Simon & Simon
Trapdoors
TV Flash files “Trapdoors” as hour 3 of 156 in the TV Flash guide — Simon & Simon (1981–1989) on CBS, season 1, episode 3, aired 1981-12-08, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E03: listed hour 3 of 156 in the Simon & Simon guide, hour 3 of 13 in season 1. It aired 1981-12-08 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Love, Christy” (S01E02). Next is “A Recipe for Disaster” (S01E04).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Rick and AJ are hired to help a bank manager find a kid who broke into the bank computer. Unfortunately, the manager wants to use the kid to steal even more money.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Trapdoors sit in the Simon & Simon guide?
S01E03 is listed hour 3 of 156 — hour 3 of 13 in season 1, season 1 episode 3.
When did Simon & Simon S01E03 air?
Trapdoors aired 1981-12-08 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Did Magnum, P.I. actually save it?
Scheduling after Magnum turned a struggling show into a hit. The brother contrast might have died without that CBS action-night gravity. Lead-in as life support, then eight seasons.
In the series
Why this series still plays
San Diego brother PIs: denim-and-Camaro Rick versus preppy A.J., a contrast that would have died in the ratings if Magnum's lead-in hadn't rescued it. Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker sell the bickering as love language. Buddy-crime comfort food that ran eight seasons on chemistry, convertibles, and CBS action-night gravity.
The instrument is contrast: denim-and-Camaro Rick versus preppy A.J., sibling PIs whose bickering is the love language. CBS's *Simon & Simon* (1981–1989) starred Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker in Philip DeGuere's brother-buddy template — a detective agency in San Diego that would have died in the ratings if pairing after *Magnum, P.I.* hadn't rescued it. Convertibles, chemistry, CBS action-night gravity. The blotter will lead with the lead-in. The text is the contrast, not the cases.
Filed against
- Gerald McRaney as Rick Simon
Gerald McRaney's Rick Simon was denim-and-Camaro opposite preppy A.J. on Simon & Simon — San Diego brother PIs, bickering as love language, a contrast Magnum's lead-in helped rescue. Eight seasons of buddy-crime comfort. TV Flash files…
- Jameson Parker as A.J. Simon
Jameson Parker’s A.J. Simon prepped the bickering on Simon & Simon — San Diego brother PIs, denim-and-Camaro Rick versus the prep, eight seasons of buddy-crime comfort Magnum’s lead-in helped rescue. Love language as a case file. TV Flash…