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!
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.
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!
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.
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…
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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.
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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.
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?
Watched it recently and the theme came right back to me. I never followed the series, but likely watched a few episodes or at least heard the opening before switching channels. Funny how little tunes can stick in your head forgotten for a quarter century and then be brought right back from something like this.
I enjoyed it. Wish now that I had tuned in on the original run.
Of course this changes nothing between us. I still expect you to respect the rules and regulations pertaining to your stay on the estate. There will be no wild parties, no outragous liberties, no unauthorized overnight guests...
I remember there being 2 distinct opening theme songs for S&S.......which came first, the more popular one or the other? I don't think i watched a ton of Simon and Simon as it ran up against NBC's powerful Thursday lineup of Cheers. I know I caught episodes during the summer reruns and more readily remember the later seasons with Tim Reid....now a much more bulked up guy than his Venus Flytrap days on WKRP. Simon and Simon grew on you........was never overly dramatic, but had its' moments.
Seaver41 wrote:I remember there being 2 distinct opening theme songs for S&S.......which came first, the more popular one or the other? I don't think i watched a ton of Simon and Simon as it ran up against NBC's powerful Thursday lineup of Cheers. I know I caught episodes during the summer reruns and more readily remember the later seasons with Tim Reid....now a much more bulked up guy than his Venus Flytrap days on WKRP. Simon and Simon grew on you........was never overly dramatic, but had its' moments.
I loved it. Great show.
The more popular theme (with the slide guitar) replaced the earlier one. Basically, the same sort of thing as Magnum.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
In France, it's very frustrating because this crossover is not part of Magnum PI DVDs. On the other hand, Simon & Simon was released but only the first season because it had so few success in France for releasing the other seasons ...
I once watched this episode on TV but I failed to register it.
So, imagine my frustration ...
I'm very frustrated with Simon & Simon too. I bought the first season and I like it a lot. I watched it when I was younger but I had forgotten it. One of my favorite TV series with Magnum, Riptide, MacGyver, A Team, Hulk, the fall guy, ...
