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With so many popular shows of the past getting revivals, it’s no surprise that brothers A.J. and Rick Simon are returning to action.
The detective show "Simon And Simon" was a staple of the CBS lineup from 1981-1988, with Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney playing the sibling sleuths.
The characters and the actors reunite in a TV movie Thursday on CBS, with the setting switched to Seattle as the yacht sailing Rick visits A.J., who has become a lawyer of note.
The brothers have disbanded their private eye agency, but it doesn’t take long for them to resume their snooping habits once they’re back together.
Also reprising
their series roles are Mary Carver as their mother, Tim Reid as police investigator "Downtown" Brown and Jeannie Wilson as lawyer Janet Fowler. She’s now A.J.’s wife. The movie also features actor Parker’s real life wife, Darleen Carr, who played a former flame on the show. McRaney and Parker double as executive producers.
"This felt more like a continuation," Parker says in differentiating the new "Simon and Simon" from being a sequel. "When we started filming
this, it was as if
Mackie(McRaney)and I had only been on a brief hiatus and were just back at work. It was a good feeling." Though "Simon and Simon" developed into one of CBS’ winners of the 1980’s, its ratings initially were shaky.
"Fortunately, Phil DeGuere (the show’s creator) and Kim LeMasters (CBS’ programming chief during much of its run) had a lot of faith in it, and they gave it
a second chance," Parker says. "It started out in a throwaway time slot,
where local stations had the right to pre-empt whatever was being broadcast nationally, so that didn’t do us a lot of good. Then, when we got a better time slot, it just took off."
Much of the appeal of "Simon and Simon" rested with the camaraderie between McRaney and Parker, which Parker says was the case behind the scenes, too.
"I’ve been
trying to explain that, and I don’t have the words for it," Parker says. "Certain people just have a chemistry, and if it clicks, it clicks. If it doesn’t, there’s nothing you can do to fake it.
"Sometimes, it’ll happen on camera with two people who don’t even speak to each other off camera. Fortunately, that’s not the way it is for Mackie and me. We
get along real well, and we’ve done a number of things together, like charity events and hunting trips."
In fact,
McRaney played a big part in securing Parker for a "Major Dad" guest role. "He wanted me to do it, but there was a problem because CBS wouldn’t pay what my (standard) salary was. Mackie then said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll pay it.’ I said, ‘No, no, I’m not taking your money.’ Well, my daughter has muscular dystrophy, and to his credit, Mackie came up with the idea of paying me my full salary but donating it to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. That was acceptable to everyone, and I had a lot of fun working with him again."
When shows that had a long run return, the inevitable question is whether they might become a series again. Parker says, "There’s been talk at various
levels about it becoming a cycle of two hour movies, like Columbo or Perry Mason."
He adds that he would welcome it, if only as a "respite" from the reality based shows and movies that now permeate network schedules.
"I think people are a little tired of that trend," Parker says. "Fiction is lovely."
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