Customer Reviews

Simon & Simon - Season One

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This Detective Drama show is one of my favorite. Simon & Simon first telecasted on November 24th, 1981 until its last telecast on March 2nd, 1989 for a total of 8 seasons and 156 episodes which I hope will be released very shortly following the First season.

Two brothers, but you'd never have known it by looking at them. A.J. and Rick were partners in a small, struggling detective agency. Rick, an eccentric, grubby and laid-back to the point of being lazy. A.J. was conservative, dedicated and ambitious.

The cast for this show are as follows:
* Andrew Jackson (A.J.) Simon ..... Jameson Parker
* Rick Simon ..... Gerald McRaney
* Cecilia Simon ..... Mary Carver
* Janet Fowler (1981-1983) ..... Jeannie Wilson
* Myron Fowler (1981-1983) ..... Eddie Barth
* Det.Marcel"Downtown"Brown(1983-1987).....Tim Reid
* Officer Nixon (1986-1988).....Scott Murphy
* Lt.Abigail March(1987-1988).....Joan McMurtrey
* Officer Susie(1988).....Donna Jepsen

The First season consisted of 13 episodes and they are as follows:
01 Details at Eleven 11/24/1981
02 Love, Christy 12/1/1981
03 Trapdoors 12/8/1981
04 A Recipe for Disaster 12/17/1981
05 The Least Dangerous Game 12/29/1981
06 The Dead Letter File 1/5/1982
07 The Hottest Ticket in Town 1/12/1982
08 Ashes to Ashes, and None Too Soon 1/16/1982
09 Uncivil Servant 1/27/1982
10 Earth to Stacey 2/9/1982
11 Double Entry 3/2/1982
12 Matchmaker 3/9/1982
13 Tanks For the Memories 3/16/1982

I hope all seasons will be released shortly after the first season.

Thank you for reading my review and have a nice day :)

Simon and Simon finally arrives on DVD! Season one only has 13 episodes, but remember that you can also track down more Simon and Simon on the Magnum P.I. "season one" DVD box set (which includes the Simon and Simon cross-over episodes).


Here's a quick break down of cast info, brief plot info, a list of a few cool guest stars, and then finally my opinions on the series!

---------------------------
Episode 1:
Details at Eleven (11/24/81):

plot: The simons are hired to find the missing step-daughter of a news anchor.

* Cool guest Stars: MARKIE POST, PETER GRAVES!
----------------------------
Episode 2:
Love, Christy (12/1/81)

plot: Rick and A.J. try to recover a stolen car that belongs to a beautiful college girl!
----------------------------
Episode 3:
Trapdoors (12/8/81)

plot: Simon and Simon are hot on the trail of a young computer hacker!
----------------------------
Episode 4:
A Recipe for Disaster (12/17/81)

plot: A child has been kidnapped and the trial leads Rick and A.J. to Mexico!

* Cool guest stars: Red West
-----------------------------
Episode 5:
The Least Dangerous Game (12/29/81)

plot: Rick and A.J. investigate the death of an animal keeper.
-----------------------------
Episode 6:
The Dead Letter File (1/5/82)

plot: A letter mailed 23 years earlier may contain a clue as to who murdered the sender... the day after the letter was sent!
-----------------------------
Episode 7:
The Hottest Ticket in Town (1/12/82)

plot: Rick and A.J. find themselves in the middle of a huge counterfeiting scam! Not fake money, fake concert tickets!

* Cool guest stars: Joey Travolta
------------------------------
Episode 8:
Ashes to Ashes, and None Too Soon (1/16/82)

plot: A man commits suicide after Rick and A.J. serve him with divorce papers!
------------------------------
Episode 9:
Uncivil servant (1/27/82)

plot: Rick and A.J. are on the hunt for a stolen classified document!

*Cool guest stars: John Schuck, Jerry Stiller!
-------------------------------
Episode 10:
Earth to Stacey (2/9/82)

plot: Rick and A.J. are hired by a bride looking for her runaway groom!

* Cool guest stars: Lisa Eilbacher
--------------------------------
Episode 11:
Double Entry (3/2/82)

plot: A woman hires the simons to find out if her husband is having an affair!
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Episode 12:
Matchmaker (3/9/82)

plot: A dating service is not all that it appears to be!
--------------------------------
Episode 13:
Tanks for the Memories (3/16/82)

plot: Rick and A.J. are hired to find missing classmates for an upcoming class reuinion.

* Cool Guest stars: Lance LeGault
---------------------------------

Simon and Simon was never the most stylish or action packed series during the 80's. The true strength of the series was the actors, Jameson Parker (A.J. Simon) and Gerald McRaney (Rick Simon). The best episodes are those which place an emphasis on the relationship of the main characters, as brothers and also friends.

Regarding the box set: A bit of a high price tag for a "13 episode" DVD set. I would have given 5 stars if they had released a season one/season two combo box. But I guess we should be happy that it's finally here and look forward to season two!

Season two consisted of 22 episodes. Here's a list of some of the cool guest stars for season two:

Joe Mantegna, Morgan Fairchild, Don Stroud, Eddie Albert, Lisa Eilbacher, Ray Walston, Robert Ginty, Cleavon Little, and Dean Stockwell.

The series was a huge success and was on TV from 1981 until 1989! It was cancelled in its eighth season and the final few episodes were not seen until it was in reruns! 156 episodes in all!

Great 80's entertainment!

-JM

This show's biggest audience was when it was shown in the post-Magnum timeslot and featured the wonderful Tim Reid as the cop, Downtown Brown. There's no doubt that those seasons are great, but I watched it from day one and have a special fondness for the first season. The Simons were just getting started in the business and not very successful--it had a very different feel as they scrambled to get clients. They go to Tijuana on more than one ocassion, and there's some great local footage in the first episode. (Rather than the original, though, it's really the 2nd incarnation of 3--the original pilot was set in Florida and is used in a pair of flashback episodes during the second season.)

I always loved the orginal theme music that showed up during the episodes in later years, but is in all of its glory right up front for this season. The "not original music" disclaimer on the cover seems to refer only to the season two credits being used on episode 4--the same thing happens on Sleuth network reruns for this one episode. Don't get me wrong the theme music for season 2 on is just as wonderful--and lo and behold we get it on this set!!! That's a REAL bonus, in my opinion. The fourteenth episode on this set is season 2, episode 20--"The Secret of the Chrome Eagle." So we get the new theme on 1/4 and 2/20, and they have different montages (there were at least 2 opening credit sequences in season 2)--I've always liked both, so this is yet another bonus feature, im my opinion. 2/20 also features Rick in his green hunting jacket that I remember so fondly.

The transfers are much better than the recent Riptide set, but not perfect. There are some white flecks from time to time. But it looks darn good.

I just loved this show when it was on, and it's a joy to be able to watch it now with no commercials--48 minutes per episode, hooray!

The 80s Flashback docu isn't anything all that special, but I think that having a second season ep thrown in so that we get both versions of the theme music and see how different the context became (different office, A.J. had a new car, they were minor local celebs) makes this a wonderful set to own.

The long-awaited DVDs are finally coming. A previous reviewer said Rick is "laid back to the point of being lazy". I respectfully, yet heartily disagree. Anything after the pilot episode shows Rick is a vital, sly and inventive fellow. (I don't count the pilot because they were still looking for their sea legs) Rick marches to a different drummer. A fun-loving guy who will do, and does do, anything for his brother, all the while the snarks fly overhead (Aw, c'mon AJ!). When I was younger, I was all about AJ, and although I still love him, I have grown to appreciate Rick much more now that I've "matured". The two together are golden. I have gained new appreciation for this show recently with it being on Sleuth. I loved it 20 years ago, but I see more depth in it now. Yes, it can be silly and pretty much does every cliched plot that every other 80s show did, but the two brothers never fail to entertain, and I find myself choking up at times with the little glimpses of the complete devotion they have to each other, and their mother. I truly love the long-suffering Cecelia whether she's having to once-again bail the boys out of jail (on league-night no less), or steering her latest man-friend away when the boys are harboring a dead body in her hotel room. When Rick comes to her house in the middle of the night with AJ slung over his shoulder, she bats nary an eyelash. One of the great TV moms. Maybe they should have called it Simon, Simon and Simon.

Just received a reply from TVshowsonDvd, in a very very brief reply that DUE TO POOR SALES, there will be no further releases of this entertaning
and enjoyable TV series. Words do fail me. This tells me that more people
bought the A-Team, a really really low IQ show. I do not mean to
offend anyone because as the French would say "chacun son gout".
To say I am dissapointed would be an umderstatement.The same thing happened with McCloud,Kojak and now Simon & Simon. Maybe gore and
autopsies are in vogue, so people who do not like dialogues but prefer
blood and violence are more likely to be noticed by film and TV studios.
A sad indictment on today's viewers preferences.This will make me surf the
internet until I find a supplier who could meet my demands.

Millie

I watched this boxed set in its entirety. The show is fantastic. I have been waiting for this DVD set for 10 years! I really love this show. These episodes are fantastic, but other reviews have talked about the quality of the show, so I'll focus on the set itself.
This show was obviously finished on film. It looks fantastic. I never dreamed it would look this good. Someone at Universal must love Simon & Simon! I have plenty of other TV shows on DVD and none of them look this good. I don't know if they finished on film every season (by the late 80's most shows were finishing on video, I think), but this season sure was. The sound is in 2 channels but given its age and that it was produced for television it sounds excellent.
The set is a little skimpy on bonus features. There are only two. The first is a 30 minute doc about how various 80's TV shows (including S&S) were received and how they affected American culture. The second is a bonus episode from season 2 (note that this bonus feature is not listed anywhere on the cover box.) The picture quality of the season 2 episode is as good as the season 1 eps so perhaps a season 2 set will look as good as this set.
If I want to be really picky, I could mention a couple of downsides. Episode 4 on disc 1 has the opening from season 2. Not sure how they did that but no big deal... And, maybe twice in the entire set, I saw a tiny bit of gate weave from the telecine. Again, super minor & no big deal. The big thing I wish Universal had not done can be found on a disclaimer on the back of the box. "MUSIC MAY DIFFER FROM TELEVISED VERSION." Normally, I won't even buy a box set if the studio won't pony up the cash to license all the original music. (I took back my Greatest American Hero box set and I have not purchased Quantum Leap since season 1). However, I really could not detect where they replaced any music. This show was mostly score anyway and they haven't replaced any of that. The music replacements must have been tiny and super infrequent because I could not detect them for the life of me. So it is not affecting my rating and hopefully they'll license all the music for season 2.
In summary, the picture qaulity is amazing and the show is fantastic. Rick & A.J. were like part of my family growing up. I'm glad to finally have them in my home.
And I DO think 30 bucks for (a total of) 14 episodes is reasonable. In fact, it may be the best 30 bucks I ever spent!

I just finished watching the 1st season today and hope the 2nd is coming out soon. For me, this show has passed the test of time. I used to like "Hunter" and bought two Hunter seasons. Now I'm ready to give them away. Simon and Simon is fun to watch. Some of the acting is definitely not top notch but McRaney and Parker make up for it and I think the style of humor even beats the old "Rockford Files". These two private detectives wind up in precarious situations and should have died in the first season but that's the way all these kind of shows are. You realize the show has to be this way. Hollywood rarely depicts real life. These guys are hilarious when they're on a hazy case and finally figure out what's really going on. They get out of tough predicaments. This show is great entertainment. If you're looking for realism, don't watch television at all.

Finally, one of the best series of the 80s makes it to DVD!!! I loved this show growing up, and watched it again when one of the cable networks started running the series. And unlike so many of the shows that I thought were "so great" when I was young, this one withstood the test of time for me. The actors, the stories, the interaction and by-play between Rick and AJ, everything. Yes, there are some "iffy" episodes (what series doesn't have them?), but overall, this is a solid series that has been FAR too long in making it to DVD.

I watched every episode of this series when it was originally on and fell madly in love with these two brothers and their wonderful, complicated relationship. A lot of these episodes may seem dated today, but it's worth it to watch the chemistry between Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as Rick and A.J. I can't wait for the rest of the seasons to come out!

Shout! Factory has licensed season 2 from Universal Studios. This could lead to licensing all seasons from Universal going forward so when it comes out on DVD, BUY IT !.......Season 2 is being released Feb. 10, 2009.