- 8.2/10334 votes8.2/10(334)
#1 - Heartaches of a Fool
Season 5 Episode 1
Aired 9/22/1978
Jim finds that a country music star, corrupt union boss and Chinese triad all have one thing in common with why Rocky ended in hospital after his rig was forced off the road: sausages.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Stephen J. Cannell
- 7.7/10259 votes7.7/10(259)
#2 - Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead
Season 5 Episode 2
Aired 9/29/1978
A doctor's murder has direct connections to the Mob, and Jim comes to the assistance of hooker friend Rita Capcovik (Rita Moreno) when she finds herself entangled in it.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
- 8.1/10300 votes8.1/10(300)
#3 - The Jersey Bounce
Season 5 Episode 3
Aired 10/6/1978
Wrongly accused of beating a man to death, Jim discovers the best legal advice he can find is from disbarred lawyer John Cooper.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: David Chase
- 8.9/10426 votes8.9/10(426)
#4 - White on White and Nearly Perfect
Season 5 Episode 4
Aired 10/20/1978
Handsome, charmed PI Lance White (Tom Selleck) may speak lines that sound like they're from a 1940s B movie, but everyone is so attracted to him they hang on his every word. That is, everyone except Jim.
Director: Stephen J. Cannell
Writer: Stephen J. Cannell
- 8.5/10289 votes8.5/10(289)
#5 - Kill the Messenger
Season 5 Episode 5
Aired 10/27/1978
When an already overly stressed Dennis Becker is lumped with the unwelcome task of finding out who murdered Deputy Chief Towne's unfaithful wife, Jim decides to lend a hand in the investigation.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
- 7.6/10261 votes7.6/10(261)
#6 - The Empty Frame
Season 5 Episode 6
Aired 11/3/1978
At a swank party, attended by some of LA's high society and police dept. VIPs, in honor of Angel's brother-in-law, Aaron, being made Chief of Police, a robbery takes place, while Lt. Doug Chapman is in charge of security. Desperate to get back into good graces with his superiors, Chapman swallows his pride and asks Rockford to help him.
Director: Corey Allen
Writer: Stephen J. Cannell
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- 7.5/10242 votes7.5/10(242)
#7 - Three Day Affair with a Thirty Day Escrow
Season 5 Episode 7
Aired 11/10/1978
After being strong-armed by an Arab sheik and his goons, and getting no help from the police, Jim decides to track down the two people who caused his trouble: a soft-voiced gigolo and the sheik's naive daughter.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: David Chase
- 8.4/10267 votes8.4/10(267)
#8 - A Good Clean Bust with Sequel Rights
Season 5 Episode 8
Aired 11/17/1978
Jim is forced to babysit Chicago ex-cop, now celebrity, "Frank Falcone," who has a television show and toy line. Falcone isn't easy to babysit, and things get dicey when some old Chicago "friends" of Falcone show up to complicate things.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Rudolph Borchert
- 8.1/10319 votes8.1/10(319)
#9 - Black Mirror: Part 1
Season 5 Episode 9
Aired 11/24/1978
A blind psychologist, who is being terrorized by an unknown stalker, turns to Jim for help.
Director: Arnold Laven
Writer: David Chase
- 7.7/10256 votes7.7/10(256)
#10 - Black Mirror: Part 2
Season 5 Episode 10
Aired 11/24/1978
Rockford's investigation of psychologist Megan Dougherty's stalker leads him to one of her patients who may have a split personality - one of which is a paid killer.
Director: Arnold Laven
Writer: David Chase
- 7.2/10246 votes7.2/10(246)
#11 - A Fast Count
Season 5 Episode 11
Aired 12/1/1978
Jim puts up his dukes and steps forward to help a boxing coach who has been framed with bribery and murder.
Director: Reza Badiyi
Writer: Gordon T. Dawson
- 7.3/10243 votes7.3/10(243)
#12 - Local Man Eaten by Newspaper
Season 5 Episode 12
Aired 12/8/1978
Jim could use some saintly guidance when he goes undercover on a scandal rag that is getting confidential medical information on a doctor's famous, and infamous, patients.
Director: Meta Rosenberg
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
- 8.1/10252 votes8.1/10(252)
#13 - With the French Heel Back, Can the Nehru Jacket Be Far Behind?
Season 5 Episode 13
Aired 1/5/1979
A fashion model friend of Jim is found dead on the ground below her balcony. The police believe it's suicide, but having gotten a desperate phone call from her, Jim believes it's murder.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: Rudolph Borchert
- 7.2/10236 votes7.2/10(236)
#14 - The Battle-Ax and the Exploding Cigar
Season 5 Episode 14
Aired 1/12/1979
Ignorant that he's been driving a hot Cadillac with an illegal stash of guns in the trunk, leads Jim into rubbing shoulders with the FBI and the Company.
Director: Ivan Dixon
Writer: Rogers Turrentine
- 7.8/10236 votes7.8/10(236)
#15 - Guilt
Season 5 Episode 15
Aired 1/19/1979
Jim finds his guilty conscience being manipulated by a former fiancee, who asks him to find out who is threatening her life.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
- 7.7/10254 votes7.7/10(254)
#16 - The Deuce
Season 5 Episode 16
Aired 1/25/1979
Having Jim doing jury duty leads to a mistrial and his being hired to investigate the case of pedestrian hit by a drunk-driver that brought the accused to court.
Director: Bernard McEveety
Writer: Gordon T. Dawson
- 7.5/10272 votes7.5/10(272)
#17 - The Man Who Saw the Alligators
Season 5 Episode 17
Aired 2/10/1979
If having the IRS wanting to do an audit isn't bad enough, a gangster Jim helped put in prison is out on parole and wants a pound of his flesh in revenge.
Director: Corey Allen
Writer: David Chase
- 8.3/10256 votes8.3/10(256)
#18 - The Return of the Black Shadow
Season 5 Episode 18
Aired 2/17/1979
A gang of bikers beat up Jim and assault John Cooper's sister, leading Coop to seek vengeance by returning to a darker period in his past when he was in a biker gang.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Stephen J. Cannell
- 8.6/10348 votes8.6/10(348)
#19 - A Material Difference
Season 5 Episode 19
Aired 2/24/1979
Jim finds himself being dragged into a complicated situation when Angel's con job as a hit man for hire goes awry.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Rogers Turrentine
- 7.7/10232 votes7.7/10(232)
#20 - Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job: Part 1
Season 5 Episode 20
Aired 3/3/1979
Richie's father has been swindled by a man named Coombs. Jim assembles together a disparate group of con-artists in a complicated scheme using Coombs' anxieties, and even the "Curse" of King Tut, to save Mr. Brockelman from ruin.
Director: William Wiard
Writer: Juanita Bartlett
- NaN/100 votesNaN/10(0)
#21 - Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job: Part 2
Season 5 Episode 21
Aired 4/13/1979
- NaN/100 votesNaN/10(0)
#22 - A Different Drummer
Season 5 Episode 22
Aired 4/13/1979
While in hospital after a car accident, Jim stumbles across a black market for vital organs.
Director: Reza Badiyi
Writer: Rudolph Borchert
The Best Episodes of The Rockford Files Season 5
Every episode of The Rockford Files Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Rockford Files Season 5!
Cranky but likable L.A. PI Jim Rockford pulls no punches (but takes plenty of them). An ex-con sent to the slammer for a crime he...
Genres:CrimeDramaMystery
Network:NBC
Episodes
22
Avg. Rating
NaN
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Season 5 Ratings Summary
"Heartaches of a Fool" is the best rated episode of "The Rockford Files" season 5. It scored 8.2/10 based on 334 votes. Directed by William Wiard and written by Stephen J. Cannell, it aired on 9/22/1978. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "Rosendahl and Gilda Stern Are Dead".