REMINGTON STEELE INVESTIGATIONS SUITE 1157
License to Steele

License To Steele (Originally Aired 10/1/1982)
This original pilot episode set up the show for the viewers. We are introduced to the four main characters Laura Holt, Murphey Michaels, Bernice Fox and 'Ben Pearson'. The Remington Steele Detective Agency is hired by Gordon Hunter to protect the transport of some rare gems (Royal Lavulite). Sounds simple right? This is TV people, wake up. It turns out the gems had been stolen from the South African government by a courier working for two low life's (Kessler and Neff). The courier in turn decided to sell these gems to a museum and after months of planning and following, Kessler, Neff and 'Pearson' meet up in L.A. which is where our story of the gems picks up. 'Pearson' decides to play an angle in which he befriends Laura posing as special agent Ben Pearson of South Africa. As it happens he is not the real Pearson (shocker there) but a man with multiple identities as Kessler and Neff are soon to discover. In order to save his hide 'Pearson' masquerades as Remington Steele to Hunter. Steele then meets the real Pearson whom Laura is led to believe is posing as Steele. Got it? Good. Later however at the unveiling of the gems and some piece of Back to the Future looking DeLorean crap, Hunter publicly thanks Remington Steele and boy is Laura mad. Well we all know the only way to calm a pissed off woman is to of course dance with her, and Steele tells Laura he believes the 'real' Remington Steele is a fake, a phony, nothing more than a name to drum up business. BUSTED! He then continues to sweet talk Laura into not telling anyone so he can steal the gems as planned. But he DOES plan to return them to the rightful owners for a modest finders fee. Even after the real Pearson turns up murdered in Steele's (ney Pearson's) hotel suite he once again convinces Laura and Murphey to trust him. He proves Kessler and Neff murdered him and he goes back to his business of liberating the gems. Next day. Murphey is blind sided by someone as he is trying to get the gems back to the airport. Of course they assume it is their impostor Steele so they high tail it to the airport. Purely by accident they discover Hunter is the thief, his car was so freaking ugly nobody wanted it so he was now penniless. Laura and Steele capture him and lo and behold they make the front page the next day. Laura saunters into work and tells a potential client they will meet in Steele's office because he is (again) out of town on business. But nooooooooooooo, Steele has decided to stay and play detective, much to Laura's surprise and acceptance. So now we have a premise for a show. No real hanky panky but a little verbal foreplay for all to enjoy.
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Tempered Steele (Originally Aired 10/8/1982)
Marketed as yet another potential pilot, viewers were greeted a week later with this installment. This episode probably takes place about a month or so from where we left our cunning Steele. Seems Laura has put Steele on assignment---Keeping Nadine out of the Randall case......we don't need the particulars. Anyhoo he is doing a great job, hasn't been seen in ages, but his expenditures make their way to Laura's desk. Yup, she's pissed (seeing a theme yet?). So she cuts off his credit, at the worst time apparently. Well Steele decides to confront Laura about it and bullies Bernice into giving up her location. Of course Steele finds her just as she is trying to get a suspect to 'confess'. So Steele busts in and blows their cover. Laura's pissed, Murphy's pissed and the client, Roger Dillon of Dillon Electronics is pissed. Now Jim Meecham gets involved (he has interests in Dillon Electronics) he wants Steele directly involved, calling the plays. Money talks. Steele decides, much to Laura's dismay, to install electronic surveillance equipment (burglar alarm). Laura now sees her created monster turn to roam freely masquerading as Remington Steele. Steele ropes in an old friend, Wallace, to help. Wallace now runs the Lost and Found Mission for homeless types. Steele assures him there is nothing shady involved, and for 10 grand Wallace agrees. He then ropes in some more help to install the equipment. So we now see Wallace and his cronies going to work at Dillon's house. We are introduced to Mrs. Dillon, matriarch,snappy dresser, and tea brewer. Later that night Wallace 'proves' the system to be foolproof as they demonstrate it can't be breached. Then later during the sleep over at the Dillon's we discover that, alas, the system was breachable. Someone broke in, stole all the research plans, and Wallace and the boys are gone. After a little sweet talk at dinner Laura discovers Wallace. He's dead. Steele beats around some poor sap at the morgue and Laura tells him they will find Wallace's killer together. Blah blah blah yada yada yada. So they take the limo (VERY inconspicuous) back down to the Mission (isn't that an Elton John song) at god knows what time. Steele tries to pump info from the bums to no avail but gets some fine Boone's Farm Wine out of it. Laura is inside looking for real clues. Steele notices a car in the alley but when he goes to write down the number, his pen is out of ink. DAMN! However because of that he goes inside to find a writing utensil and discovers Laura being attacked. He, of course saves her and after checking to see if she is okie dokey he runs back outside and tries to get Fred to block the alley. But Fred is busy getting the limo a spit shine courtesy of the Mission bums so he can't just pull out and run over everyone now can he? The bad guy gets away but Steele has the plate number in that pretty head of his. Laura thanks him for saving her but is dismayed to find out it was purely by accident. Blah blah. Fast forward (skipping the Polo match which reveals Laura's attacker and key plot elements) to Steele's apartment. He is having a dinner par-tay for the suspects. Murphey arrives fashionably late in a cute little Izod and Members Only jacket (go ahead and laugh but if you're over age 25 YOU had one TOO!) He gives Laura the autopsy report and WHAM she breaks the case. Steele however is busy reenacting the Thin Man. So Laura makes a public accusation while Steele has publicly accused, well almost everybody. Lo and behold Mrs. Dillon is the baaaaaaaaad girl. Another happy ever after. This episode is the first to show a more than professional arrangement between Laura and Remington. He wants her, she wants him (you mean jump in the sack) but she calmly says no. Bernice even tries to convince her to do it. Seriously I don't care if it is 1982, even I would have a hard time sleeping with a man wearing those Jackie-O type sunglasses (not to mention that sports jacket!). Little bit of romance that sets the tone for the rest of the season.
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 Steele Waters Run Deep (Originally Aired 10/22/1982)
This episode marks the first romatic physical contact for Laura and Steele! YEAH! But then again i was only ten and totally not into it. (Boys were still yuchy) Heh. Anyhoo on with the show. Laura and Steele are originally hired by Emory Arnoch to do security contracts on all his supermarkets. Yawn. As Steele is en route to meet his client he is, um, detained. He is brought to like a car garage basement type place where he is approached by Albie Fervitz. Fervitz is concerned because his company, Ratooi Games is being bought out by another company. The condition was all the Ratooi peeps could stay after the merger. The hitch is they are missing on vital employee who has come up missing. Now the deal could potentially go south. Steele tells Albie that his agency will find one missing George Kaplan. So now we cut to the actual office where Laura is talking to a pissed Arnoch. Steele breezes in and apologizes,sort of, for his delay. He takes Laura aside and tells her he found them a client. Now she's pissed (our theme yet again), and in the interim Arnoch leaves. Laura decides they will go to his hotel to try to catch him before his flight leaves. Steele wants to make a stop first. Laura reluctantly agrees when Remington threatens to go it alone. They stop in to see Albie and meet the reat of Ratooi. Turns out 5 mil in assests is missing along with George. Laura finds their first clue. She then loads Steele up in the limo to go appease Arnoch. He decides to take yet another detour to Kaplan's place. Meanwhile Laura has called Murphey so they can start on the new case. Steele manages to get into kaplan's place and a woman enters, Kaplan's ex Cynthia, and mistakes Steele for Kaplans new lover (it's always the good looking ones). Steele ends up running into laura there and she's hot that he didn't go to Arnoch's. So Steele tells Arnoch he will escort him to the airport. Meantime Laura goes to meet Izzy a Ratooi employee. He tells her on of their games is missing also, on worth 50 mil. Steele and Arnoch are waiting on Cynthia so Steele can get more info on George. But she is killed and Arnoch is left holding her body while Steele goes to find the killer to no avail. Well someone calls ratooi and says meet them at a marina blah blah. Laura, Steele and Emory go to stake out the marina. Steele decides that he an laura will stroll the docks posing as lovers. Laura starts in on him about how Arnoch is still around and he should be in an airplane and some nonesense about a private jet. Laura tells him she doesn't want him as involved with cases as he has become. He pouts. He makes his big move and THE FIRST KISS happens! Arnoch has the claim on a first of MANY interruptions to plaugue remington and Laura. He tells Steele that he has a call in the limo but someone shoots at them first. (you're surprised why?) Back at the office Laura tries to piece it all together and Izzy calls Steele cause he has some info about George. the 3 go to Izzy at ratooi but he has been stabbed or something he mutters Toodle-Loo right before he dies. So now everybody's dying what next? Back to Steele's apartment of course. Steele tells Laura about Manuel the janitor and Laura takes off to hunt him down. Next day Laura goes back to Steele's to find manuel there. He tells Laura that he never met George. Laura goes to Arnoch for help and relizes they have been played. Steele is taking Arnoch to the airport (seriously) and they see the picture of Cynthia on a boat called Toodle-loo. Murphey and Laura go back to George's apartment. They come up with a phantom. Steele and Arnoch come up with George. Now they are all at the board meeting. Steele screws up and Laura lets the cat out. Turns out Albie was george sort of. The Ratatooi employes created George to block the merger and had hoped Steele Investigations would declare George missing and they would reap the rewards. But they screwed up and Laura got to the truth and the merger was off and Albie is busted.
All in all this was ok but a monumental episode in fans eyes.