Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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88 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Season 2, Faster than we dreamed, August 8, 2005
With the first season recently released, we get a holiday treat with season 2 of Remington Steele to be released less than four months later in November. While season one is my personal favorite, this season is still strong, making this one of my all time favorite tv series. Gone are James Read and Janet DeMay, but Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond) joins the cast permanently. Now that Remington and Laura have an established working relationship, we get to see them working more in tandem while they explore their relationship. Fortunately, the mysteries are still strong. The chemistry between the leads is even stronger.
Red Holt Steele, one of the best episodes in the entire series, appears in this season, blowing up Laura's house from the first season and preparing the way for her well-known loft apartment that becomes so familiar throughout the rest of the series. Another of my personal favorites, Love Among the Steele, explores the history of an Auburn speedster.
Season 2 Episodes (1-22 are Season 1, of course)
23. Steele Away With Me [2 part episode]
24. Red Holt Steele
25. Altared Steele
26. Steele Framed
27. A Steele at Any Price
28. Love Among the Steele
29. Scene Steelers
30. Steele Knuckles and Glass Jaws
31. My Fair Steele
32. Steele Threads
33. Steele Eligible
34. High Flying Steele
35. Blood is Thicker Than Steele
36. Steele Sweet on You
37. Elegy in Steele
38. Small Town Steele
39. Molten Steele
40. Dreams of Steele
41. Woman of Steele
42. Hounded Steele
43. Elementary Steele
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64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Steele here, August 14, 2005
The debonair ex-con-man and strait-laced detective return in the second season of "Remington Steele." This smart, funny detective series was one of the last of its kind, wonderfully odd and full of sometimes all-too-realistic crimes to be solved. The second season is, if anything, more polished than the first.
Things have changed a lot since Laura Holt's (Stephanie Zimbalist) fictional boss came to life, in the form of a nameless thief with a taste for the good life (Pierce Brosnan, pre-Bond). Now the wild detective cases continue, with a new ally: Mildred Krebs (Doris Roberts), an IRS agent who decides to join in on the thrilling ride. Too bad she doesn't know the truth about Steele.
The agency deals with a bunch of new, strange crimes: An amnesiac bigamist who is about to be murdered, international art thieves, mystery weekends, poisoned TV dinners, babies and boxers, aging jewel thieves, tracking down the jewels that Steele once tried to steal, and criminals in the circus.
Sure, there's comedy -- Laura and Steele have to deal with Laura's sister's marital problems at a dental convention, where someone is trying to steal a set of false teeth. But more dangerous cases abound -- Laura's house is bombed, and Steele is stalked by a mysterious enemy who is determined to see him dead... except that he never offended this man.
Time polished the rough edges of "Remington Steele" -- the second season flows more gracefully than the first did. Things have settled into their necessary grooves; don't expect as much "what's your name" demands and inter-office bickering. Just more character devopment and wild cases.
The most notable change is that Bernice and Murphy are no more. In their place is computer-savvy Mildred, an endearing older woman who still doesn't know that Steele is a fake. Mildred's kindness and guts are somewhat overshadowed by a desire "to be special," and her almost maternal caring for Steele and Laura.
More of Steele's past is revealed -- an old girlfriend who broke his heart shows up, and Laura finds out little tidbits here and there. Pierce Brosnan plays these scenes with raw feeling that is truly moving to watch, as well as Steele's funnier moments. Zimbalist shows off some of Laura's softer spots, as well as some very funny comic moments (wearing a giant tooth costume).
"Remington Steele Season Two" is even more funny and tense than the first season was, and introduces viewers to the indefatigable Mildred. A delightfully escapist detective show.
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32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Steele and Laura, August 13, 2005
Remington Steele was a truly stylish television show that tapped into the kind of Stanley Donen light mystery romance that is missing from the movies today. Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist were perfectly cast and the show only got better with each episode. The Henry Mancini theme music captured the feel of this light and sophisticated show tinged with humor perfectly. It was as evocative and as much a part of the show as his "Peter Gunn" theme had been decades before.
Laura Holt (Zimbalist) couldn't get her private detective agency off the ground in spite of her skills until she invented the phantom agency head, Remington Steele. Business was booming and everything was going swell until Pierce Brosnan shows up and assumes the roll of the nonexistent Steele, both around town and with clients. An uneasy alliance was formed that to the delight of fans moved more and more towards the romantic as time went by.
Brosnan's Steele was debonair and stylish, his past a shady mystery ala' "To Catch a Thief." Each season Laura discovered new things about his past in Ireland and his exploits in other countries. Steele was also a film buff and would make constant references to films of the 1930's and 1940's he would recall pertaining to the case. It made all us film buffs who knew just what he was talking about feel like we were insiders, and was one of the many charms of this wonderful show.
Brosnan and Zimbalist were a terrific screen couple in the tradition of all those ones we remember fondly. One could say they were our generations Nick and Nora Charles. There was a fun anticipation for viewers as week after week we watched the two become involved in a mystery while they danced around their growing affection for each other. And it was always fun as little tidbits of Steele's past were discovered by Laura.
This series was fun and sophisticated and always left you feeling good. This kind of entertaining film is missing from today's teen driven box office. It is also missing from the "reality" driven television we see so much of today. Remington Steele filled a void left for those seeking the kind of fun escapism which all but disappeared when the Hollywood studio system began to collapse.
Though season one holds a fondness for all us film buffs and Remington Steele fans, and has one of the show's shining moments with the episode, "Vintage Steele," the overall quality of the show improved with season two as Doris Roberts was added to the cast as Mildred Krebs, and two other characters were lost. The show became even more fun than before, and both Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist, whose contribution to the show's success can not be overstated, seemed to really settle in for good as everyone's favorite TV couple.
Much was made of Stephanie Zimbalist not being pictured on the cover of the season one DVD release, and hopefully that glaring omission will be corrected here on the second season set. She was wonderful as Laura Holt, and we tuned in just as much to see her as we did Brosnan. It was their marvelous repore on screen that made the show what it was, and what it was, was one of the best shows ever on television.
Remington Steele was something really special in television. Every one of the episodes and every one of the seasons was enjoyable. Every lover of classic films was in love with this show. It was a refreshing reminder of what television could, and should be. I have this on my wish list to pick up and you'll want it on yours as well.
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