Simon et Simon

I started watching Simon & Simon when it aired in 1981 and from the very beginning I enjoyed the show, especially the shows setting in beautiful San Diego, CA.

I was a 14 yr. old kid when it aired in 1981 growing up in a crime ridden area of New York City (The South Bronx).

I could only dream of escaping to that beautiful sun soaked paradise I envisioned through the wonders of television as I watched episode after episode.

In 1989 a year after Simon & Simon was cancelled I happily moved to beautiful San Diego, CA and could now experience what life in such a wonderful town would be like first hand.

I lived in San Diego from 1989-1993 and could honestly say that those were the most memorable moments in my life, and I owe it all to the Simon & Simon T.V show for giving a teenage kid from The Bronx hope beyond the ghetto.

The theme song to "Simon & Simon" changed after the first season. The song in the first season had a sound I can only describe as "An American in Tijuana." The replacement theme song had a snappier rhythm, more like "Zany Times in San Diego-- Er, Los Angeles." The theme music was played at the beginning and end of each episode. At the end of the final episode for the first season, some guy actually sang lyrics, which he probably had written, to the music. I don't remember the lyrics, but there was something along the lines of "'cuz they're brothers." First and only time I've ever seen that happen on a TV show. The original theme song didn't entirely vanish. It continued to be used as a lead-in between the end of the new song and the "brought to you by..." commercial intro.

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.

This show is one of my all time favorites!!!! I love the comradery between A.J. and Rick, even though they are brothers. When times get tough they are there for each other. It is too bad that we do not have many shows on today like that.

I really enjoyed this show, and watched it religiously when me and my family lived in L.A. in the eighties.

I think it was one of the last P.I. shows on the air when it was cancelled, as by that time the sitcom was taking over and action/adventure shows like this had fallen out of favour.

It had the same kind of sense of humour as Rockford and Magnum, and was just as entertaining as either one. (No real surprise as the series creator Philip DeGuere had worked with Roy Huggins, Stephen J. Cannell and Donald P. Bellisario, who gave us those other two classics.)

Stand out episodes include: "Ashes to Ashes, and None Too Soon", "Thin Air", "Pirate's Key", "The List", "Grand Illusion", "The Dillinger Print", "C'est Simon", "Who Killed the Sixties?" "Simon Without Simon" Parts 1 and 2, and of course, "May the Road Rise Up"

There are more but not enough room or time to mention them all.