Simon & Simon
What's in a Gnome?
TV Flash files “What's in a Gnome?” as hour 32 of 156 in the TV Flash guide — Simon & Simon (1981–1989) on CBS, season 2, episode 19, aired 1983-02-24, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E19: listed hour 32 of 156 in the Simon & Simon guide, hour 19 of 23 in season 2. It aired 1983-02-24 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The List” (S02E18). Next is “The Secret of the Chrome Eagle” (S02E20).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
An amusement park owned by a retired Marine colonel is being repeatedly vandalized so the manager hires the Simons to work undercover but the more they learn about the vandal, the more they question who the real villain is.
Viewer FAQ
Where does What's in a Gnome? sit in the Simon & Simon guide?
S02E19 is listed hour 32 of 156 — hour 19 of 23 in season 2, season 2 episode 19.
When did Simon & Simon S02E19 air?
What's in a Gnome? aired 1983-02-24 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…