First appearance by Beth Davenport (Van Zandt) (portrayed by Gretchen Corbett) in a "Rockford Files" movie.
Because James Garner's original production company, Cherokee Productions ceased operations after1980, due to Garner's lawsuit with Universal Studios, Garner formed a new production company to produce the 1990's Rockford movies. The name of the new production company was MGB Productions. MGB was a British-made sports coupé, manufactured by MG, fitting in with Mr Garners love of automobile, and also fit in nicely with the names the initials stand for; "M" for Meta Rosenberg, "G" for James Garner,, and "B" for Juanita Bartlett. Meta Rosenberg was his long-time agent/producer, who also directed a few episodes of the original series. Juanita Bartlett was also a long time writer, producer during production of The Rockford Files (1974), who started writing for Garner shows all the way back during Nichols (1971)
Jim wears a "Heal the Bay" cap in this and some of the other TV movies. Heal the Bay is an environmental nonprofit started in 1985 that's dedicated to making the coastal waters and watersheds in Greater Los Angeles safe, healthy, and clean.
Linden Chiles, who portrays Senator Aspall in this film, had previously appeared in the original series episode, The Dark and Bloody Ground (1974).
Carmen Argenziano (Hector Gustav) had portrayed Dumas, half of the drunk duo who had rammed Rockford from behind, sending him into the hospital, in the Rockford Files episode "A Different Drummer" (1979).