Simon & Simon: Season Four

SIMON & SIMON Season Four

Studio: Shout! Factory

Year: 1984-1985

Rated: Unrated

Film Length: 17 hours, 30 minutes

Aspect Ratio: (1.33:1)

Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: None
 

Release Date: April 6, 2010
 

The Series
 

Simon & Simon are Rick Simon (Gerald McRaney) and A.J. Simon (Jameson Parker), two brothers who work together as private investigators in San Diego. The series premiered on the CBS network on November 24, 1981, and ran for 8 seasons until January 21, 1989, leaving a couple of episodes unaired until appearing eventually in syndication. Like many other private eyes, Simon & Simon have their own ally in the police department in the form of detective Downtown Brown (Tim Reid).
 

If the Odd Couple were brothers who work together as private eyes, then you have an idea of the concept created by Philip DeGuere. Although Rick and A.J. are brothers, they are as unlike each other personality-wise as is possible for two brothers in the same profession. The series was originally entitled Pirate’s Key and the setting was the Florida Keys rather than San Diego. The pilot for Pirate’s Key was produced originally in 1978. This unaired pilot episode was later incorporated into a flashback sequence in the second season episode appropriately entitled Pirate’s Key. The series was actually filmed in the Los Angeles area at Universal Studios and at locations around Venice Beach, with stock footage and clever set design providing the illusion of San Diego.
 

Has it really been 25 years since these episodes aired originally on television? Simon & Simon has aged more gracefully than many other series from the 1980s. This series retains the same sense of fun that it projected in its original day, even if fashion and automobile design have changed. Simon & Simon would not be out of place on the CBS network of the 2010s, even if detective procedural dramas seem to take themselves a little more seriously these days. Most mysteries are solved within one episode, with the exception of the occasional 2-parter. This 6-disc set includes all 21 episodes from the 1984-1985 season, including the original double length season premiere in its original version.
 

Video
 

The series is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The picture quality is as good as expected for a series filmed in the mid-1980s. I believe the episodes in season four were still produced on film and then edited into videotape masters. The result is that minor dirt and debris on the master tapes that was invisible on original broadcast are now visible on a large screen. There are minor compression artifacts present in the form of mosquito noise and macroblocking, but it is not intrusive. With the exception of 2 episodes, these episodes appear to have been transferred directly from the studio masters, complete with the "Tonight on Simon & Simon" bumpers before the opening credits.
 

Network masters could not be located for 2 of the episodes so the DVD producers were forced to rely on syndication masters. Kudos to Shout! Factory for bringing this to the viewer’s attention rather than concealing it. The menu features identify these 2 episodes with an explanation that syndication masters were used. The episodes in question run 3 minutes shorter than their network counterparts. The episodes from syndication begin with the opening credits and omit the 30-second preview bumper, which leaves approximately 2 ½ minutes of footage missing from those 2 episodes. A lot of film footage was lost from the fire at Universal Studios a couple of years ago, which may account for the missing footage.
 

Audio

The English Dolby 2.0 tracks preserve the sound value of the original broadcasts. Dialogue is always appropriately audible in the sound mix with music and special effects. There is no perceptible degradation of sound such as hissing or popping.
 

Special Features
 

This is a barebones release with no special features. Disc 1 has trailers for The Paper Chase and Designing Women DVD releases from Shout! Factory. It would be nice to at least see some network promos on future season sets if these are available to the producers.
 

The menu features include audio of the instrumental version of "Best of Friends" by the Thrasher Brothers, the theme song from the first season of Simon & Simon. Even though the theme song changed with the second season, the original theme song as background music on the menu is a welcome addition for a longtime fan of this show. It is worth noting that the body of all of the episodes appear to retain the appropriate credit sequences and theme music.
 

Conclusion
 

If you like The Rockford Files or Magnum, P.I., then you will probably enjoy Simon & Simon. This series distills many of the elements of those other series into a new creation that is one of the better examples of the private eye TV series of the 1980s. The video and audio presentation are as good as anyone could hope for, and the entertainment value of this series places it on par with many new shows being produced today. If you are looking for compelling drama that deals with serious social issues, you can look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you enjoy private eye TV shows that are entertaining and do not take themselves too seriously, then Simon & Simon season 4 comes recommended.