As a James Garner fan, I'm frankly mystified by the fact that "Nichols" was his favorite among his various TV series. Apart from Garner himself, it's got none of what made "The Rockford Files" so great: chemistry between the performers, consistent writing and an overall sense of purpose. It's got humor, sort of, or at least humorous intent...but the comedy somehow failed to translate from the scripts to the finished episodes.
Nichols (Garner), a career soldier who's seen enough violence to last him a lifetime, quits the Army in 1914 and returns to his Arizona hometown with the vague but persistent ambition of making a quick fortune. The town has been taken over by the Ketcham ranching family, led by cantankerous Ma Ketcham (Neva Patterson); at the end of the overly complicated pilot episode, Ma presses Nichols into service as the local sheriff. Margot Kidder as a young barmaid makes an awkward companion for Garner. Stuart Margolin plays Nichols' goofball deputy Mitch, but there's little hint in his interplay with Garner of the amazing chemistry they would later enjoy on "Rockford." One episode, 'Ketcham Power' (in which Ma's shiftless son, played by John Beck, temporarily assumes sheriff's duties while Nichols is out of town), makes an interesting and somewhat entertaining point about the abuse of authority. Other episodes ('The Siege,' 'Gulley vs. Hansen') limp along painfully in no particular direction.
The basic concept isn't bad, and series creator Frank Pierson set "Nichols" in what should have been a fascinating time period (the end of the Old West and the beginning of the modern age), but the final result was a combination of elements that just didn't work. For Garner fans who have never seen the show, it's a baffling experience at best. Little wonder that it never found an audience.
Nichols (Garner), a career soldier who's seen enough violence to last him a lifetime, quits the Army in 1914 and returns to his Arizona hometown with the vague but persistent ambition of making a quick fortune. The town has been taken over by the Ketcham ranching family, led by cantankerous Ma Ketcham (Neva Patterson); at the end of the overly complicated pilot episode, Ma presses Nichols into service as the local sheriff. Margot Kidder as a young barmaid makes an awkward companion for Garner. Stuart Margolin plays Nichols' goofball deputy Mitch, but there's little hint in his interplay with Garner of the amazing chemistry they would later enjoy on "Rockford." One episode, 'Ketcham Power' (in which Ma's shiftless son, played by John Beck, temporarily assumes sheriff's duties while Nichols is out of town), makes an interesting and somewhat entertaining point about the abuse of authority. Other episodes ('The Siege,' 'Gulley vs. Hansen') limp along painfully in no particular direction.
The basic concept isn't bad, and series creator Frank Pierson set "Nichols" in what should have been a fascinating time period (the end of the Old West and the beginning of the modern age), but the final result was a combination of elements that just didn't work. For Garner fans who have never seen the show, it's a baffling experience at best. Little wonder that it never found an audience.