Tuesday, June 24, 2008

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.

4 comments:

Erica Vetsch said...

I loved Remington Steele...you've made me want to watch it again.

Anonymous said...

So nice to find like-minded folks! I loved the show when it first aired but it eventually faded from memory. When the DVDs came out, my enthusiasm for the show was renewed and I couldn't believe how well it held up. Come join the fun at the RS IMDb board and the SteeleWatchers Yahoo group. There are also several fan fiction sites that fill in the gaps between/during episodes or re-write the unfortunate 5th season to suit our own tastes.

And in July you can catch Pierce in Mamma Mia!. Stephanie is appearing onstage in The Spin Cycle in Ventura, CA in August. Doris has 3 projects either recently completed or underway now.

Mickey

Pamela S Thibodeaux said...

Ahh, Pierce...what a hunk. But you're right, they should have said those 3 little words, but then they may have had to write a whole other episode for the conflict that may have causes. :-)

PamT

Anonymous said...

BEST TV show ever aired! Loved it as a kid and 25 years later, I'm still a HUGE fan. Great blog entry. Let me add my invite to Mickey's for you to join us at SteeleWatchers and the other sites...we're a fun bunch if I do say so myself (and I do.)