Xenos

Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

Laura takes a little too much glee signing him up for a chairmanship she knows he’s going to hate.
 

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"I don't wanna be the honorary chairman of the committee to save the bald eagle."

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"What? A gaggle of blue haired women, prattling on about saving the bald eagle while they wear their chincilla coats and alligator shoes?"

"I realize that the bald eagle is your national symbol, but I must confess, I HATE birds. Especially bald ones."

"Tell me something: Why do all these women twitch?"

"Obviously you haven't seen their husbands."

"You don't twitch."

"I'm a widow, Mr. Steele."

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Steele using her pin to unlock the door --- too cool. Murphy uses professional picks and takes about 10 times as long.

"Side saddle Thoureau— maybe the most subtle literary swipe at someone’s sexuality I’ve ever heard.

I love that when Steele appraises the would be lump of coal he does so, with not just a glint in his eye and a smile on his lips -- but while loosening the collar and tie – as if he’s becoming other than Steele and more himself - trafficker and appreciator of gemstones.

The way Pierce as Steele holds a glass – what he does with his fingers – just lovely.
 

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"Laura, I'm touched by your concern.".

"Why shouldn't I be concerned? You're a very valuable investment." He backs away a bit. "Don't think I've spent all this time transforming you into Remington Steele only to lose you."

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“Laura you look lovely in the morning” -- then gives her a wink. How could anyone resist? Laura can’t and the professional demeanor drops and she gives back a warm smile -- purely personal.

"What's a bald eagle, mommy?"--- One of my favorite Steele line readings EVER Just priceless as the capper to his speech. Just inspired, effective and so so so funny.
 

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"I guess I owe you an apology."

"Really? Laura, this is a seminal turn in our relationship. Usually apologies run the other way."

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"Obviously I've never told you about my Grand Prix days." 

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"Pump the brakes!" Laura says.

"I'm pumping! I'm pumping!" Steele assures her, trying to downshift.

"Pump it!" When that doesn't work, she says, "DOWNSHIFT! DOWNSHIFT!"

"Stop shrieking, Laura! You're affecting my concentration." 

"The edge! You're getting to close to the edge! Jump!"

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Laura describing Grace -- "Some might call moderately attractive" --- MEOW

Steele picks up the key and Laura rightly points out he smudges the prints. But of course they’re ALWAYS smudging prints and disturbing evidence but this is one of the few if not the only time it’s ever mentioned or taken into account.
 

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"But when this is over, I would like Sam Spade retired. PERMANENTLY." She looks around.

"But he's so colourful. The dialogue just seems to flow right out of me."

"Well, if you can't eliminate the flow, the least you can do is cut it down to a trickle."

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Steele does his homework with the DDT. Good boy. :D
 

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"Back to that again, are we? You know, you're disturbingly convincing as a slightly shady shamus."

"A role I was born to play but I suppose it's time to put the trappings of artifice aside. And return to the real me. Remington Steele. Adieu, Sam."

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Fashion: I think this is a nicely costumed episode down to the guest stars. 

Gorgeous dark navy three piece suit in the beginning with striped tie and wine handkerchief -- along with stunning square cuff links with just the right amount of cuff showing. Impeccable. As is the grey three piece he gets abducted in, and the three piece he give his bald eagle speech in. Then we have the return of the ridiculous CRAVAT while in the limo trying to role his own cigarettes. It really ruins the affect of the look he’s trying to create with the trench coat, black gloves, etc. LOL! 

I like Laura's grey suit but not that fussy striped trim that makes it look rather matronly instead of sleek and professional. Laura’s black suit is rather too boxy but I LOVE the white blouse with satin piping with the unusual flattering collar and the very sexy open toe shoes. That beige hat Laura wears – ghastly and ruins the affect of her rust trench coat which could have been striking if not paired with that hat and those beige/tan boots. She makes up for this with the nice dark grey suit with the buttons but it could be better fitted – it’s rather loose on her and unlike the black suit it doesn't appear to be because of the cut.

Swans black coat, leather gloves and white scarf – very dashing for a man most wanted. 

I like Bernice’s brown coat with black trim – makes up for the overlarge red bead thing she wore earlier.

I like most of Graces clothes—very soft and feminine and they fit her without being overly fussy (except some of the larger jewelery). She can pull it off. The white silk shirt with the shawl like lapels and black skirt is very nice indeed, as is the wine blouse with black slacks.

I think the perfect job for you would be teaching at a high class university
a course on RS and how to "write". I bet the class would have a waiting list. It would probably be like the class on "love" that Barbra Streisand
teaches in "The Mirror has Two Faces". 

Thank you.

Isabel

"High Flying Steele" marks the mid-way point in Season 1. And, I know I'm in the minority on this opinion, but it's also the last episode before the first "REAL" kissing starts. I could have stood a bit more sexual tension, but then again you can never put too much romance in an episode for my taste. LOL

The opening "murder" scene broke one of the cardinal rules of television/movie mystery writing. In a good way!! Almost without fail, if you see the murder's hands at the beggining of the mystery and they are in gloves.....the killer is a woman. Which in this case makes you think the murderess is Grace Stanton.....but NO it wasn't her!! So, to whoever decided to use the gloves.....good job, you certainly threw me off.

Small continuity issue - The phone number for Remington Steele Investigations in this episode is 555-9458. But in "Steele Trying" it is 555-3535. HMMM Maybe they changed the number when Bernice and Murphy left, so that Mildred would have her own number. LOL

I really liked Laura buttoning up Remington's vest for him. I know they were going for a "mothering" kind of thing, but the hopeless romantic in me thinks it was also just her wanting to touch him. They are so close at this point to blurring the personal/profession line that Laura is taking any opprotunity to cross into his personal space.

The Sam Spade thing was an intersting ingredient I thought. It was Remington's way of putting a bit of his own spin on who Remington Steele should be. Until now, he was trying to play the part Laura had written for him, but saw this opprotunity to add his own flavor to the mix. Although Laura came around to it a bit by the end, she certainly didn't care for it at first. 

Here is something I'm a bit confused on. When did he get hit on the head?? I remember the guy giving him a gut punch with the gun and then a blow to the back, but I don't remember anything that would require a band-aid to the forehead. Of course it was late when I watched it last night so maybe I just missed it. LOL

I loved the look on Laura's face when Remington suggested that he might try wearing a fadora. A look that said..."Hey, I'm the one wearing the fedora's in this relationship buddy!"

Ok, that's about it for me...tune in next week, when we will be discussing one of my favorite Season 1 episodes.

Brenda 

"Flying" starts out with a big "huh?" for me. It's not the phone number thing, though. (Like Brenda said, the phone number is 555-9458, which is the same number on the business card shown during the end credits. So we're OK with continuity at this point. Later on in the series, however, they change the number to 555-3535, but the business card remains the same. Go figure.) What bugs me is the female voice who answers the phone "Remington Steele Detective Agency". Um, what?! It's "Remington Steele INVESTIGATIONS", honey. And whose voice is that anyway? Certainly not Laura's or Bernice's. Do they have a service? If so, Grace should have gotten a "live" person. Being the stickler for details that Laura is, don't you think she would have objected to butchering the name of her own agency? Hmmmmmm...

Like Brenda, I, too, like to think Laura just plain wanted to touch him when she was buttoning up his vest...even though Ace is correct about the mothering thing. (Now, if it were me, I would have been unbuttoning his vest...Which looked absolutely STUNNING on him, by the way! Great suit!!!)

The playful/sexy interaction between Remington and Grace was good...Though I don't like him to flirt with anyone but Laura. Such a wolf he was checking her out like that! And the close-up shots of him were absolutely scrumptious!!! Holy crap, that man is HOT!

Did anyone notice the placement of the empty bottle when they showed Dr. Maxwell in the bathtub?! HELLO?!?! Who was responsible for THAT shot?!?! LOL!!! (Sounds like Judy needs to make another call to Michael Gleason!)

The whole "idiot" scene makes me laugh right out loud. Poor Remington! (I must say, though, this scene solidifies why I like Murph so much. In addition to being rather great looking, sweet, honest and trustworthy, he's also an environmentalist! Yay, Murph!)

Does anyone else see a suspicious similarity between this episode and "Beg, Borrow or Steele"? They all think Mr. Steele has something for them...a package...or an envelope...a pick six ticket...an environmental report..all supposedly in Mr. Steele's possession?

Remington pretending to be a Humphry Bogart character (Sam Spade)...PRICELESS!!! (Obviously, he couldn't use that name on one of his five passports -- too recognizable -- but I'm glad he got to play that role.) "Dickering for the dinkus"...LOL!!! "Laura, you look lovely in the morning." So Steele-like!!!

Another "huh?"...He has a phone in the bathroom?!?! Eeeeewwwwwww!!! SO inappropriate!!!

Ace, I'll never be able to watch that Jeep scene again without thinking about your sex life comment. Thanks a lot!!! LOL!

Favorite Line: "Remington Steele has one of the finest criminal minds..." Whoops...Want to try that one again, Laura? "One of finest minds in criminology..."

Favorite Outfits: Remington's three piece suit he wore to the bald eagle meeting. Laura's black and white suit.

Favorite Guest Star: Michael McGuire as Harry Swan. So, so good!

Biggest Complaint: Though Laura and Remington had some very nice moments, it lacked romance. I want smooching, baby!!! (And not between Remington and Grace Stanton.)
 

Xenos

Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

- Very spooky when Grace turns the light on in the cabin and we see all the stuffed birds
- Rem's sotto voce conversation with Grace at the committee meeting
- Funny turn by PB when he chokes on the champagne after Grace reveals her (conservative) net worth
- The whole Harry-playing-RS-playing-Sam Spade was fun, if dragged out a bit too long for my taste. The cigarette-rolling was a hoot.
 

Character Development

- Murphy wanting to kick the door in. But he manages to restrain himself unlike a certain Rat later on.
- Laura buttoning up Rem's vest while arguing about his going to the meeting. Something very intimate about that, yet it doesn't seem to bother Murphy at all.
- Laura and Bernice berating him (in absentia) for deeming the death murder, yet immediately defending him to Bishop when HE is angry with Rem.
- Very sweet, Laura sleeping on the couch, trying all night to figure out what's happened to him. She almost ruins it by referring to him as an "investment" but they get past it as she treats his head wound. Another innocently intimate moment and he totally disarms her by telling her she looks lovely in the morning.
 

Favorite quotes

Laura: He has one of the finest criminal minds....one of the finest minds in criminology
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Bernice: You mean Remington Steele actually knew what he was talking about?
Laura: Scary, isn't it?
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Rem: Stop shrieking, it's affecting my concentration!
 

Hair & Clothing

- Like Laura's classy dark blue suit
- HATED that orangey overcoat, and didn't care for the hat.
- Did Rem's hair move at all (except when they jumped from the car)? Seemed like it was sprayed within an inch of its life...
 

Goofs, Headscratchers & Misc

- The phone number for RSI on the calendar is 555-9458. This matches the business card at the end of the show, but is different from the one used in other eps. (Steele Trying comes to mind.)

- It was a sunny day, so why did they both have on overcoats? I thought it must be cold as she had on knee boots and they both had on gloves. But the guy at the garage just had on a light jacket. Perhaps the stunt doubles needed the coats to cover up body padding for when they jump out of the jeep?

- Michael McGuire (Harry Swann) also guest stars in High Flying Steele (the ep title often confused with this one) as Fresco Zapata. 

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What bugs me is the female voice who answers the phone "Remington Steele Detective Agency". Um, what?! It's "Remington Steele INVESTIGATIONS", honey. And whose voice is that anyway? 

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Xenos

Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

shall be watching this momentarily... my dang friends dragged me out of the house tonight to a birthday dinner. Gosh.. social situations  (just kidding.. but not really..) 

After ace's post though, I don't feel as if I even need to post my own notes hehe...
 
 

"You lived with a man who wears white belts? Am I disappointed"
BoaW 08/07

Xenos

Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!

I had no doubt that was answering service -- it was very late and even Laura was home (probably doing paperwork). I was always shocked Laura didn't have a beeper or answering machine -- how could she standing knowing a clue might escape through lack of timeliness?

Mickey how can you HATE the coat but only dislike the hat? :D The hat is REVOLTING in not just shape but color -- it makes Laura look like Eraserhead (or something else I'm just enough of lady not to say -- at least on a public forum). The coat may normally be a bit dramatic for Laura's coloring and style but I think it would actually look stunning if it was worn correctly (more form fitting), with her hair down or with a dark fedora and slim black boots or shoes. As it is it's just a too colorful shapeless splotch in between two atrocities of beige-ness.

First of all, I have to say, why ring the doorbell if you're just going to help yourself to the spare key?? Ringing only causes more noise and makes it possible for you to give yourself away! Anyways, I divided my notes up into two categories: "things sexual" and "everything else" Enjoy.

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|Things Sexual|
+-------------+

"You don't twitch..."
Is that supposed to be sexual? I don't like him hitting on strange women who aren't Laura! He was hitting on her though (wasn't he?...)

Also, another "highpoint" in the Stanton/Steele relationship:
Now that that's over with I'll make our excuses and let's get the hell outta here"
Well, we all know she wants him out back, maybe even take him in the bathroom if needs be, or just some supply room closet down the hall..

Sipping champagne in the limo with Mrs.Stanton? Tsk tsk Mr.Steele! Go sip your champagne with Laura

"you've no idea how lonely that an make a woman Mr.Steele. How terribly lonely."
Wow, I never realized how sexual this show was before (well, that's a dirty lie, but you all know what I'm getting at..)

Laura confesses to Murphy that she's worried about Steele in an oh-so-touching moment of "what if we were wrong and he was right? *gasps*"

[b]"Laura! I've had the most incredible night!"
more innuendo about seemingly innocent things

"Laura, you look lovely in the morning."
Oh my god, sleep with him already!!!!!!!!

"What do you think I'd look like in a fedora?"
One word: sexxxxy 

Is there anything more sexy than watching a sexy man rip up a twenty five thousand dollar check? 
--I think not--

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|Everything Else|
+---------------+

I quite enjoyed hearing (what I thought was) Bernice's voice on the answering service when Grace calls the agency

"Want me to kick it in?
Murphy at his Murphiest  as well as "Hey! Don't forget your book!

"He put his foot in it again, didn't he?"
More lovely Murphisms 

A bathroom phone? Now that's just in bad taste.. 

Only Mr.Steele could wear a band-aid on his forehead and make it look incredibly sexy

"I know a filibuster when I hear one"
Well ain't that the truth? Mr.Steele shows his true colors hehe

I found it quite amusing to watch him try to roll his own cigarette, only to spill it on both himself and on Laura  slightly reminiscent of Chevy Chase in (oh whats it called??) cops and robertsons(?)

I could really only think of ace's comments during the jeep scene, so alas, I've nothing new to add to that

"I too attend an occasional movie."
Holy cow, that sounds exactly like something I've said (or would say) hehe

DDT is actually very harmful to humans as well as bald eagles. Children of DDT victims are often born with defects and are unable to learn things at a regular pace, can not walk until a much later age, and are generally slower to learn because of the harmful effects. 
[and as a side note, I'm not a crazy environmentalist, but we learned that at school (hey it IS good for something...) and I just thought of it whilst watching this]

+----------+
|Final Note|
+----------+

All in all, this wasn't too bad of an episode. Though there are many better, and many worse, I enjoyed it. Filled with many subtle Laura/Remy moments which add up later on and, as a viewer, one can see the spark that is most definitely growing between our two protagonists. I believe that this episode, and perhaps the next one, is the beginning of when Murphy begins to slowly fade away from existence. He tries to make one final come back, when he professes his love for Laura (in what I think is in "To stop a steele") and I view that as his last real attempt to stay in the game. With that failure of conquest on his back, he is of course bound to be written out.. but more on that another day. 

Cheers!

"You lived with a man who wears white belts? Am I disappointed"
BoaW 08/07

Only a teenager would think of dividing the episode into sexual and non-
sexual topics.

I will definitely look forward to your next one.

Isabel

thanks everglade  it's good to know that somebody got a kick 

and, for your information, I only thought of the division while I was typing up my post... it seemed quite appropriate because I had only just then realized most of my comments were in fact on "things sexual" hehe
 

"You lived with a man who wears white belts? Am I disappointed"
BoaW 08/07

"What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork."

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"You don't twitch..."

Is that supposed to be sexual? 

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No, just an observation that unlike those other women she doesn't have a nervous/stress twitch. Her answer is she's a widow -- meaning she's not married and doesn't have a husband that would give her a nervous twitch (though we all know she does have a husband who does more than make her twitch)
 

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I don't like him hitting on strange women who aren't Laura! He was hitting on her though (wasn't he?...)

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Hitting on, not sure, flirting with outrageously -- you bet. if he's being forced to be there he seems determined to get some fun out of it.
 

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Sipping champagne in the limo with Mrs.Stanton? Tsk tsk Mr.Steele! Go sip your champagne with Laura 

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I'm pretty sure he'd like to but Laura would rather send him out of the office to some place he doesn't want to be to get him out of her hair. Her loss. Foolish girl. ;)

Xenos

Pierce Brosnan...Proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy!