Simon und Simon

I loved this series when it was on in the 80's, and was worried when A&E started showing it again (M-F, 12pm ET) that I'd be disillusioned by the actual quality of the show, as opposed to what I remembered it to be (as I have been for other series I've seen after 15 years).

I wasn't. The chemistry between Jameson Parker (A.J.) and Gerald McRaney (Rick) is still wonderful, the relationship they have developed is very believable, the dialogue is still great. Would that I enjoyed some series from the 90's as much as I love this classic from the 80's!!

Simon & Simon was a rare series in the 1980s. While crime dramas have risen in popularity over the last thirty years, this series was both entertaining and enlightening without being violent or murderous. For the first season, the Simon brothers are San Diego private detectives. They are more involved in kidnapping, robbery, burglary, etc. There is some mild violence but nothing serious. Gerard McRaney and Jameson Parker are believable as brothers. Their characters are developed to be solid and different. The series has quite quirky theme song to go along with it. Their mother is played by Mary Carver. The San Diego setting is different and ideal for cases. I never watched the series on television and believe it followed Magnum P.I. on CBS. I'm not surprised that it lasted eight seasons. This series was a smart show and I caught the first season on DVD by chance. I love the dog, Marlow, and I enjoy the humor as well. McRaney and Parker were smart performers who should have been awarded with Emmys as well.

SIMON & SIMON was never a show that 'blew it's own horn' too loudly; tucked in neatly behind megahit MAGNUM, P.I., the (usually) easy-going adventures of private eye brothers Rick and A.J. Simon (Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker), with it's Joe Walsh-inspired slide guitar theme, loopy humor, and occasionally off-the-wall resolutions was often as light-hearted as a day at the beach, and was largely ignored by critics during much of it's run...until it began appearing as a 'Top 20'-rated show, even without the benefit of Tom Selleck and his Corvette. True, by the series' end, after seven seasons, it had lost nearly all the charm and humor that had endeared it to the public for so long, but in it's prime, SIMON & SIMON was a blast!

Originally conceived as a Jimmy Buffet-influenced detective show set in the Florida Keys (the series' pilot would be integrated in several later episodes, and the original theme song would pop up, occasionally), the show ultimately called San Diego home, with it's easy accessibility to Tijuana. Rick Simon (McRaney), mutton-chopped, mustached, biker/Vietnam vet, was a usually in debt, often in trouble 'free spirit', his broken-down boat parked next to his younger brother's home, who believed in conspiracy theories and never saw a case (or a 'sure-thing' bet) he could pass up. Younger brother Andrew Jackson Simon, (A.J.), portrayed by Jameson Parker, was a buttoned-down, conservative college graduate with Robert Redford blond hair, a budding stock portfolio, and a girlfriend (Jeannie Wilson) who was the daughter of the head of the biggest detective agency in town (Myron Fowler). Less trusting than his older brother, A.J. preferred clients that paid 'up front', and didn't use police 'rap' sheets as a form of I.D.! (A piece of trivia: McRaney and Jameson, in real life, were the same age). Keeping the brothers from killing one another was their beautiful, long-patient mother, Cecilia (Mary Carver), who would often find 'victims' needing their assistance.

As the series progressed, A.J. lost his girlfriend and her father's agency, the brothers would move into more 'upscale' offices, and a new 'contact' would be acquired, the irrepressible Police Lt. M.P. 'Downtown' Brown (Tim Reid), who seemed to spend half his life getting the brothers out of scrapes with the law. The Reid seasons offer the very best episodes of the series, with the most outrageous, entertaining plots and humor.

After Reid left the series, in 1987, "Simon & Simon" dropped the humor, choosing to become a dramatic, 'message'-oriented program (with one episode devoted to the rape of their mother), and the show quickly lost their audience base. When it was canceled, in 1988, "Simon & Simon" disappeared as quietly as it had first appeared.

While the loyalty of it's fans would produce two TV-movie reunions, in 1994 and 1995, the series was truly a product of the eighties, a simpler time that best suited two unconventional guys, and their VERY unconventional cases!

You know, I was too young in the 1980's to really appreciate the show...in fact, I don't recall having seen an episode during it's original run. I've just started watching the reruns at 4 AM (PST) on A&E and I'm amazed at just how fun a show it was. A lot the shows like this from the same era seem a bit dated today (Miami Vice, anybody?), but this remains fresh without showing it's age. Parker and McRaney are perfect as the brothers and hit the right combination of comedy and drama, just like a good show should. This is a new favorite for me.

Didn't watch this series that often when it ran in the '80s, but did catch a few episodes then and saw nearly all when A&E replayed it. It is one of the best action, detective series ever. Some shows are better than some Rockford Files episodes.

The relationship and interaction between the brothers seemed real and genuine. The acting and directing was top notch and the locations are special as one can get a taste for that time period in San Diego or Florida (my favorite episode when they went back to where they started, it was a two-parter) or where ever the guys were.

The acting was the best as this series easily tops Magnum for quality and enjoyment... well except for guys, seeing the sights in Hawaii ; ) and a Ferrari Testarossa and for women, Tom Selleck.