DCZinger

You've missed the posts on this, but don't worry. 

We're picking "random" episodes to comment on because we are waiting for the Steelewatcher's board to "catch up" to where we left off in Season ONE. Many of us also post on that board, and we didn't want to tax ourselve commenting on TWO episodes a week. They are doing "Signed, Steeled and Delivered this Week. When THEY do "Steele Belted" we'll jump back to Season ONE.

Fire up your DVD player!

DCZinger

Hounded steele ... is that the one with rocky sullivan (not the springtime for steele, which I know a lot of you seem to hate lol)
 
 

"You lived with a man who wears white belts? Am I disappointed"
CR 11/17/06

Neeney

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to! 

Loved, Loved, LOVED Steele griping about Mildred his lap dog NOT being there to supply him with his morning funnies and hot cup of coffee. His comment on Laura's coffee being like a "hot cup of the Thames". That little line is expounded on in later episodes, as we slowly catch on that our Miss Holt is NOT much of a cook. 

I did want to THUMP Steele on the head. He has his CLIENT, Mrs. Claiborne make a pot of coffee for the office. WHAT, Mr. Gourmet Chef can't do it himself? 

I looooooved the secondary characters Mrs. Claiborne ( who is actually WORKING!) and Dolittle's groomer Ms.Melish. 

I used to wear my hair EXACTLY the way Laura does in this eppie. One of my favorite do's on her. 

Could this eppie work today?: Now we have pagers and cellphones and DON't have phone BOOTHS.

That plant lady must be really really short if Stephanie towers over her. 

Why just take a “natural” photo of Steele and Laura…not a publicity shot for the series with a blank background. 

I love the JUNGLE in the middle of the office. What a great way to remind us all that if Mildred isn’t there. 

Kevin Masters is Steele in 30 years if he HAD’nt met Miss Holt and become the most famous detective in LA. 

So Laura here’s a “That dog is all I have” story and DOESN’t keep the diamond collar for collateral? I know, I know...she has a soft spot for jewel theives. However, The Steele Agency must be very much in the black this month. Or its’ early in the month and Steele hasn’t had time to rack up his usual over the top expenses. 

Love Steele's apartment covered in newspapers. That British dog lady's book as Steele's dog bible. Of course, this was waaay before Cesar Melan. I could have done less with Dolittle tinkling on Steele. The dog that played Dolittle was also quite good. 

Mildred wanting to be more than a secretary is expounded upon. 

All in all, a great showcase for Doris... I would have liked to have seen more of the Dragon Ladies in future seasons. We did get Mildred's nephew. I would have liked to have seen an episode with Mildred's ex-husband...the man who "couldn't unleash the dog". 
 

DCZinger 

Kevin Masters is Steele in 30 years if he HAD’nt met Miss Holt and become the most famous detective in LA. 

Not in a million years. As Mr. Steele said in Red Holt Steele he may have changed lives but he always makes it a point to move up in the world. While becoming Steele he actually did the opposite but what he gave up in terms of upward financial mobility and a high end lifestyle he traded off for stability, respectability and Laura. As he says in Lofty - "I didn't trade in my life on the Riviera to be a bum in L.A." LOL 

For Masters the thrill of the crime seemed more important than the stuff it bought -- Steele loved both. he loves his luxurious creature comforts, and growing up with none he wasn't about to give them all back even when treading the straight and narrow. If he continued as a thief I could never see him in a ratty sweater in an ugly home with only a dog for a companion. His setting would be more like Cary Grant in It Takes A Thief -- a gorgeous house on the Riviera, or like Max Burdette in the Bahamas. 
 

Okay, perhaps he wouldn't be living alone in a trailer with a dog. BUT...Steele had a habit of playing the ponies AND overspending the agency funds on his high life. IF there wasn't a Laura to hold him accountable and screetch at him when he overspent, then isn't it just a teeny bit possible that he would have spent it or lost it all? 

Also, would Steele be alone in his retirement villa, or would there be a Grace Kelly or Salma Hayek at his side? 

DCZinger 

Isabel

DCZinger

Oh and I agree, definitely not alone. ;)

TeenSteele...To answer your question -- yeah, there are a bunch of us here who are SteeleWatchers, too. (Forgive me if I leave anyone out...I've had one heck of a day and my brain isn't working too well.) I'm there as are Zinger, picac (Ace), Isabel, Julean, Belinda, Brenda, Neeney, Lissa, javosyka, Lori, Judith, Debra and Mickey Boggs. I know I'm forgetting someone. (Sorry, one of those days. Feel free to add to it!) See ya' both places, babe!!!
 

Xenos

As for what he could have gone back to after Laura, I think it depends how the relationship ended. With his skills and reputation he could still be a detective if he wanted (unless he lost that as well) or he could just have done what he does in several fan fics -- become an official bounty hunter/retriever for stolen items. It's usually legal, very profitable and he's exceedingly well qualified for that. 
 

There is a telling little bit in "Premium Steele", as Steele had trouble getting that desk safe open and he mumbles to himself "You're slipping". 

He also spoke of stealing the Five Nudes of Cairo and NOT getting paid for it. A master art theif would NEVER let that happen to him/her. 

Yes, Steele does expect a certain minimum for his lifestyle...but without Laura to give him stability....could he maintain it AND stay out of jail? Hmmmmmm. 

As Steele said to Laura in Woman of Steele: "I've changed, you've changed me."

How indeed did he change? 

I smell another thread....

DCZinger

Debra

If Daniel Chalmers could maintain a certain lifestyle there's no reason Steele couldn't as well; I think he was a smarter and more varied thief. Now as he grew older it might become more dangerous and it might be harder to keep up unless he delegated but then the life of a private detective would as well. As for jail -- he wound up there as Steele a couple of times. ;-)
 

Debra
 

Ace, your points are always well taken...but I somehow always believe that while Steele is indeed an accomplished thief and master criminal...he wasn't perfect. Of course, he HAD to have known that he was going to be better off WITH Miss Holt than without her. Or else he wouldn't have stayed all those years. 

DCZinger

As concerns any gauruntees of personal safety, he had as much chance being beaten up or killed being a detective as being a thief, maybe more.
 

Best thing about the episode: The series opening! (LOVE the whole movie theater concept. My absolute favorite followed by the "Try this for a deep, dark secret..." opening.) But I guess that doesn't really count, does it? Then the best thing would have to be Laura and Remington dressed in all black. People just shouldn't look that good in a monochromatic outfit!!!

I understand that this episode was a vehicle for Mildred...Good for her...But did they have to sacrifice the ROMANCE?!?! It was appalling! No double entendres, no smooching, no lustful gazes, no wonderful bickering...Nothing...Nada...Zilch!!!

I really enjoyed the first part of the episode -- Remington's perfect little world being shattered by Mildred's absence, Mrs. Clairbourne, the "jungle", the Dragon Ladies, Kevin Masters...But the second part just kinda dragged for me. It's like two different people wrote the beginning and the ending and their styles clashed. Did anyone else feel the same, or was it just me?

Little trivia fact...Rosie (the red-haired Dragon Lady) was also in "Steele In The Family" as the baddie who hired the assassin.

I'll also stick to my guns...The dog urinating on Remington's leg was overdone and icky.

How to fix the episode: When Laura and Remington are in the ducts...KISS for heaven's sake!!! And have a quick "heart-to-heart" about how worried they are about Mildred and then work it back to their relationship. Remington could say something like, "I'm worried about poor Mildred. I wish Blaylock would have taken me instead." To which Laura could have poured her soul out to him (well, as much as Laura would). Blah, blah, blah..."I don't know what I'd do without you" type stuff. Kiss, kiss, smooch, smooch...and have the damn dog interrupt them. THEN continue on their merry way with stealing the Jennings Diamond.

Next week are we watching "Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Steele" or are we back in synch with the SteeleWatchers at that point? 
 

Xenos

Steele Watchers will do "Thou Shalt Not Steele" for Monday, Nov. 27th, so we are back on track with them for "Steele Belted" starting Dec. 4th. 

Isabel

Xenos

P.S. I'm not dissing Stephanie...I'm sure she's very good. I just want to get nekked with Pierce, that's all.

This is also my favorite Mildred centric episode by far. It speaks to her personal and professional life. That she wants to be more important at the agency (and she was an investigator in the I.R.S. Fraud Squad afterall), that she wants to seem more important to her friends and that she envies Steele and Laura their relationship. 

I think it makes sense Mildred has a Steele and Laura photo that's "posed". I think it shows that she's not as integrated in their non professional life as she could be. It makes more sense for her to have that than Laura to have that very personal unposed looking photo of Steele that she had in Tempered when they weren't a couple.

I love the scene where Mildred has to tell Laura and Steele what she did, mostly because I love how tender and caring Steele is with her. Laura is thinking more of her agency before she comes around but for Steele it's all about Mildred and making her feel better. Scenes like this and the one in Altered and even Coffee, Tea & Steele show their special bond. I know Mildred cares for both of them and they both care for her but there's always something more between her and Steele. It's not just a matter of her worshipping him because it's there even after that's over even if Mildred then tries to undercut his authority. It feels like part actor chemistry and part Mildred almost naturally filling that mother void for Steele -- but whatever it is it's there and it's lovely.

Pierce's intonation "WALKIES" is perfect Barbara Whodehouse who used to be all over TV with her dog training and her catch phrase. The dog piddling makes me laugh -- yes in some ways I'm still 10. ;)

I LOVE that Steele has a scrapbook of great robberies that he's collected since he was a child. That's just sublime. But I wonder how he carried those things around when he was fleeing from place to place and changing identities. They're a lot more cumbersome than 5 passports.

"Tastes like a hot cup of the Thames" -- great great great line. And it's one that always come to mind when I have really bad coffee. 
 

As for a negative impression of older single people along being lonely -- I think part of that is being heavy handed by the writers and part of it is Steele and Laura's impression of Mildred as two young people who are currently in a relationship and have lead pretty adventurous lives. We see she does have the Dragon Ladies and she has her nephew and she has a career but not one as fullflling as she'd like. I wonder how recently she was divorced and if she was a woman in transition with the relationships in her life? I liked her little burgeoing relationship with Masters and it rang far more true than the ones with Edward in Maltese or the jerky cop in Corn Fed. I would have liked there to have been times we saw Steele and Laura trying to get hold of her but she was OUT having fun.
 

I agree with Ace that Remington has ALWAYS been the more sympathetic and understanding of the two. It's just who he is. Laura is, after all like Jennifer pointed out, the business woman pulling off the ultimate con and has to constantly worry about her agency. Not that that's an excuse. But it's who she is and I don't like her any less because of it. (Does it sound like I'm fence-sitting? I think so. Oh, well.) I also think Remington has a "special" thing going with Mildred -- a mother/son type of relationship -- which she doesn't share with Laura. Again, not that she doesn't love Laura like a daughter...It's just that Remington never had a mom and this is the closest he's had, so there's a special bond. And it came across in this episode very well (as it does in so many others). 

Like Jennifer, I didn't like that Mildred came off as so lonely. Mildred?!?! Lonely?!?! I think she'd have a ton of "gal friends" like the Dragon Ladies (and maybe a few "male companions") to keep her company. She hardly strikes me as the "stay at home and wither away" type of ladies. Go, Mildred!!!

I agree with you, Ace, the episode did have a number of positives -- the mystery, the scrapbook, etc. -- but it just left me feeling flat. 
 

Xenos

First, the charms:

The whole opening sequence is great. I love Mildred in action. Climbing in and out of windows, hiding in the phone booth--it makes me laugh and say "You go girl!" at the same time. It's such a nice and unexpected set-up for the episode. Then we get the wonderful scene of Mr. Steele's shattered morning calm. Again, some great physical comedy. I especially love Mr. Steele feeling around on his desk for his paper, as though it might be there, yet is somehow invisible. It's so cute that Mr. Steele is helpless without Mildred, but you have to wonder how a gourmet cook has made it so long without learning to make coffee. It's not that hard. Oh, and Laura running into the plant cracks me up every time.

As mentioned, the Dragon Ladies are delightful. The villain is totally creepy-- Man, that dude is ugly with a capital U. The mystery is fun. It's neat that the episode ties into Mr. Steele's past, and they go to work for a retired jewel thief whose work Steele admires. The dynamics are nice with Laura as well. It's obvious that she is intrigued by "Le Renard" and yet you can see a hint of skepticism that Mr. Steele is so quick to volunteer to help with the heist. (The fact that Laura is willing to steal the diamond without any clear plan for what they're going to do afterward, how they're going to get the diamond, or Mildred, back, etc. is poor plotting, though.)

Another nice aspect of the episode is Dolittle. How cute is it that Le Renard's accomplice is a little dog. Of course, the tinkle humor gets WAY out of hand, but the premise of a dog burglar is just adorable.

I also love the scene in which Mildred fesses up to how she got the dog back. Very sweet and well acted. And I don't think the fact that Laura is concerned about her agency makes her look bad at all. It's not just that Mildred is fraudulently passing herself off as a detective, but I think it's more a sense of personal betrayal for Laura because Mildred is using her confidential sources. There's no personal betrayal of Mr. Steele's trust--what does he care? He's a fraud himself. They're not his sources that Mildred is taking advantage of, so it's easy for him to be so understanding about it.

One of the priceless moments in the episode is when Mildred says something like "I don't even begin to understand your relationship, but you two do seem to have each other." To me that is a very significant "relationship" moment, even though there's no romance or kissing. As so often happens, Mildred's keen observation gets to the heart of the matter. However complicated or seemingly unfulfilled their relationship is, they do have each other, and that's something special.

Another great moment is after Steele and Laura pretend that they are working for Mildred to impress the Dragon Ladies. After Mildred and the DLs leave, Steele says he never realized how frustrating it is for Laura to pretend he's the head of the agency, but after experiencing the same thing for just a few moments, he found it quite demeaning. I love the way he toys with her.

I also like that the episode explores how Laura and Steele take Mildred for granted. The general idea works for me, but it doesn't play out in a completely satisfying way. Which brings me to the negatives about the episode, which I will write about later, 'cause this is getting way too long. (And I thought I had nothing much to say about this ep when I sat down to write.)
 

Javosyka, I have not posted all week! I see you didn't miss me. And what I said before was that I wasn't going to post *as much*. I didn't swear off this forum completely because I enjoy the weekly episode discussion. I'll be here every Friday, though this week I was a little late.
 

After two years I think it was obvious that Steele would have stuck around for Laura. He'd already put his life on the line for her, several times over, I don't think he'd leave her in the lurch -- though he'd probably come up with a plan to get them both out of it and to the Bahamas. ;-) If Steele was just concerned about his freedom he'd have never gone down to Mexico City as a wanted man to make sure she was safe in Steele Away With Me. We also know he's not one to turn down a friend in need -- even when the friend in need is blackmailing him or putting his life in danger. Would he do less for Laura? I don't think so. Besides after two years he was Remington Steele -- that was his life. He had as much or more to lose than Laura, he had his identity to lose. Getting up and leaving wouldn't have been an easy thing to do, even if it didn't mean leaving Laura to hold the bag which I don't think he'd ever do.
 

Okay, here are the things I didn't like about the episode.

First and foremost: the dog. I have to agree with Xenos on this one: What's with all the tinkling? The little antagonism between Steele and Dolittle is kind of funny at first, but they went way overboard, especially with the urinary aspects of it. And then there's the moment I HATE , when Mr. Steele seems to kick the dog. They don't show it of course, but he gets an angry look on his face, makes a jerking motion, and you hear the dog yelp. I find even this suggestion of kicking an animal shocking and appalling.

---

I really do not think that Mildred would leave such a 'lonely' life the way Laura and Steele were intimating from the pictures. I guess I take it personal because it seems to suggest that anyone who is middle-aged, divorced and with no children cannot have a busy life. She had the Dragon ladies. I REALLY don't like it when writers tend to think that having friends for their lead characters is a big block to plot develpment. It just made Mildred look more like a sympathy cause, when somehow I don't buy it. 

---

This problem, it seems to me, often occurs with episodes that focus on one particular character. The writers tend to exaggerate certain traits of that person. Yes, Mildred is not a full-fledged investigator, and yes, we know from previous episodes that she likes to overstate her role at RS Investigations. However, she doesn't have to read trashy novels for excitement, and she doesn't have to exaggerate her role THAT much to seem important. She goes above and beyond the duties of "secretary" all the time, and she already has more intrigue and danger in her life than most people. As pointed out earlier, she has pretty strong credentials as an IRS investigator. She is also very skilled at some important aspects of investigating--like using computers and following paper trails. And she has gone undercover and been in significant danger at least a few times at this point. Yet they (the writers and Laura and Steele) make it seem as though all she does is order legal pads and make coffee, and that it's somehow absurd for her to be "out on a case."

In general, I have to say this episode is also a little ageist. Not only is there the stereotypical treatment of Mildred, but also Masters. What is the point of him not being able to "perform" anymore? He looks like he's in pretty good shape to me.
 

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I liked her ltitle burgeoing relationship with Masters and it rang far more true than the ones with Edward in Maltese or the jerky cop in Corn Fed. I would have liked there to have been times we saw Steele and Laura trying to get hold of her but she was OUT having fun. 

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Waiting for a definitive plan,
Xenos

Isabel

Neeney

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to! 

I would like to do the Christmas episode, but those who do both forums should decide which works best.

Isabel

Xenos

Xenos

Neeney

Smile, it makes people wonder what you're up to! 

Xenos

I'm game for another underrated one from Seasons 2, 3, or 4....

DCZinger 

Whomever posts this one on Friday...please NUMBER it! Steele Belted is Episode #6. 

DCZinger

And, yes, Jen...I, too, thought it was creepy to blow up their building. But I really like this episode. Nice moments between Laura and Remington. And the kiss just melts my heart! OK, I'll stop here or I won't have anything to say when we do watch it.
 

Xenos

Later, if you want to discuss Belted in Chat...feel free to bring it up!

DCZinger