"Feeding Frenzy" is a relatively solid "Rockford Files" episode marred by the incompetent performance of the primary guest star, Eddie Firestone. He plays "Charly Baylock", a fishing bait salesman/former alcoholic. What stinks worse than fishing bait? Firestone's acting. I'm guessing the reason he was selected for the roll is because he naturally looks like he knows his way around the bottom of a bottle, which is appropriate for the character. But, his complete lack of acting talent is annoying and unsettling to witness. His casting was a rare misstep by the usually excellent choices of the series' casting director. Considering the entire series, Firestone's cringe-worthy acting is eclipsed only by perennial no-talent Burt Young, who appeared in the Season 3 episode released immediately before this one. Maybe the usual casting director was away on a two-week cruise when these rolls were cast?
That casting faux pas may be redeemed by the brilliant selection of character actor George Wyner, who delivers a pitch-perfect performance as a dedicated/gullible mid-level corporate bureaucrat. His brief, comedic exchange with Jim Rockford is my personal favorite highlight in this episode. He's so engaging, I wish his character played a more sizable roll. Over the course of the series, he appeared in four episodes (as a completely different character each time) and he reliably delivers stand-out performances every time. I'm a fan.
Overall, the episode is good, not great. It certainly has enough of the classic "Rockford" elements we love: shady characters, plot twists and the revelation of a couple legal loopholes that were probably unexpected by most viewers. Very watchable if you can successfully ignore the less-than-credible, distracting performance by Eddie Firestone.
