Magnum Mania!

Thanks for the caps Styles!

Hehe, good old MAD. They just lambast everybody don't they. Still, always funny!

Wow, that's a crisp, clean copy of that MAD Magazine, Styles!

It surprises me whenever someone says they don't like Simon & Simon. Probably because I associate the two and they were such an important part of my childhood. I have nothing but great memories of the two shows, especially the first four seasons of each. I understand that S&S didn't play over in the UK so perhaps there isn't that admittedly nostalgic association many of us in the US might have for the Simons. Or maybe it's merely a matter of taste.

I've decided to go ahead and get seasons 5-8 of S&S, quality be damned. Maybe a S&S discussion thread is in order for those of us who like the show.

FYI: Shout Factory, the company that released seasons 2-8 of Simon & Simon have a "March Madness" sale going on. Click this link, enter your email address and a coupon code will be sent to you. I used it to get 15% off and free shipping for seasons 6-8 of S&S.

Meanwhile, here are the Simons at the peak of their--and Magnum, P.I.'s--popularity, in June of 1983 on the cover of TV Guide.

Looks like S&S have been given the Hot Wheels treatment!

Rick's Power Wagon truck:



...and A.J.'s Camaro:

Simon & Simon appeared on TV Guide three times during its eight-year run, the first was in June 1983 (posted above), the other two times were in August 1984:




...and in June 1985 (cover art by the legendary Bob Peak):

I'm mid way into season five and like most of what I see. The opening credits are notable in that there appeared to be an attempt to "Miami Vice" things up by emphasizing San Diego. The seagulls, the reflection in the skyscraper, and the bikini-clad model getting washed over by the surf (and clenching up in advance of the bracing water!). I suppose the producers of S&S wanted to show off San Diego like Vice did for Miami instead of just being itself. This Miami Vice-ification would also afflict Magnum, P.I., with the latter's select use of then-current pop songs as musical underscore, which we have mentioned a few times on the board.

I'm a good way into season two now and I have season three waiting for me after. I really enjoy the episodes. The show is really well written (a few exceptions, maybe) and the chemistry between Parker and McRaney is awesome. I'm really surprised neither of them continued in major roles after the show.

Episode two of season two "Mike & Pat" shares a striking similarity to Old Acquaintance (Magnum Season 6, Episode 2). I guess the kidnapped dolphin theme is easily transferable. I wonder if other similar shows borrowed it too?

Styles Bitchley wrote:I'm a good way into season two now and I have season three waiting for me after. I really enjoy the episodes. The show is really well written (a few exceptions, maybe) and the chemistry between Parker and McRaney is awesome. I'm really surprised neither of them continued in major roles after the show.

For me, seasons two and three--and to a lesser degree, four--is Simon & Simon at its peak. I've always seen their and Magnum's dominance occurring at about the same time. I'm almost finished watching S5 and there have been lots of really lightweight episode, even by S&S standards--including several in a row--as the fifth season winds down: Walk a Mile in My Hat, Sunrise at Camp Apollo, The Blue Chip Stomp, Something for Sarah, and Mobile Home of the Brave are all pretty flimsy but still enjoyable. It should be pretty easy to come up with a top five for this batch of shows and I will do so upon completing the season.

Little Garwood wrote:For me, seasons two and three--and to a lesser degree, four--is Simon & Simon at its peak. I've always seen their and Magnum's dominance occurring at about the same time.

Looking forward to revisiting three and four. I watched regularly as a kid, but hardly remember anything about the episodes I've now watched from seasons one and two. That's a good thing. I just watched the episode about the stolen video game/microchip/Soviet spies...love that nostalgia.

While Simon & Simon's fifth season has largely proven to be a lightweight affair, the show is still a lot of fun. The episode Family Forecast is deceptively satiric in its stabs at the kind of people who watch and participate in game shows. Social and societal commentary is a rare thing in the conformist 1980s but S&S often had it, usually through comments Rick would say. The late, great Kenneth Mars is spot on as game show host Fritz Markham and Charles Cioffi-sporting yet another bad toupee--is effectively cold and ruthless in a nonetheless underwritten role. Frequent guest star Gary Lockwood musters some energy in his small but sleazy role.

I'll do a top five of the fifth season once I'm done. I will also have to go through the show from the start and do the same for those, too.

Could anyone recommended a few episodes? I'm looking for a new series to watch, but I hate to buy a full season without seeing a few episodes first.

marlboro wrote:Could anyone recommended a few episodes? I'm looking for a new series to watch, but I hate to buy a full season without seeing a few episodes first.

I take it you have seen Emeralds are Not a Girl's Best Friend, which finishes up the Magnum crossover. If not, that's as good a place as any.

I'd say go with Pirate's Key, from season two. It weaves the (unaired) 1978 pilot into the story.

Almost finished with S5 and will post a top five episodes from that afterwards.

Little Garwood wrote:Almost finished with S5 and will post a top five episodes from that afterwards.

"Act Five" should be in there. That episode had both Candy Clark and Tina Louise in it!

J.J. Walters wrote:

Little Garwood wrote:Almost finished with S5 and will post a top five episodes from that afterwards.

"Act Five" should be in there. That episode had both Candy Clark and Tina Louise in it!

That's the one I just watched! I'm not sure if it's going to make my top five but it is a fun episode. Candy Clark wears an...interesting...green "leather" suit thing in this; it's right out of her Leslie Emory character's wardrobe! Too bad Phyllis Davis couldn't have gotten a guest appearance in this one...

My top five for season five:

1) Love and/or Marriage- Nice use of unconventional filming techniques, like one would have seen in the late '60s-early '70s. A more serious tone than what we're used to on S&S; something that will be more prevalent in seasons 7 and 8, apparently.

2) Quint is Out- Simon & Simon meets Cape Fear. William Smith is his usual menacing self.

3) Family Forecast- The late, great Kenneth Mars as a game show host. More like episodes from the first four seasons (sound familiar?) This episode excoriates the dopey people who watch TV game shows.

4) Walk a Mile in My Hat- Rick assumes A.J's identity while the latter is away in order to take a case. A.J. returns home in the middle of this madness.

5) A Significant Obsession- A.J. gets an obsessive (and pre-Fatal Attraction) admirer.

Season five had a long consecutive run of lightweight-even-for-S&S-type episodes, but since the cast is always such fun, I don't mind, but the best episodes are the ones that have a bit more "meat" on them, which is why I selected the more serious adventures.

Now it's on to season six.