Steele Watching

We're celebrating all things SEASON ONE! 

First we talk about our favorite (and not so favorite) parts of the first 22 episodes of Remington Steele and then we share our interview with camera assistant, Deborah Ellis. Her father, Don Weiss, was a prolific television director who directed two of our favorite episodes of the whole season! Her husband also worked on the show and she shares some of their wonderful memories of working with Pierce Brosnan and the gang. Finally, we each pick our favorite episode of the entire season. At least we think we can narrow it down to just one... Find out on this very special episode of "Steele Watching."

Special thanks to Deborah Ellis for sharing her time and stories with us! She left the television industry in 2000 to pursue a career in finance and just published her first book "You and Your Money"! You can check it out here: 
https://www.amazon.com/Your-Money-You-Achieving-Financial/dp/1947937189/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=you+and+your+money+deborah+ellis&qid=1601675670&sr=8-2

Thank you again Deb!

SEASON 1, Episode 22

ORIGINALLY AIRED: April 12, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
On the way to a Saturday client meeting at the agency, Remington stops despondent bank employee Alfred Hollis from jumping off a bridge to his death.

Alfred is distraught because an innocent plan to help his girlfriend has gone terribly wrong. He thought he could “borrow” 2.3 million dollars for the weekend - it was scheduled to be shredded anyway - flash it to Angelica’s  creditors and return it to the bank but Monday morning. 

The day before he had pulled off the heist and stashed the money in his car, but when his car is stolen from the bank parking lot he fears prison is his next stop.
As the clock ticks down through the weekend, things go from bad to worse when Angelica disappears, Alfred is shot at and then runs off, and our detectives struggle to unravel the mystery.

Just who is responsible for a scheme that was launched two months earlier when Alfred is unexpectedly promoted and Angelica first enters his life? It turns out it is a bank security guard, unhappy with his government retirement, who hatches a plan to blackmail Angelica into helping him steal the money and finger Alfred for the theft.

SEASON 1, Episode 21

ORIGINALLY AIRED: April 5, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
When London conman, Daniel Chalmers, cheats a crooked casino boss, the shady Mr. Hoskins follows him to Los Angeles to seek revenge. 

In a delightful turn that hints at Remington Steele’s own suspicious past, it turns out Chalmers was his mentor in the hustling game and the two team up to double cross Hoskins.

Meanwhile, Laura is hired by Hoskins to track down Chalmers. And to make matters worse, Laura’s overbearing mother shows up unexpectedly to try to recover from a heartbreak.

Laura, Murphy and even Laura’s mother are folded into the sting as Steele and Chalmers pull off an elaborate sports betting scam to take 50 thousand dollars from Hoskins and run him out of town.

SEASON 1, Episode 20

ORIGINALLY AIRED: March 22, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
Hired to guard valuable California artifacts at a lavish costume party, Remington, Laura and Murphy witness the murder of one-time gold prospector Dan Curtain. Although nothing was stolen from the collection, it is soon discovered that the historical journal of fellow prospector Arnold Dobbs is not only missing but contains directions to a long sought after treasure.

On the trail of the journal (and the doubloons) our trio, along with a cast of diverse suspects all claiming to be the rightful owners of the treasure, head into the San Jacinto Mountains where they fall under the spell of gold fever - even Murphy turns into a crazed detective out to claim the gold as his.

As several assumed identities, devious motivations, and a treasured movie reference are revealed, we finally learn that high-tech professional gold hunter Chance McCormick has the most to gain from killing the two prospectors in his quest to find the missing doubloons and save his business.

SEASON 1, Episode 19

ORIGINALLY AIRED: March 16, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
When Laura’s ex-boyfriend and bank investor, Wilson Jefferies, finds a dead body in a vat of Claude Vandemeer Cabernet, he panics. Fearful that a murder will ruin his deal, he begs Laura and Mr. Steele for help but the there’s one big problem - the body is missing.

The body reappears, disappears and reappears again before Laura and Remington discover the dead man was the Abbott of Saint Costello’s Monastery.

But who would want him dead? Could it be Claude’s meddling mother? The jealous winemaker next door Werner Shuman or a mysterious monk who’s taken a vow of silence? 

Laura and Remington finally deduce it is Claude Vandemeer himself who was stealing the Abbotts wine to pass off as his own.

SEASON 1, EPISODE 18

ORIGINALLY AIRED: March 4, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
When a series of pranks threaten the reputation of a local television station, the agency is called in to investigate under the guise of an on-air interview with the famous Remington Steele.

While Laura admits to once wanting to be a foreign correspondent like her news idol and Spotlight News anchor Elliot Walsh, Remington must fend off probing questions about his mysterious past.

After the murders of co-anchor Chrissie Carstairs and weatherman Uncle Tim, the remaining members of the news team become viable suspects. Although they each have valid reasons to despise their murdered colleagues, it is Elliot who is the culprit. A dedicated news man, he can no longer tolerate the trivializing of honest reporting with happy chatter and junk-food news.

SEASON 1, EPISODE 17

ORIGINALLY AIRED: February 25, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
When painter Rina Casselas’ studio is found blood stained, her husband Teddy and his mistress Marion are prime suspects for her apparent murder. Marion hires the Remington Steele Agency to uncover the truth. And unbeknownst to them Teddy hires down-and-out PI, Leo Blitzman.

Laura soon discovers that Rina was going blind so she just staged her own death to drive up the price of her paintings before her talent waned.

But when Rina is actually found dead, as well as her art dealer Nicholas Spriggs, an intricate plot gets untangled. It was art critic Noah Devereau that worked with Rina and then killed Spriggs to keep him from tattling about their deceptions. But who killed Rina? It was Leo Blitzman who wanted to make a quick buck by selling her paintings.

SEASON 1, Episode 16

ORIGINALLY AIRED: February 18, 1983

EPSIODE SYNOPSIS:
While Murphy is attending his 10th college reunion, a body mysteriously appears hanging from the flagpole on the ROTC building. When it’s revealed that the building was locked down tight with no evidence of a break-in, Murph calls in Laura to help solve the case only to have the unwanted Steele also involved.

In a series of flashbacks as told by the three remaining members of a campus dissident group intent on “revolution,” we learn that the dead man was also part of the group involved in the 1973 ROTC bombing that killed the group’s fanatic leader, Tom Donovan. 

Intent on solving the case separately, Laura and Remington agree to an interesting wager on who can find the murderer first. While he pursues the theory that Donovan’s ghost did it, she pieces together what happened 10 years ago until they simultaneously realize the killer is Tom’s sister, who has vowed revenge on everyone involved in the bombing all those years ago.

Season 1, Episode 15 
ORIGINALLY AIRED: February 11, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
Small time jewel thief Morrie Singer is hired by a shady character known as Considine to clean out Harrod’s jewelry store aboard the Queen Mary and give the stash to the mob. But when Morrie and his crew break in, everything has already been stolen. So- Morrie hires Mr. Steele to help him find the jewels and save him from the mob’s wrath. Meanwhile, the store owner asks Laura and Murphy to investigate and reveals that a very important priceless gem was among the contents that was stolen. He doesn’t want any bad press so he also doesn’t want Remington Steele involved.

Unaware of the parallel investigations, Steele and Morrie and Laura and Murphy narrowly miss each other several times. Until Morrie’s two crew members wind up dead and Morrie fears he’ll be next if he doesn’t get Considine and the mob what their after.

Once they realize they’re working on the same case, they all team up to steal the jewel back from the original thief who turns out to be.... Considine! He planned to pin the botched robbery on Morrie to cover his his own tracks so he could take the jewel for himself.

SEASON 1, Episode 14
Originally Aired: January 28, 1983

EPISODE SYNOPSIS:
Posing as soon-to-be divorced couple Bob and Judy Pepper, Remington and Laura go undercover to catch whoever is trying to kill the famous divorce attorney, Malcolm Marcall. When Laura meets four angry ex-wives whose husbands all retained Marcall to obtain lucrative divorce settlements for themselves, our duo decides to separately question the women over drinks, each returning to the agency comically inebriated.

It becomes apparent that the wives each have a motive - and method - to attempt the murder of Marcall. Citing the classic movie, “Murder on the Orient Express,” Remington believes all the women had a hand in the unsuccessful attempts. When Laura agrees with this premise, they gather the ex-wives for a meeting at the Marcall’s beachfront Malibu home.

As the wives are exonerated one by one, it is Laura who realizes the connection between the murder attempts and the incessant barking of the couple’s dogs. For during all the attempts, the dogs have not once barked at the intruder thus revealing the culprit as - Mrs. Marcall!