Simon Joyner is a fictional character from the Australian drama series City Homicide, played by Daniel MacPherson. He made his first screen appearance in the pilot episode broadcast on 28 August 2007. MacPherson departed the series on 14 July 2010.
Casting
In March 2009, MacPherson revealed to Richard Clune of The Sunday Telegraph that he would be quitting City Homicide.
Storylines
In the first episode, it was established that he was having an affair with Detective Senior Sergeant Wilton Sparkes's wife Lorraine. Wilton found out and assaulted Simon in the bathroom at work and threatened to tell Senior Sergeant Stanley Wolfe but had a heart attack before he got the chance. Simon's affair with Lorraine has recently ended after she dumped him. Late in season 1, Simon was held hostage and nearly shot. This traumatised him for a time and he considered resigning from the police force, until his colleagues talked him around. Early in season 2, Simon—along with Jennifer, Karen and Wilton Sparkes—were held hostage when a man who wanted the investigation of his son, jailed after being the prime suspect in the murder of a teenage girl re-opened after he committed suicide in jail held the homicide floor under siege. Simon was handcuffed to a chair, along with Karen and Wilton while the man took Jen at gunpoint to find documents regarding the case on police computers. Later the man had Simon, Karen and Wilton chained together at a desk and tried to force them to investigate this case. Karen was shot in this incident but survived. The man later committed suicide. This event did not seem to put nearly as much pressure on Simon as the first time he was held hostage, however this time he had workmates with him and the first time he was all alone. Relatively late in season 3, Simon became obsessed with incriminating a man that he thought had raped a young girl, going as far to threaten to shoot him if he didn't tell the Homicide squad that he'd raped and later killed the girl. It is rumored that since no one has yet found out about this, that his departure from the show may be a result of someone finding out. However, Joyner's departure in season four was more complicated. He saw fellow detective, Duncan Freeman be badly beaten by two assailants which left him in a critical comatose state. The guilt Joyner felt over not being able to help his partner carried with him until he departure which was partly due to the trauma he suffered and having been implicated in the death of a man who was shoved off a balcony, however he was later cleared. He was then alleged to have assaulted a man and threatened him to come to a police interview otherwise he'd kill him. The man was later found dead, and Joyner the prime suspect. He confessed to the assault, and was charged with the murder, but was later exonerated and given his badge and gun back.
Reception
Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald said Simon was "self-assured". While The Age's Paul Kalina called him "cocky" and "too-handsome".
