Simon & Simon DVDs

[Pahonu]

Hey Garwood, would you by any chance be a fan of REMINGTON STEELE? It's from the part of the 80s that you like (early-to-mid), it's a private investigator/detective show, it's got a lighter touch (like MPI, SIMON & SIMON), and 2 leads that have good chemistry together. Personally I think Pierce Brosnan runs circles around Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney (maybe it's the English/Irish thing) - he's VERY good with the light-hearted stuff and has a great comedic touch. Very handsome too! It's no wonder he was the favorite to replace Roger Moore as 007, until it didn't work out and Dalton got the gig.

What do you think? I'd give MPI the edge over RS but not sure about SIMON & SIMON. I might have a slight preference for RS - mostly because of the lead. MPI has got Selleck and RS has Brosnan. S&S kinda lacks those magnetic leads. It also doesn't help that S&S just ran for too long - long outstaying its welcome. There's only 2 seasons that I really like - S2 and S3. RS had a shorter run and was more consistent in quality.

Remington Steele is being shown this weekend in a Decades channel marathon. It started this morning.

Yep, that's why I brought it up. I just saw an episode. Well, half-saw, half-worked.

Thought that might be the case but didn’t want you to miss it.

I had no memory of the first season opening with the narration! It’s been so long since I saw it, perhaps the original run. I don’t recall it being syndicated much.

Edit:

I’ve watched a few episodes now and had forgotten about the white VW Rabbit convertible Laura drives. I remember thinking it was unique with the roll bar and looked like a fun little drive at the time. Then when I met my wife in 1994, she had a hand me down 1984 red one her father had given her in high school. He shipped it from New Jersey to California when she turned 16. It definitely was a fun little drive, with a 5-speed manual. I also remember the little trunk with the vertical hatch.

She had it until we bought our house ‘99 and it threw a rod just months after we moved in. We were strapped for cash at the moment and bought a used black Escort for her. She was bummed to lose the convertible and so was I, but a few years later we got her a blue Beetle Convertible. We passed that down to my son. She has a white Beetle Convertible now. We go for top-down drives all the time and it’s hard to remember the brief little period we didn’t have a ragtop. Bonus points: she loves to drive it so I get chauffeured around most of the time.

Yep, season 1 had the narration. Then season 2 had the sprightly and catchy Henry Mancini theme. But my favorite is the S3 and S4 version of the Mancini theme - slightly darker in tone and slower-paced. Doris Roberts was a plus when she was added to the cast at the start of S2.

Interesting story about Rabbits, Beetles, Escorts, and ragtops.

I have a few more episodes in the DVR from later seasons. I’ll listen for the different version of the theme. I remembered the tune very clearly, but had no idea there were different versions. It was a very catchy tune indeed.

I agree about Doris Roberts. I just watched a fun episode about a historic Auburn Boattail Speedster with flashbacks and car chases. She was great. The first season secretary and assistant weren’t terribly memorable. In fact, I had forgotten all about them. I’m thinking I may not have watched the show from the beginning.

Sometimes long ago thoughts pop into my head when I see something like this after so long. That’s what happened with the VW Rabbit story. It was just a random thought when I was young but it came back after watching. I’m pretty certain I haven’t seen these since the 80’s when I was in middle and high school.

What are some of the memorable episodes you like? I only recorded about 8-10 but I’m hoping it will go into Decades’ rotation.

Maybe we should start a Remington Steele thread.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Remington Steele is being shown this weekend in a Decades channel marathon. It started this morning.

Yep, that's why I brought it up. I just saw an episode. Well, half-saw, half-worked.

Thought that might be the case but didn’t want you to miss it.

I had no memory of the first season opening with the narration! It’s been so long since I saw it, perhaps the original run. I don’t recall it being syndicated much.

Edit:

I’ve watched a few episodes now and had forgotten about the white VW Rabbit convertible Laura drives. I remember thinking it was unique with the roll bar and looked like a fun little drive at the time. Then when I met my wife in 1994, she had a hand me down 1984 red one her father had given her in high school. He shipped it from New Jersey to California when she turned 16. It definitely was a fun little drive, with a 5-speed manual. I also remember the little trunk with the vertical hatch.

She had it until we bought our house ‘99 and it threw a rod just months after we moved in. We were strapped for cash at the moment and bought a used black Escort for her. She was bummed to lose the convertible and so was I, but a few years later we got her a blue Beetle Convertible. We passed that down to my son. She has a white Beetle Convertible now. We go for top-down drives all the time and it’s hard to remember the brief little period we didn’t have a ragtop. Bonus points: she loves to drive it so I get chauffeured around most of the time.

Yep, season 1 had the narration. Then season 2 had the sprightly and catchy Henry Mancini theme. But my favorite is the S3 and S4 version of the Mancini theme - slightly darker in tone and slower-paced. Doris Roberts was a plus when she was added to the cast at the start of S2.

Interesting story about Rabbits, Beetles, Escorts, and ragtops.

I have a few more episodes in the DVR from later seasons. I’ll listen for the different version of the theme. I remembered the tune very clearly, but had no idea there were different versions. It was a very catchy tune indeed.

I agree about Doris Roberts. I just watched a fun episode about a historic Auburn Boattail Speedster with flashbacks and car chases. She was great. The first season secretary and assistant weren’t terribly memorable. In fact, I had forgotten all about them. I’m thinking I may not have watched the show from the beginning.

Sometimes long ago thoughts pop into my head when I see something like this after so long. That’s what happened with the VW Rabbit story. It was just a random thought when I was young but it came back after watching. I’m pretty certain I haven’t seen these since the 80’s when I was in middle and high school.

What are some of the memorable episodes you like? I only recorded about 8-10 but I’m hoping it will go into Decades’ rotation.

Maybe we should start a Remington Steele thread.

Regarding some memorable episodes, I'm afraid I can't bore you with any lists here. I only watched a handful over the years. I just wasn't exposed to it as much, or rather didn't make myself available enough for this series. College, life, better TV shows, that kind of thing got in the way

Though I do remember there were the 2 episodes with Guy Boyd playing Steele's arch-enemy of sorts named Major Discoine. I recall those 2 being memorable and suspenseful. Both during season 2. I think they aired on Decades this week. Then there were 2 episodes with Don Gordon as "Dancer", a criminal dressed as Santa (with a bunch of other Santas) who take the Remington Steele office hostage during Christmas Eve. A sort of precursor to DIE HARD. The episode was called "Dancer, Prancer, Donner, and Steele". I think it was 3 Santas as the baddies. That was a good one. Then "Dancer" (Don Gordon) comes back for revenge in another episode. I think both were in season 4 so I'm sure Decades didn't get that far. I also remember another good one - Conrad Janis as "Atomic Man" I think was his name, a TV superhero from Steele's childhood who I think is framed for murder and Steele and Laura are on the case. Other episodes I only have fleeting memories of.

Moral of the story? This show wasn't as good as THE A-TEAM.

[Pahonu]

Yep, that's why I brought it up. I just saw an episode. Well, half-saw, half-worked.

Thought that might be the case but didn’t want you to miss it.

I had no memory of the first season opening with the narration! It’s been so long since I saw it, perhaps the original run. I don’t recall it being syndicated much.

Edit:

I’ve watched a few episodes now and had forgotten about the white VW Rabbit convertible Laura drives. I remember thinking it was unique with the roll bar and looked like a fun little drive at the time. Then when I met my wife in 1994, she had a hand me down 1984 red one her father had given her in high school. He shipped it from New Jersey to California when she turned 16. It definitely was a fun little drive, with a 5-speed manual. I also remember the little trunk with the vertical hatch.

She had it until we bought our house ‘99 and it threw a rod just months after we moved in. We were strapped for cash at the moment and bought a used black Escort for her. She was bummed to lose the convertible and so was I, but a few years later we got her a blue Beetle Convertible. We passed that down to my son. She has a white Beetle Convertible now. We go for top-down drives all the time and it’s hard to remember the brief little period we didn’t have a ragtop. Bonus points: she loves to drive it so I get chauffeured around most of the time.

Yep, season 1 had the narration. Then season 2 had the sprightly and catchy Henry Mancini theme. But my favorite is the S3 and S4 version of the Mancini theme - slightly darker in tone and slower-paced. Doris Roberts was a plus when she was added to the cast at the start of S2.

Interesting story about Rabbits, Beetles, Escorts, and ragtops.

I have a few more episodes in the DVR from later seasons. I’ll listen for the different version of the theme. I remembered the tune very clearly, but had no idea there were different versions. It was a very catchy tune indeed.

I agree about Doris Roberts. I just watched a fun episode about a historic Auburn Boattail Speedster with flashbacks and car chases. She was great. The first season secretary and assistant weren’t terribly memorable. In fact, I had forgotten all about them. I’m thinking I may not have watched the show from the beginning.

Sometimes long ago thoughts pop into my head when I see something like this after so long. That’s what happened with the VW Rabbit story. It was just a random thought when I was young but it came back after watching. I’m pretty certain I haven’t seen these since the 80’s when I was in middle and high school.

What are some of the memorable episodes you like? I only recorded about 8-10 but I’m hoping it will go into Decades’ rotation.

Maybe we should start a Remington Steele thread.

Regarding some memorable episodes, I'm afraid I can't bore you with any lists here. I only watched a handful over the years. I just wasn't exposed to it as much, or rather didn't make myself available enough for this series. College, life, better TV shows, that kind of thing got in the way

Though I do remember there were the 2 episodes with Guy Boyd playing Steele's arch-enemy of sorts named Major Discoine. I recall those 2 being memorable and suspenseful. Both during season 2. I think they aired on Decades this week. Then there were 2 episodes with Don Gordon as "Dancer", a criminal dressed as Santa (with a bunch of other Santas) who take the Remington Steele office hostage during Christmas Eve. A sort of precursor to DIE HARD. The episode was called "Dancer, Prancer, Donner, and Steele". I think it was 3 Santas as the baddies. That was a good one. Then "Dancer" (Don Gordon) comes back for revenge in another episode. I think both were in season 4 so I'm sure Decades didn't get that far. I also remember another good one - Conrad Janis as "Atomic Man" I think was his name, a TV superhero from Steele's childhood who I think is framed for murder and Steele and Laura are on the case. Other episodes I only have fleeting memories of.

Moral of the story? This show wasn't as good as THE A-TEAM.

Cool, thanks! I have an episode with Guy Boyd recorded.

I’m enjoying them so far, but it seems Decades didn’t go past season three.

I remember loving A-Team as a kid when it first aired, and also Knight Rider. I tried watching several episodes of both maybe 8-10 years ago and they didn’t hold up well for me.

You mentioned liking Scarecrow and Mrs. King more than Remington Steele. I have memories of my mom watching it, I believe. Have you seen that recently? I don’t remember anything but Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson being in it.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

You mentioned liking Scarecrow and Mrs. King more than Remington Steele. I have memories of my mom watching it, I believe. Have you seen that recently? I don’t remember anything but Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson being in it.

Yep, I saw quite a few episodes over the last few years (and one with Morgan Woodward and Jane Kaczmarek and another with William Smith and Terry Kiser just last year) and they still hold up really well for me. More so than REMINGTON. But then I've always been a fan of spy/Cold War stories so SAMK is just more up my alley. It just has the perfect mix of espionage and humor. But I do like that it tends to steer more towards the dramatic as opposed to RS which can be a bit too comical and screwball for my tastes.

[Little Garwood]

You mentioned liking Scarecrow and Mrs. King more than Remington Steele. I have memories of my mom watching it, I believe. Have you seen that recently? I don’t remember anything but Bruce Boxleitner and Kate Jackson being in it.

Yep, I saw quite a few episodes over the last few years (and one with Morgan Woodward and Jane Kaczmarek and another with William Smith and Terry Kiser just last year) and they still hold up really well for me. More so than REMINGTON. But then I've always been a fan of spy/Cold War stories so SAMK is just more up my alley. It just has the perfect mix of espionage and humor. But I do like that it tends to steer more towards the dramatic as opposed to RS which can be a bit too comical and screwball for my tastes.

I should clarify my previous post regarding Scarecrow and Steele. As I watch 1970s TV shows, I often check the guest cast's credits on the IMDb. Many times they have appeared on one of or both of thise shows. I'm thinking more of character actors as opposed to future megastars.

[Nikita70]

Momentum is coming out with a new UDT watch paying tribute to their original. Evidently Rick wore one in the show. I’ve been very satisfied with the Sea Quartz I got from them and will likely get this one as well.

[Mr. Greene]

Does anyone remember the gun safe/ entertainment center they used on the show. It was only opened a handful of times but I remember it vividly, the first time my dad and I looked at each other and decided we needed that but never could source it. I’m sure it was probably something created in the prop room but after all these years I still want one. Any ideas or leads

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

It's a mystery as to why Simon & Simon seems absent these days. I discovered this show back in 1997 when our local Philly channel began showing it in reruns daily. At the time I was into Five-O reruns in a major way!! They would show 2 episodes of Five-O back to back at 9am and 10am daily and I simply could not miss those!! Then at 11am they started showing Simon & Simon and I would catch some episodes here and there but I was in no way a major fan. It just didn't appeal to me that much. Not enough suspense (like Five-O) or action (like Knight Rider or The A-Team). But I was a teenager then so my taste buds were still maturing. S&S was on for another 2 years or so on that channel and then somewhere around 1999 or 2000 it was yanked and I've never seen it again on any local channel. I rediscovered it online on Dailymotion (with the video flipped to avoid copyright issues I suspect) about 2 years ago and that's how I was able to revisit seasons 2 and 3. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it now as an adult. Then Dailymotion yanked it and I ended up buying season 4 on DVD and enjoyed it just as much. As of now this series is only available on DVD on Amazon. I haven't been able to find any other source online to view it. Tubi (which is free) is my favorite new online viewing place for old shows and movies. It's amazing how many goodies they have on there. Forget Netflix or Hulu. Those mostly have new stuff which I don't care for. Tubi has so many old shows and movies - I've been watching Scarecrow and Mrs. King on there and enjoying it. T.J. Hooker is also there. Hunter too. Oldies like Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Real McCoys, Dick Van Dyke, My Favorite Martian, Columbo, SWAT, Dobie Gillis, Wells Fargo, etc. Even obscure shows that maybe ran for only 1 or 2 seasons. I see other shows popping up on there that I've never seen (like Spenser: For Hire) but have always wanted to check out. That one is on my list to see! But Simon & Simon isn't on there. Amazon Prime viewing also doesn't have it. Neither does Hulu nor Paramount+ nor any other online site. Not sure why.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

It's a mystery as to why Simon & Simon seems absent these days. I discovered this show back in 1997 when our local Philly channel began showing it in reruns daily. At the time I was into Five-O reruns in a major way!! They would show 2 episodes of Five-O back to back at 9am and 10am daily and I simply could not miss those!! Then at 11am they started showing Simon & Simon and I would catch some episodes here and there but I was in no way a major fan. It just didn't appeal to me that much. Not enough suspense (like Five-O) or action (like Knight Rider or The A-Team). But I was a teenager then so my taste buds were still maturing. S&S was on for another 2 years or so on that channel and then somewhere around 1999 or 2000 it was yanked and I've never seen it again on any local channel. I rediscovered it online on Dailymotion (with the video flipped to avoid copyright issues I suspect) about 2 years ago and that's how I was able to revisit seasons 2 and 3. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it now as an adult. Then Dailymotion yanked it and I ended up buying season 4 on DVD and enjoyed it just as much. As of now this series is only available on DVD on Amazon. I haven't been able to find any other source online to view it. Tubi (which is free) is my favorite new online viewing place for old shows and movies. It's amazing how many goodies they have on there. Forget Netflix or Hulu. Those mostly have new stuff which I don't care for. Tubi has so many old shows and movies - I've been watching Scarecrow and Mrs. King on there and enjoying it. T.J. Hooker is also there. Hunter too. Oldies like Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, Real McCoys, Dick Van Dyke, My Favorite Martian, Columbo, SWAT, Dobie Gillis, Wells Fargo, etc. Even obscure shows that maybe ran for only 1 or 2 seasons. I see other shows popping up on there that I've never seen (like Spenser: For Hire) but have always wanted to check out. That one is on my list to see! But Simon & Simon isn't on there. Amazon Prime viewing also doesn't have it. Neither does Hulu nor Paramount+ nor any other online site. Not sure why.

Ivan,
This is crazy that it's only available on DVD. The series was really well done, on every level. Tubi has Spenser? Outstanding, I have been waiting a long time to see it again.

[Nikita70]

I have the first four seasons on DVD. Unfortunately Shout Factory cheapened out and did not include closed captions for the last four seasons so I haven’t bought them. The PQ isn’t terrible but nowhere near great. I can only hope someone will release the series on Blu-ray with cc or subtitles. I’d buy the set even if it was a few hundred bucks. Loved pretty much everything Gerald McRaney has done.