Private investigator Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) has a problem: no one appears interested in hiring a female private eye. Her solution is inventing a boss named Remington Steele and changing her agency name to Remington Steele Detective Agency, and suddenly she has more cases than she can handle. But then something she didn’t plan on ever having to deal with happens: she grudgingly accepts a new partner when a mystery man (Pierce Brosnan) assumes the identity of her fictitious boss. Together, the two battle crime as their feelings grow for each other.

CRITIQUE

Remington Steele “steel” holds up after all these years (the pilot aired October 1, 1982). The on-screen rapport between Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan really drives the show, and it makes the episodes fun to watch. The majority of the stories in this first season are quite good (some of them are obviously inspired by classic films), but there are also several very average stories with predictable outcomes. The overall writing, however, such as the dialogue, is well done, and refreshing to boot. Also, the cinematography, production design, and music are interesting to look back at.

The first season’s 22 episodes are presented on four double-sided discs.

Disc 1 Side A: License to Steele, Tempered Steele, Steele Waters Run Deep, Signed Steeled and Delivered

Disc 1 Side B: Thou Shalt Not Steele, Steele Belted

Disc 2 Side A: Etched in Steele, You're Steele the One for Me, In the Steele of the Night, Steele Trap

Disc 2 Side B: Steeling the Show, Steele Flying High

Disc 3 Side A: A Good Night's Steele, Hearts of Steele, To Stop a Steele, Steele Crazy After All These Years

Disc 3 Side B: Steele Among the Living, Steele in the News

Disc 4 Side A: Vintage Steele, Steele's Gold

Disc 4 Side B: Sting of Steele, Steele in Circulation

THE VIDEO

Fox presents Remington Steele in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. The video is quite nice considering it is a bit over 20 years old. Some specks and scratches appear here and there, but overall the picture is in good shape. The colors look fine. Despite some small flaws, this is a pretty decent presentation. Optional subtitles include English and Spanish.

THE AUDIO

Fox presents Remington Steele in English Mono. The front speakers deliver decent audio and music, though some noise creeps in.

THE EXTRAS

Audio Commentary by creators/writers Michael Gleason and Robert Butler on License to Steele and Tempered Steele.

Audio Commentary by Michael Gleason and writer Susan Baskin on Vintage Steele.

Remington Steele: Season 1 (12:25) offers a casual and informative discussion about the first season with interviews from Michael Gleason, Robert Butler, star Pierce Brosnan, MTM exec VP Stu Erwin, producer Gareth Davies, writer Andrew Laskos, supervising producer Glen Gordon Caron, and DP Kenneth Peach. The featurette goes over the show’s genesis, casting and look in terms of production design and costumes. Oddly, Stephanie Zimbalist is not interviewed here.

Remington & Laura and Bernice & Murphy (14:35) focuses on the relationships of the characters with interviews from select the cast and crew.

Comedy & Old Movies (8:10) addresses the show’s signature comedy and practice of referencing classic movies.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The extras are quite decent, especially the featurettes, but the commentaries are hit-and-miss with some good info along with occasional silence. This 4-disc set comes recommended to fans and casual viewers alike.