Monday, April 21, 2014

R is for : Remington Steele!!



Back in the mid 1980s, it seemed that private investigator, Laura Holt, had a problem. She was a more than capable investigator but, gosh darnit, she just couldn't seem to be taken seriously.....because, well, she was a woman.

"I know", she thought, "I'll create a fictitious boss....a fictitious male boss...and then I'll be taken more seriously."

And that's exactly what she did. The snag came when her fictitious boss, Remington Steele (whom she named after a typewriter and football team) walked right into her life.

That's the basic premise of Remington Steele, which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1987, and starred Stephanie Zimbalist (the daughter of veteran actor Ephram Zimbalist Jr.) as Laura Holt and Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele.

Steele, who's real name is never given, was nothing but a conman and thief with an encyclopedic knowledge of classic movies and could always seem to find a correlation between the current case they were working and the plot of an old movie. When he's mistaken for Ms. Holt's fictitious boss, he takes the ball and runs with it, seeing the opportunity to make some money. Seeing that the fake "Mr. Steele" is, actually, good for business Holt decides to keep him around with the usual romantic comedy/drama/police procedure type happenings ensuing.

One of the best parts of the show, for me, was Doris Roberts as Holt's crass secretary, Mildred Krebs. Many only know her as Ray Ramono's mom on Everybody Loves Raymond, but to me she'll always be "Ms. Krebs"


Just as with Tom Selleck losing out on the role of Indiana Jones because of shooting conflicts, the same thing happened to Pierce Brosnan. He lost out on the opportunity to play James Bond, inheriting the role from Roger Moore, due to scheduling/contractual conflicts with Remington Steele.

That, in my opinion, was the James Bond franchise's loss.

Remington Steele had something for everyone. Action, romance, comedy, drama, and a cast that exuded great chemistry. For me, it'll always be a classic.

Honorable Mentions: Real People, The Rifleman, The Rockford Files

Tune in tomorrow for a show that.....begins with the letter "S" :P (seriously....it's totally up in the air!)


19 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Wow, he looks young. I'll still always remember him as Bond.

Trisha said...

I've never heard of this show, and I don't think I've ever seen Pierce Brosnan looking this young! ha. He got his Bond chance eventually, I guess.

Andrew Leon said...

I loved Remington Steele but nowhere near as much as my mom did.

Tomorrow? Um... that one show... the one that started with an "S."

Andrew Leon said...

Too bad you can't do Lois and Clark.

Christine Rains said...

This was one of the shows my mom and I liked to watch together. Her for her love of Pierce and me for the drama and action.

Dee @ A Deecoded Life said...

I didn't know about this show. It sounds interesting and I would have liked to watch this.
Fun trivia about Pierce. I first saw him in James Bond.

Al Diaz said...

I used to watch this one too. Very good and entertaining!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I liked that show though I didn't watch it faithfully. I remember reruns of the Rifleman when I was little. I think it ran for a long time.

Rachna Chhabria said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rachna Chhabria said...

I used to love this show. And I loved Pierce Brosnan. Thanks for this post, as it stirred memories which were long forgotten as I always remember Brosnan as James Bond.

Leslie S. Rose said...

My brother was always trying to get his hair to look like Pierce B. Never made it.

randi lee said...

Holy cow, he looks so young! Never saw this one, but kinda wishing I did!

Unknown said...

I don't remember this series, but I remember Quantum Leap Nice to meet and connect through atozchallenge. http://aimingforapublishingdeal.blogspot.co.uk/

Michael Di Gesu said...

Another classic... Good choice, Mark!

Robin said...

I loved this show. It wasn't as good as Moonlighting (IMO), but it was excellent. The repartee... awesome. And I remember having a wee bit of a crush on Remington Steele as a girl.

As for your S... I suspect it is Star Trek: The Next Generation. Though it could be the first one... Star Trek. If it were me, it would be Smallville. Ironically, all three of these are "up in the air."

Julie Baswell said...

Loved Remington Steele. I can't believe so many had never heard of it. Maybe we're showing our age, ya think? Its amusing how everyone tries to guess tomorrow's choice. (I do too!)

Julie Flanders said...

Oh I used to love this show and had forgotten all about it. It's funny that Brosnan's hair in these pics looks so cheesy now but back then it was the best. :D

cleemckenzie said...

I loved this show and, you're right, Mildred Krebs never failed to be a hit.

Lisa said...

I LOVED Remington Steel and the entire cast! I'd forgotten who Ms. Krebs was! I too, am glad PB finally got to be James Bond, and thought he did a good job of it. But RS was always my favorite show of his...

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