Simon & Simon

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.

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!!

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.

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.