Remington Steele is an American detective fiction television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on NBC from October 1, 1982, to February 17, 1987. The series blended the genres of romantic comedy, drama, detective procedural and (toward the end of the series) international political intrigue and espionage.
Remington Steele premise is that Laura Holt, a licensed private investigator (Stephanie Zimbalist), opened a detective agency under her own name but found potential clients refused to hire a woman, no matter how qualified. To solve the problem, Laura invents a fictitious male superior she names Remington Steele. Through a series of events in the first episode, "License to Steele", Pierce Brosnan's character, a former thief and con man (whose real name even he proves not to know and is never revealed), assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Behind the scenes, a power struggle ensues between Laura and Steele as to who is really in charge, while the two carry on a casual romantic relationship.
Cast
Main Stephanie Zimbalist as Laura Holt, a private investigator who starts her own business. It didn't really take off until after she created a fictional male boss and named the agency after him; she would tell clients Mr. Steele was "out of town" working on an important case, and would handle their cases herself. The struggling agency became notably more successful after Mr. Steele became an actual person with whom clients interacted. Pierce Brosnan as Remington Steele, a mysterious man who assumes the figurehead role as the boss and namesake of Holt's agency. He does not have any actual experience as a detective, but learns quickly. He often makes references to old films, and his behavior and instincts often gives Holt insight towards solving the mystery. Although he has worked mostly as a con man and thief in the past, he stays loyal to Holt. His real name is a mystery throughout the series; at one point before becoming Steele he called himself "Harry", but this is also known to be an alias. James Read as Murphy Michaels (season 1), an investigator who works for Holt; he and Foxe knew that Steele is not a real detective. He has an underlying rivalry with him for Holt's affections. In the season 2 premiere, it is said that he moved to Denver to start his own private practice. Janet DeMay as Bernice Foxe (season 1), Holt's secretary and receptionist who also helped keep up the fictional boss act. In the season 2 premiere, it is said she married a trombone player and moved to New York. Doris Roberts as Mildred Krebs (seasons 2–5), a former IRS agent who becomes Steele's secretary / receptionist. Jack Scalia as Tony Roselli (season 5), a mysterious guy who gets involved in Holt and Steele's life after their honeymoon in Mexico, as a rival for Holt's affections. He uses his connections to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service to track the two down and also to get Steele to help him out. Gleason conceived of Roselli as a contrast to Steele's character, being like a "beer to Remington's champagne", but that he was also a "very good-looking guy".
Recurring Blake Clark as Fred, Steele's chauffeur whenever he does any formal traveling Beverly Garland as Abigail Holt, Laura's mother Cassandra Harris (Pierce Brosnan's then wife) as Felicia, one of Steele's old flames (three episodes), and Anna, a mysterious woman from Steele's past (one episode) Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (father of Stephanie) as Daniel Chalmers, a charming con man who was Steele's mentor. At the end of the series, he is revealed to be his biological father. Gary Frank as Detective James Jarvis, a less-than-competent police detective who more often than not falsely accused the principal characters and their clients of murder Michael Constantine as George Edward Mulch, a businessman with far-fetched ideas looking only for fame and fortune James Tolkan as Norman Keyes, an insurance investigator bent on proving Steele to be a fraud
Guest stars Louie Anderson, "Steele Spawning", Season 4 Tom Baker, "Hounded Steele" Season 2 Judith Barsi, "Suburban Steele", Season 4 Thom Bray, "Signed, Steeled and Delivered", Season 1 Delta Burke, "Altared Steele", Season 2 Daniel Davis, "Gourmet Steele", Season 3 Geena Davis, "Steele in the Chips", Season 3 Sarah Douglas, "Steele Hanging In There", Season 5 Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle, "Second Base Steele", Season 3 Conrad Janis, "Stronger Than Steele", Season 3 Jeffrey Jones, "A Steele at Any Price", Season 2 Jane Kaczmarek, "Altared Steele", Season 2 Betty Kennedy, "Steele Waters Run Deep", Season 1 Dorothy Lamour, "Cast in Steele", Season 3 John Larroquette, "Breath of Steele", Season 3 Judith Light, "Dreams of Steele", Season 2 Rose Marie, "Steele in the Spotlight", Season 4 A Martinez, "High Flying Steele", Season 2 Virginia Mayo, "Cast of Steele", Season 3 Beverlee McKinsey, "Vintage Steele", Season 1 Lloyd Nolan, "Cast in Steele", Season 3 Annie Potts, "Steele Crazy After All These Years", Season 1 Faith Prince, "Scene Steelers", Season 2 Ford Rainey, ”Small Town Steele”, Season 2 Paul Reiser, "A Good Night's Steele", Season 1 Peter Scolari, "Steele Waters Run Deep", Season 1 Tracy Scoggins, "Steele in the News", Season 1 Jean Smart, "Steele in the Chips", Season 3 Sharon Stone, "Steele Crazy After All These Years", Season 1 John van Dreelen, ”Steele Threads", Season 2 Barry Van Dyke, "Steele Belted", Season 1 Guy Boyd, "Hearts of Steele", "Steele Framed", "Elegy of Steele", Season 1 & 2
Episodes
Significance and influence Remington Steele is best known for having launched the career of Pierce Brosnan and for serving as a forerunner of the similar, edgier series Moonlighting, and was also an influential part of television history in its own right. Recent evaluations, in the wake of the show's full release on DVD, conclude that Steele was solidly crafted, well acted and groundbreaking in its own way. Other recent evaluations have also noted that series has aged better than some other series of its time and genre.
Innovations Remington Steele referred to film noir in the mystery storylines.Gleason, Michael. Audio commentary. "Comedy and Old Movies" special feature Remington Steele, season 1, disc 3 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005), DVD It subverted 1970s detective show conventions by telling its stories from the point of view of an independent, professional woman. At a time when hour-long series were serious and half-hour series were humorous, Steele incorporated multiple styles of comedy into the standard detective format.Gleason, Michael; Melvoin, Jeff. Audio commentary, "Diced Steele", Remington Steele, season 3, disc 3 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2006), DVD It pioneered the slowly evolving "will they or won't they" relationship arc that is now common to television drama of all genres.
Laura Holt as role model In an interview recorded in 2005 for a DVD special feature, Remington Steele co-creator Michael Gleason and star Stephanie Zimbalist discuss the large number of women who have approached them over the years to express their appreciation for the character of Laura Holt. Speaking of the women she meets, Zimbalist said: "They are extraordinary women.... They are interesting. They do interesting things. They are smart. They're independent. They're sort of, what my character was – and I meet them all the time".Gleason, Michael; Zimbalist, Stephanie. Audio commentary, "Steele Together", Remington Steele, season 2, disc 3 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005), DVD, 5:52 – 7:12.
Also in 2005, Robin Rauzi published an article in the Los Angeles Times saying that Laura Holt was her hero.Robin Rauzi, "Following in Her Fedora; A Laura Holt Fan Goes on Location, Sort of, With Her Hero", Los Angeles Times, September 8, 2005. In a subsequent interview Rauzi elaborated, saying that Laura "was one of the only examples of an unmarried modern career woman on TV that I could identify with at that time" and that Laura "didn’t seem that far away from who I was and who I could be". Rauzi concludes: "I’ve decided to stop being embarrassed to say Remington Steele changed my life. It did and for the better".Robin Rauzi in "Steele Fanatics", Remington Steele, season 4, disc 1 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2006), DVD, 3:15 – 4:20.
Series history
Development Remington Steele’s initial premise was conceived in 1969 by long-time television director Robert ButlerRobert Butler interview, chapter 7, Archive of American Television, January 14, 2004, Emmytvlegends.org as a series featuring a solo female private investigator. Butler pitched the idea to Grant Tinker before he was head of MTM, but Tinker felt the series was ahead of its time. In January 1980, following the success of several sitcoms featuring working women, including the groundbreaking The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Butler and Tinker, now head of MTM, revived the concept. MTM Vice President of Programming Stu Erwin felt Butler's concept was only "half a show" and suggested that Butler work with veteran writer Michael Gleason to expand the premise. Imagining Holt's fictional boss, Gleason proposed to Butler: "Wouldn’t it be great if he showed up and made her crazy?"Robert Butler, Stu Erwin, and Michael Gleason, “Making of Remington Steele Season One,” Remington Steele, season 1, disc 1 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005), DVD, 0:17 – 1:52. In 1981, Gleason, Butler, Erwin and Tinker pitched the series to NBC and were initially rejected by executives who failed to "get" the premise. Shortly thereafter, Tinker left MTM to become chairman of NBC, then the number-three network, and subsequently a pilot was ordered.
Stephanie Zimbalist, an established actress with roles in several television movies, was approached for the role of Laura Holt. At first she turned the series down, not wishing to be tied down to one show, but had a late-night change of heart. Pierce Brosnan (best known then for his role in The Manions of America) auditioned for the role of Remington Steele but was initially refused by NBC executives who were concerned that he was a relative unknown in America. MTM's Stu Erwin stood firm in a face-to-face meeting with NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff, and Tartikoff relented.
Originally, NBC asked for a pilot that imagined the series six months into its run, with the characters already working together in the detective agency. This pilot was produced in February and March 1982 and was eventually aired with revisions as "Tempered Steele". NBC had some concerns about audience confusion over this episode, but ultimately agreed to schedule the series for the 1982–83 season. NBC also asked for a premise pilot which told the story of how Laura Holt met the man who became Remington Steele. This second pilot, "License to Steele", became the first episode aired in the series.Gleason, Michael. Audio commentary, "License to Steele," Remington Steele, season 1, disc 1 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005).
Season 1