Revolution #9 1/2 Directed by  Dennis Donnelly Written by Alan  Brennert Synopsis: The  Simons' Uncle Ray shows up with yet another of his get-rich-quick schemes  and he wants the brothers to help him out. Ray's lost track of his partner in a profitable soy bean plantation, so Rick instantly offers their help. There's some bitterness between AJ and Ray, and Cecilia and Ray because when Jack Simon  died, he wasn't there for the boys. Ray brushes this off when it's brought  up, and all four Simons head for the tropical island on which the plantation is located. All is not as  Ray had described, however. The hotel 'lost' their reservation and the island is threatened with revolution. Cecilia takes it in stride and  settles in at the bar, where she meets an interesting man, Rupert. The men go to  find the partner, but he has disappeared and neither his wife nor the police want to help. The revolutionaries have taken over the plantation and let the Simons' know their presence isn't appreciated. The Simons are concerned and put an inebriated Cecilia on the next plane out, with  Rupert's help. The men then pose as tourists, sunning on the beach. They  are attacked by heavy artillery and unable to catch those who did it. The  Simons are confined to the island for unexplained reasons. AJ and Ray have  a confrontation in the jungle while hunting for the partner. They clear  the air at last and continue on the search. However, they  are caught by a native tribe who are rumored to be cannibals. It turns out  the partner is hiding out with the tribe, and the cannibalistic rumors are designed to let them live in peace. The brothers tell him about the artillery the rebels have back in town. He's surprised  and together they realize Rupert is smuggling arms to them. The partner  helps turn the rebels against Rupert. Ray stays behind to aid the rebels.  The brothers leave on the same plane as the fleeing president. Review It's an okay episode. The plot is passable, if a little out there. The real star of this episode, however, is John Astin as the irrepressible Uncle Ray. If for no other reason, I enjoyed this episode as a chance to get another glimpse into the young Simons' lives. I once sympathized with Cecilia, having to raise these two boys on her own. Now,  however, my sympathies go to Jack and Ray's parents. We've heard Jack described as 'living on the edge' and 'life drunk' (May the Road Rise  Up). Now it turns out he was the stable one. Yikes! Cecilia's response to Ray is interesting. She deplores his lack of responsibility and the fact that he abandoned the boys after Jack died, but she's easily charmed by him. Maybe that says more about Ray's  ability to charm than Cecilia's resentment. AJ is not so easy to charm, however. I have to say I was surprised that it was Ray that started the confrontation between them. True, AJ was getting in digs right and left, but I would've expected AJ to be the one to blow first. Wonderful scene, by the way. JP did a great job of getting choked up as AJ recalled his feelings of abandonment after his daddy died.  This time it was Rick who did the charming, reminding AJ of the good times with Ray, how they bragged about getting things from far away places. Those memories allowed AJ to see his uncle as human, and accept that he  had done the best he could. Rick was incredibly forgiving of his uncle. Of course, he'd been  older than AJ when Jack died and had a better sense of who his uncle was. And maybe he recognized a kindred spirit, though Rick is a bit more  responsible than Ray. Man, what does that say about Uncle Ray??  ;) Mary Carver did a great job as the tipsy Cecilia. I loved mother's and son's determination to have a good time if it killed them, starting with the booze. Too funny. She was also great with the actor who I will always think of as 'Dr. Bombay', known here as the dastardly Rupert. Good episode family-wise. Not a big fan of the plot, but that's more personal preference than plot problem. For the strength of the interaction and the originality of the episode title, I'll give it three Camaros. 3  out of 5 Camaros   ©"Simon & Simon" and all of its characters'  copyrights are held by Universal City Studios, as are all pictures and quotes on this site unless otherwise noted. This site is completely  nonprofit - I don't get a dime. On the contrary, it is my hope that  the copyright holders will make more items available for sale so  others and I can spend more money!