Simon Without Simon
parts 1 & 2


Directed by  Vincent McEveety

Written by Richard Chapman and Bill Dial

Synopsis part 1  - While the Simons are working undercover for the port authority, they  accidentally come across a top secret microchip that propels them into the  spotlight. As the Simons celebrate their new-found celebrity, Town warns  them that fame can bring a heavy price.

Soon after,  both Simons start receiving individual job offers. Rick is tempted by an  offer to write a book about his adventures; AJ is interested by a chance for the corporate, opulent life he craves in the largest PI office in the world. The brothers laugh them off at first, but things soon grow sour between them.

AJ was running surveillance for Mrs. Ferguson, an abused wife whose husband is having an affair. Both brothers have been putting it off. When AJ followed the  husband to a hotel, he's almost strangled in the parking lot by an unseen assailant. Rick was supposed to be with him, but was sidetracked by the  sexy editor who wants him to write a book. The brothers get in an argument  that leads to the dissolution of Simon & Simon.

As they're packing up the office, they agree that they're not angry at each other. Cecilia stops by to try to keep them together, but they're determined to go their own way.

Meanwhile, the folks who were implicated in the microfilm case decide that dead men tell no tales and plan to kill the Simons.

The editors  tell Rick they want him to use a ghostwriter for the book, but Rick wants to write it himself. Unfortunately, even Town thinks Rick has a long way to go as a writer.

AJ, on the other hand, finds the detectives at his command aren't handling the  Ferguson case very tactfully and decides to take it on himself. He's  distracted, however, and once again the case is put off.

Rick becomes more and more disillusioned and decides to spend an evening in a bar,  where he runs into AJ. They both get rip-roaring drunk and stumble home to  AJ's house together. Once they go into the house, the room is sprayed with  machine gun fire.

Synopsis part 2  - Town arrives on the scene of the shooting, relieved and concerned when  he finds the two alive, inebriated Simons. One of the shooters outside has  been hit, and it looks like the Simons shot him. They haven't fired a shot, but Town has to play this one by the books. At the hospital, Town  tells them to take a blood test to discover their blood alcohol level.

The press shows  up once again to cover the Simons, but now they're painting the Simons as the bad guys and the anchorwoman just happens to be involved with the head of the smuggling ring. FBI agents search AJ's house and find more microchips like the ones AJ and Rick uncovered originally, making them  look like they're in league with the smugglers. The man who was wounded in  the shoot-out offers to give testimony implicating the Simons.

The book editors see the bad press and drop Rick faster than you can say 'bad writer'. They pass him off to a movie maker whose previous project was  "Spiders from Mars". Rick walks out.

AJ returns to  his office to find Mrs. Ferguson has been badly beaten. His secretary is  catty about the bad press and hasn't called a doctor. AJ is horrified by his lapse, her wounds, and his secretary's callousness. He gets into an argument with his boss and quits.

The FBI agent  in charge of the case is looking for someone to pin the smuggling wrap and  the Simons have been served up by the smugglers. Town defends them and alienates the agent, but doesn't back down.

AJ,  disheartened by what's happened with Mrs. Ferguson, returns to the S&S office, which is being used for storage. He finds Rick there, and they  talk about what's going on. They both decide they've made a mistake and decide to reform to help Mrs. Ferguson and themselves.

They talk to the doctor that worked on the man who was shot and discover not all is as  it seems. The man had to have been shot before the raid on the Simons house and had been heavily drugged with painkillers. They break into the  man's lawyer's office and find the evidence against them. They share the  evidence with Town, who agrees they're the most likely suspects to the FBI  agent.

The boys go to visit the doctor they believe actually shot the man and pumped him full of  drugs. A few threats later, the doctor decides to testify to his part in the shooting. Unfortunately, the smugglers see them talk to the doctor and  stop him from going to the prosecutor.

The brothers then go to the supplier of the smuggled goods and send him a note asking for more microchips under the guise of being his contact with the head of  the smuggling ring. By following him they learn the location of the  exchange and leave him directions to go to a hotel room. When he gets there, they set up an exchange of smuggled goods. The Simons then get the  smugglers to show up at the same time and the whole ring is exposed.

Simon &  Simon Investigations goes back to business, but not business as usual. AJ  solemnly tells his mom that Rick's going to have to pull his own weight.  Rick comes in late with Mexican food and they get into another argument,  which Cecilia ends by grabbing their ears and hauling them  away.












Review

Two highly enjoyable episodes from beginning to end! Definitely a collective favorite of mine.

Boy, Town  called it on this one. As soon as the offers start coming in, the trouble begins. I like the fact that they start off saying 'hire me, hire my  brother'. Once they understand the offers are for them alone, things get  ugly.

It's hard to blame either brother for the argument. AJ's justifiably upset that he was  almost killed and Rick was not there to save him. But this isn't what he's  arguing about.

R ic k, on the other hand, was understandably distracted by the  sexy woman dangling wealth, fame, and herself in front of his eyes. He had  no reason to believe he was missing anything but a boring, routine stakeout. And he did, after all, stop by to talk to AJ. He was too late,  but he couldn't have known that. He resents the guilt trip AJ's trying to  give him and he probably resents the guilt he finds himself feeling. But  he's not arguing about that.

AJ is arguing  because he's sick of all of Rick's impositions upon him. AJ's the one who always ends up doing the dull, boring stuff while Rick is always conveniently elsewhere. On top of that, Rick lives in his backyard,  causing no end of trouble with the neighbors.

Rick is sick of  AJ's nagging. Nothing he does is good enough for his know-it-all younger brother. Rick just wants to enjoy life and AJ won't let him.

So, they argue and Simon & Simon Investigations is dissolved, which leads to one of my favorite scenes. The dialogue for this is "Rick?" from AJ and "What?" from Rick. End of scene. But their expressions say so much more.. AJ smiles uncertainly at his brother - 'are we okay?' Rick nods as he goes -  'yeah, we are.' AJ's sad, but reassured. Great job by both guys.

Thankfully for us, things go awry with their new jobs and the brothers end up in the bar  together. You can't convince me they didn't secretly hope the other would  be there. Of all the gin joints in the world, they chose to walk into this  one for a reason.

From the time  AJ sits down until the end of the episode is another of my favorite S&S sequences. From conning a free drink out of the bartender to stumbling home drunk together, they were just precious. Great writing, great acting, great chemistry!

On to part two - another hilarious 'drunk' scene between the brothers and the disapproving Town. I wish they had done more drunk scenes  with the brothers. They're so funny!

Town earns his keep as the Simons' friend in this episode. It took a lot of nerve to stand up to the FBI agent, much less threaten him.

I also enjoyed AJ's dressing down of the secretary. Score one for the good guys!

Then yet another great scene - the guilt-ridden AJ and the  regretful Rick at the office. Older, wiser, and more forgiving, they agree  to work together to help Mrs. Ferguson and themselves. Woo Hoo! A little breaking & entering, a few threats, and a little undercover work  later, and the Simons are cleared of suspicion.

I won't even complain too much about AJ bringing down a plane with a shot from a moving truck. Well, I won't complain any more that mentioning it. ;)

Then we get to one of my favorite Cecilia moments. I just love  the fact that her height doesn't reach the boys' shoulders, but she can control them with one hand each. Way to go, Mom!

The brothers being funny, serious, arguing, and making up - all the elements of a  perfect pair of episodes.

5  out of 5 Camaros


 

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