Remington Steele

The casting of Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele, private investigator, and Stephanie Zimbalist as Laura Holt, the private investigator who conjured up the name in order to get her business moving. After all, a woman private investigator did not fare well in the world. Remington Steele pops up and there is obvious chemistry between the two characters. Steele is charismatic, charming, and seductive while Holt is more straight and lacks a sense of humor at times. There is no question that Steele steals the scenery right out from under her. Anyway, the two cast mates do have chemistry. The addition of Doris Roberts before she was known as Marie Boyle on Everybody Loves Raymond gave her a supporting role. This show was light but not as a feather nor dark or too serious. It had a comedy and drama mixed in together which was why it worked for 5 seasons in the golden age of television.

With oodles of dashing, masculine charm, Pierce Brosnan is one of my very favorite actors, who ranks, in my polls, at the #2 position as being the best James Bond, ever. (And, nope, Sean Connery is not my #1 choice)

Here in the TV Series "Remington Steele", Brosnan (in his pre-Bond days) never failed to pour on the charm and put in a captivating performance as the show's title character.

In "Remington Steele" our hero is teamed up with the always-alluring P.I., Laura Holt. And, together this dynamic duo scrupulously fights vicious crime and corruption with a fine sense of style and (sometimes comic) flair - Always making certain to never mix business with pleasure. Well..... Almost never.

I loved Remington Steele back in the 1980s and videotaped many of the shows. I recently found those tapes again and have been watching them more critically this time around. I still love most of the shows, but now I think I understand why. Where else can you find a show nowadays where the star of a show is a bright, independent-minded entrepreneurial woman who finds a bright, warm, sensitive, and gorgeous man that pursues her more for her mind than her body? Where else can you find a show nowadays where the female lead deals with feminist issues and doesn't allow herself to be sexually exploited or even to take issues of sex and commitment lightly without being naive or a prude? Looking back on it, there was more romantic comedy than mystery or drama in most of the shows, but the main characters were very appealing, as was their dilemma. I'd love to see more shows like it on the air today.

Re-visited 'Remington Steele' recently, now with more time on my hands with a much needed calmer period after intensive studying, and it is every bit as good as remembered. Had memories of it being brilliant for most of its run before running out of steam in the last season, those recollections proved to be correct. 'Remington Steele' is a very good show and for much of the run more than that, but it deserved a better final season.

Visually, 'Remington Steele' has a very elegant and stylish look throughout, very 80s but strikingly so. Love the slickness of the photography and the beautiful locations, editing is also succinct and the costumes, hair and make-up are both appealing on the eyes and nostalgic. The music has a slinky jazziness to it, never overbearing the action or being discordant with it while having presence and energy. Not easy to forget the main theme either.

The writing is beautifully balanced and cleverly written. The comedy is witty and sophisticated while the romance is both sensual and bubbly, the chemistry between Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist is irresistible. The mysteries are fun and suspenseful and with rarely if ever a rushed or draggy moment, or anything that comes over as ridiculous (excepting the Season 3 finale perhaps).

Brosnan is charismatic, suave and charming and he handles the comedic and serious sides beautifully. Zimbalist is at her loveliest here and her most sparkling, while Doris Roberts is a sheer delight. Zimbalist's real life father Efrem Zimbalist Jnr is suitably commanding.

With so many positive attributes, it feels sad that Season 5 doesn't live up to the rest of the show. There are shows with worse final seasons, like 'Lost' and the US 'House of Cards', but it was disappointing enough to bring things down a little. The energy doesn't sparkle as much and the central chemistry is underused and too hostile.

A triangle is also attempted, but that feels shoe-horned, not of much use and makes one like Laura less), the characters aren't as interesting or well written with development being ignored and there is too much Tony, an irritating character and the show's low-point. Am in two minds as to whether it worked for me or not that 'Remington Steele' ended on an unfinished note.

In conclusion, hugely enjoyable but ended disappointingly. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Not only were the mysteries satisfying and the characters both intriguing and likable, but the smooth jazz of the theme and soundtrack were unbeatable and the best since Peter Gunn. Beyond that, the dialog and banter was intelligent. Sometimes, you actually have to think about the reference and connect the dots to get to the laugh. Heaven forbid that should happen on TV today )which probably explains why I don't watch much original TV). I started watching the Season One DVDs and it was like meeting an old friend I hadn't seen for years. I've introduced my 18 year old son to "Remington Steele" and he finds them as entertaining as I do. New we have to wait until November for Season Two!