Remington Steele

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.

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!

The 007 films are no doubt fun, but their attempts at comedy (which are admittedly not their focal point) are sad compared to the physical comedic ability and the facial expressions Brosnan exhibited on "Remington Steele." And Zimbalist was a great co-lead, as opposed to in other shows, where the female played second string. I believe this show's premise would still work today, tweaked a bit to satisfy those people still fighting for that one amendment - what was it? The main things that wouldn't work would be the hairstyles and the clothing - but those will probably come back in a decade or two. At any rate, this show is a classic.

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.

The DVD release of this show has allowed me to go back and visit an old favorite. I had not seen the episodes since their very first run, so I was curious if I would still like the show and still derive the enjoyment from it that I remembered the first time through. Well, good news: the show was just as good as I remembered it, and had held up well for being 20 years old. Pierce Brosnan displayed the charm that made him one of my favorite TV stars, and his chemistry with Stephanie Zimbalist was still excellent. The shows themselves are extremely well-written. Unlike shows on TV today, this show didn't talk down to you; the characters were sophisticated and spoke like they were well educated, not like they hung out at the bar all the time. The wit hasn't been lost, either; I laughed through many of the episodes I watched. This was like catching up with an old friend. I can't wait to see the second season!