|
“Remington
Steele-Season -1"
|
 |
Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Mystery |
| Video: |
1.33:1 Full
screen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
1.0 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
1078 Minutes |
| Rating |
NR |
| Release Date |
7/26/05
|
| Studio |
20th Century
Fox Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
Robert Butler,
Michael Gleason, Susan Baskin |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
3 featurettes |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Stephanie
Zimbalist, Pierce Brosnan, James Read, Janet DeMay |
| Written
By: |
Michael Gleason,
Robert Butler, Glen Gordon Caron |
| Produced
By: |
Glenn Gordon
Caron, Robert Butler, Gareth Davies |
| Directed
By: |
Michael
Gleason, Burt Brinckerhoff, Robert Butler |
| Music:
|
Richard Lewis
Warren, Henry Mancini (theme) |
| The
Review: |
“My name is Steele…Remington Steele”.
While those words didn’t make Pierce Brosnan the international
star that he wanted to be, it did take him to the Bond role
that he was born to play. Originally the series was built
around actress Stephanie Zimbalist who played Laura Holt a
Private Detective who couldn’t get any business because she
wasn’t a guy. She created a fictional boss named Remington
Steeleand business stormed in. When a con man (Pierce Brosnan)
appears claiming to be Steele things get complicated. Suddenly,
Holt has a new partner in her P.I. business. ***
Before “Moonlighting” “Remington
Steele” took a similar premise and turned it into gold and
like “Moonlighting” the male star’s profile rose higher than
the female. Created by TV director Robert Butler Brosnan became
an overnight sensation in the US initially and, later, internationally
when the series was exported overseas. Ultimately it was Brosnan’s
portrayal of Steele that convinced the Bond producers to approach
him for “License to Kill” when Roger Moore was “retired”.
Unfortunately, Brosnan like Tom Selleck was under contract
and when ABC found out that Brosnan was to be the next Bond
they renewed the show. For a while it looked as Brosnan’s
chance to be the next Bond was over. Luckily, the gods were
smiling because Brosnan fulfilled his dream to play Bond when
Timothy Dalton wasn’t asked to renew his license to kill.
---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
Although
the series looks a bit dark at times, the colors are vivid and
the images clear for most of the episodes. There is the occasional
soft shot or bit of debris that crops up but usually it’s in
footage that was reused throughout the series run. The mono
sound comes across with nice presence and dialog is upfront
in the mix for most of the episodes here. --- |
| The
Extras: |
There are
a three featurettes included on the making of the series.
The first is on side B of the first dual sided disc. Creators
Gleason and Butler discuss the genesis of the series, casting
decisions while Brosnan appears briefly discussing how much
the network disliked his performance among other tidbits.
We also discover that the character of Remington wasn’t even
going to be featured on the series originally. We also get
a featurette that discusses the character development of the
shows leads. Brosnan dispels the myth that he and Zimbalist
fought like cats and dogs throughout the shooting of the series
stating that they got on quite well. The third featurette
focuses on how the writers tried to duplicate the unque comic
timing of comedies like “The Philadelphia Story”. MIA is actress
Zimbalist which is a pity. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
We only get
three commentary tracks with the first one featuring by co-creators
Gleason and Butler. The good news is that they don’t talk just
to talk. The bad news is they sometimes FORGET to say anything
useful. The most important fact that comes to light is the fact
that there was no pilot where we are introduced to “Steele”.
Instead, the network opted to pick up the series with Steele
already part of the series. It was decided that the title sequence
could set up the tale. After seeing the first episode shot they
changed their mind and the first episode was actually shot quite
a bit later in the run. The best of the three commentary tracks
feature writer Susan Baskin discussing the development of the
series including more comedy in later episodes. --- |
| Final
Words: |
A fun series
that paved the way for “Moonlighting”, “Remington Steele” retains
much of its sharp wit and charm 20 plus years on. The extras
are extremely nice with three short featurettes on the series
as well as three commentary tracks including one featuring the
series co-creators. It’s a pity that there’s no commentary tracks
from Zimbalist or even Brosnan but if this set sells well perhaps
Fox will contact each about doing a couple to sell later sets.
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