Simon & Simon: The Original Sibcest
Ha! You think that Wincest is the only brother/brother slash pairing out there? Rick and A.J. Simon were doing it back in the ‘80s, my friends! :)
Sure, you can simply enjoy brotherly love in a gen sense, but these two suggested brotherly love of a different kind in the more innocent ‘80s. ;)
Simon & Simon aired for 8 seasons from 1981 to 1988. Seasons 1-3 are the best, but the rest of the seasons are still high quality. Even the uneven 4th season had one of the best episodes of the series, “Who Killed The Sixties?”. This flashback episode is exquisite. The scene in which Rick tells A.J. he’s been drafted has some of the best acting I’ve ever seen on television as Rick tries to break the news as gently as possible, and teenage A.J. is horrified, terrified, and in tears.
Seasons 5 & 6 are close to the first seasons’ quality. Season 7 went away from the successful formula of dramatic episodes with doses of lightheartedness. They went uber-serious, but there is a line that stands out for the entire series, when a villain asks Rick, “Are you tired of sleeping with that brother of yours?” and Rick doesn’t punch the guy out, he merely…smiles.
Season 8 was back to a near-perfect balance of drama and comedy, and the season opener featured A.J. in a beauty contest with Rick as one of the judges. ;)
Don’t be scared off by the women’s big hair or huge ‘portable’ telephones or breakdancing! ;) The series wears well two decades later. Gerald McRaney (Rick) and Jameson Parker (A.J.) have excellent chemistry together on and off-screen. They hung out socially together during the series run, and even though they didn’t look like brothers, they sure acted like ‘em.
Rick is a brunette with a mustache and gorgeous blue eyes who likes to wear cowboy boots and hat, drives a beat-up truck, and is a Vietnam War veteran. A.J. is blond, blue-eyed, and wears designer clothes. He’s especially fond of pale pink or powder-blue ties and shirts. ;)
Their childhood memories and their close relationship with their mother, Cecilia, is a great touch throughout the series. Rick is five years older than A.J., and was the brother usually getting into trouble and bringing A.J. along with him. ;) But baby brother usually tagged along with Rick and his friends and Rick rarely minded.
Slash? Rick’s boat, The Hole-In-The-Water, was parked in A.J.’s side yard in Seasons 2-6, and even when it wasn’t right there, it was docked at a marina about five minutes away.
Some more examples:
1) The boys at a stable, Rick trying to tame a horse he won in a bet:
Female Character: “Does that renegade belong to you?”
A.J.: “Yeah, he’s my brother. Oh, you mean the horse!”
2) Double Play: Rick dreaming over-and-over that he shoots and kills A.J. One of the most powerful episodes of the series as an exhausted Rick nearly falls apart into tears as he struggles to keep his nightmare to himself and work with A.J. to prove their innocence in a Federal case that could send them to prison.
3) The Dillinger Print: A.J. is shot at by a machine gun on a squash court and is a wreck. He had no place to hide and couldn’t get away. Rick rubs his hands and shoulders while he gently talks to him.
4) Rick tries to maneuver things so that if one of them ends up in jail, it’s him, because every time A.J.’s in jail, some guy comes on to him. He’s that pretty!
5) Rick and A.J. work together in their own detective agency. They live in each other’s hip pockets (remember the boat in the side yard?), spend most of their free time together, and routinely sabotage each other’s dates.
6) In the Pilot, A.J.’s fiancee Janet (Jeannie Wilson) is wildly jealous of Rick. She even snaps at him, “I mean it, Rick. I’m not giving up on him.”
“I don’t want him. What do you think I am, anyhow?”
“I think you’re his brother and his best friend.” A pause. And more?
Janet acts like Rick is her romantic rival, not just A.J.’s brother. Later, after she and A.J. have broken off the engagement, Janet becomes friends with Rick. Rick is generous. After all, he won the blond. ;)
Simon & Simon is currently airing on the Retro TV Network at 11:00 P.M. EDT Monday-Friday. If you get a chance to see it somewhere, give it a try. Simoncest was hot in fandom in the '80s and early '90s with dozens of zines published. There are still fans out there! The boys are gorgeous, go nuts if one of them is threatened or hurt, and are fun to watch. The scripts are original and the dialogue snappy ‘n’ sassy. ;)
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