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List Price: $39.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox
Salesrank: 12473
Released: July 26, 2005 |
| Our Price: $16.66 |
| Used Price: $9.95 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Before he was Bond... he was Remington Steele...Private eye Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) grudgingly accepts a new partner when a mystery man (Pierce Brosnan) assumes the identity of her fictitious boss, Remington Steele. Together, the two battle crime as as their feelings for each other.
Description of Remington Steele - Season 1:
Remington Steele's fusion of whodunit mystery and screwball comedy burst onto television in 1982. After struggling to get clients to hire a female detective, Laura Holt (sultry Stephanie Zimbalist) invents a fictional boss named Remington Steele, whose dashing manly name draws in work. But while protecting some South African jewels, Holt runs across a mysterious thief and con-man (an elfin, baby-faced Pierce Brosnan) whom her client assumes is the nonexistent Steele--and when the case is resolved, the accidental detective decides he likes the work and sticks around, infuriating Holt with his arrogant ways and tantalizing her with his dashing good looks. Murders may occur at a winery, an island sex club, or a college reunion, but just about every episode plunders plot elements from classic movies like Bringing Up Baby, The Third Man, and The Trouble with Harry (even the theme song was written by film composer Henry Mancini). The writers openly acknowledge this influence by having Steele use ideas he's lifted from movies to solve crimes. The constant allusions to old films should be annoying, but the show demonstrates such a rich affection for the classics that these tips of the hat actually mesh with Remington Steele's world.
Remington Steele has become best known as Brosnan's launching pad (he later become James Bond in GoldenEye and its sequels), but Zimbalist was every bit as crucial to the show's success; her mixture of glamor and toughness gives the show a distinctly adult sexiness and grounds Brosnan's boyish charm. The dialogue sometimes slipped from arch camp to sheer cheese, but even at its most ridiculous (say, a scene where Holt and Steele question homeless bums while dressed in formal evening wear) Remington Steele remains an eminently watchable show, thanks to zippy plotting and the chemistry between Zimbalist and Brosnan. Some episodes clearly implied that the pair had become intimate, yet that didn't defuse their attraction. Even when the stories became a bit silly, the mutual respect and desire between Holt and Steele never lost its sophistication. --Bret Fetzer
Remington Steele - Season 1 Reviews:
Still great after all these years 
2009-07-29 - The first series is still great, nice blend of drama, adventure, comedy and romance. The transfer looks great and the shows quality and bondesque music still feel very current. The series starts with a band, starts to wonder a bit in the 2nd hald but cimes back for some of the best in the last two episodes.
Good comic mystery 
2008-12-07 - It was hardly a landmark TV series, but Remington Steele was one of the brighter spots in 1980s TV and remains one of the better light mystery shows. And as demonstrated in the Season One set, it was good right off the bat.
The premise is summarized in the opening credits. Private eye Laura Holt was having no success in the business because no one would take a female investigator seriously. To solve the problem, she created an imaginary male boss, Remington Steele. It was a successful ruse until a con man came in and assumed Steele's identity; against her will, Laura had a real boss.
The success of the show was with its two leads. At the time the show debuted, Stephanie Zimbalist was the bigger name, the latest in a family of entertainers. As Laura, she was both attractive and sensible, except when it came to Steele, who she undeniably attracted to. The unknown actor playing Steele would be the one to go on to bigger things: Pierce Brosnan, in the role that established him.
It's not surprising that Brosnan would become famous in this role, since he constantly steals the show as the dashing but mysterious Steele, a man with an affection for old movies and a past filled with various acts of thievery and scams. His affection for Laura, however, keeps him on the straight and narrow as he attempts to be an actual private eye himself. Though he is not really an investigator, he does have skills that allow him to occasionally crack cases.
What Brosnan brings to the show is demonstrated in the episode "In the Steele of the Night" in which (except for a very brief scene), Steele does not appear for the first ten or so minutes, leaving Laura (and partner Murphy played by James Read) to carry the show. They do well enough, but the episode is just a routine mystery episode; when Steele enters, however, the show's energy picks up.
Not every episode is perfect, but for the most part, these are fun to watch, the result of the creators' attempt to mimic an old-fashioned screwball comedy. (It's not essential, but a good knowledge of old movies pays off for the viewers.). Remington Steele may not be the best show ever, but it's plenty good enough to entertain most people.
regarding Remingon Steele...
2008-02-13 - We (family) LOVE this series! It is fun to watch. The only bad thing about it is that it only ran for five seasons. But it really is a fun series...if you want something fun for your family, give this a try.
Nostalgia at its best!
2008-02-11 - Must be mid-life crisis because I've been watching this series every night since I bought all the seasons out on DVD. Remembering with fondness my early teen years -- a time of pre-Windows clunky computers, pre-cell phones when it was a chore to reach someone, and pre-DNA profiling when murders had to be solve with ingenuity. A younger Pierce Brosnan is eye candy too! The commentaries are a bonus because you get to see how the actors look like today. Might make you feel better that aging happens to the best of us.
Remington Steel is Excellent
2007-11-13 - Remington Steele - Season 1 - 3 ( I have yet to go through the last season) is worth every penny. The Cast of Pierce Brosnan and Stefanie Zimbalist has great chemistry. Overall excellent.
