Simon & Simon - Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend

Rate, review & discuss the Simon & Simon and Murder, She Wrote crossover episodes

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
3
6%
9.5 (One of the Best)
3
6%
9.0 (Excellent)
10
21%
8.5 (Very Good)
7
15%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
10
21%
7.5 (Decent)
3
6%
7.0 (Average at Best)
4
9%
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
9%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
2
4%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
2%
 
Total votes: 47

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SelleckLover
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#11 Post by SelleckLover »

When I was on Oahu in 1988, my legs were whiter (if that's possible) than Rick and AJ. I was affectionately called "shark bait" by my friends there. LOL :D

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IslandHopper
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#12 Post by IslandHopper »

This does not involve a crossover episode, but it does concern a "Simon & Simon" episode. I was scrolling through the Sleuth channel info-descriptions of upcoming shows and episodes and there is a Simon & Simon episode called "Mike & Pat." The description reads: "San Diego Sea World wants the Simons to locate a kidnapped dolphin before separation from its make kills it." This sounds very similar to MPI's "Old Acquaintance." Old Acquaintance involved a plot to use a dolphin to assassinate a foreign president (a la The Day of the Dolphin), but I believe Goldie Morris also said that the dolphin in "Old Acquaintance" will die if it's not reunited with its mate.

Has anyone seen this Simon & Simon episode, and if so, is it similar to the MPI episode? Just curious. I'm sure I saw it back in the 80s, but I can't remember any details.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

Sam
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#13 Post by Sam »

IH,

Where have we seen this? LOL

Season 5 HFO...Little Girl Blue

Two men kidnap a young girl and hole up in a World War II bunker on Diamond Head. McGarrett and his men must rescue the child from the desperate criminals.

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IslandHopper
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#14 Post by IslandHopper »

I just watched the Simon & Simon (S&S) episode "Mike & Pat" from my DVR. I was surprised to learn that the "Mike & Pat" episode was aired (October 14, 1982) three years before the MPI episode "Old Acquaintance" (October 3, 1985). Although I always liked S&S, I always favor MPI. However, I'm sorry to admit that I think that the "Mike & Pat" episode is better than MPI's "Old Acquaintance." It's not because the S&S episode has something that the MPI episode doesn't, it's for what the S&S episode doesn't have that I like...No Goldie Morris. I'm not saying that to be funny. It's just that I really could not take that episode seriously with her character, as she was just so over-the-top. I really think that character took a lot away from that episode. The S&S plot seems a little more solid and there seems to be more danger involved in the S&S episode.

An important theme in the S&S episode was that the dolphin left behind was in danger of dying without her mate, because she was too depressed to eat. This was apparent in "Old Acquaintance" too. It is listed as a flub in the episode guide. I don't know for sure, but it seems that "Old Acquaintance" took its basic plot from the motion picture "The Day Of The Dolphin." I wonder if MPI got any ideas from the S&S episode?

What is it with detective stories and dolphins? We have "The Day Of The Dolphin," "Mike & Pat," "Old Acquaintance," and "Ace Ventura Pet Detective." I'm sure there are more that I'm not aware of.

Yeah Sam, there seems to be a lot of similarity between many different episodes of different shows.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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SelleckLover
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#15 Post by SelleckLover »

This just goes to back up a post I made a few months back. There ARE NO new plots in episodic TV anymore! They've all been done and then some! If you've been watching TV for as long as I have, you've seen them all. (My first recollection of TV watching was "The Mickey Mouse Club" in the 1950's.)
Some are just done better than others! JMHO! :D

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#16 Post by J.J. Walters »

Hehe, it's funny how Goldie Morris seems to pop up all over the place! Reviled, she is.

The dolphin thing is getting out of hand. It just makes you want to scream, "Dolphins are NOT monogamous*"! Didn't any of these writers watch Flipper for crying out loud! ;)

* and they don't mate for life, and they don't die when a fellow pod member dies!
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Triggers a memory

#17 Post by eeyore »

This triggers a memory: Magnum was always on Thursday night for YEARS, follow by Simon and Simon. Then they started screwing with the day of week that Magnum was on and I lost track from there. Time for some research into the old TV guides. :)

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#18 Post by MACattack »

There are some original shows out there.
Watch 'Law and Order: Special Victims Unit'. The show sometimes feels like the intensity of Magnum P.I. but the writing is different. I think they base the stories on news articles about crime in New York City.





As for the Simon and Simon crossover, I wonder what country they filmed in to stand in for 'Costa Nueva'. It looks alot like the coastline between Ensenada and Ziuhuatenejo in Mexico!
I just don't give a damn!

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#19 Post by Frodoleader »

A local TV station has started running old TV shows on one of their digital channels. Yesterday I caught part of a Simon & Simon episode.
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan

MACattack
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#20 Post by MACattack »

Frodoleader:
dude, you spelled 'doc wei' wrong! It's spelled DAC HUE.

:shock:
I just don't give a damn!

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Tom_Magnum
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#21 Post by Tom_Magnum »

Hey all you S&S fans out there, Season 2 will be coming out next Tuesday! (Feb. 10, 2009). Universal gave Shout! Factory the rights to put the series on DVD and they will now be releasing the rest of the seasons quickly.

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#22 Post by J.J. Walters »

That's great news! It's about time! Thanks for the "heads up" TM.

8)
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#23 Post by Tom_Magnum »

Hey, no problem James! :)

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#24 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

As I’ve just done ‘Ki’i’s Don’t Lie’, I thought I might as well do this episode while I’m at it. It’s my first ever ‘Simon & Simon’ episode, and I like it; once I’ve finished my MPI review project, I think I’ll get the S&S DVDs.

[rating=8.5]

Following on from ‘Magnum, p.i.’s ‘Ki’i’s Don’t Lie’, Rick and A.J., accompanied by Higgins, follow con artist Alex Houston, who tricked Higgins out of $350.000, to South America, where they plain their own con to catch her. A reasonable story…

-----

I am reviewing this episode after seeing it on the ‘Magnum, p.i.’ first season DVD bonus disk (only included on the Region 1 version). Although I think ‘Simon & Simon’ was shown here in the U.K., I don’t think it got a very extensive run, at least not in my ITV region.

This crossover was designed in a bid to save ‘Simon & Simon’, which was sagging in the ratings after it’s first season. The show was moved directly after ‘Magnum, p.i.’ on Thursday nights, and this crossover story was devised to try and pull in MPI viewers.

But for my first S&S episode, I liked it. Rick and A.J. come over as much more likable than they did in MPI’s ‘Ki’i’s Don’t Lie’ (where they felt almost like the villains). Here, Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney come across as easy going and engaging.

Tom Selleck has two brief cameo appearances as Magnum himself, but the main ‘crossover’ of the story is the inclusion of John Hillerman as Higgins. I’ve always liked the Higgins character, and it was nice to see him in this episode, but I did feel that he was wasted – all he really got to do was a few scenes in a hotel room as the Simon brothers planned their con to lure in Alex Huston.

The story itself is a fair one, and as a first time viewer of the series, I found it easy to get into. There are a couple of plot conveniences (the jailed Simons just happen to be locked up with Henry, and old friend of Rick’s, who is able to get them out and help them on their mission), but for the most part, it is a fun plot.

I find it a bit hard to rate this episode, as I don’t have any other eps from the series to compare it to (as yet). But I like it enough to give it a reasonable 8.5.

Once I have completed my MPI review project, I think I’ll have to invest in the ‘Simon & Simon’ DVDs, as it seems like a fun series, and just the sort of thing that I like.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* When A.J. is driving alongside Alex’s car, trying to convince her to pull over, the white line down the middle of the road suggests that, in these shots, he is not on the wrong side of the road as surrounding shots show.

* The shot of Magnum driving in the Ferrari at the end of the story is stock footage, originating from the first season. Notice he is wearing a navy blue top, but when he gets out of the Ferrari at the Estate, he is wearing a green vest and a cap.
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#25 Post by Zudobug »

The Simon & Simon crossover episode is the only episode with Magnum in that I have never watched. I'm British and I don't think Simon & Simon was ever broadcast over here. The fact that the crossover episode wasn't made available on the Magnum PI region 2 boxset probably confirms that as well.

Is there anywhere on the net (maybe Youtube) where I can watch it?

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