Simon & Simon

Last updated
Simon & Simon
Simon & Simon title screen.jpg
Title screen from Season 1
Genre
Created byPhilip DeGuere
Starring
Music by Joseph Conlan
Opening themeSimon & Simon (instrumental version) by Barry De Vorzon
Michael Towers
Ending theme"Best of Friends" performed by The Thrasher Brothers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes156 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Philip DeGuere
  • John G. Stephens
  • Richard Chapman
Producers
  • Mark A. Burley
  • Richard Chapman
  • Mary Eagle
  • Bill Dial
  • George Geiger
  • Richard C. Okie
Running time45–48 minutes
Production company Universal Television
Original release
Network CBS
ReleaseNovember 24, 1981 (1981-11-24) 
September 16, 1989 (1989-09-16)
Related

Simon & Simon is an American crime drama television series that originally ran from November 24, 1981, to September 16, 1989. The series was broadcast on CBS, and starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker as two disparate brothers who operate a two-person detective agency in San Diego.

Contents

Premise

The show revolves around the decisively polar-opposite Simon brothers, Rick (McRaney) and Andrew Jackson/"A.J." (Parker). Together, the brothers run a private investigator agency in San Diego, California, during the 1980s. Their contrasting approaches to investigations and subsequent personality conflicts provide much of the drama and comedy in each week's episode. The brothers have genuine love for one another as well as intense loyalty and will go to great lengths to protect one another.

Rick is a United States Marine Corps Vietnam War veteran with an earthy, plain-speaking personality and a penchant for cowboy boots, denim, and pickup trucks. He lives on a boat in his brother A.J.'s yard. In contrast, A.J. is a college graduate with a polished, preppy look and a taste for classic cars. A.J. is a practicing Catholic while Rick is not, and though A.J. is a stickler for rules in life and at work, Rick is more of a free spirit with street smarts. Their odd couple style differences extend even to their cars, with Rick's Dodge Power Wagon used in one episode ("Love, Christy" (Season 1, Episode 2)) to crush the engine of a car contrasting with A.J.'s 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible and customized Camaros (Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS) in the two-part episode, "Pirate's Key".

Although Rick is a few years older than A.J., McRaney and Parker were both born in 1947 and have only a three-month age difference.

Cast

Main

Recurring

Episodes

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 13November 24, 1981 (1981-11-24)March 16, 1982 (1982-03-16)
2 23October 7, 1982 (1982-10-07)March 31, 1983 (1983-03-31)
3 23September 29, 1983 (1983-09-29)March 29, 1984 (1984-03-29)
4 22September 27, 1984 (1984-09-27)March 28, 1985 (1985-03-28)
5 24October 3, 1985 (1985-10-03)May 1, 1986 (1986-05-01)
6 22September 25, 1986 (1986-09-25)March 26, 1987 (1987-03-26)
7 16December 3, 1987 (1987-12-03)April 7, 1988 (1988-04-07)
8 13October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08)September 16, 1989 (1989-09-16)

Production

Development

The original 1978 television pilot, called Pirate's Key, was set in Florida. When CBS picked up the show, the characters' home was changed from Florida to San Diego, California, where the show was filmed for the first season. Due to the production costs and low ratings, filming and production moved to Los Angeles, although the show continued to be set in San Diego for the course of its eight-year run on CBS.

The series was created by executive producer Philip DeGuere, who credited his inspirations to a request from a CBS executive to create something like a modern "Butch and Sundance", and a spec pilot DeGuere had recently read about a divorced husband and wife detective team written by Bob Shayne, whom DeGuere hired to write during the first two seasons. Shayne continued to write episodes for the series during its run, and together, they went on to create the CBS series Whiz Kids .

Original run

Simon & Simon was almost canceled in 1982 due to low ratings. However, at DeGuere and Shayne's request, CBS decided to give the series another chance by moving it to Thursday nights at 9 p.m., following Magnum, P.I. The new season began with a two-hour cross-over episode with a story that began on the already popular Magnum and continued on (the mostly unknown) Simon & Simon, in an attempt to carry Magnum's audience over to Simon & Simon. (see below) The effort worked, and the show's ratings quickly rose; it became a hit in that slot and continued to draw ratings for the next several seasons. Simon and Simon's peak years in the ratings were seasons 2–4, where it landed at no. 7, no. 5 and no. 7 respectively. In September 1984, The Cosby Show premiered in the 8 p.m. time slot against "Magnum" and was an immediate ratings hit and also substantially increased the ratings of the following NBC comedy shows, such as Cheers airing at 9 p.m. against "Simon & Simon". "Simon & Simon" fell to 29th in the 85–86 season and never recovered.

Simon & Simon moved to Saturday nights late in its run, and the ratings dropped considerably. CBS only committed to a 13-episode season for the fall of 1988 but cancelled the series with two episodes left unaired, including the series finale. That episode did not air until the show entered syndication. [ citation needed ]

Theme music

For the first season, the song "Best of Friends", composed by Linda Creed and Barry De Vorzon and performed by the Thrasher Brothers, served as the series' theme song. More specifically, the instrumental version of "Best of Friends" appeared at the beginning of each episode (and short clips of the instrumental version occasionally appeared within episodes, even after the first season), while the lyrical version appeared at the conclusion of each episode.[ citation needed ]

At the beginning of the second season, the second and more recognizable instrumental theme song, composed by Barry De Vorzon [1] (who had previously composed the theme to the 1970s police drama, S.W.A.T. ) and Michael Towers, was introduced. The theme consists primarily of an electric bottle-slide guitar lead with a saxophone interlude and remained until the last episode of the final season.[ citation needed ]

Both theme songs had extended versions released; the Thrasher Brothers in 1982, and De Vorzon/Towers's version in 1984. [2] [3]

Crossover with Magnum, P.I.

The episode "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend" concludes a crossover that begins on the Magnum, P.I. episode "Ki'is Don't Lie", wherein Higgins helps the Simons track the woman with stolen Hawaiian artifacts to Latin America. For repeat and syndication purposes, a second conclusion was also shot, wherein the fleeing villain is caught, allowing the Magnum episode to be wrapped up and the episode to be rerun as a "stand alone" episode. Consequently, the Simon & Simon concluding hour, "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend", did not appear in reruns for many years, nor did the original broadcast version of "Ki'Is Don't Lie". Both original versions have since been released on DVD. [4] [5]

Additionally, A.J. Simon appeared on the Whiz Kids episode "Deadly Access". In return, the Whiz Kids characters Richie Adler, Hamilton Parker, Jeremy Saldino, Alice Parker, and Irene Adler appeared on the Simon & Simon episode "Fly the Alibi Skies" the following night.

Home media

On October 10, 2006, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of Simon & Simon on DVD in Region 1. [6] Due to poor sales, no subsequent seasons were immediately released, because of the synthesized background music scores, where it had entirely replaced the original music scores, due to music licensing issues.

In Fall 2008, Shout! Factory announced that they had acquired the distribution rights through an agreement with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. They subsequently released seasons 2–8 on DVD, with seasons 5-8 originally released as Shout! exclusives. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Season 5 was re-released as a general retail release on May 9, 2017. [13] Season 6 was re-released in general retail on September 19, 2017. [14] Season 7 was re-released on November 14, 2017, [15] Season 8 was re-released on December 12, 2017. [16]

Mill Creek Entertainment released two "best-of" collections of Simon & Simon. On January 18, 2011, they released Simon & Simon – The Best of Season Two, [17] while on July 19, 2011 they released Simon & Simon – The Best of Season Three. [18]

In Region 4, Madman Entertainment released Season 1 on DVD in Australia on July 6, 2011.

DVD NameEp #Release Date
Season 113October 10, 2006
Season 223February 10, 2009
Season 323August 18, 2009
Season 422April 6, 2010
Season 524July 20, 2010♦
May 9, 2017 (re-release)
Season 622February 21, 2012♦
September 19, 2017 (re-release)
Season 716October 16, 2012♦
November 14, 2017 (re-release)
Season 813January 15, 2013♦
December 12, 2017 (re-release)

♦- Shout! Factory Exclusives title, sold exclusively through Shout's online store

Reunion movie and cultural references

Simon & Simon: In Trouble Again (1995)

In this reunion movie, which premiered on February 23, 1995 some years have passed, and a now divorced A.J. (whose ex-wife is Janet Fowler from original series) works in Seattle as an attorney. Rick stops by to visit en route to delivering an expensive yacht. The trouble starts when the yacht, with Rick and A.J.'s mother Cecilia on board, is hijacked.

The Greatest Event in Television History (2012)

The Greatest Event in Television History premiered on Adult Swim, on October 12, 2012. Hosted by Jeff Probst, the program went behind the scenes during the making of a shot-for-shot remake of the Simon & Simon opening sequence with Adam Scott and Jon Hamm in the roles of A.J. and Rick, respectively. The special also featured the appearances of Paul Rudd, Gus van Sant, Megan Mullally, Paul Scheer, and Kathryn Hahn. [19]

Related Research Articles

Murder, She Wrote is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series focuses on the life of Jessica Fletcher, a mystery writer and amateur detective, who becomes involved in solving murders that take place in the fictional town of Cabot Cove, Maine, across the United States, and abroad. The program ran for 12 seasons from September 30, 1984, to May 19, 1996, for a total of 264 episodes and included amongst its recurring cast Tom Bosley, William Windom and Ron Masak, as well as a vast array of guest cast members including Michael Horton, Keith Michell and Julie Adams.

<i>Designing Women</i> American sitcom television program

Designing Women is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason Mozark Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television for CBS.

<i>JAG</i> (TV series) American legal drama television series (1995–2005)

JAG is an American legal drama television series with a U.S. Navy theme, created by Donald P. Bellisario, and produced by Belisarius Productions in association with Paramount Network Television. The series originally aired on NBC for one season from September 23, 1995, to May 22, 1996, and then on CBS for an additional nine seasons from January 3, 1997, to April 29, 2005. The first season was co-produced with NBC Productions and was originally perceived as a Top Gun meets A Few Good Men hybrid series.

Magnum, P.I. is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on the American television network CBS. Magnum, P.I. consistently ranked in the top 20 U.S. television programs in the Nielsen ratings during the first five years of its original run, finishing as high as number three for the 1982–83 season. The series entered syndication in 1986 under the title Magnum in order to differentiate reruns from new episodes still airing under the original title on CBS.

<i>Cagney & Lacey</i> American police procedural television series (1982–1988)

Cagney & Lacey is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very different lives: Christine Cagney is a career-minded single woman, while Mary Beth Lacey is a married working mother. The series is set in a fictionalized version of Manhattan's 14th Precinct. The pilot movie had Loretta Swit in the role of Cagney, while the first six episodes had Meg Foster in the role. When the show was revived for a full-season run, Gless portrayed the role for six consecutive years. Each year during that time, one of the two lead actresses won the Emmy for Best Lead Actress in a Drama, a winning streak matched only once since in any major category by a show.

<i>One Day at a Time</i> (1975 TV series) American television sitcom (1975–1984)

One Day at a Time is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from December 16, 1975, to May 28, 1984. It starred Bonnie Franklin as a divorced mother raising two teenage daughters, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli, set in Indianapolis.

<i>Father Knows Best</i> American television program (1954–1960)

Father Knows Best is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by Ed James, Father Knows Best follows the lives of the Andersons, a middle-class family living in the town of Springfield. The state in which Springfield is located is never specified, but it is generally accepted to be located in the Midwestern United States.

<i>Love, American Style</i> American television series (1969-1974)

Love, American Style is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from 1969 to 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television. During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup that included The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Room 222, and The Odd Couple. It featured some of the earliest work of future stars Diane Keaton, Sally Struthers, Albert Brooks, and Harrison Ford. Room 222 star Karen Valentine appeared in four episodes. Brady Bunch star Ann B. Davis and The Partridge Family star Dave Madden each appeared in two episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald McRaney</span> American actor (born 1947)

Gerald Lee McRaney is an American television and film actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows Simon & Simon, Major Dad, Promised Land and House of Cards. He most recently starred as Admiral Hollace Kilbride on NCIS: Los Angeles. He was a series regular in the first season of Jericho and the final season of Deadwood. He appeared in a recurring role as main antagonist Mason Wood in season eight of Castle. Recently, he played Barlow Connally in the A&E series Longmire and had a recurring role in the NBC series This Is Us as Dr. Nathan Katowski, a role which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

<i>Whiz Kids</i> (TV series) American science fiction adventure television series

Whiz Kids is an American science fiction adventure television series that originally aired on CBS from October 5, 1983, to June 2, 1984. The show was created by Philip DeGuere, who had also created the detective series Simon & Simon for CBS in 1981, and Bob Shayne and produced by Universal Television. DeGuere also served as executive producer.

<i>The Twilight Zone</i> (1985 TV series) Television series (1985-1989)

The Twilight Zone is an anthology television series which aired from September 27, 1985, to April 15, 1989. It is the first of three revivals of Rod Serling's acclaimed 1959–64 television series, and like the original it featured a variety of speculative fiction, commonly containing characters from a seemingly normal world stumbling into paranormal circumstances. Unlike the original, however, most episodes contained multiple self-contained stories instead of just one. The voice-over narrations were still present, but were not a regular feature as they were in the original series; some episodes had only an opening narration, some had only a closing narration, and some had no narration at all. The multi-segment format liberated the series from the usual time constraints of episodic television, allowing stories ranging in length from 8-minutes to 40-minute mini-movies. The series ran for two seasons on CBS before producing a final season for syndication.

<i>Hazel</i> (TV series) American sitcom

Hazel is an American sitcom about a spunky live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in prime time from September 28, 1961, to April 11, 1966, and was produced by Screen Gems. The first four seasons of Hazel aired on NBC, and the fifth and final season aired on CBS. Season 1 was broadcast in black-and-white except for one episode which was in color, and seasons 2–5 were all broadcast in color. The show was based on the single-panel comic strip of the same name by cartoonist Ted Key, which appeared in The Saturday Evening Post.

<i>The Big Bang Theory</i> American television sitcom (2007–2019)

The Big Bang Theory is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers and head writers on the series, along with Steven Molaro. It aired on CBS from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes.

NCIS: Los Angeles is an American action crime drama television series combining elements of the military drama and police procedural genres, which premiered on CBS on September 22, 2009. The series follows the exploits of the Los Angeles–based Office of Special Projects (OSP), an elite division of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service that specializes in undercover assignments. NCIS: Los Angeles is the first spin-off of the successful series NCIS and the second series in the NCIS franchise. The series concluded on May 21, 2023, making it the second series in the NCIS franchise to end..

<i>Family Guy</i> season 9 Season of television series

The ninth season of animated television series Family Guy first aired on the Fox network in eighteen episodes from September 26, 2010, to May 22, 2011, before being released as two DVD box sets and in syndication. Family Guy follows the dysfunctional Griffin family—father Peter, mother Lois, daughter Meg, son Chris, baby Stewie and dog Brian, all of whom reside in their hometown of Quahog.

Blue Bloods is an American police procedural drama television series that has been airing on CBS since September 24, 2010. Its main characters are members of the fictional Reagan family, an American, Irish Catholic family in New York City with a history of work in law enforcement. Blue Bloods stars Tom Selleck as New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan; other main cast members include Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes and Len Cariou for all 14 seasons, plus Amy Carlson, and Sami Gayle.

<i>S.W.A.T.</i> (1975 TV series) American television series (1975-1976)

S.W.A.T. is an American police procedural action crime drama television series created by Robert Hamner, developed by Rick Husky, and produced by Hamner, Aaron Spelling, and Leonard Goldberg under Spelling-Goldberg Productions. The series aired for two seasons on ABC from February 1975 to April 1976. A spin-off of The Rookies, developed from a two-part pilot aired on February 17, 1975, S.W.A.T. follows a police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team operating in an unnamed Californian city. The series stars Steve Forrest, Robert Urich, Rod Perry, Mark Shera, and James Coleman as the titular team's officers.

References

  1. Barry De Vorzon at IMDb. Retrieved on 2008-08-12.
  2. Thrasher Brothers- Best of Friends (Simon and Simon), archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2021-03-10
  3. Barry De Vorzon - Simon & Simon TV Show Theme Song!, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2021-03-10
  4. Magnum P.I. TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21.
  5. "Simon & Simon, Season 2 Extras". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 2016-11-21.
  6. Lacey, Gord (27 July 2006). "Simon & Simon – Season 1 Cover Art Changed". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  7. Lambert, David (21 January 2009). "Simon & Simon – Official Studio Press Release for Simon & Simon – Season 2". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  8. Lambert, David (15 May 2009). "Simon & Simon – Details, Pricing and Package Art for Shout!'s Season 3 DVDs". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 15 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  9. Lambert, David (21 December 2009). "Simon & Simon – The Season 4 Set is On the Way to DVD This Spring!". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  10. Lambert, David (23 June 2010). "Simon & Simon – Details and Box Art for Season 5, a 'Shout! Select' Online Title". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  11. Lacey, Gord (20 December 2011). "Simon & Simon – Season 6 Announced for Feb". Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  12. Lambert, David. "Simon & Simon – The 8th and Final Season is Scheduled as a 'Shout! Select' Set". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  13. A General Retail Release for 'Season 5' DVDs as Shout! Sells it 'Wide' Archived 2017-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
  14. A General Retail Release for 'Season 6' DVDs as Shout! Sells it 'Wide' Archived 2017-06-15 at the Wayback Machine
  15. A General Retail Release for 'Season 7' DVDs as Shout! Sells it 'Wide' Archived 2017-09-03 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Simon & Simon - A General Release for 'Season 8: The Final Season' DVDs, as Shout! Sells it 'Wide' Available in a participating store near you this December Archived 2017-09-08 at the Wayback Machine
  17. Simon & Simon – The Best of Season 2
  18. Simon & Simon – The Best of Season 2
  19. Khatchatourian, Maane (12 October 2012). "Jon Hamm and Adam Scott film 'The Greatest Event in Television History' – VIDEO". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 October 2012.