There is never any shortage of private investigator TV series. This is one of what seems to be thousands.Here, we have two brothers. The older one, with the mustache, has a backwoods manliness. The younger one is the 1981 attempt to bring back the blond young man as something besides a red neck or sissy.It's important to remember that other than Eastwood, Redford, and Newman, those whom already had acceptance, the handsome blond man of the seventies was viewed as the "great evil empire".Strangely, blond women were treated as "invulnerable". The seventies were the ideal decade for neo Nazis who worshiped Adolf and Eva, the dark haired man and the blond woman. They were the American model. Any deviation from this genotype was to be eliminated in the action movies of the seventies. It was truly the "neo nazi decade".Then came "Star Wars", which shattered the stereotype, and soon after, TV followed suit, again allowing blond men to exist. It would be a while before brunette women would be allowed to live. The nazi machine wasn't going to give up that easy.So instead of romantic lead men always being Fonz and his clones, Simon and Simon dared to bring a romantic blond man into the TV set. It was revolutionary. He still wasn't allowed to be very macho, but it was a step.But a private eye show had to have more than just a new gimmick. It had to click. These two as brothers clicked. The stories clicked, and it was entertaining. The actors, amazingly, weren't sure if they would click, which is even a bigger tribute to their acting. They made it work, as did the rest of the crew.Like most TV series, there was a need for a recurring character to come into focus. "Bronco" the brute was chosen. He was a bit of comic relief, but too much was put on his shoulders. The writers tended to go too much into clichés, but they started out very fresh. Too bad they lost it.

I started watching Simon & Simon when it aired in 1981 and from the very beginning I enjoyed the show, especially the shows setting in beautiful San Diego, CA.I was a 14 yr. old kid when it aired in 1981 growing up in a crime ridden area of New York City (The South Bronx).I could only dream of escaping to that beautiful sun soaked paradise I envisioned through the wonders of television as I watched episode after episode.In 1989 a year after Simon & Simon was cancelled I happily moved to beautiful San Diego, CA and could now experience what life in such a wonderful town would be like first hand.I lived in San Diego from 1989-1993 and could honestly say that those were the most memorable moments in my life, and I owe it all to the Simon & Simon T.V show for giving a teenage kid from The Bronx hope beyond the ghetto.

I really enjoyed this show, and watched it religiously when me and my family lived in L.A. in the eighties.I think it was one of the last P.I. shows on the air when it was cancelled, as by that time the sitcom was taking over and action/adventure shows like this had fallen out of favour.It had the same kind of sense of humour as Rockford and Magnum, and was just as entertaining as either one. (No real surprise as the series creator Philip DeGuere had worked with Roy Huggins, Stephen J. Cannell and Donald P. Bellisario, who gave us those other two classics.)Stand out episodes include: "Ashes to Ashes, and None Too Soon", "Thin Air", "Pirate's Key", "The List", "Grand Illusion", "The Dillinger Print", "C'est Simon", "Who Killed the Sixties?" "Simon Without Simon" Parts 1 and 2, and of course, "May the Road Rise Up"There are more but not enough room or time to mention them all.

Didn't watch this series that often when it ran in the '80s, but did catch a few episodes then and saw nearly all when A&E replayed it. It is one of the best action, detective series ever. Some shows are better than some Rockford Files episodes.The relationship and interaction between the brothers seemed real and genuine. The acting and directing was top notch and the locations are special as one can get a taste for that time period in San Diego or Florida (my favorite episode when they went back to where they started, it was a two-parter) or where ever the guys were.The acting was the best as this series easily tops Magnum for quality and enjoyment... well except for guys, seeing the sights in Hawaii ; ) and a Ferrari Testarossa and for women, Tom Selleck.