Simonometer Thread

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Episode 8 Ashes to Ashes, And None to Soon

Another fast-paced episode. A nice mystery and a myriad of double crosses.

Famous Guest Stars: 0
Key Supporting Characters: 3 Janet, Myron, Cecilia
Contacts: 0
Rick's Hats: 1
A.J. Playing Sports: 0
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 4 Rick as hospital worker, AJ as cadaver, Rick as and AJ as hotel room service employees
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 0
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon Mexico Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 1
Total: 9.0

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Episode 9 Uncivil Servant

I enjoyed this one, especially given my own aversion for the IRS. Love the parts played by the titular uncivil servant and the San Diego furniture guys with the girls in the commercial (played by Jerry Stiller of Seinfeld, who happens to be a huge Rush fan, too). I like the Simons working for Myron, too. A lot of costumes and impersonations by the Simons in this one, too.

Famous Guest Stars: 1 (Jerry Stiller)
Key Supporting Characters: 2 Janet, Myron
Contacts: 1 (Rick's female phone contact at DMV)
Rick's Hats: 1
A.J. Playing Sports: 0
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 4 AJ as nervous tax payer, Rick as FBI agent, AJ as terrorist, Rick as building construction man
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 1 the uncivil servant files blanks first, then live rounds at Simons
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon Mexico Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 1
Total: 11.0

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Episode 10 Earth to Stacey

This episode highlights the financial woes of the Simons, esp. RIck who has the Power Wagon repoed. While humorous, Rick is pretty unethical in stealing Myron's socialite client and wanting to run up the hours. Stacey is a bit much at times, but gets better as it goes. Goons are pretty trigger happy in this one.

Famous Guest Stars: 1 (Lisa Eilbacher - Bevery Hills Cop and other films)
Key Supporting Characters: 2 Janet, Myron
Contacts: 0
Rick's Hats: 1
A.J. Playing Sports: 0.5 (coming and going from tennis)
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 2 Rick as painter, AJ as B-movie film producer
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 3 Stacey v. ex-husband, goons at Simons, goons shoot Stacey's ex-fiance
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon Mexico Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 1
Total: 10.5

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Episode 11 Double Entry

Basic marriage case/turned white collar crime case. Lots of disguises, stakeouts, and hidden cameras in this one. "If it flies it dies, if it crawls it falls" -Rick with Will Kill Pest Control.

Famous Guest Stars: 0.5 I'll give a half point to TV vet Richard Herd
Key Supporting Characters: 1 Janet
Contacts: 2 MIckey beach hot dog stand owner, Kona beach bum
Rick's Hats: 1
A.J. Playing Sports: 0 (we do hear about AJ's surfing prowess)
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 5 AJ as fruit inspector, Rick as "Snacks after Dark" rep, AJ as book salesman, AJ as FBI agent, Rick as pest control worker
Gadgets: 1 parobolic microphone (lots of hidden cameras in this one, too)
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 0
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon Mexico Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 0
Total: 10.5

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Season 1 Episode 11 Double Entry

Basic marriage case/turned white collar crime case. Lots of disguises, stakeouts, and hidden cameras in this one. "If it flies it dies, if it crawls it falls" -Rick with Will Kill Pest Control.

Famous Guest Stars: 0.5 I'll give a half point to TV vet Richard Herd

You missed a bunch of TV vets that could also be considered "famous guest stars" in the episodes you already went through, like Markie Post, Henry Darrow, James Whitmore Jr, Morgan Woodward, Kenneth Mars, Alex Rocco, Belinda Montgomery, Charles Cioffi, etc.

[Pahonu]

Yes, those are all very prolific TV actors, including several who were part of a successful series.

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Yeah, I guess "famous guest stars" is actually a tough one to judge. It might really be a "famous to me" entry, really.

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Episode 12 Matchmaker

An episode ahead of its time for some of the video/computer algorithm dating service for the well-to-do. Erin Gray as Whitaker takes a similar role here as colleague/antagonist to the Simons as she does in her Magnum Digger episode.

Famous Guest Stars: 1 Erin Gray
Key Supporting Characters: 2 Cecilia, Janet
Contacts: 1 Ricky (fence)
Rick's Hats: 2 (one standard + a painter's cap)
A.J. Playing Sports: 0
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 2 AJ wealthy bachelor, Rick chauffer
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 0
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon Mexico Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 1
Total: 9.0

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Yeah, I guess "famous guest stars" is actually a tough one to judge. It might really be a "famous to me" entry, really.

Yeah I guess it all depends how many of these actors you were exposed to. I grew up on all these classic shows from the 60s, 70s, and 80s so I kept running into these same actors on various shows over and over and over...

But now I'm curious about this Joey Travolta fella that you mentioned in "The Hottest Ticket in Town". The name that I immediately recognize from that episode is Morgan Woodward who's appeared in hundreds of things on TV, especially as a bad guy in countless TV westerns (doesn't he hold a record for playing the most number of villains on Gunsmoke?) and I remember seeing him in countless 80s favorites like Knight Rider, The A-Team, Hunter, Matlock, etc. I also recognize Kitty Moffat's name from this episode - she was on Knight Rider and A-Team and other stuff too. But Joey Travolta only got my attention because of the last name. I googled him and I guess he's John Travolta's brother? Is that it? Was he a somebody back in the 80s? Because I'm not familiar with him at all.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Yeah, I guess "famous guest stars" is actually a tough one to judge. It might really be a "famous to me" entry, really.

Yeah I guess it all depends how many of these actors you were exposed to. I grew up on all these classic shows from the 60s, 70s, and 80s so I kept running into these same actors on various shows over and over and over...

But now I'm curious about this Joey Travolta fella that you mentioned in "The Hottest Ticket in Town". The name that I immediately recognize from that episode is Morgan Woodward who's appeared in hundreds of things on TV, especially as a bad guy in countless TV westerns (doesn't he hold a record for playing the most number of villains on Gunsmoke?) and I remember seeing him in countless 80s favorites like Knight Rider, The A-Team, Hunter, Matlock, etc. I also recognize Kitty Moffat's name from this episode - she was on Knight Rider and A-Team and other stuff too. But Joey Travolta only got my attention because of the last name. I googled him and I guess he's John Travolta's brother? Is that it? Was he a somebody back in the 80s? Because I'm not familiar with him at all.

Hi Ivan,
Joey is John's older brother, he had a decent acting career in B movies/series then became a pretty good director. Also kept on working as a Special Ed teacher for disabled kids, making documentaries and
films about them. So not the typical idiot sibling of a superstar trying to cash in. He is married to the daughter of one of my all time favorite Magnum guest stars, Dick Shawn.
Ivan I too get a kick out of character actors, and Morgan is rated one of the greats. Warner Brothers stock company had one of the great character actor rosters, thats one of the reasons why I so
enjoy 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne and the classic Maverick.
I always get a kick put of those "hey its that guy" moments. Simon & Simon always had a nice roster of guest stars, one of the reasons it was so superior, at least in my humble opinion.

Old timer in beer joint: "You don't look like no coppers to me."
A.J.Simon: "Private eyes."
Old Timer: "I hate private eyes. You replaced all the Westerns on my TV."

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Yeah, I guess "famous guest stars" is actually a tough one to judge. It might really be a "famous to me" entry, really.

Yeah I guess it all depends how many of these actors you were exposed to. I grew up on all these classic shows from the 60s, 70s, and 80s so I kept running into these same actors on various shows over and over and over...

But now I'm curious about this Joey Travolta fella that you mentioned in "The Hottest Ticket in Town". The name that I immediately recognize from that episode is Morgan Woodward who's appeared in hundreds of things on TV, especially as a bad guy in countless TV westerns (doesn't he hold a record for playing the most number of villains on Gunsmoke?) and I remember seeing him in countless 80s favorites like Knight Rider, The A-Team, Hunter, Matlock, etc. I also recognize Kitty Moffat's name from this episode - she was on Knight Rider and A-Team and other stuff too. But Joey Travolta only got my attention because of the last name. I googled him and I guess he's John Travolta's brother? Is that it? Was he a somebody back in the 80s? Because I'm not familiar with him at all.

Hi Ivan,
Joey is John's older brother, he had a decent acting career in B movies/series then became a pretty good director. Also kept on working as a Special Ed teacher for disabled kids, making documentaries and
films about them. So not the typical idiot sibling of a superstar trying to cash in. He is married to the daughter of one of my all time favorite Magnum guest stars, Dick Shawn.
Ivan I too get a kick out of character actors, and Morgan is rated one of the greats. Warner Brothers stock company had one of the great character actor rosters, thats one of the reasons why I so
enjoy 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Cheyenne and the classic Maverick.
I always get a kick put of those "hey its that guy" moments. Simon & Simon always had a nice roster of guest stars, one of the reasons it was so superior, at least in my humble opinion.

Old timer in beer joint: "You don't look like no coppers to me."
A.J.Simon: "Private eyes."
Old Timer: "I hate private eyes. You replaced all the Westerns on my TV."

Thanks for the info on Joey Travolta, Dobe!

That Simon & Simon quote was indeed a great one - I believe it's from the 2nd season's "Rough Rider Rides Again" with Stuart Whitman and Broderick Crawford as guest stars. That episode actually had a slew of old western veterans in small parts, like Pat Buttram, John Russell, Jock Mahoney, etc. and even legendary stuntman and Smokey and the Bandit director Hal Needham in an uncredited part!! Not to mention Alan Hale, Jr. (the Skipper himself) as a bartender! Dang!! You're not kidding when you say this show was somehow able to snag some major stars for even the small parts. Heck, on any other show of the time someone like Alan Hale, Jr. would have been cast as a "special guest star" but here he's just a bartender with no name and maybe one line of dialogue. Same with John Russell and Jock Mahoney who are fellow old timer barflies (one of whom I think utters that great line that you posted above) who have maybe one or two lines between them. Hal Needham just sits there watching with no dialogue at all (hence no credit for him). Stuart Whitman is the main guest star (he's a western veteran too + guest on countless shows) whom the Simons are helping and Broderick Crawford is a true legend of both the small and big screen (star of "Highway Patrol" and winning a Best Actor Oscar for All the King's Men) and he only has about 2 brief scenes before he's killed off. Don Stroud is also in this episode as a baddie. So yeah this show really got the big actors. Magnum PI never saw names likes this, but then I suppose the distance between Hollywood and Hawaii played a big part in this. Plus MPI always used local stock actors for the supporting bits (same as Five-O did before it). They would fly in 2 or 3 "name" actors from Hollywood for a given episode and then use the local actors for the smaller parts (relegated to the end credits). Simon & Simon would use "name" actors even for the smaller parts that would show up in the end credits.

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Episode 13 Tanks for the Memory

A pretty uneven episode with some editing issues, I think. Still Lance LeGault is a lot of fun as a totally crazy leader of mercenaries.

Famous Guest Stars: 1 Lance LeGault
Key Supporting Characters: 3 Cecilia, Janet, Myron
Contacts: 2 (Maxine AJ's police phone contact, Gerald karate sensei)
Rick's Hats: 1
A.J. Playing Sports: 0
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 2 Rick mercenary, AJ mercenary
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 2 (RPGs fired at Simons in the Power Wagon, shots fired in both directions during escape from compound)
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon Mexico Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 0
Total: 11.0

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Season 1 Simonometer Ranking
E1 Details at 11...12.5
E9 Uncivil Servant...11.0
E13 Tanks for the Memories...11.0
E4 A Recipe for Disaster...10.5
E10 Earth to Stacy...10.5
E11 Double Entry...10.5
E2 Love, Christy...10.0
E5 The Least Dangerous Game...10.0
E8 Ashes to Ashes, and None to Soon...9.0
E12 Matchmaker...9.0
E7 The Hottest Ticket in Town...7.5
E3 Trapdoors...7.0
E6 The Dead Letter File...7.0

I really liked my re-watch of the first season 1. Interesting how quickly the Simons came into their characters. I like the Mexico excursions in this season. I didn't see a lot of variation in enjoying the episodes, so I'm not strongly for or against the Simonometer rankings. That said, Trapdoors was definitely one of my favorite episodes, but ranked near the bottom above.

I'm looking forward continuing into Season 2 with a couple minor modifications. I'm going to start with the Magnum crossover episode, as its part of the Simon & Simon continuum!

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

OK, I know it's not techincally a Simon & Simon episode, but there's no way to ignore this awesome crossover episode between two of my favorite shows, Magnum, P.I. and Simon & Simon! Even though it's a Magnum episode, it's going to be very high on the Simonometer scale! Love the Simons working against Magnum, stealing the Kii under cover of Oahu Will-Kill Pest control, A.J. putting a gun on Magnum and T.C., Magnum rurnning down the Simons and returning the favor etc., etc.! This was a real shot in the arm for S&S ratings, too.

Famous Guest Stars (To Me):
Key Supporting Characters: 5 Tom Selleck as Magnum, John Hilleman as Higgins, Roger E Mosley as T.C., Larry Manetti as Rick, Morgan Fairchild as con-woman
Contacts: 0
Rick's Hats: 2 (regular banded cowboy + black stocking hat)
A.J. Playing Sports: 0.5 (getting ready to surf)
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 2 AJ as trespassing surfer, Rick w/ Oahu Will-Kill Pest Control
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 0
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon South of the Border Trips: 0
Brothers' Squabbles: 2 (Two quick ones, but fun)
Total: 11.5

[Magnum Simon P.I.]

Famous Guest Stars (To Me): 4 Tom Selleck as Magnum, John Hillerman as Higgins, Morgan Fairchild, Joe Mantegna
Key Supporting Characters: 1 Janet
Contacts: 1 Henry (Investigative Reporter)
Rick's Hats: 1 (regular banded cowboy)
A.J. Playing Sports: 0
Disguises [actual costumes, not just personas]: 1 Rick as guerilla
Gadgets: 0
Gun Play [shots actually fired]: 2 Rick v. Jeep, 1 Guerillas v. Rick
Body Count [killed by Simons]: 0
Bullet Wounds [taken by Simons]: 0
Simon South of the Border Trips: 1 Costa Nueva!
Brothers' Squabbles: 2 (In prison, "petty sibling bickering", per Higgins)
Total: 13