Simon & Simon DVDs

[Little Garwood]

There's something that bugged me about Flanagan's "performance" though. Either she was too OTT or something but somehow she seemed to be trying too hard to sell us on this Jekyll/Hyde split personality thing. Didn't work for me. I liked her more in "John Doe", an episode that is certainly superior to this one and one of the best from season 3.

Rewatched the episode last night.

I would say Flanagan gave a “sincere” performance, and was imo consistent with how actors portrayed characters with disabilities/mental illness issues on ‘70s and ‘80s network television. I’m sure we’ve both seen worse!

[Little Garwood]

Simon & Simon ad for Heels and Toes (S3 E16) along with Magnum, P.I. and Knots Landing, week of January 28+February 3, 1984.



I also posted this over in the Rembrandt’s Girl thread, as it pertains to that episode as well. I figured no one from there would visit this topic.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

There's something that bugged me about Flanagan's "performance" though. Either she was too OTT or something but somehow she seemed to be trying too hard to sell us on this Jekyll/Hyde split personality thing. Didn't work for me. I liked her more in "John Doe", an episode that is certainly superior to this one and one of the best from season 3.

Rewatched the episode last night.

I would say Flanagan gave a “sincere” performance, and was imo consistent with how actors portrayed characters with disabilities/mental illness issues on ‘70s and ‘80s network television. I’m sure we’ve both seen worse!

I think it's the group therapy scene where I thought she was way OTT. Or maybe just plain weird. I suppose that was the point but somehow it didn't click for me.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Hi Ivan,
Geller was good but he was a piker next to the Three Stooges, they created whole maps dotted with the names of new nations:

Atisket, Atasket, Big Zipper, Great Mitten, Hot Foot, He-Ran, I-Ran, She-Ran, Jerkola, Mikey Finlen, Moronica, Shmowland, Staywayoff, Toot Sweet,Woo-Woo, Yom Kippers.

Plus various waterways: Bay of Window, Cant Sea, Giva Dam, Isle Asker, Straights of Rye, Vulgar River, Hot Sea, Tot Sea.

Not to mention the Tomb of Rooten Tooten. My 4th grade classmate Chipper memorably replied "Rooten Tooten" when asked which pharaoh's tomb was famously discovered in the 1920's.
Half the boys in the class thought the same thing, as kids in my neighborhood had been brain washed by endless reruns of the Stooges on the Officer Joe Bolton Show on WPIX in the 60's.

Yikes! Those are truly terrible!

[Little Garwood]

A Simon & Simon advert from TV Guide touting the show’s November 24, 1981 premiere.



Going by the ad, it looks as though CBS was trying to portray Jeannie Wilson as a “Daisy Duke”-type hottie.

[Little Garwood]

Season and Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 3
Episode Title: The Third Eye
Original Airdate: October 17, 1985
Writer: Thomas Perry, Jo Perry
Director: Burt Kennedy

Synopsis: A writer specializing in "participatory journalism" is framed for murder after apprenticing himself to the Simons.

Guest Cast: Murphy Dunne (Author Marshall Peale); Susanne Reed (Nicole Bass); Barney McFadden (Trevor Bass); Sally Kemp (Joan McKenzie); Jayson Kane (Kemp); Dallas Cole (Ambrosia Kowalski), and "Special Guest Star" Tommy Lasorda.

Rating (1-10 stars): 8/10

Review/Observations: Highly entertaining episode with some nice insights into how Rick and A.J. operate as detectives. The training sequences and words of investigational wisdom from the Simons are amusing and even end up being a part of the finale.

The opening bedroom scene between Joan and Trevor comes off like something out of a night time soap opera, but it is actually played straight. Trevor looks like singer-songwriter Nick Cave.

The Simons are first seen at a "neighborhood beach sale." Bud, Rick's "lucky spider" is given away to a small boy in retaliation to Rick having given away A.J. 's 19th century Andrew Jackson etching, which Rick refers to as resembling "an old drunk in a fireman’s uniform."

Marshall Peale, a George Plimpton-esque author who "writes about Southern California careers" via "participatory journalism" by actually being what he writes about. The Simons' research on Peale reveals that Peale has attempted professions such as: training with the San Diego Chargers, chef, bullfighter, hair stylist, training for the space shuttle, designing sports cars, conducting orchestra (which Peale says nearly got him killed), Spring training with the L.A. Dodgers, and stand-up comedian.

An article by Peale, "Stars in My Eyes, Butterflies in My Stomach" is seen in a magazine.

Peale also appears on the cover of San Diego World magazine, wearing what looks to be the same sport coat and shirt he wears in this episode.

Peale provides an echo-laden voiceover during his investigation.

When Town enters his office, Rick has his feet on the desk, yet Town says nothing; I would expect some kind of admonishment.

Town tells Peale that during an undercover operation, he was disguised as "a red, overstuffed sofa." There's an ongoing and totally insane subplot unrelated to the story, as Town is preparing for a raid on a circus. First he's seen with cotton candy, then a stuffed toy dog that is actually a gun, and finally there are three cops dressed like circus clowns holding shotguns preparing to raid the big top. Peale should have followed these guys! We never learn the results of the raid.

A.J. wears Rick's hat while Rick takes batting practice with the Dodgers.

A.J. "does a Rockford" in the Camaro while escaping from Villa Erotica.

Kemp claims that Villa Erotica provides "psycho-sexual fulfillment." Rick later refers to Villa Erotica as a "sex farm."

Among the clients of Villa Erotica is "a different Cecilia Simon", something that the Simons repeatedly remind Town.

This is another episode in which the music is dialed way down; at times it’s barely audible.

The finale ends with the Simons once again admonishing Peale about standing in the path of a gun, thus distracting Nicole Bass long enough for Rick to take away her gun. Trevor Bass, who works at the salon, is taken out with one punch from Rick.

The Simons' building has a bar located downstairs, where Rick and A.J. go to have a beer at episode's end while Peale is hired by yet another damsel in distress. The end freezes on Peale.

Simon Back Story: None. Unless one counts A.J.’s dislike of maple doughnuts.

Notable Use of Music: Brief drum machine suspense cue as Peale attempts to break into A.J.'s house during his apprenticeship as a detective. Once again, the music sound mix is low in volume. Episode composer Joseph Conlan uses a John Barry, Goldfinger-style blast of blaring brass when the heat turns on in the car-painting oven where Peale is locked.

Memorable Dialogue: A.J: "Learn to notice the things that don't fit."

A.J.: “Rick, I thought we agreed to never do another repo on a hearse!”

Undercover Shtick: There are three in this episode. The first is at the Villa Erotica manager's, Kemp, office. Rick, in a conservative gray business suit, is "Bob Bakersfield", peddling products like "Aerobic Musk" and other "glandular body products." A.J., wearing an Olympic weightlifter's getup, is "Horst Der Spiegel", who Rick claims "represented The Fatherland in the '36 Olympics." A.J. calls Kemp a "schweinhund" for mispronouncing his name.

The second is in a comedy club. Rick bombs onstage complete with bad, bad, bad jokes and even a rim shot drummer. A.J. is hilarious as Rick's oily, sleazy agent, affecting a high-pitched cackle in the role.

The last one takes place at the Gerard Gerard hair salon. A.J. wears a black Germanic chauffeur's uniform, affects another German accent, while carrying around a small French Poodle named "Tiger" (pronounced "Tee-gair"). The pooch has the same hair color as Cecilia Simon, who is enlisted to help the brothers. Rick is a stereotypical swishy hair stylist, complete with kerchief and leather pants.

1980s-ness: Nicole Bass (Susanne Reed) has a deep, liquid facial tan and large pink suit jacket with huge shoulder pads.

San Diego References: A plastic Chargers mug on A.J.'s desk. When Rick mentions they're from San Diego, Tommy Lasorda says "Padres fans, huh?" To which Rick replies, "Well, someone's gotta do it."

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Funny but all I remember about this episode is the Tommy Lasorda special guest credit and the car paint oven. Nothing else.

[Little Garwood]

Funny but all I remember about this episode is the Tommy Lasorda special guest credit and the car paint oven. Nothing else.

The Third Eye is the eighth episode directed by Burt Kennedy. On Magnum, P.I., Kennedy directed the Kim Richards tour de force, Mixed Doubles (S3 E9).

Kennedy is probably best known—but probably not here at Magnum-Mania—for directing several westerns during the 1960s and ‘70s.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Funny but all I remember about this episode is the Tommy Lasorda special guest credit and the car paint oven. Nothing else.

The Third Eye is the eighth episode directed by Burt Kennedy. On Magnum, P.I., Kennedy directed the Kim Richards tour de force, Mixed Doubles (S3 E9).

Kennedy is probably best known—but probably not here at Magnum-Mania—for directing several westerns during the 1960s and ‘70s.

Burt Kennedy is probably best known for the 2 comedy westerns with James Garner - SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF and SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GUNFIGHTER. I saw the first one, not the second. He also directed THE WAR WAGON, THE GOOD GUYS AND THE BAD GUYS, the inferior RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (the next one GUNS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, directed by Five-O "Cocoon" director Paul Wendkos, was much better), and other westerns.

[Little Garwood]

Season and Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 4
Episode Title: The Enchilada Express
Original Airdate: October 24, 1985
Writer: W. Reed Moran (teleplay); B.W. Sandefur (story).
Director: Sigmund Neufeld, Jr.

Synopsis: AJ and Rick, with the help of Downtown Brown and Temple Hill, are hired by Connie Mitchell, whose husband Odell disappeared in the Central American country of Costa Verde. The brothers discover a dodgy divorce scam, a shady U.S. counsel, and a Costa Verde organized crime figure.

Guest Cast: Elaine Joyce (Connie Mitchell); James Hampton (Odell Mitchell); Daphne Maxwell (Temple Hill); Pepe Serna (Barra); Richard Herd (Consul Dearborn); and "Special Guest Star" Gregory Sierra (Raul Gutierrez).

Rating (1-10 stars): 9/10

Review/Observations:

Another of Simon & Simon's “fauxreign” countries episodes, and it's a good one. The increased amount of screen time for Downtown Brown and Temple Hill is most welcome, and it is possibly their biggest roles in the series. However, it does make this episode more of a team effort than most episodes, though the Simons are still the dominating presence.

Cecilia Simon does not appear in this episode. Marlowe is also absent.

In the opening Simons office scene, Rick tells off a would-be dry-cleaning customer, "We don't do laundry!" Meanwhile, the office phone is on the fritz, and A.J. cheerfully/sarcastically takes a woman's pizza order (extra cheese, mushrooms, sausage) over the phone. "All right. We'll have it there in twenty minutes”, but doesn’t bother getting the customer’s address.

In a charming bit, Temple Hill gets a simultaneous kiss on both sides of her face by Rick and A.J.

Extensive use of the Universal "Third World" studio lot.

The Simons are thrown off a large sand dune that resembles the one that Richard Dean Anderson runs across in the opening credits montage of MacGyver.

Gregory Sierra gives a good performance as Raul Gutierrez, head of the Costa Verde Holiday Divorce Group ("Great Sun...Great Surf...Great Divorce...All for a Great Price!"). It's a travel junket that apparently makes divorce enjoyable. Is there a subtle commentary on the more immature aspects of Baby Boomer morality? Raul's slick rhetoric to the divorce junketeers is hilarious.

The Costa Verde police station looks like a bombed-out wreck on the outside, complete with sleeping bums, but is brand-spanking new and contemporary on the inside.

The police sergeant, whom Rick recognizes from when he was in Costa Verde before, has a crooked and blatantly phony-looking mustache, though it's supposed to be real.

Town exits the plane--called Vuela por Noche--to Costa Verde clutching a full air sickness bag. He wipes his mouth with a handkerchief, hands the air sickness bag to Temple, who puts it down inside the doorway of the plane.

Town plays a significant role in this episode, and thus receives the majority of physical abuse. He is kidnapped as Kenneth Weston, "financial consultant, no living relatives" and holder of a Golden West Bank Golden Card with a $50,000 credit line courtesy of Temple's TV station. Town gets beaten in the jail cell, and has two buckets of water dumped over him.

There's an amusing bit with a billboard welcoming travelers to Costa Verde, where Costa Verde's revolving door presidency is being changed out. The photo and name of the outgoing president--presumably by coup d'etat--is replaced by the latest general/president. In this case, the departed Generalissimo Juan Lopez Galves is replaced by the incoming Generalissimo Alvar Cortes Bonilla (or Bodilla?).

The episode doesn't come down too hard on Third World countries. The deposed dictator is replaced by an El Presidente, who sends the legitimate police force to help the Simons defeat the corrupt forces at episode's end.

Simon Back Story: Rick is hesitant to go to Costa Verde due to there being an outstanding warrant for his arrest. "Like Frank Sinatra in Australia and Bobby Knight down in Puerto Rico, I'm persona non grata down there." According to Rick, it's for something that A.J. is "still too young" to know about. Rick must have done some extensive traveling during the 1970s before settling in Pirate's Key circa 1979.

Rick is said to be fluent in Spanish, yet he is unable to translate the documents they got from Raul, saying that it looks like some form of Portuguese.

Rick wonders aloud if "I wonder if Carmen still works there", meaning the Costa Verde whorehouse the Simons stake out when Raul goes to pick up his judge associate.

Notable Use of Music: The opening credits cue by Joseph Conlan features a catchy, chime-like '80s synth piece with a Latin touch. Variations of this sound are featured throughout this music-heavy episode. There's also a nice ominous cue when Rick and A.J. are picked up by the policia.

An obnoxious—probably on purpose—instrumental rock source music cue is heard courtesy of A.J’s “ghetto blaster” when he and Rick crash the Crenshaws’ backyard barbecue.

Memorable Dialogue: Consul Dearborn: "After all, in this crazy world of ours, if we Americans can't take care of each other, who will?"

Barra, after gut punching Town: "You have the right to tell me what I want to know or you have the right to suffer pain."

It sounds like Gerald McRaney says “Shit” again (the first being in Pirate’s Key). This time it’s in the scene when he, A.J., and Town are discovered on the beach just before the final gunfight.

Undercover Shtick: Rick and A.J., coolers and live lobsters in hand, crash divorce junket client Jim Crenshaw's suburbanite backyard BBQ. Rick kisses Mrs. Crenshaw on the lips, much to her initial shock and subsequent enjoyment. Mrs. Crenshaw is played by the dishy Emily Banks, best known for her role as Yeoman Tonia Barrows on the Star Trek episode Shore Leave.

A.J., about the lobsters they bring: "You don't have to cook them if you don't want to, they make great pets."

1980s-ness: Town wears a crazy-looking yellow, gray, and white-patterned short-sleeve shirt, Temple Hill wears a garish yellow hat with blue band, and wide waistband with a blue dress. She later wears a silver, pink, and blue dress over jeans. A.J. wears the grey, black, and white short sleeve shirt on the flight down to Costa Verde. Connie Mitchell's "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" duotone sweater: half green-grey, the other half is off white. Dearborn's secretary, who's part of the scheme, wears an outfit that reeks of 1980sness.

San Diego References: Rick wears a Chargers hat in the BBQ scene. A Chargers pennant is seen on the wall near Rick's office desk. The Californiacentric "Golden West" bank card is mentioned often and shown closeup. There is also a Golden West branch office in Costa Verde, where the fake Consul Dearborn works.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Season and Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 3
Episode Title: The Third Eye
Original Airdate: October 17, 1985
Writer: Thomas Perry, Jo Perry
Director: Burt Kennedy

Synopsis: A writer specializing in "participatory journalism" is framed for murder after apprenticing himself to the Simons.

Guest Cast: Murphy Dunne (Author Marshall Peale); Susanne Reed (Nicole Bass); Barney McFadden (Trevor Bass); Sally Kemp (Joan McKenzie); Jayson Kane (Kemp); Dallas Cole (Ambrosia Kowalski), and "Special Guest Star" Tommy Lasorda.

Rating (1-10 stars): 8/10

Review/Observations: Highly entertaining episode with some nice insights into how Rick and A.J. operate as detectives. The training sequences and words of investigational wisdom from the Simons are amusing and even end up being a part of the finale.

The opening bedroom scene between Joan and Trevor comes off like something out of a night time soap opera, but it is actually played straight. Trevor looks like singer-songwriter Nick Cave.

The Simons are first seen at a "neighborhood beach sale." Bud, Rick's "lucky spider" is given away to a small boy in retaliation to Rick having given away A.J. 's 19th century Andrew Jackson etching, which Rick refers to as resembling "an old drunk in a fireman’s uniform."

Marshall Peale, a George Plimpton-esque author who "writes about Southern California careers" via "participatory journalism" by actually being what he writes about. The Simons' research on Peale reveals that Peale has attempted professions such as: training with the San Diego Chargers, chef, bullfighter, hair stylist, training for the space shuttle, designing sports cars, conducting orchestra (which Peale says nearly got him killed), Spring training with the L.A. Dodgers, and stand-up comedian.

An article by Peale, "Stars in My Eyes, Butterflies in My Stomach" is seen in a magazine.

Peale also appears on the cover of San Diego World magazine, wearing what looks to be the same sport coat and shirt he wears in this episode.

Peale provides an echo-laden voiceover during his investigation.

When Town enters his office, Rick has his feet on the desk, yet Town says nothing; I would expect some kind of admonishment.

Town tells Peale that during an undercover operation, he was disguised as "a red, overstuffed sofa." There's an ongoing and totally insane subplot unrelated to the story, as Town is preparing for a raid on a circus. First he's seen with cotton candy, then a stuffed toy dog that is actually a gun, and finally there are three cops dressed like circus clowns holding shotguns preparing to raid the big top. Peale should have followed these guys! We never learn the results of the raid.

A.J. wears Rick's hat while Rick takes batting practice with the Dodgers.

A.J. "does a Rockford" in the Camaro while escaping from Villa Erotica.

Kemp claims that Villa Erotica provides "psycho-sexual fulfillment." Rick later refers to Villa Erotica as a "sex farm."

Among the clients of Villa Erotica is "a different Cecilia Simon", something that the Simons repeatedly remind Town.

This is another episode in which the music is dialed way down; at times it’s barely audible.

The finale ends with the Simons once again admonishing Peale about standing in the path of a gun, thus distracting Nicole Bass long enough for Rick to take away her gun. Trevor Bass, who works at the salon, is taken out with one punch from Rick.

The Simons' building has a bar located downstairs, where Rick and A.J. go to have a beer at episode's end while Peale is hired by yet another damsel in distress. The end freezes on Peale.

Simon Back Story: None. Unless one counts A.J.’s dislike of maple doughnuts.

Notable Use of Music: Brief drum machine suspense cue as Peale attempts to break into A.J.'s house during his apprenticeship as a detective. Once again, the music sound mix is low in volume. Episode composer Joseph Conlan uses a John Barry, Goldfinger-style blast of blaring brass when the heat turns on in the car-painting oven where Peale is locked.

Memorable Dialogue: A.J: "Learn to notice the things that don't fit."

A.J.: “Rick, I thought we agreed to never do another repo on a hearse!”

Undercover Shtick: There are three in this episode. The first is at the Villa Erotica manager's, Kemp, office. Rick, in a conservative gray business suit, is "Bob Bakersfield", peddling products like "Aerobic Musk" and other "glandular body products." A.J., wearing an Olympic weightlifter's getup, is "Horst Der Spiegel", who Rick claims "represented The Fatherland in the '36 Olympics." A.J. calls Kemp a "schweinhund" for mispronouncing his name.

The second is in a comedy club. Rick bombs onstage complete with bad, bad, bad jokes and even a rim shot drummer. A.J. is hilarious as Rick's oily, sleazy agent, affecting a high-pitched cackle in the role.

The last one takes place at the Gerard Gerard hair salon. A.J. wears a black Germanic chauffeur's uniform, affects another German accent, while carrying around a small French Poodle named "Tiger" (pronounced "Tee-gair"). The pooch has the same hair color as Cecilia Simon, who is enlisted to help the brothers. Rick is a stereotypical swishy hair stylist, complete with kerchief and leather pants.

1980s-ness: Nicole Bass (Susanne Reed) has a deep, liquid facial tan and large pink suit jacket with huge shoulder pads.

San Diego References: A plastic Chargers mug on A.J.'s desk. When Rick mentions they're from San Diego, Tommy Lasorda says "Padres fans, huh?" To which Rick replies, "Well, someone's gotta do it."

Hi Guys,
Simon & Simon hasn't been on any stations I get in over 15 years. I had forgotten how smart and witty the dialog on this series was, but Garwood has done yeoman work providing us with examples here.
I love throw away lines like “Rick, I thought we agreed to never do another repo on a hearse!”
Due South had them as well,"why do I always have to be the fulcrum!"

Regarding the Villa Erotica sex farm, I think that was a sly reference to an actual place at that time. I was in CF on vacation in the mid 1980's and a local car dealer had been busted for running
an actual farm catering to people with a hankering for pitching woo to livestock.
He had jealously assaulted one of his paying guests for forcing his attentions on a animal that he - the car dealer - loved romantically.
That night on his show Johnny Carson commented that "the whole thing might have been swept under the rug if it weren't for those big mouths Mr. Ed and Francis the Talking Mule."
Years later Jay Leno stole that line when a similar operation was busted. I recycled it as well when recently in Oregon one of these joints was raided.
I am on board with the PETA people on this one, and am beginning to think you people on the West Coast are a bit suspicious if not downright pixelated.

A.J. as Horst der Spiegel?
Man you make me miss this series, just as when Ivan writes of the original Hawaii 5-0, both of which should be shown instead of the 20th rerunning of dreck like Barnaby Jones on MeTV.
Garwood is doing some excellent stuff here with his Simon & Simon breakdowns, thanks Garwood.

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Luther Gillis: As Chucky would say, 'why take only 24 hours? Take the whole day.'

[Little Garwood]

Thank you for your kind words, Luther. I appreciate your taking the time to read and comment. (I’m at a complete loss on how to respond to that crazy “Villa Erotica” theory, though).

I would add a lot more of, well, everything regarding the episodes, but I already feel I’m being too obsessive!

Dearborn's secretary, who's part of the scheme.

What I wanted to say in the above unfinished thought from The Enchilada Express was that Dearborn’s secretary’s entire wardrobe reeked of the 1980s.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Richard Herd (Counsel Dearborn)

This is a pet peeve of mine but I've seen this numerous times. Shouldn't it be "Consul" as in "consulate"? Consul Dearborn. Counsel is what you give someone when they ask for your advice. Counsel could also refer to a lawyer, as in "defense counsel". But in this case I'm sure Richard Herd was an American consul working at the consulate.

As for the episode I remember liking it, one of the better ones of the season. It had an adventure feel to it, going down south of the border. Similar to season 4's "Revolution #9 1/2" but I remember liking this one more. As for the faux-reign country of Costa Verde (probably a play on Costa Rica) wasn't this same fake country used in the Schwarzenegger actioner COMMANDO that same year? Isn't that where he goes at the end to rescue his daughter and unleashes all hell? I seem to recall other 80s movies or shows that used this same name.

[Little Garwood]

Re: Counsel-Consul. Of course. Corrected. Glad someone’s paying attention! You go right on quoting regulations; to paraphrase Kirk to Saavik in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

In the ‘80s, Central America was a hotspot, what with all the intrigue in Nicaragua and El Salvador…it made sense for Hollywood to leech onto that premise for their entertainment mill.

[Little Garwood]

Season and Episode Number: Season 5, Episode 5
Episode Title: The Skull of Nostradamus
Original Airdate: October 31, 1985
Writer: W. Reed Moran
Director: Sigmund Neufeld, Jr.

Synopsis: The Simons must find out who's terrorizing an apprentice witch who's supposedly under a spell.

Guest Cast: David Groh (Jonathan); Kitty Moffat (Maggie Hopkins); Katherine Justice (Donna Bertolli); Julie Miller (Ginger); Buzz Sapien (Mel); Jared Snyder (Mechanic Eddie Johnson); Tommy Madden (Stretch Mooney)

Rating (1-10 stars): 9/10

Review/Observations: The Skull of Nostradamus aired on Halloween night 1985. It's a fun, quirky episode fully into the "spirit" of Halloween. Halloween decorations are visible at A.J.'s house, the police station, and in Maggie Hopkins’ (Kitty Moffat) place. The script is chock full of supernatural/spiritual references and imagery. There are several creepy set-pieces, most notably one in which Rick, A.J., and Marlowe are knocked out with gas and placed in coffins in a cemetery.

Cecelia Simon appears briefly in an amusing scene in which she arrives to pick up Rick, A.J.,—wearing only their coffin “bed sheets”—along with Marlowe from the cemetery in broad daylight.

Maggie, despite being a registered nurse, feels like becoming a witch is her "first real chance to make something out of her life." The Maggie character isn’t remotely convincing as someone who’s interested in witchcraft. Maggie isn’t witchlike in her appearance or in her personality. It doesn’t help that Kitty Moffat gives a poor, unconvincing performance (which keeps this episode from achieving a “10” rating) but then the script gives her absolutely nothing with which (witch?) to work.

Ginger (Julie Miller), Maggie's wannabe Marilyn Monroe-like roommate, is flaky enough to believe in witchcraft. She reads palms and lists several professions who are members of Jonathan's coven: a telephone operator, a masseuse, a third baseman, a choreographer..."

Rick, his New Orleans cover seemingly blown when he's recognized by Donna Bertolli (Katherine Justice), admits to being a private investigator who's "done personal surveillance for some of the biggest sources in the Southeast." Rick proceeds to hawk his services, passing out business cards.

Katherine Justice, who plays Donna, gives the best performance in this episode. Justice is convincing as a nail technician who is a true believer in necromancy. Her character, the true villain of the piece, scowls and hisses her lines through her teeth.

Look for a young Giovanni "Vonni" Ribisi (Saving Private Ryan; The Rum Diary; Papa Hemingway in Cuba) as a talkative neighborhood kid and trick-or-treater who comes to A.J.'s house three-days-before Halloween.

Town says that covens are "…just another place for all the lonely people." Rick, deadpan, replies with the corresponding lyrics from The Beatles’ song Eleanor Rigby: "...where do they all come from?"

Auto mechanic and coven member Eddie Johnson (Jared Snyder) has a hilarious scene on the phone with a customer and with A.J., whose Camaro is suddenly on the fritz. "Your car doesn't need a mechanic, it needs an exorcist."

The “possessed” heap looks like the same 1959 Dodge—only painted blue—that Rick rented in Costa Verde the previous episode, The Enchilada Express.

The Necromancer convention is like any other trade show, complete with sales booths of merchandise. There's also mention of a “Modern Coven” magazine.

The Skull featured in the title of the episode is on display at the convention. Jonathan and his minions plan to steal the valuable item, which has large, glowing ruby eyes.

Coven leader Jonathan (David Groh) is a Jim Jones-style nutjob. He claims that "After the convention, I will possess a great, new power. A power of the ages, and with this I will build a grand temple on the island of Haiti. I've selected a special few of our coven to accompany me to the new colony...including you [Maggie]."

Rick, in cult robes, is served "Toadstool Quiche." Ginger enthusiastically says that "it's from a recipe from the Dark Ages."

Kids in San Diego apparently trick or treat in the daytime.

When Rick and A.J. are staking out the coven, they use an infrared lens.

Officer Nixon (Scott Murphy) is dressed as the "Safety Dragon", complete with invasive tail in an amusingly silly throwaway bit that is nonetheless keeping in part with this episode's Halloween atmosphere.

Marlowe appears in this episode. He apparently recognizes the word "bone" whenever he hears it. The pooch is knocked out in the gas attack on A.J.’s house.

Simons associate Stretch Mooney makes another appearance towards the end of the episode. Rick and A.J. lose a haggling session with a little girl in a ghoul Halloween costume. Offering her $10.00 for her costume, but she holds out for $20.00 and gets it.

Jonathan stabs A.J. in the shoulder in the finale, but according to A.J., "It’s nothing a little Eye of Newt won't cure."

The finale is the Simons raiding the coven, guns blazing, in order to save Maggie, who is unconscious, in a white gown, and has had blood poured over her in a sacrificial ceremony.

Strange, but unconnected and unrealized plant theme in this episode. A.J. talks to his crispy-looking house plants, asking them if they want to hear some "Rachmaninov or a little Robert Browning." Maggie also talks to her houseplants. There are a few references to "fish emulsion" as plant food. A.J. keeps a small TV set next to the microwave on the counter in his kitchen.

At episode's end, A.J. and Rick are paired up with Maggie and Ginger, respectively. A.J.'s left arm is in a sling from the knife wound. Rick tried getting rid of A.J. so he can make time with Ginger.

Simon Back Story: Rick wins a case of 12-gauge shotgun shells and a subscription to Girls and Ammo magazine. He is stunned and claims never to have won anything in his life.

On Halloween 1984, during what A.J. refers to as a "Rick Simon Halloween Bacchanal", Rick's oft-mentioned buddy Carlos came dressed as the devil and brought an M-7 flamethrower, which destroyed A.J.'s sofa.

A.J. routinely hides Halloween candy because Rick eats all of it before October 31.

Octoberfest is said to be "a Rick Simon tradition." A.J. replies, "Along with Arbor Day, Spring flings, and the day the Swallows come back to Capistrano...any excuse for a blowout." Rick interjects with "alternate Thursdays."

Supernaturally speaking, A.J. is the more cynical of the Simons and makes it known with several lines throughout the episode. Rick, on the other hand, who's normally more cynical, is more receptive in his view of so-called spiritual occurrences and accepts good fortune with gratitude.

Notable Use of Music: The opening cue of the Joseph Conlan score is a moody flute riff heard over the coven's ceremonial chanting. A cover of "I Put a Spell on You" is heard at Mel's TV and satellite dish shop.

There's an ominous-sounding synth-flute cue when Maggie wakes up to candles hanging above her bed, which is some sort of curse. Droning and pulsing synth and flute cue and later a shredding electric guitar in the finale as the Simons search the top floor of the coven house.

A cool horn-driven cue is heard during the Simons’ pursuit of the cultists who have taken The Eye of Nostradamus from the convention to Jonathan’s suburban neighborhood coven.

Memorable Dialogue:

Ginger: [looking at Rick's, then A.J.'s hands] "These strong hands once labored to build the pyramids in Egypt, to honor him, your pharaoh and master."

A.J.: "Imagine that, four-thousand years later, I can't even get him to take out the garbage."
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Rick: "You don't have to turn away from the real world to find what you're looking for. I almost made that mistake a couple of times in my life."

Undercover Shtick: A.J. goes undercover twice as “Arthur Crumson”, from the “Merlindale Bubble Publishing Company”, which is putting together a "definitive witches directory" at Mel's TV and Satellite shop. The first time A.J. wears glasses, his grey double-breasted jacket, and holds his notebook like a schoolgirl. The second time is at the necromancer convention (sans glasses and notebook).

Rick as a New Orleans-accented customer getting a manicure from coven member Donna Bertolli. He later uses this accent at the Necromancer convention.

Rick and A.J. dressed as a One Thousand and One Nights/Carnac The Magnificent-like swami (A.J. in goatee) and his assistant (Rick), complete with burning incense, giant headwear, and bad faux “Middle East” accent.

1980s-ness: Maggie's bulky pager goes off and interrupts a coven ceremony. "Eye of Newt? You're soaking in it." A reference to the ubiquitous 1970s and early 1980s Palmolive dish soap commercials. Maggie's oversized lavender jacket with large powder blue flowers. Ginger's plastic blue earrings and multicolored blouse. A Pizza Hut restaurant is visible across the street from Eddie Johnson’s mechanic shop.

San Diego References: The California license plate number on the Power Wagon is 1PAP513. The Camaro has California license plate number IPPA335. The O'Shaughnessy mechanic shop's sign is seen in the background near an actual street (not the Universal studio lot) does this place still exist? Is it in Los Angeles?