Two Hundred A Day

Nathan and Eppy discuss S1E7 The Big Ripoff. Jim goes on a European jaunt to track down the truth about a widow who received a big insurance payout, but his client doesn't buy his conclusion that the husband is still alive. Trying to figure out a way to get paid for his work, Jim goes to the insurance company, leading him to yet another town in California to prove that Steve Nelson is still alive. We felt a very strong "back to basics" vibe with this episode, which features a fantastically tight script by series creator Roy Huggins, good humor, Jim pulling quick-thinking cons, and a fun mystery that keeps the energy moving with each reveal of the NEXT thing that's going on.

In our second half, we talk about our a new approach to the show, where we don't get so into the nitty gritty of each episode in favor of talking about how the overall story is structured. We break down this episode and how it transitions from one "act" to another, how to use plot holes as part of storytelling, and the ways in which the writing in this one always is serving more than one purpose, even the stuff that seemed like a throwaway gag when you first view it.

Want more Rockford Files trivia, notes and ephemera? Check out the Two Hundred a Day Rockford Files Files!

Support the podcast by subscribing at patreon.com/twohundredaday. Big thanks to our Gumshoe patrons! Check them out:

• Richard Hatem
• Victor DiSanto
• Jim Crocker - keep an eye out for Jim selling our games east of the Mississippi!
• Shane Liebling's Roll For Your Party dieroller app
• Lowell Francis's Age of Ravens gaming blog
• Kevin Lovecraft and the Wednesday Evening Podcast Allstars
• Mike Gillis and the Radio vs. The Martians Podcast
• And thank you to Dael Norwood, Dylan Winslow, Bill Anderson, Adam Alexander, Chris, Dave Y and Dave P!

Thanks to:

• zencastr.com for helping us record
• fireside.fm for hosting us
• thatericalper.com for the answering machine audio clips
• spoileralerts.org for the adding machine audio clip
• Freesound.org for the other audio clips

Two Hundred a Day is a podcast by Nathan D. Paoletta and Epidiah Ravachol. We are exploring the intensely weird and interesting world of the 70s TV detective show The Rockford Files. Half celebration and half analysis, we break down episodes of the show and then analyze how and why they work as great pieces of narrative and character-building. In each episode of Two Hundred a Day, we watch an episode, recap and review it as fans of the show, and then tease out specific elements from that episode that hold lessons for writers, gamers and anyone else interested in making better narratives.

Support Two Hundred A Day

Nathan and Eppy return to 1996 to talk about the fifth TV movie, Friends and Foul Play. Jim's friend Babs ends up dead after asking him to help her find out more about the murder of her son. Before he can even start to investigate, Captain Chapman turns up with a class of criminology majors, messing both with the crime scene and with Jim's efforts - so, of course, he has to join the class himself in order to skirt Chapman's ire and bring Babs killer to justice! It's always a blast seeing all the characters we know so well effortlessly re-inhabited, and this Stephen Cannell script is full of classic Rockfordishness. Though there's a few plot elements that seem to sprawl out of nowhere, we really enjoyed this visit to the movies!

We have another podcast: Plus Expenses. Covering our non-Rockford media, games and life chatter, Plus Expenses is available via our Patreon at ALL levels of support.

Want more Rockford Files trivia, notes and ephemera? Check out the Two Hundred a Day Rockford Files Files!

We appreciate all of our listeners, but offer a special thanks to our patrons. In particular, this episode is supported by the following Gumshoe and Detective-level patrons:

• Richard Hatem
• Brian Perrera
• Eric Antener
• Bill Anderson
• Chuck from whatchareading.com
• Paul Townend, who recommends the Fruit Loops podcast
• Shane Liebling's Roll For Your Party dieroller app
• Jay Adan's Miniature Painting
• Matthew Lee, Kip Holley, Dael Norwood, Dave P, Dale Church and Dave Otterson!

Thanks to:

• Fireside.fm for hosting us
• Audio Hijack for helping us record and capture clips from the show
• Spoileralerts.org for the adding machine audio clip
• Freesound.org for other audio clips

Support Two Hundred A Day

Nathan and Eppy enter the publishing world in S4E2 Trouble in Chapter 17. "Feminity not feminism" author Ann Louise Clement wants to hire Jim as a bodyguard, which isn't his beat. But after witnessing an apparent attempt on her life, he can't not look into it. Unfortunately for Jim, Ann Louise is more interested in publicity than preservation, and he begins to suspect it's all a farce - until her agent is killed in an apparent case of mistaken identity. This snappy Juanita Bartlett episode isn't an "issue" episode, but we appreciate the chance to talk about how she uses the show to contrast progressive and retrograde ideas about feminism, as well as enjoy all of the Rockfordishness we know and love.

We have another podcast: Plus Expenses. Covering our non-Rockford media, games and life chatter, Plus Expenses is available via our Patreon at ALL levels of support.

Want more Rockford Files trivia, notes and ephemera? Check out the Two Hundred a Day Rockford Files Files!

We appreciate all of our listeners, but offer a special thanks to our patrons. In particular, this episode is supported by the following Gumshoe and Detective-level patrons:

• Richard Hatem
• Bill Anderson
• Brian Perrera
• Eric Antener
• Jordan Bockelman
• Michael Zalisco
• Joe Greathead
• Mitch Hampton's Journey of an Aesthete Podcast
• Dael Norwood wrote a book! Trading Freedom: How Trade with China Defined Early America
• Chuck from whatchareading.com
• Paul Townend, who recommends the Fruit Loops podcast
• Shane Liebling's Roll For Your Party dieroller app
• Jay Adan's Miniature Painting
• Brian Bernsen's Facebook page of Rockford Files filming locations
• Colleen Kelly, Tom Clancy, Andre Appignani, Pumpkin Jabba Peach Pug, Dave P, Dave Otterson, Kip Holley and Dale Church!

Thanks to:

• Fireside.fm for hosting us
• Audio Hijack for helping us record and capture clips from the show
• Freesound.org for other audio clips

Support Two Hundred A Day

Welcome to Twenty Dollars a Day, the podcast where we explore our favorite fictional characters in the Star Trek universe! Nathan and Eppy discuss the holodeck-hosted heist in S7E15 Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang. Vic Fontaine's lounge is suddenly taken over by a hidden variable in his always-on program, the bridge crew has to pull together to help out their holographic buddy. A loving homage to films like Ocean's Eleven, we really enjoyed both watching our friends make and execute on a plan, and the opportunity to talk about a holodeck episode that doesn't stem from technological disaster.

Happy April, everyone! We're happy to take our third annual look at Star Trek holodeck episodes that follow on the themes of our first love, The Rockford FIles. Hope you enjoy it!

We now have a second, patron-exclusive, podcast - Plus Expenses. Covering our non-Rockford media, games and life chatter, Plus Expenses is available via our Patreon at ALL levels of support.

Want more Rockford Files trivia, notes and ephemera? Check out the Two Hundred a Day Rockford Files Files!

Support the podcast by subscribing at patreon.com/twohundredaday. Big thanks to our Gumshoe patrons! Check them out:

• Richard Hatem
• Brian Perrera
• Eric Antener
• Bill Anderson
• Jim Crocker - keep an eye out for Jim selling our games east of the Mississippi, and follow him on twitter @jimlikesgames
• Shane Liebling's Roll For Your Party dieroller app
• Jay Adan's Miniature Painting
• And thank you to Dael Norwood, Dylan Winslow, Dave P, and Dale Church!

Thanks to:

• fireside.fm for hosting us
• Audio Hijack for helping us record and capture clips from the show
• spoileralerts.org for the adding machine audio clip
• Freesound.org for other audio clips

Two Hundred a Day is a podcast by game and narrative designers Nathan D. Paoletta and Epidiah Ravachol. In each episode we pick an episode of The Rockford Files, recap and review it as fans of the show, and tease out specific elements from that episode that hold lessons for writers, gamers and anyone else interested in making better narratives.

Support Two Hundred A Day

Nathan and Eppy finally tackle a long-anticipated long episode, S4E21 The House on Willis Avenue. Split into two episodes for syndication, this episode is both a pilot for a spinoff show about young investigator Richie Brockelman, and an issue episode tackling the growing use of private data by unscrupulous private entities (in this instance, a technophile villain played to great effect by Jackie Cooper). Still relevant today, we found this episode to be a well-told story that blended all of its agendas into an entertaining and memorable whole. Highly recommended!

We mention the Privacy Act of 1974 in our ending summary. Here's the Department of Justice page on the act itself, and here's the text of the report of the Privacy Protection Study Commission (the text on which we think the final screen is based): Personal Privacy in an Information Society.

We have another podcast: Plus Expenses. Covering our non-Rockford media, games and life chatter, Plus Expenses is available via our Patreon at ALL levels of support.

Want more Rockford Files trivia, notes and ephemera? Check out the Two Hundred a Day Rockford Files Files!

We appreciate all of our listeners, but offer a special thanks to our patrons. In particular, this episode is supported by the following Gumshoe and Detective-level patrons:

• Richard Hatem
• Brian Perrera
• Eric Antener
• Bill Anderson
• Chuck from whatchareading.com
• Paul Townend, who recommends the Fruit Loops podcast
• Shane Liebling's Roll For Your Party dieroller app
• Jay Adan's Miniature Painting
• Dael Norwood, Dylan Winslow, Dave P, Dale Church and Dave Otterson!

Thanks to:

• Fireside.fm for hosting us
• Audio Hijack for helping us record and capture clips from the show
• Spoileralerts.org for the adding machine audio clip
• Freesound.org for other audio clips

Support Two Hundred A Day