I hesitated about this one, because this show’s theme song is one of the most pernicious earworms ever crafted by humans (according to the credits, “humans” in this case would be The Thrasher Brothers; it’s been a while since I wanted to write a College Bowl question quite this badly). If you turned this into a ringtone, you would either rule the hearing world or be killed by an angry mob. Don’t say I didn’t warn you:
Why Found-Again? This, like all the other shows from Matt Houston to Riptide, was on at my house a lot when I was young. Mom had a thing for Gerald McRaney. I…did not.
The Premise: Bickering brothers Rick and A.J. Simon (McRaney and Jameson Parker, respectively) run a little detective agency in San Diego that seems to function as a remora attached to the bigger firm across the street. Rick is the shady one; A.J. is the uptight one who for some reason has a red lining in his blazer. As with its cousin Magnum, P.I., the show’s setting itself is often practically a character.
As I revisit the detective/crime shows of my youth and otherwise, it’s interesting to see how much or how little one knows about the characters’ lives: one of my favorite things about classic Law & Order was teasing out the little details about Lenny Briscoe or McCoy/Kincaid as they were dropped in the middle of the real business of the episode. Simon & Simon takes it to the other extreme and lays on a thick layer of back story: the Simons tease each other about childhood incessantly, their mother makes regular appearances, etc. To return to the Magnum comparison, it’s almost as if someone thought internal monologues would be so much better if only you had someone to talk to.
The Verdict: Mixed. They won’t be playing it for the damned souls in hell or anything, but you’d have to be pretty bored to seek this out. (If you are, however, full episodes seem to be available on YouTube.)
Might go well with: Tacos. But then again, what doesn’t?
