother angle being popular well most people will say the episodes with both Bret and Bart are the best no matter who you prefer. And the series apparently played up the rivalry between Bret and Bart in promotional material. I think a lot of Garner being more recognized with the show came about not just because he was first but because he ended up as a big star and this was his first big role. But anyways it's not so much that Garner doesn't deserve that recognition he does, but I think Kelly does too when it comes to the show.
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Yeah, when you really like an actor/character, it's easy to enjoy what they're in even if the scripts are bad. :) That's how I feel about Beau, pretty much. And true, James also ended up with some duds, both in the show and after it. It's sad that Jack Kelly really didn't have other stand-outs roles after Maverick ended. James had a lot of movies and The Rockford Files, the latter of which I'm very fond of for all the many darlings who guest-starred. I own almost the entire series because there were so many of them coming in.
That's interesting that the brother episodes and the rivalry were a main center of publicity. True, I have seen a lot of people saying how they prefer the brother episodes best. And you're probably right about the show being seen as James' first big role. I wonder why The Alaskans can't show up again, since that was one of Roger's first things. I really want to see an episode that Simon Oakland guest-stars in. And I definitely agree that Jack should be better recognized for the show.
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I've been watching Rockford Files too. Writing wise it is not on the same level for me as Maverick but Garner is great in it. I watched an ep with Lauren Bacall which was very enjoyable and now I am recording an episode with Joseph Cotten.
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Yeah, I think Maverick had better writing, really. I don't always like how The Rockford Files makes fun of things or has Rockford have unbelievably bad luck, especially in the later seasons. They started getting pretty lazy with the plots later, too, just randomly picking someone to be the bad guy even when it doesn't at all fit their behavior. Favorite Rockford episodes for me are Sticks and Stones in season 3 (plot is silly, but it's the only time they really wrote Vern St. Cloud as a character with decent qualities as well as his worse ones), The Queen of Peru in season 4 (my beloved Chrissy.... Character is nasty, but he and his partner in crime had such good chemistry together. I love when you can tell that the actors really clicked), To Protect and Serve in season 3, and I kind of like the sequel from season 5, The Man Who Saw the Alligators. I also like the first episode of season 5.... Can't recall the name, but it had great family squee with Rockford and his dad. The family relationship is one of the best things about The Rockford Files, I think.
I liked the Lauren Bacall one, until we got to the ending. Then I found how they wrapped it up a bit unsatisfactory, as far as motives went.... It seemed the villan's was a bit thin. I'll look up the Joseph Cotten one. :)
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I'll let you know what I think about the Joseph Cotten one and will look into those others you mentioned.
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