Jim’s got a lot of ex-girlfriends out there, but we never see anyone in his life for an extended period of time except Beth. This one suggests there might’ve been a life for them where they had a couple of kids and a house in the Valley, and it’s pretty well impossible to picture Jim as leading that life. I can’t imagine his ever leading a life that involved settling down in any way that doesn’t involve still being a PI. That’s where a lot of these women fail to understand him, I think, and part of why he’s pretty perpetually single during the show itself.
Jim meets up with ex-girlfriend Sandy Baylock (Susan Howard). Her father, Charly (Eddie Firestone), is in trouble, and she goes to Jim for help. It turns out Charly stole half a million dollars three years ago. Jim agrees to act as a gobetween to return the money. Unfortunately, there are people who aren’t inclined to let him. This includes a police lieutenant who insists that Jim is now an accessory after the fact, because the statute of limitations is from when the crime is reported, not from when it’s committed.
I’m certain that isn’t true. There are quite a lot of high-profile cases that haven’t been prosecuted because the victims didn’t even come forward until after the statute of limitations expired. And honestly even if it were, you’d have a hard time getting a conviction. Especially over a piddling twenty-four hours. Of course, it doesn’t matter, because there are things going on that Jim hasn’t been let in on, but when aren’t there things going on that Jim hasn’t been let in on?
Beth complains here that she ends up doing Jim’s legal work for free, but I know for a fact that he’s investigated things for her without getting paid on past episodes. I maintain that they ought to have some kind of barter system, where he does her investigating in exchange for her legal services. And then they’d each have one less worry. Maybe they could keep track of who owes who how many hours, but still.
Southern California for Tourists: In the final gun battle of the episode, Jim is hiding by a eucalyptus tree. They are everywhere in LA. They were brought to California by Australians during the Gold Rush; for a while, there was a drive to create a full-blown eucalyptus industry in California. However, the planted trees were different than the old-growth Australian forests in the nature of the wood, and it didn’t work. There is currently debate about whether to eliminate the trees—they are, after all, an invasive species—or accept them as a new part of the ecosystem, and I’m not up on the particulars.
Take Care of Rockford Files: Gun fight. Held at gunpoint. Gun fight. Almost hit by car.