Simon & Simon: Season 3

"Simon & Simon" was such a spectacular, unique, humorous and fun detective television series. Jameson Parker was perfect in the role of private investigator A.J. Simon. Gerald McRaney was perfect in the role of private investigator Rick Simon. Tim Reid and his real-life wife Daphne Maxwell-Reid both made their "Simon & Simon" debuts in the third season. They would both appear in seasons three, four, five and six. The third season of "Simon & Simon" originally aired on CBS from September 29, 1983 until March 29, 1984. Here are the exact running times for all 23 episodes from "Simon & Simon: Season Three" on this Shout! Factory DVD release. Disc 1: Grand Illusion - 49:07 DJ D.O.A - 49:10 I Heard It Was Murder - 49:11 Bail Out - 49:14 Disc 2: Fly the Alibi Skies - 49:10 Shadow of Sam Penny - 49:09 Caught Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - 49:10 The Bare Facts - 49:13 Disc 3: Too Much of a Good Thing - 49:09 Betty Grable Flies Again - 49:11 Bon Voyage Alonso - 49:09 All Your Favorite Games - 49:10 Disc 4: John Doe - 49:04 Dear Lovesick - 49:07 Bloodlines - 49:10 Heels and Toes - 49:11 Disc 5: The Wrong Stuff - 49:04 Double Play - 49:10 Under the Knife - 49:13 Harm's Way - 49:08 Disc 6: The Dillinger Print - 49:05 Corpus Delecti - 49:06 The Disappearance of Harry the Hat - 49:06 All 23 of these episodes are presented in uncut form on this Shout! Factory 6-disc set. The picture quality and audio quality on this DVD set are both good. The packaging that Shout! Factory used for "Simon & Simon: Season Three" is perfect. There is a cardboard slip-cover case that holds three different slim plastic DVD cases inside. All three of the slim plastic DVD cases hold two discs each. Notable guest stars from the third season of "Simon & Simon" were Alex Henteloff, Andrea Elson, Anne Francis, Barry Livingston, Belinda Montgomery, Bert Rosario, Brandon Call, Cathryn Damon, Christopher Stone, Dane Clark, Daphne Maxwell-Reid, David Kaufman, Dick York, Donald O'Connor, Don Grady, Doug McClure, Edd Byrnes, Fionnula Flanagan, Gary Lockwood, Glenn Corbett, G.W. Bailey, Harold J. Stone, James Avery, James Sutorius, Jeannie Wilson, John Walsh, Jonathan Banks, Kay Lenz, Louise Sorel, Mario Lopez, Matthew Labyorteaux, Michael Callan, Michael Constantine, Mills Watson, Molly Cheek, Pat Hingle, Peter Brown, Richard Sanders, Richard Yniguez, Robert Lansing, Scott Brady, Tim Reid, Tom Simcox, William Lucking, William Smith and William Windom.

Although I'm a little young to be able to say that I watched this when it aired on television, I DID watch reruns when I was in my late teens. I fell in love with this show and at one point in time had every episode taped from television... yes, on VHS. Obviously the quality of those and the fact that I haven't owned a VCR for over 5 years made for a great reason to purchase this series on DVD. The ONLY problem that I have with this series is that I can't afford $50 per season. So, I only own up to season 4 and that's because I was able to find some of the seasons cheaper through another store. Although most of the seasons are probably worth the money, I just can't justify spending that much on an older show even if it was terrific and still is! Overall, the Simon brothers are terrific characters and I have loved Gerald McRaney in so many other things since this show ended. Jameson Parker is also terrific in other things that I have seen him in and I don't know if they could have cast two people better. Having siblings, I realize the connection that siblings can have and it is not easy for two people that are not related to portray this connection in a show... but these two do it beautifully. This is also a show that my husband loves and he usually hates watching the older tv shows that I love. You know all those shows that are being remade these days.... how about do this one again but bring the two of them back. I bet they could still pull it off!

There is something nearly magical about being 'on top of your game', and "Simon & Simon: Season Three" was truly at it's peak. Not only were stars Jameson Parker (as sweet-tempered, preppy A.J.) and Gerald McRaney (as gonzo Vietnam vet, Rick), superb, and Mary Carver, as their long-suffering but loving mom, Cecilia, given real opportunities to shine (and let's not forget Marlowe, Rick's scene-stealing big ol' mutt), but the arrival of Tim Reid, as funny, street-savvy Det. 'Downtown' Brown, provided the missing element the show needed; a likable authority figure to tell the boys their clients are guilty and their theories, crazy, then join in the adventures to catch the real villains ('deputizing' them, regularly!). While he doesn't arrive until the seventh episode, the chemistry is spontaneous, and by the end of the first appearance, he's 'family'! For those who followed the series faithfully, some slight but noticeable 'tweaking' is evident; Rick's 'Nam backstory is beefed up, providing more dramatic opportunities (if making some of his first season silliness a bit out-of-character); the stakes are raised (with the brothers occasionally in REAL hot water with the police on both sides of the border); and the clients and fees are a bit higher-class (although the guys still have problems collecting!) Some stand-out episodes: "Shadow of Sam Penny", a nifty Film Noir detective movie homage, with film legends Scott Brady, Dane Clark, Joan Leslie, Anne Francis, Elisha Cook, Jr., and TV's best 1960s leading man, Robert Lansing, as Penny; "The Bare Facts", with the brothers 'under cover' at a nudist colony (no easy feat on G-rated network TV!); "Betty Grable Flies Again", with Pat Hingle as a disgraced WWII AAF pilot trying to find his old plane (a beautiful, vintage bomber); "The Wrong Stuff", with Gary ("2001: A Space Odyssey") Lockwood again an astronaut, if an alcoholic, washed-up one; "Double Play", where the boys are framed, arrested in Mexico, and lose their license, with Mary Carver giving a moving speech on her unhappiness at their careers; and "The Dillinger Print", a potentially farfetched tale of gangster John Dillinger still being alive, lifted by one of Parker's finest porformances of the entire series, and cameos by veteran 'tough guys' Harold J. Stone and "The Untouchables" Bruce ('Frank Nitti') Gordon. This is THE season, the real start of the best seasons of the series, and if you love "Simon & Simon" (or would like to see why the show was so popular and ran so long), this is a great place to find out!

I'm so glad the show became available again after a dismal first release. It's been wonderful re-visiting TV of the 80's with the Simon brothers. There's a certain innocence about it that is completely lacking in many contemporary shows as American society has grown increasingly narcissistic and salacious. The guys still get their fair of action but women are still treated with respect. What a couple of gentlemen. As for the DVD's, season three is, as others said, when the show hit its stride. I'd agree with that although the 1st season has its "newness" kind of charm. The brothers make me LOL all the time despite the plot holes that spring up from time to time. I also like all the episodes neatly and nicely packaged together like this (my old copies were a few scattered episodes on worn-out VHS tapes).

Always liked the show when originally aired. The relationship between the two brothers, opposite but compliment each other.

One of the best fun loving detective series ever. They were good detective shows on the light side. Not gritty, but Iight and funny. I enjoyed the bond and differences between the two brothers. They played off each other so well and had a deep love and respect for their mother but we’re not “mama’s boys.

Bought this to go along with season one to and four

I'm glad to hear that SIMON & SIMON's 1983-84 Season is finally being released this Summer since SIMON & SIMON's 3rd Season is even more upgraded than the first 2 seasons along with the fact that this is the season when Timothy Reid joins the cast & crew as Rick & AJ's streetwise cop buddy from San Diego P.D.(Det. Marcel "Downtown" Brown) to help the Simon brothers get inside classfied information to help solve their cases just like the often cynical Jim Rockford(James Garner)had his overworked cop buddy Det. Dennis Becker(Joe Santos)from the LAPD do on THE ROCKFORD FILES, not to mention that Gerald McRaney had 4 guest starring appearances on the ROCKFORD FILES back in the 1970's before McRaney was even a star. Mary Carver(Cecilia Simon)has also made a guest starring appearance on the ROCKFORD FILES in the "Dirty Money, Black Light" episode, so I'm almost surprised that Jameson Parker, Timothy Reid, nor Joan McMurtry(Lt. Abigail Marsh)have never been on the ROCKFORD FILES since Rockford seemed to inspire this show in the early 1980's. Another thing that was so cool and unusual about this detective drama was SIMON & SIMON was not only the first private detective show about 2 brothers running a private investigations agency together, but it was definitely one of the first private detective dramas about 2 private investigators working together on cases instead of a private investigator working solo running a private-eye agency of their own as opposed to MAGNUM, P.I., THE ROCKFORD FILES, MANNIX, and MATT HOUSTON, since Rockford(James Garner), Magnum(Tom Selleck), Mannix(Michael Connors), and Houston(Lee Horsley)were all private detectives that mostly worked alone and usually had a cop buddy in the police department, except SIMON & SIMON was a private detective show about 2 brothers which were the short-tempered gonzo private-eye Rick Simon(Gerald McRaney)and the often fastidious AJ Simon(Jameson Parker)who not only investigated cases together and ran their P.I. office in Downtown San Diego, but were brothers who had a love/hate relationship with one another who often butted heads even though they always managed to solve most of their investigations. SIMON & SIMON was also the first and probably only private detective drama to be filmed in America's Finest City(San Diego) instead of L.A., New York City, or San Francisco too since SIMON & SIMON was the first show that I know of that was ever filmed here in San Diego on top of that. Something else I found kind of intriguing was Rick & A.J. lived an eccentric lifestyle kind of like Rockford did since Rick was not only always strapped for cash like Rockford was, but Rick lived on a boat in AJ's backyard which was actually in Venice just like Rockford lived alone in a rusty trailer in a parking lot in Malibu by the beach near the famous Pacific Coast Highway and always put his gun in a cookie-jar, and like Rockford, Magnum, and Mannix; the Simon Bros. lived on a shoe-string budget and didn't have money or cool clothes most of the time, but like Rockford, Rick & AJ had brains which helped them solve their cases which made this show almost like Rockford times two in a way, despite the fact that this show was a definite upgrade to THE ROCKFORD FILES and despite the fact that Rick & AJ were more fortunate than Rockford ever was. It was also interesting seeing guest stars in this 1983-1984 Season like *Dick York in the "Too Much Of A Good Thing" episode after his co-starring days as Darren Stephens on BEWITCHED *Mills Watson in the "DJ DOA" episode after his co-starring days as the doofus Deputy Perkins on SHERIFF LOBO *Bill Boyett in "The Disappearance Of Harry The Hat" episode after his co-starring days as Sgt. MacDonald on ADAM-12 *Jim Whitmore, Jr. in the "DJ DOA" episode before his co-starring days as Hunter & McCall's idiotic fellow officer(Det. Bernie Terwilliger)on the police drama HUNTER This season also takes me all the way back to memory lane to when SIMON & SIMON was on CBS every Thursday night at 9PM after MAGNUM, PI was at 8PM since they were both part of CBS's Thursday night line up from the Fall of 1982 through the Summer of 1986 along with the fact that we get to see all these episodes of this detective drama complete & uncut instead of having to watch them with a bunch of deleted scenes & commercial disruptions when SIMON & SIMON was shown in reruns on A&E, WGN, and now Cozi-TV. This season also takes me all the way back to memory lane to when CBS's motto was "We've Got The Touch" and to my childhood days of living in the Imperial Valley since I was 11 years old in the 5th grade at Desert Gardens Elementary School when this season was running on CBS.