Steele Really Cute

Remember the old Remington Steele series from the 80s? I never watched it back then. Pierce Brosnan was a little too scrawny for my taste. While my husband was in Scotland, I bought the first season thinking it might motivate me to... well, who knows what...write? I like quick, witty dialogue and thought I'd give old Remington a try. I watched the first two episodes before I grabbed a Bonanaze DVD. What can I say?


My daughter discovered Remington tucked away on a shelf and she was hooked after the first episode. I guess watching tv is more fun in the company of others because I became totally hooked too. During the past couple of months we've watched the five seasons of Remington Steele. Needless to say, he and the beautiful Laura Holt played by Stephanie Zimbalist won my heart. Slapstick, yes. Totally illogical? Without a doubt. But fun. And sometimes the mysteries weren't half bad.

According to Wikepedia:
In the first episode, Laura Holt encounters a Humphrey Bogart-loving thief, played by Pierce Brosnan, who overhears someone calling for "Remington Steele" and, in order to escape a pair of murderous thugs, impulsively assumes Remington Steele's identity. By the end of the episode, he chooses to make the alias permanent and assumes the role of Laura's "boss". The real name of Brosnan's character was never revealed, although Daniel Chalmers who was Steele's mentor and surrogate father always called him Harry. In later episodes, it was revealed that Steele did not know his own real birth name, and his attempts to discover it became a running theme.

One running joke throughout the series was "Remington's" penchant for quoting lines from famous movies as bits of pseudo-philosophy, and occasionally using techniques from cinematic mysteries to attempt to solve crimes, with variable degrees of success. A number of plotlines were openly inspired by famous film noir thrillers, such as the first-season episode "Steele Flying High" that takes its lead from the Bogart classic The Maltese Falcon.

Yesterday we watched the last episode, fully expecting to be teary-eyed by the ending. We weren't. We got a little misty when Remington finally learned the identity of his dad. Unfortunately I'd already guessed him.

We invested hours of TV watching in those five seasons, hoping and praying Laura Holt and Remington Steele would get together and become Mr. and Mrs. They did. Sorta.

Season five ended in Ireland. We were disappointed because we liked their home base better.

Remington stood against the wall in the bedroom of his castle. Laura leaned into him. They stare into each other's eyes. The pause is too long. We waited.

They kiss. Yes, they kiss but they never, never, never in five seasons--or at the end--say they love each other.

Those three words would have created a satisfying ending. Those three words were what we waited for. They didn't happen and I can't help but wonder why.