Xenos 

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

First, I love, love, love Mr. Steele saying that the “Queen of Hearts” reminds him of Laura. The look on her face when he says that is only matched by the look she gives him when he says that she “came with the table” when asked where he had gotten the dealer. 

The expression on both of their faces when they see the “incognito version” of Mildred in the lobby of the DI (Desert Inn for those of you who aren’t from here). How on earth she thought that outfit was going to just “blend in” is beyond me! 

The introduction of the ever-so-lovable-yet-annoying Norman Keyes and his cheap cigars. Who knew that he would turn into Mr. Steele’s biggest headache for two more seasons? 

The best lines: 
In the bedroom of the Presidential Suite: 
Remington: “Perhaps we should forget about this and move on to plan B.” 
Laura: “And what’s that she asked with a sense of impending doom?” 

Laura and Mildred with the gambling books: 
Mildred: “You sure you know what you’re doing?” 
Laura: “No, but when did that ever stop us?” 

And later at the blackjack table: 
Mildred: “You hit on 16!!!” 
Laura: “Mildred, you can stay on one condition.” 
Mildred: “What’s that?” 
Laura: “You have to shut up.” 
Mildred: “Good point.” 

And then of course, the classic “Sleep is for Cowards!” 

The storyline itself was cute and well written. There are a few inconsistencies, but nothing terribly earth-shattering. For the sake of current information, I’ve listed a few of them below along with a little trivia. 

1 – When Remington and Eddie walked from the Desert Inn to the Golden Nugget that must have been one heck of a long stroll. The DI and Nugget were well over five miles from each other. Unfortunately, the DI no longer stands and has been replaced by Wynn Las Vegas. In fact, when Remington is driving down The Strip, he passes the signs for the Stardust and Frontier hotels. The Stardust came down in January and the Frontier was imploded about three weeks ago. 

2 – The gift shop Remington lures Keyes to is shown on the wrong side of Hoover Dam. The exterior is the shop on the Nevada side but the interior is one that’s actually in Arizona. I know, no one who doesn’t live here would know that, but I threw it in for the trivia aspect. 

3 – Sonny James STILL performs part of the time at the Golden Nugget! You’d think he would have hung it up by now, but nope…Still there for at least 16 weeks a year. 

4 – Mildred making the comment about people asking her for drinks would never have happened. In the uniform she was wearing, people would have mistaken her for a maid, not a cocktail waitress. They wear a whole lot less to serve drinks in Vegas! (Perhaps a little late-night fantasy game for Remington and Laura to play…Oops! Did I just type that? That one’s for Xenos…LOL!!!) Vegas didn’t earn the nickname “Sin City” without a little mischief you know… 

5 – That was only the second time Stephanie has ever set foot in a Vegas casino. The first, of course, was in “Elvis & the Beauty Queen” and I had to remind her that she had been in Vegas during the filming! 

6 – I’ve been asked this before by someone and no, it is NOT Stephanie doing the card fan and pick-up from the table in the opening scene. If you’ll watch closely, you’ll find two problems with it. The first is that she not wearing the family crest ring that to this day very, very rarely ever comes off her hand. The second is that she runs the cards with the wrong hand. 

There’s more but if I sit here and give the whole description of what I thought of this episode, there’d be nothing left for anyone else to comment on. Let’s just say that this is most definitely one of my top three episodes of the series! 
 

I like this episode, even though it has no romance, because it is so witty and full of great scenes and amusing one liners. I only wish that more episodes 
in the series could have been as good as this one. 

When Keyes breaks into Remington's apartment, I had never noticed the book 
on Freud that he has on his bedroom dresser. It makes me wonder if he is reading the book to gain insight into Laura's behavior. 

Didn't like seeing Remington smoke a cigar though you can tell that he smokes it well and even makes little circles of the smoke. 

Loved Mildred's outfit, she seems so proud of her fake white mink wrap. 

The scene where Laura is gambling is probably one of the best in the show. 
And Remington carrying her out of the place on his shoulder is priceless. 
However, if I had won that kind of money and then seen it all blown away, 
they would have had to take me away in a strait jacket. 

Someone gets killed in this episode and it made me think, do we have a murder 
in every episode of RS? Hadn't thought of it? 

Isabel 
 

Memorable Stuff 

- Mr. Steele telling Everett he trusts him, but Laura tells Mildred to count the money - then Mr. Steele has Laura sign for it! 
- Mildred musing over "the boss's" plans and how they're "like poetry". One of her puppy dog moments, indeed! 
- Nice job convincing Everett that they were just "investing" his company's money 
- Norman Keyes. What a great character! James Tolkan is just letter perfect. 
- Didn't realize insurance investigators had those nifty pocket kits of lockpicks like PIs do! 
- Time capsule moment: the days before the TSA when you could fly under another name and carry a pistol on board! 
- "Reggie Whitewood" tossing out bills to the staff at the hotel! 
- Love Mr. Steele's reaction when Eddie tells him he pawned the necklace 
- Laura biting Mr. Steele on the arm as he tries to wrestle the dice away & he responds by tossing her over his shoulder. Too, too funny 
- Great comic event by PB as he starts "running" on his knees to get away from Keyes 
- LOVE how Laura tackles the bad guy who's trying to beat up Mr. Steele 
- Love the last scene where Mr. Steele indicates Laura might make an honest man of him yet and they walk down the street arm in arm 

Character Development 

- When Mildred starts waxing poetic over "the boss's" plans to get the necklace from Grogan, for once Laura doesn't get upset, just plays along. Go girl! 
- Laura does a good job of covering when she realizes Keyes knows about the 5 passports 
- Another nice job of covering with Keyes by pretending to help trap Mr. Steele 
- Cool Laura with the mathematical approach to gambling slowly turning into Wild Laura who's on a hot streak. Great job by SZ of just smiling to herself early on and then really letting loose once the gambling fever has struck 

Favorite lines 

Nathan: (to Laura) What are you sellin'? 
L: Nothing you can afford, big fella! 
-------------- 
Keyes: Does the smoke bother you? 
L: Not as much as you do. 
K: Well, I have that effect on people. I think it's generic. 
-------------- 
M: Are you sure you know what you're doing? 
L: Of course not, Mildred, but when has that stopped us before? 
M: Good point. 
-------------- 
L: Sleep is for cowards! 
 

Hair & Clothing 

- Laura's hair looks great throughout the episode. Not crazy about the plaid vest though. 
- Mildred's Vegas outfit! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL 
- I like Laura's suit with the purple top 
- That blue shirt Mr. Steele wears really brings out the color of his eyes. 
 

Goofs, Headscratchers & Misc 

- I like the very lush version of "Laura's Theme" used to open the show. 
- Fun to see Wortham Krimmer as Everett Blaisdale, a role so small he only gets billing at the end of the show 
- The REAL ending we never got to see, brought to you courtesy of SueJue: http://krebsfiles.com/dicedscrap.html

The gambling sequence is one of the all-time best Laura moments, but my favorite scene in the ep is actually just after that, when Laura apologizes for her behavior. To me this exchange between Laura and Mr. Steele is better than romance. It is so sweet. Laura is embarrassed for acting out of character, and as Mr. Steele points out, it is so typical of her to come down hard on herself. She has such high expectations of herself and everyone around her. Mr. Steele could have made fun of her or laughed it off, but instead he exhibits such great kindness and understanding. The way he looks at her and says she's "appeallingly human" always melts my heart. 

I noticed something new watching this time. Keyes uses malapropisms--for example, he says "generic" when he means "genetic." Does anyone remember if this was a consistent part of his character throughout the series, or was it just in this episode? I always enjoy malapropism as a telling character trait. 

It's funny that I like this episode so much, because I absolutely hate gambling and find casinos to be garish, unpleasant places. The only part of the unwholesome atmosphere I appreciate is the free drinks. I could never get carried away gambling, but an open bar is always dangerous...

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three romantic scenes. "Queen of Hearts", "Appealingly human" and the final scene. I suspect there are more.

Isabel

This is a perfect Laura episode, showing yet again that no other actress could have done what our lass did with the role. She can do with one glance what most actresses need a page of dialogue to achieve. She also gets some wonderful clothes, especially that tartan waistcoat that gives her an impish charm. 

We get three "I love you, but not in words" moments in this one, Queen of Hearts and "Appealingly human" and both are great moments. Then, at the end, something even better. The dropping of the necklace and another of the commitment moments. 
 

AND, on a slightly off topic note.... 

I boasted to my family that this year, I would be the one to make the stuffing, (now I know it's not as important as the actual turkey, but c'mon, stuffing is damn good!), but I haven't the slighted idea how. SO, I come crawling humbly here to ask if any of you Steele-crazy moms knows where I might find a good recipe to prove to my family that I'm not completely useless,I would be forever in debt! That is all. Thanks! =) 

EDIT: I just realized, after I posted that I will be going to Vegas quite shortly. Eight days to be exact! Just think... I'll be strolling along the same streets that our Mr.Steele walked along to film this. Eeeeeeeh, sheer excitement!! 

"Who watches the watchmen?" 
03.06.09

That stuffing recipe sounds great BTW! My mom's recipe is very similar but lacks that Southwestern flavor. Hers has no tamales, no cornbread stuffing (she uses the seasoned Pepperidge farm stuffing mix and a loaf of stuffing bread instead) and she adds ricotta chesse to make the recipe extra fattening. Her motto is when all else fails, add some more butter. 

About the SOTW, I have little to add because the posts have been great so far. I love Diced Steele because Vegas is just about my favorite place EVER. My favorite part of the episode is seeing the way the strip used to be when they first arrive in Vegas. Caesar's looks hilarious compared to what it is now. 

I also love how Laura and Remington are such a great team in this one and how Laura keeps her cool pretty well considering the situation they're in. She doesn't miss a beat when Norman Keyes tells her that he knows about Steele's aliases. She probably knew someone was bound to find out one day and was prepared for it. That scene at the craps table and then her apology to Steele are some of my favorite Laura scenes ever. 

I always love how Steele has to do everything in grand fashion and I love more that he does it in part because of how deprived he once was. His complete loving acceptance of Laura at her low point is so sweet and typical of him. He also looks amazing in this episode, especially in his kelly green suspenders. 

In terms of headscratchers, I wonder why Steele would keep his phony passports in a drawer when he could lock them up someplace. But then I guess we wouldn't have all the fun and chaos that happens when they're found! 

1) I really enjoyed this little gem...Despite the lack of romance. (Surprise!) A well-written romp in Vegas!!! (And as it is in Milwaukee...What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! St. Costello's, ladies!) 

2) Norman Keyes...Bwahahahaha!!! Holy crap, do I love to hate that guy!!! 

3) Mr. Steele playing poker!!! How incredibly HOT was that?!?! Eat your heart out, Oceans 11!!! Favorite line (and a damn sexy one at that): "Reminds me of you. Queen of Hearts." Both Remington and Laura looked FABULOUS in that scene!!! Didn't care for all the smoking...Wouldn't want it to make my favorite baby blues all red and irritated. (But the rings he blew were cool!) 

4) LOVED that sexy, casual outfit Mr. Steele wore for most of the show! Yeowsa!!! *smacking lips* I liked Laura's suit, too. She looked great! 

5) Did anyone else notice that HUGE bed in their suite?!?! OMG!!! How much fun could they have in there?!?! Ten bucks says Laura made him sleep on the freakin' couch!!! Unfreakinbelievable!!! 

6) LOVED seeing Laura's practical side and wild side collide!!! And I LOVED the role reversal! Mr. Steele the voice of reason/sanity and Laura the voice of frivolity/throw-caution-to-the-wind! One thing though...Laura biting Mr. Steele at the table in front of everyone?!?! Couldn't she wait and save that for the bedroom?!?! Pity. 

7) Mr. Steele "escaping" on his knees...Pure Brosnan genius!!! So freakin' good at physical comedy!!! 

8) Mildred, Mildred, MILDRED. Heh-heh-heh!!! Quite the outfit! 

Very good episode...Though they could've smooched at least once!!! 
 

Xenos 

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

Wasn't there a fanfic where they decided to stay on for one more night since they'd already paid for the room? And since Mildred was driving, they sent her back. Hmmm. Can't recall which one it was. 

Xenos! A call to arms! I think you need to write that scene!