Mabe in Motown

Ferndale, Mich. -- So, in a span of 20 minutes, I bought a Detroit Tigers jacket, a Jack Lord "Hawaii Five-O" bust and a book called "Elvis Died For Somebody's Sins (But Not Mine)."

That's the way Mabester rolls in Motown.

Fall has arrived in Ferndale. The temperature dropped to a frosty 48 last night. Today was terrific. Sixty-seven and sunny. Super.

I ducked into a quirky bookstore in Birmingham. Tomes were tossed to and fro, piles and piles, rows and rows. It was my kind of joint.

I was hunting "A Confederacy of Dunces" but found the Elvis book instead. Had to buy it. It's by a cat called Mick Farren. Ever heard of him?

"Within these pages you'll meet the likes of Frank Zappa, Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry and Gore Vidal, and steam open correspondence between the author and Pete Townshend," writes Charles Shaar Murray in the forward. "And, much more importantly, you're about to go one-on-one with a world class raconteur..."

How can one resist that?

So, Tennessee lost to Oregon and the Tigers lost to the Royals. As Luther H. Gillis, private eye, might say, "Who cares!"

I am on vacation. Plus, that just means the Tigs will win tomorrow. See ya at Comerica Park!

This is Jim Rockford...

I know, I know. I'm neglecting "Dr. Who."

But Netflix Instant has "The Rockford Files." And, uh, yeah. The good doctor can wait a day or two.

Well, what gave me the idea was watching a few episodes of "Harry O," the underrated 1970s TV series starring the underrated David Janssen as private detective Harry Orwell. My new friend Tom told me if I liked "The Fugitive" (which you know I do), that I would love "Harry O." Remembered seeing it as a kid, but only could recall that Janssen's character lived on the beach and had to leave the police force because he took a bullet in the back. I'll write a separate post on the show later.

So, anyway, seeing Harry O on the beach made me think of Jim Rockford. Surfed over to Netflix. Sure enough, there he was.

It's good fodder for late night fun, which is where I found the show in the beginning, late night reruns. Used to love it when Rockford would slam his Pontiac Firebird in reverse, floor it, then do a 180-degree turn while chasing the bad guys. I liked Rockford for some of the same reasons I like Thomas Magnum. He tries to talk his way out of sticky wickets and gets beat up a lot. James Garner was born for this role. I like Rockford even better than Maverick.

The pilot episode co-starred Lindsay Wagner and a different guy playing Jim's dad. Noah Beery Jr. showed up in the second show.

Remember the hilarious messages left on Rockford's answering machine? I hear these became a bit of a bother to the writers, as Norm Peterson's entrance lines would be a decade later on "Cheers." Ah, well. It was worth it.

Stephen J. Cannell produced and co-created "Rockford" with Roy Huggins (who created "The Fugitive"). I liked most of Cannell's shows. Yes, that includes "The Greatest American Hero."

But there's just something about these '70s detective shows. Especially the ones with a sense of humor. As much as I love the original "Hawaii Five-O," Steve McGarrett didn't crack many one-liners. "Book 'em, Danno!" hardly brought the house down.

That's OK. Jim Rockford more than made up for it.

Sue me. I'm stuck in the '70s.