Season Four: Fishing Boats, Fake Marriages, and the Season In Which NBC Should Have Stopped At, After All!

[WendyCR72]

Season 4. Chat away!

[BkWurm1]

Let me just say it. That final episode of season four was probably the worst episode of the series.  Remington and Laura had sooooo moved past that kind of antics.  If it had happened at the end of two or the start of three maybe, but at the end of four after so many episodes like Sensitive Steel or Premium Steele?  No, I just...no. 

 

I still cringe when Laura is face down under water in the mud getting beat up and Remington takes time to worry about his suit getting dirty????  In that moment Laure couldn't even see him so I can't even tell myself he's playing a character, nope, just being a jerk and that wasn't who he was. 

 

Still bitter. 

[Bastet]

Yeah, he's written pretty awful in that episode.  I wouldn't have blamed Laura if she had just kept on walking after she got out of the limo.  Four years in and he'd rather fake marry a hooker than be honest with her?  Why not just come to her and say, "We've got trouble" and explain the situation with INS?  Laura is resourceful, and she doesn't want to lose him personally or professionally; who better to help him figure something out?

 

As much as I hate "season" five, I'm glad it exists, because if Bonds of Steele had been the series finale instead of Steeled With a Kiss it would be pretty hard to imagine them ever getting out of their own way long enough to make a go of things. 

 

I will give it this, though: Ever since, whenever I've had the opportunity to say "Hooray for you" in Laura's tone of voice, I've taken it.  That scene makes me smile so hard.  Stephanie's line delivery during that phone call is pitch perfect.  "Hooray for you" when the guy on the phone says who he is, "Are you kidding?" when he asks if Mr. Steele is in, and repeating "The Little Chapel of Perpetual Happiness?!"  All with ratty hair hanging in her face and trying to put on sneakers in place of her broken heel.  I love her.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Bastet

[BkWurm1]

I worked hard enough and came up with reasons why he might have kept the immigration thing secret, but I just couldn't justify or explain his behavior during the mud puddle fight. So out of character.

Poor Laura, they just piled on misery (and dirt). It's a wonder she didn't take the agency gun and ...who am I kidding, she probably couldn't find the bullets.

Yeah, as annoying as Tony was, I prefer an uneven season five to just leaving it to the fishing trawler. Just barely. I mean without the scene of them watching the news and then heading up the stairs I might have preferred to end it with the trawler. Tony was pretty bad.

[Bastet]

I worked hard enough and came up with reasons why he might have kept the immigration thing secret, but I just couldn't justify or explain his behavior during the mud puddle fight. So out of character.

 

Completely.  Mr. Steele is a gentleman; he wouldn't sit there and let anyone get pummeled.  To nonchalantly watch as Laura takes one for the team is ludicrous.

[WendyCR72]

Completely.  Mr. Steele is a gentleman; he wouldn't sit there and let anyone get pummeled.  To nonchalantly watch as Laura takes one for the team is ludicrous.

 

And, as was pointed out, to act that way after "Sensitive Steele", it was just out of character, by that point. That scene would have worked in early S1, but by S4, it was ridiculous.

[Bastet]

I don't think it could have ever worked; you come after someone he cares about, and it's Thunderdome rules, but this is a man who will go out of his way to help total strangers.  It's one of his greatest qualities.   If this had happened on their first case, he'd have jumped in to help (as he did in the second episode when he came upon her being strangled in that office).  There was just never a time his actions - or lack thereof - would have made sense with anyone, let alone Laura. 

[WendyCR72]

If this had happened on their first case, he'd have jumped in to help

 

Not sure I agree, at least as far back as the pilot. Steele/Harry was fixated on those gems, and we saw how he was willing to con (pretending to take pictures of that family when he was really snapping Murphy and watching for the Royal Lavulite). Not saying he was callous, but Daniel had taught him well, and it was get what you can and move on.

 

That only changed - IMO - once he met Laura. She brought out the decent man and Steele's new-found sense of helping the little guy. I think the dick move in S4 was not out of the realm of Steele before Laura. But it was wrong so late in the game.

[BkWurm1]

The implication in the scene is that he thinks Laura is doing fine on her own so he's going to sit back and wait.  Now this I could believe in the first season or maybe at some part of two when they are kind of estranged.  It amused him to drive Laura a little crazy. And If he really thought she was fine, then in their game of one upmanship, I could have bought into it, been annoyed, but I would have accepted it as possible.

 

I could even (with great mental effort) buy he'd avoid the mud unless his intervention was needed since he's trying to look the part for the upcoming wedding, but the second Laura asked for help, he would have been there and the instant the other dude had any advantage, the man Steele grew into would have launched after him no second thoughts.  Instead we had that horrible moment where he's reluctant and acting put out and even when he does act, he still looks around for a way to avoid the mud?  WTH??  He is not that fastidious and certainly not that callous. 

 

They tried to play it for laughs but it fell completely flat. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Okay, need help here, because I'm too lazy to look it up.

 

But, was Cassandra Harris' character, Felicia someone we met before we saw her in "Steele Searching"? She's not the same character from...the second season, who had faked her death and tried to get that one lover to kill Steele, right? Or did I miss an episode where she was introduced?

 

And I must admit, Brosnan looks really Sexay, when he's got the three-four day scrub going...messy hair, and the cap.  But he also cleans up really, really well!

[Bastet]

We meet Felicia in Harris' first episode, the season one episode with the cursed Five Nudes of Cairo painting (also the first appearance of Laura's mother).  Then we see Harris as Anna.  After that whenever she pops up it's as Felicia. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

We meet Felicia in Harris' first episode, the season one episode with the cursed Five Nudes of Cairo painting (also the first appearance of Laura's mother).  Then we see Harris as Anna.  After that whenever she pops up it's as Felicia. 

 

Thanks Bastet. That definitely clears it up.

[WendyCR72]

Bless her heart, but Cassandra Harris was not the best actress, which made it all the more confounding that she was cast as Anna despite being already known for Felicia. Maybe Pierce Brosnan wanted to keep his wife happy, I don't know.

 

But Anna should have been played by a different actress. The casting took me out of the whole story there.

[Bastet]

Which is a real shame, as that's a great script (Susan Baskin is my favorite of the shows writers).

 

Bond Girl was about the extent of her acting capabilities, rest her soul, but she did an okay job with Felicia.  And I think she's better in these later, European episodes than she was in the first one.  But she's just blah as Anna, on top of the fact it was ridiculous - even in an era where seeing the same actor in multiple roles within the same TV series was commonplace - to cast her as a woman from Steele's past who's still interested in him when we'd already seen her the season prior as another woman from Steele's past who's still interested in him.

 

The worst, in terms of casting a mediocre actor because of a connection to one the principals, was Michael Gleason and Lynne Randall's kid as the granddaughter in the Mulch episode where he want to market the Courtney doll.  Even Edgar Bergen couldn't work with someone that wooden.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I just sometimes wonder if they think that an accent alone automatically means talent or something. Because Harris was so, so, very, very wooden.

[Rinaldo]

I think it's simpler than that: Initial script is read by principals (maybe messengered to their homes in advance?). Brosnan says to the producer, "I think Cassandra would be great for that role, don't you?" How do you tell your star his wife is a bad actress? You don't, you just cast her and grit your teeth.

 

William Goldman tells the story in connection with the first Stepford Wives movie, which he adapted. It is integral to the story that the town be filled with gorgeous, curvaceous young women. Director Bryan Forbes says to Goldman, "I think Nanette would be perfect for the neighbor, don't you?" (Nanette Newman, his wife -- lovely and a good actress, but English-demure and not in her first flush of youth.) Could Goldman tell his director, "Your wife isn't sexy enough"? No, he says "She'd be great" and knows the movie is sunk right there.

[BkWurm1]

I think Cassandra Harris made a good Felicia.  She pulled off the sly, catty,  flirty and mildly put out.  She also I think did a good job showing emotion in that scene by the lake where she pretends she's the one turning him down. 

 

But no, she should never have played Anna.  She had a far too memorable face and accent to begin with.  Yes it was a couple years apart but it was so confusing.  Felicia was just too memorable a character.  I can't even judge if she was a good actress in the part since the whole time I couldn't get past that I wasn't supposed to recognize her as another character and they didn't even hang a lampshade on the elephant in the room. 

 

Plus even then I realllllllly hated her hair.  POOOOFF

[Happytobehere]

Bless her heart, but Cassandra Harris was not the best actress, which made it all the more confounding that she was cast as Anna despite being already known for Felicia. Maybe Pierce Brosnan wanted to keep his wife happy, I don't know.

 

But Anna should have been played by a different actress. The casting took me out of the whole story there.

This always threw me as well. I was never really sure if she was supposed to be the same character who was now using her. Real name because it was so jarring. The thing that always blew this thought was the fact that Laura didn't recognize her. That was literally the only thing that even to this day reminds me that it is not supposed to be the same person.

I agree with the poster who said that while Harris worked as Felecia, she was just miscast as Anna . Perhaps it was the horrid Anna performance that made Felecia more acceptable, but I dontthink so, I don't think that CH was capable of selling the inherent cruelty of Anna, who I thought was just a vicious person.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Sigh.... one of my favorite episodes of season 4 aired this past Sunday and I watched it yesterday...Sensitive Steele.

 

It's so interesting, how, after a major blow up/fight with Laura, made Steele more serious to solve the case.  Because we all know, during all their cases, he's always trying to make time for them to be alone, or buy something, or is shown as some shallow man, with no depth. And he really was in this.

 

And also was "Suburban Steele", which I found really funny, but at the same time, head scratching. I find it difficult to believe the Laura orders out ALL the time. She must cook some meals for herself, so showing her so inept at cooking spaghetti, was a real head scratcher for me. Though I did grin at Steele playing horsie to the kids.

 

I'm really not looking forward to the season "finale" which pretty much undoes everything Laura and Steele have worked to achieve relationshipwise, even though season two undid what happened between them in season one. Blah.

[Bastet]

It's one of the rules of television that any woman who's good at her career is completely inept at domestic tasks.  It's quite tiresome.  They could have achieved the same humor by having Laura be a pretty basic cook and Frances leaving a list of really involved meals to make.

 

Plus, there's no way someone as smart with money as Laura doesn't make any of her own meals.

 

I do love any chance to see the adult Pipers, though.

Edited February 18, 2015 by Bastet

[WendyCR72]

I always feel a little pang of sadness when I see little Laurie Beth, knowing poor Judith Barsi's sad fate.

[BkWurm1]

I always feel a little pang of sadness when I see little Laurie Beth, knowing poor Judith Barsi's sad fate.

I had to look it up.  I never knew.  So sad. 

[BkWurm1]

And also was "Suburban Steele", which I found really funny, but at the same time, head scratching. I find it difficult to believe the Laura orders out ALL the time. She must cook some meals for herself, so showing her so inept at cooking spaghetti, was a real head scratcher for me. Though I did grin at Steele playing horsie to the kids.

 

Also since in other episodes she's shown to be making spaghetti for Mildred and Steele (The one with the crazy building manager stalking her while the Santa was out trying to kill and intimidate witnesses)  I attributed it to her being frazzled about other distractions.  Sometimes it doesn't take much to ruin a meal.   It was the noodles that looked the worst.  Somehow over and undercooked at the same time.  Maybe something as simple as starting to cook but realizing part way in that she had the proportions off and tried to compensate and made it worse.  I would have said it was fine and the kids were just being kids except for Laura's expression when she tries to eat it. 

 

I still love that episode. So much lovely bonding all around. 

[WendyCR72]

I had to look it up.  I never knew.  So sad. 

 

Yes, it is. Her father sounded like a true bastard.

[GHScorpiosRule]

"Beg, Borrow or Steele" was on a couple of weeks ago, and I settled down to watch it with glee. Jarvis still peeves me, but I just love how Laura and Steele try to stay hidden while trying to figure out who "murdered" them.

 

And of course, I can't let the phone call Steele made to Mildred, telling her that the mortuary he was calling from lost "Ms. Holt's Uuuuurn."  That scene is never NOT funny.

 

And now I've got "Bonds of Steele" sitting in my dvr. I hate that episode with the heat of a gazillion million suns, because it undoes EVERYTHING, all the progress Laura and Steele made in the past two seasons. Should I delete it? Watch it, knowing my head will explode with red hot rage? I'm leaning toward the former, honestly.

[BkWurm1]

And now I've got "Bonds of Steele" sitting in my dvr. I hate that episode with the heat of a gazillion million suns, because it undoes EVERYTHING, all the progress Laura and Steele made in the past two seasons. Should I delete it? Watch it, knowing my head will explode with red hot rage? I'm leaning toward the former, honestly.

 

It's hard coming up with redeeming qualities for that episode.  So much is out of character and not only OOC, but mean and OOC.  I think about the only moment I liked was when Laura throws the keys out the window and starts walking and Steele desperately chases her and tries to explain.  I liked how much he wanted to not lose what he had but it would have been a much better episode if we'd been let into his head so we could understand or see why he didn't just tell her? 

 

I've had to concoct so many fanwanks to explain his behavior, like somehow him being genuinely convinced that he had no other option than marriage and him being terrified that it would be the straw that broke Laura's back and make her give up on him...except why would he believe that? 

 

Hence the other fanwank where that line about him not wanting to involve her in a con was true and  them being in a  marriage under false pretenses was unthinkable because their relationship was the most real and honest thing in his life and he couldn't bear to make it less so...but he seemed pretty ok when left with no other option. 

 

Which left my final fanwank, that he didn't want to involve her with the fake marriage stuff but he also couldn't stand the notion of her being ok with him doing the fake wedding with someone else or worse, Laura being fine with him doing the fake marriage with someone else so he decides to just not involver her at all that way he doesn't have to worry about her caring too much or too little or driving her away.  Still...a hard sell after how close they become in season 4.

 

Yeah, you might be better off deleting it. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

It's hard coming up with redeeming qualities for that episode. So much is out of character and not only OOC, but mean and OOC. I think about the only moment I liked was when Laura throws the keys out the window and starts walking and Steele desperately chases her and tries to explain. I liked how much he wanted to not lose what he had but it would have been a much better episode if we'd been let into his head so we could understand or see why he didn't just tell her?

I've had to concoct so many fanwanks to explain his behavior, like somehow him being genuinely convinced that he had no other option than marriage and him being terrified that it would be the straw that broke Laura's back and make her give up on him...except why would he believe that?

Hence the other fanwank where that line about him not wanting to involve her in a con was true and them being in a marriage under false pretenses was unthinkable because their relationship was the most real and honest thing in his life and he couldn't bear to make it less so...but he seemed pretty ok when left with no other option.

Which left my final fanwank, that he didn't want to involve her with the fake marriage stuff but he also couldn't stand the notion of her being ok with him doing the fake wedding with someone else or worse, Laura being fine with him doing the fake marriage with someone else so he decides to just not involver her at all that way he doesn't have to worry about her caring too much or too little or driving her away. Still...a hard sell after how close they become in season 4.

Yeah, you might be better off deleting it.

After reading your fanwanks, my finger couldn't hit delete fast enough!

[BkWurm1]

There are some good moments in season five.  I find Steele's habit of letting Laura think less of him than she should an on going fascinating contradiction in character but one that we see throughout the series so it remains in character.  Like in the Santa's episode where he tells Mildred he didn't have any bullets but lets Laura think he was too afraid to risk his life.  In season 5 we see him leaving out how hard his trip from the one hotel to the one with phones really was and then on top of that, he won't defend himself about what happened with Keys and then later he tries to keep the spy stuff from Laura when it would have gained him points.  He even keeps quiet about the worst parts of Anthony's character. 

 

I enjoy trying to get into his mind while these things happen.  It's both puzzling and heartwarming.  Like with the Santa's, he lets her assume he acted the coward but was rewarded with her solid good opinion of him in spite of his actions and he's overcome by her response and treasures it more than if he had justified himself. 

 

I wonder if its a leftover thing from his childhood during a time when people would blame him or think bad of him and whatever he had to say wouldn't be believed to the point where he'd rather look bad than explain himself and then there is Laura who has every reason to write him off but instead inexplicably believes in him. 

Yeah, I get most of my enjoyment out of season five by stuff that is not actually happening on screen, lol. 

[WendyCR72]

So while "Bonds of Steele" was popular with...likely very few...it should be noted the actress playing Estelle Becker, Mary Beth Trainor, died in late May (although it was just released about a week ago). She was only 62. She was also in The Goonies and the police psychologist, Stephanie Woods, in the Lethal Weapon franchise.

 

I never knew she was once married to Robert Zemeckis (and they share a son, per the obituary). Such a shame. No cause of death was given in anything I'd read, but someone elsewhere claimed she died of pancreatic cancer. Very sad all around.

[BkWurm1]

So while "Bonds of Steele" was popular with...likely very few...it should be noted the actress playing Estelle Becker, Mary Beth Trainor, died in late May (although it was just released about a week ago). She was only 62. She was also in The Goonies and the police psychologist, Stephanie Woods, in the Lethal Weapon franchise.

 

I never knew she was once married to Robert Zemeckis (and they share a son, per the obituary). Such a shame. No cause of death was given in anything I'd read, but someone elsewhere claimed she died of pancreatic cancer. Very sad all around.

I never made the connection between Estelle Becker and the mother on Goonies and now I'm a bit ashamed of myself ( I blame all the eye rolling and cringing during that episode making it hard to look at the screen in order to remember a face)

 

She did her part great in an otherwise terrible episode and she was wonderful in Goonies.  It was only after my nephews had me watch it with them the fourth or fifth time did I catch all her little comedic nuances.   

[Bastet]

Mildred pisses me off in the two-part season opener, telling Laura she's horrible for wanting to go home and leave Mr. Steele to his own devices.  Yes, Mildred is right that he didn't show up to Scotland Yard because he's in trouble rather than because he's ditched her again.  And even Laura knows she's just blowing off steam, and Mildred's role is to counter her arguments.  But she gets so outraged by it.  It's not like Laura is pulling the idea of him voluntarily disappearing out of her ass.

 

But Mildred redeems herself in the wrestling episode when she says that after Steele turned Crunch's case down, she went to "the boss" to make sure. 

 

Ah, season four.  A lot of good episodes, but it's ridiculous they're not truly together by the end of it -- they are so clearly committed to each other after London.

 

The wrestling episode is where I left off.  Harley the fan club president (Reseda chapter) is one of my favorite Steele characters.  "Oh, wow." 

[Bastet]

Oh, and also?  I hate the retooling of the theme song this season.  Kind of intensely.

[BkWurm1]

Mildred pisses me off in the two-part season opener, telling Laura she's horrible for wanting to go home and leave Mr. Steele to his own devices.  Yes, Mildred is right that he didn't show up to Scotland Yard because he's in trouble rather than because he's ditched her again.  And even Laura knows she's just blowing off steam, and Mildred's role is to counter her arguments.  But she gets so outraged by it.  It's not like Laura is pulling the idea of him voluntarily disappearing out of her ass.

 

She also really ripped into Steele for lying to all the while so I at least didn't feel like she was playing favorites.     

Oh, and also?  I hate the retooling of the theme song this season.  Kind of intensely.

It doesn't really hold up well, does it?  Funny thing is I remember LOVING the modern sound.  Now to my ears it sounds like a cheap Casio Keyboard effect. 

[Bastet]

Going off on both of them equally would have been playing favorites, given the action she was upbraiding Laura for paled in comparison to those she was giving Steele grief about.  But she didn't even do that; she used much harsher language with Laura, disproportionate to the situation.  Her long-standing soft spot was still in effect.

 

But at least her blinders are off now.  It’s an interesting return to the season one scenario, where everyone at the office knows it’s really Laura’s agency.  It plays out differently with Mildred than with Murphy and Bernice, of course, given the respective relationships, but the evolved dynamic is appealing.  And I love her telling Steele, right before they present him with his Remington Steele passport (one of my favorite moments of the series), that she really doesn't know how she feels.  As much as she adores the guy, she had a whole lot of illusions shattered at one time, so it's good they acknowledged her conflicting emotions.

[Bastet]

Okay, so Steele Blushing is the episode where I draw a line in the sand and say there is just no reason for the series to pick back up afterward and say they're not sleeping together.  The season opener in London is huge for their relationship.  He's finally willing to give her some answers about his past ... once he finds them out for himself ... and, despite his nearly unpardonable sin of making it look like he was gone for good, she tracks him down, helps him, and gets him a passport that will allow him to return to life as Remington Steele if he wants.  And he wants.  Boom, done.  They're finally committed to a personal relationship (and he admits as much to Felicia).  Now it's just a matter of time -- as soon as there's no case (or Mildred) to interrupt, they will finally consummate it.

 

Which brings us to the end of Steele Blushing.  The case is done (and they've saved two people's lives, which has to feel pretty good).  Mildred is not there.  It's just them, some after-dinner drinks, a fireplace (and stack of porn magazines, heh), and we end on a horizontal kiss.  So ... she got up and went home why, exactly?

 

Grrr.  So frustrating. 

 

I guess I have to fanwank an interruption.  Because they're ready to get it on in the next episode (Grappling Steele), but Mildred interrupts.  Then there's Forged Steele.

 

Oh, let me count the ways I love this episode.  He disappears (again) and seems to have gambled away her agency.  When he wanders in, is Laura's first reaction to throttle him and demand answers?  Nope.  She throws her arms around him and says, "Thank god you're alright."  We are talking serious relationship progress here.  She knows he wouldn't do that to her (otherwise, as she explains, she would have to hunt him down, tear out his heart, and throw herself off the nearest building, heh).  The set-up is elaborate and air-tight, but she doesn't waver.  Then we discover the diamond heist.  She has a flicker of doubt, but hates herself for it.  She tells him, "I know I can trust you."  He tells her how happy he is they're together (!) and that he's not going anywhere. 

 

These are two very different people than they've been.  They're two people who have worked through some big issues and are actively working on themselves not to repeat past mistakes.  It's lovely.  They've earned it.  We've earned it.  But it just gets dragged out, with silly interruption after silly interruption, and then a total characterization shift (or reversion, really) in the season finale.  I'm enjoying these episodes, but also getting pre-emptively annoyed.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Bastet

[BkWurm1]

I guess we'll have to assume that in Steele Blushing the skeezy photographer showed up again and ruined the moment.

It is funny though, when I watched this as a kid, I DID assume they had slept together. Now in contrast, I also watched and loved at the time Scarecrow and Mrs. King and when I watched that, I assumed they didn't do more than smooch until after they got married. Years later I was stunned to realize that per the dialogue and innuendo they were sleeping together while dating. But even though nearly every episode ended on a clinch on Remington Steele, nope, they'd never crossed that line.

I tell myself that after abiding by that line for three years, (which they both hide behind and used to pretend that what was between them couldn't be as serious as it was) they were too psyched out to easily cross it. It became something huge in meaning to them, an all in forever kind of commitment. So that stalled it In my mind for a while and then my other fanwank is that when Steele started getting letters from the INS, he unconsciously backed off his pursuit because he found himself lying to her again.

I've pretty much made my peace with why he lied to her,(panic and fear) but I get ragey if I think about that fight by the mud pit. Can't accept how that went down. Nope, just nope. Completely OOC.

Edited November 13, 2015 by BkWurm1

[Bastet]

I only made it through Premium Steele last night before falling asleep, but I love that one.  (And we get another "I'm committed," this time from her.)  The ending scene, when she's out on his balcony thinking about how her friend is going to lose everything due to what she uncovered about the life insurance scam and he slips his arm around her from behind, is just lovely and a great example of something they have both always been adept at: being tender with the other when she/he needs it.

 

At least the writers are honest about the fact that, starting at the end of season one, they wrote episode after episode as if they'd be going home to have all the sex, and next episode after next episode as if they weren't sleeping together, and I'll accept their "hey, it's television" excuse for about three seasons.  But now, I'm getting antsy.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Bastet

[BkWurm1]

Premium Steele had so many excellent moments.  My other fav was when he comes to her motel room and sits next to her and takes her hand and she thanks him for being him and we are gifted with the most spectacular smile and "I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me" 

 

I think I have that episode memorized.  "They have picture.  And sound."  "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."  Sigh. 

 

If you just think of the show like it's something from the classic age of movies then the no sex clause was everywhere, then you can just bask in all the lovely romance.  Those constantly tossed in kisses are something that I wish modern shows could figure a way of constantly tossing in without rushing the slow burn of the relationship.  It may be unrealistic, but it made for lovely television. 

[Bastet]

Yeah, well, I'm a pre-Code fan.  :-)  But, Michael Gleason is thankfully no Joe Breen, and the drawn-out dance works for me for three-plus years.  As this season wears on, with them decidedly engaged in a committed romantic relationship, it gets pretty hard to sell me on the lack of sex.  I'm fine with it for now, when it feels like it's just a matter of circumstances - they keep getting interrupted - or even like it's happening but we're just not seeing it (which is what I'd long assumed was happening on Scarecrow & Mrs. King, and still do, so was quite surprised years later to hear fans thinking they'd abstained until marriage).  But I live in apprehension of ye olde reset button on the horizon, when they regress and make sex a focal point, something that is purposely not happening because it's a major stumbling block that is now quite out of date.

 

Coffee, Tea, or Steele contains one of my favorite Laura moments of the series – her flying tackle of Terry O’Quinn into the pool.  “Now, what’s this all about?” as soon as they resurface.  And he’s looking at her with this kind of admiration, like, “Did she really just do that?”  Heh. 

 

When Steele comes to her hotel room, their vibe is that of a couple who is already sleeping together.  There’s no seduction at all; he’s just getting the bed ready and starting to undress while she talks to Mildred, like it’s a given that when she’s finished they’ll pick up where they left off (they were about to kiss when the phone rang).  And she just plops down on the bed, lying right next to him to talk about the call.  I love that she puts him off by turning the tables on him – he’s taken such glee in their covers, and now she gets to use the “company policy” line on him.  Fantastic.  And, again, this vibe that it doesn’t matter that they don’t have sex tonight, because they have plenty of other opportunities.

 

The Christmas episode with the Santas and the diabolical plant lady is another one that shows how far they’ve come, when he tells her that Christmas story from his childhood.  I love the way he suddenly sits up, grabs her face, and then kisses her really softly afterward – it’s hit him that he can now tell her something ugly about his past, and she won’t fish for more, or make snide remarks, or do anything other than listen and then make a wonderful offer about a sled.  So sweet.

 

I get a smile out of him testing her, by not telling her the agency gun was unloaded and checking that his actions (or what appeared to be his actions) didn’t diminish her opinion of him.  So very Steele.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Bastet

[GHScorpiosRule]

Okay, can someone confirm whether it was stated that Laura and Steele weren't having sex after season two? I know they retconned in season two that they hadn't at the end of season one, which is just bullshit, because the way they set it up or left it or subtext or whatever the proper word is, they totally did.

 

And just like with Scarecrow & Mrs. King, I assumed that they were having sex, just based on the dialogue and how certain episodes just ended. LIke, there's NO WAY it didn't lead to the logical conclusion!

 

I'm shocked viewers thought that Lee and Amanda abstained. ESPECIALLY after Lee's comment to Francine about how two people (Lee and Amanda) could get to know one another, especially when the skiing was lousy. And just taling about their getting away together for weekends, etc.  And compared to Laura and Steele, Lee and Amanda were...tame.

 

Thanks Bastet, now I'm going to take out my dvds and rewatch.  All I knew watching this show as a tween was that they were totally "doing it!" and it gave me a vicarious thrill.

[Bastet]

Laura's aborted "tonight's the night" in Cannes was going to be the first time, and there are other casual references along the way to their being stymied when they attempt to finally make it to the bedroom.  Then the fact they're not doing it is a big deal in Sensitive Steele.  And after they get married there's much humor made of the various obstacles they face in their quest for consummation.  So the lights going out in Ashford Castle is established as their first time. 

 

Which ... whatever, show.

Edited November 15, 2015 by Bastet

[GHScorpiosRule]

Laura's aborted "tonight's the night" in Cannes was going to be the first time, and there are other casual references along the way to their being stymied when they attempt to make it to the bedroom.  Then the fact they're not doing it is a big deal in Sensitive Steele.  And after they get married there's much humor made of the various obstacles they face in their quest for consummation.  So the lights going out in Ashford Castle is established as their first time. 

 

Which ... whatever, show.

 

 

Oh yeah. I forgot about that.  To which I say: What Bastet said.

[BkWurm1]

I had the benefit of watching the show when I was a preteen.  I was surprised to find out they hadn't had sex but it didn't bother me at all.  I didn't watch soaps or anything where the characters had sex so why would I care if they'd done more than the good romantic stuff like making out? 

 

I actually didn't see the first season until at least a decade later and even then I didn't know that the episode where Steele and Laura were off to "continue a conversation" was supposed to be code for anything other than talking (and maybe a few more smooches) and since by then I knew they still hadn't "tripped the light fantastic" by the end of the series, I never got upset that they still hadn't had sex along the way.  It was just a known fact that stayed with me so it still doesn't bother me at all. 

 

Maybe it seems really unbelievable now but even in the early eighties, there were lots of people that had skipped the whole sixties and seventies sexual revolution.  Except for the serial soaps (daytime or nighttime ones) nobody unless they were married or deeply in love and committed had sex. (On TV)  So since Laura had so many reason not to trust him to stick around (and she was deeply uncertain of her ability to wrangle him if she let him get any closer to her) then her reasons for drawing that very firm line made plenty of sense.  And eventually, to me it made sense why HE was kind of freaked out about crossing that final line as well, which is why he was so easily deterred even if he kept trying (on principle alone) . 

Edited November 16, 2015 by BkWurm1

[GHScorpiosRule]

I was a tween when the show first premiered; had already been watching soaps since I was 8 (GH, AMC, OLTL), not to mention Dallas, so pre-marital sex was not a shocking thing for me.

 

I guess I just assumed, based on my viewing of the day time soaps, heh.  I didn't catch or understand the meaning of "scratching an itch" that Laura told Bernice in the first season until years later, and that made me assume that yes, they were doing the horizontal rhumba, heh.

 

Of course, I know better now.

[BkWurm1]

I was a tween when the show first premiered; had already been watching soaps since I was 8 (GH, AMC, OLTL), not to mention Dallas, so pre-marital sex was not a shocking thing for me.

 

Well there you go.  My mom was anti-soap and both my parents hated Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon's ...something, and all the rest.  I remember getting grief years later just for watching a "serial" show because my mom remembered how obsessed her mom got with her soap opera.  Her solution was not to care about any show or movie.  (She still feels that it is a badge of honor to not worry about what she might have missed in a show or to come in late or to not watch the ending, lol.  Poor thing to have a daughter that has ALWAYS been a bit too obsessed about storyline and characters.)

I didn't catch or understand the meaning of "scratching an itch" that Laura told Bernice in the first season until years later, and that made me assume that yes, they were doing the horizontal rhumba, heh.

 

 

But the whole conversation with Bernice was why she WASN'T going to scratch that itch, hence left "itchy" lol. 

 

It is funny though, I do remember thinking that yes they were having sex on RS (until told differently) but certain that no they were not having sex on Scarecrow and yet when I rewatched Scarecrow and Mrs. King years later it is clear to me that YES they were having sex.  VERY clear.  So you get to be right about that one.  ;)

[GHScorpiosRule]

I should have been more clear. When Laura and Bernice had that conversation, it told me as I watched it as an adult, that Laura was no "chaste" sexuality IS TABOO and therefore can't talk about desires woman.  Just from that line and conversation, I was convinced by the end of the season that she and Steele had crossed over to the next level.

[Bastet]

I love, love, love that Laura had no problem with casual sex, and would have jumped into bed with him in a second had it not been for the fact they were going to be working together.  We didn't get that a lot with female protagonists back then; Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey, a bunch of soap characters that all blur together for me by now, Maddie Hayes (she didn't do it much - although there is a great episode when she goes on the prowl for a one-night stand - but she didn't have an issue with it), and I'm sure there were others, but not enough that it wasn't noticeably refreshing when it happened.  It would have been far more typical for Laura to have a scandalized, "But I hardly know you/him" reaction to Steele and Bernice's suggestions she get her teeth rattled, so I adore the "Love to, but it's not practical" response.

 

Anyway, season four.  I dozed off and on through Steele Inc. and Steele Spawning and don't have much desire to go back and watch the parts I snoozed through.  With most of the actors they kept bringing back, I know what their connection to the show is -- obviously we know Cassie's, Lynne Randall is Gleason's wife, the guy who played Kevin Masters and the news anchor is Gleason's best friend -- but I don't know of any personal connection of Michael Constantine.  So I'm at a bit of a loss as to why they kept bringing back Mulch.

 

I forgot to note that this viewing of the Christmas episode was the first time in all these years I realized the actor playing the advertising exec is the same woman who played Loretta Marcall in the first season episode where they go undercover as a divorcing couple.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Bastet

[Bastet]

There's a string of just so-so episodes in the middle of this season.  And Steele on the Air is almost unbearable on DVD thanks to the replacement music.  The best is when they replace Girls Just Want to Have Fun (with the generic '80s synth pop that pervades the episode) on the radio, but leave in Laura singing along.  Interesting they ponied up for Stephanie's performance here, but not for Satisfaction back in season one.

 

I remember Steele Blue Yonder as rather boring, but since it had been so long that I couldn't remember a thing about the plot, I found myself enjoying the process of learning what Johnny was up to.  It is driving me nuts, but I can't remember who was originally cast in that role and had to back out at the last minute (due to health ... I don't think he died, but maybe).  It was a pretty big-name actor of that generation.  Anyone else recall?

 

Suburban Steele ... Wow, it's an effort to look past the numerous Japanese stereotypes on display and just watch the rest of the show.  I like seeing the Pipers (the adults, anyway; don't care about the kids), and really enjoy Laura and Frances together and Steele with Donald.  But I don't like this episode as much as I want to.  And I thought, "There are weapons hidden in the hairdryers ... Oh, wait -- that's the Scarecrow & Mrs. King episode with some Mary Kay type sales force that is a front for illegal activity, not this one."

 

It is interesting to see Steele with the kids, though.  As Laura said, the man who walked into her life four years ago would not have happily taken this on.  Then he's testing her in Santa Claus is Coming to Steele, asking her if she'd continue working as a detective if she had kids.  We all know it's, "If we had kids," so would you keep working a dangerous job, Mr. Steele? 

 

Do we ever see the Pipers again?  It's funny to me that the writers added a kid to the family (Laurie Beth didn't exist originally; Frances only mentions Mindy and Danny in the fantastic episode in which we meet her and Donald), and one named after Laura.  Nothing about Frances and Laura's relationship at the time Laurie Beth would have been born suggests Frances would be naming a kid after her.  Laura as a middle name, sure, but straight-up copying Laura Elizabeth?  That had to be Donald's idea.  So the writers give Laura a namesake niece, move the Pipers to Los Angeles, and then ... go nowhere with it?  Or is there another episode with them I'm forgetting?

 

Sensitive Steele tonight.  I may need to drink heavily.  Starting with Santa Claus, the characterization starts to shift back to about season two -- each automatically assuming the other is playing games.  I am looking forward to the closing scene on the beach, though. 

Edited November 17, 2015 by Bastet

[BkWurm1]

Sensitive Steele tonight.  I may need to drink heavily.  Starting with Santa Claus, the characterization starts to shift back to about season two -- each automatically assuming the other is playing games.  I am looking forward to the closing scene on the beach, though.

 

The ending is so fantastic, it alone would make this whole episode a favorite but I also really enjoyed them fighting here because I guess it felt real but more than that, finally HE was the one mad at her and wanting to stick to business. It mattered to him.  All of it.  The personal and the business and I really enjoyed the role reversal. 

 

Yes, they were back to the same old arguments, but that was the point of the argument, they never have managed to resolve the reasons why they haven't gotten together,  and while the episode didn't fix everything, it did let them grow by having a real fight and finding a way to let it bring them closer. 

Edited November 18, 2015 by BkWurm1

[Bastet]

Yes, they were back to the same old arguments, but that was the point of the argument,

 

Yes, I understand that.  It frustrates me coming when it does, because between Steele Searching and this episode, they were written as if they had finally learned how to handle their shit.  They needed to have this fight earlier, or not be written in a new way for so long before having it, for it to feel organic.  It's not as if they'll never revert to old habits, but this episode is written as if they'd made no progress, when about a dozen preceding episodes had been written showing they had made some.

 

I got caught up in my reading last night, so I didn't get to it.  I almost just watched the final scene, but told myself it would be all the more rewarding if I sat through the fight first (I don't dislike the fight itself, just the timing as I said above and, sorry, Steph, because you know I love you, the way she plays it).

 

(Oh, dear - I'm afraid today's billable hours will be zero.  It's still bugging me not being able to remember who was originally cast in Steele Blue Yonder, and it occurred to me I might still have Remington Steele bookmarks (I just import bookmarks from new computer to new computer, only occasionally weeding out the dead stuff).  Yep, I do.  So now I'm perusing the ones that are still active, looking for that particular piece of trivia, and getting distracted by all sorts of other stuff.)

 

A ha!  According to one site, it was Jimmy Stewart.  Wow.  I didn’t remember it being that big a star.  But that would explain the script being so light on Steele and Laura and heavy on the guest character.

 

Damn.  I guess I have to get back to work.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Bastet