- BLACK MIRROR (two-hour episode)
Original Air Date: November 24, 1978
Synopsis. Megan Dougherty (played by Kathryn Harrold), a clinical psychologist who became permanently blinded in an accident ten years earlier, hires Rockford after she is menaced by a man in an elevator outside her office. “Black Mirror” marks the first of Kathryn Harrold’s two appearances as Megan Dougherty. Harrold reprised the character in the sixth season episode “Love is the Word,” as well as in the 1996 reunion movie Punishment and Crime.
LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details
Ed Robertson
Author ● Journalist ● Radio Host ● Collaborative Writer
Kathryn Harrold
This Date in ROCKFORD FILES History: Richard Kiley, Kathryn Harrold, and Bryan Cranston star in “Punishment and Crime,” the sixth of the eight CBS ROCKFORD FILES reunion movies, airing Sept. 18, 1996. LEARN MORE in 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, available in softcover paperback and now as an eBook through Black Pawn Press
- PUNISHMENT AND CRIME
Original Air Date: September 18, 1996
TV Guide ad for Punishment and Crime Synopsis. Rockford’s renewed romance with old flame Megan Dougherty (Kathryn Harrold, reprising her role from the NBC series) takes a treacherous turn when he learns that her arrogant playboy cousin Patrick (played by a pre-Breaking Bad, pre-Malcolm in the Middle Bryan Cranston) is in over his head with deadly Russian mobsters.
Punishment and Crime received some of the best reviews of the eight CBS Rockford Files movies—and yet it had gathered dust for more than a year before the network finally aired it. Originally completed in May 1995, the film was held back for broadcast because CBS executives thought it was somber, slow, and too much of a character piece—
not exactly the kind of freewheeling fare that most viewers typically come to expect when they tune in to see Jim Rockford. Other guest stars include Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Kiley.LEARN MORE about this episode in the revised third edition of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES, featuring more than sixty new pages of never before published information about both the original Rockford Files and the CBS reunion movies, including twenty new interviews and six new appendices. 25 percent of the net proceeds from the sales of 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES will be donated to The James Garner Animal Rescue Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to help rescue organizations, shelters, individuals, fosters, and veterans with emergencies, evacuations, medical care, adoptions, training, pet supplies, shelter, rehabilitation, boarding, transportation, food, and other pressing needs. JGARF is one way for Garner fans to honor Jim’s memory and extend his legacy. Plus… if you order 45 YEARS OF THE ROCKFORD FILES directly from Black Pawn Press, you will receive an exclusive bonus gift. Go to Rockford45.com for more details