The Outsider

McGavin, tired, depressed, alone and lonely drinking milk from the carton: an image seared in the mind from 1968. I did all I could to watch every episode of this high point in the skilled acting of Darren McGavin. The atmosphere, the ethos, of "The Outsider" captured its title exactly. While I am sure that no reference to Camus' "L'Etranger", so frequently translated as "The Outsider", was meant, nevertheless there were resonances of the existential anti-hero of the famous book.

No, GMR-4--you weren't. I watched it, too. I LOVED McGavin.

In fact--'The Rockford Files' WAS a reworking of 'The Outsider'. You listed some of the similarities, but left out the fact that they were BOTH ex-con P.I.s. David Ross had served his time & was paroled. That's why he carried a hidden pistol on his ankle. Rockford had been pardoned. They gave him family, too. This softened some of the cynicism of the lead.

See--Roy Huggins created both shows. After 'The Outsider' failed--he later pitched the idea to---Stephen J. Cannell! They reworked it, lightened it & created 'The Rockford Files' together. The reformulated show was a smash.

When I was a child and watched this show, I looked forward to those words every week. The show would start with a cliffhanger followed by "My name is David Ross and I'll bet you're wondering how I got into a mess like this!"

When became aware of the genre this show grew out of, I came to believe that it (the show) was an homage to Raymond Chandler. I can think of very few others that captured the spirit of those detective novels so well. Of course this is looking back in memory and it has been many years.

I would love to see how this series stand the test of time. If this were available I would buy it in a minute. Does anyone know if it is available or if it soon might be?

Roy Huggins, creator of "77 Sunset Strip, Maverick, and The Fugitive" made this series in 1968 but had no takers. It totals one pilot movie and 26 episodes. It was a very different detective show for the time. Huggins later recycled aspects of this series in creating "The Rockford Files". Matt Ross, like Jim Rockford, was a private detective who had spent time in prison. Neither used a gun when they could help it. Neither was trusted by the police. Rockford kept hid gun in a cereal box. Ross kept his gun in the refrigerator. Rockford's office was in a trailer. Ross's was in a run down building. Both men had the persona of a wistful loser. Darren McGavin, the lead was excellent in the role. Probably the difference in success for the two series was that Matt Ross was a loner with no family or close friends. Rockford's family and friends added a layer of warmth to the series.

I had never seen this show when it was on the first time as I was working 2 jobs at the time. This show was on one of the cable channels over the weekend. The only reason I watched it was the fact that I like Darren McGavin. This was not the tough Darren that played Mike Hammer or Kolchak but a very toned down character with no bite. The story line was awful and right out of the private-eye tv show cookie-cutter scripts of the time. I will never bother watching another episode again.