Xenos 

However, after recently watching it, with and without the commentary, I realized that the order it was aired had little to do with my dislike for the episode. I don't like it because even though there were some funny parts, on the whole, the action/dialog is out of character. And unfortunately, both Laura and Remington are made to look like idiots. 

How can Remington spend a whole episode chasing after Ms. Dalrymple? It is so beneath him to act in such a stupid way. And Laura telling Clay Pratt "nice backhand" when he pats her twice on the bottom is appalling. 

The commentary with Michael Gleason and Stephanie Zimbalist was a show in itself. Just loved all the juicy information that they gave us, like how Stephanie's pants split in one of the shows and she had no underwear. Now THAT was funny. 

Isabel 

I love it. Steele and Laura don't look like idiots. Laura was at Havenhurst with a lot of sexist creeps. In that situation, you make light of it or you explode in homicidal rage. She behaves with Clay exactly as she behaved with Alan Grievey, with perhaps the slight addition of an attempt to make Steele believe they were closer than they really were. 

Miss Dalrymple holds little appeal for Steele. He's simply trying to charm her into staying around because he wants to make Laura jealous. He also feels guilty when she gets hurt. 

It's not the best episode, but it's a good one. Personally, I don't think the cookies are that valuable, because what good is a cookie without calories? What kind of joyless fool would buy one? 

Helen 
 

Memorable Stuff 

- Laura trying to get Mildred to do aerobics. While I can see Mildred bowling, I just can't quite picture her doing the aerobics. 
- Mr. Steele and Miss Dalrymple flirting with each other while keeping things professional. Both PB & GD do a good job of having fun without crossing the line. 
- Watching Mildred doing exercises in an attempt to stay away from the cookies' siren call. Doris does a great job of making it funny. 
- Good comic bit by Pierce of worrying about Miss Dalrymple the first time the office is trashed. Wonder if stepping in the box and shaking it off his foot was done on purpose or was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing. 
- Sign of the times: The company thinking of increasing sales of Booster Bars by hiring Michael Jackson! That would only help sales plunge these days. 
- Poor Mildred huffing & puffing, always bringing up the end of the line in the chase scenes. 
- Nice comic effect to have Mildred, Miss Dalrymple, Gloria and the coach all squashed into the back of the Rabbit 
 

Character Development 

- Fun to watch Mr. Steele try to control a bit of jealousy when they run into Clay. Even though we can tell Laura has no real interest in him, she's obviously getting a kick out of needling Mr. Steele by withholding details of her relationship with Clay. (Heck, Clay's probably the reason she no longer wants to mix business & pleasure!) 
- Even in their next scene, when they're just walking down the corridor to the office, he's still a bit miffed and she's enjoying the effect that it's having on him. 
 

Favorite lines 

Sandy: How can you handle both cases at once? 
R: Don't worry, Miss Dalrymple. I'll simply assigning my trusted associate to the Munzinger matter. Then I'll be free to devote all my energies to servicing you. (Waiting with anticipation for Xenos's take on that last sentence!) 
-------------- 
S: Do you realize that since I've met you, I've had a man die at my feet, I've been punched in the mouth and nearly blown sky high, all in one day! 
R: I know how annoying these minor inconveniences can be. But from now on, it's smooth sailing. (MINOR INCONVENIENCES?! LOL) 
 

Hair & Clothing 

- I like Laura's suit with the dark jacket and camel-colored pants. And she looks so good when she adds the fedora to the ensemble. 
- I've never liked that striped dress of Mildred's 
- I like Mr. Steele's brown suit. I'd never have thought of the bright blue pocket square but, of course, it brings out his eyes. And I still like the shorter haircut! 
- Love that red dress on Laura! Her hair looks good throughout the episode. 
- Mr. Steele looks good in the jeans, white shirt and blue sport jacket. He sure runs a lot better in those cowboy boots than I run in mine! 
- Extra kudos to Stephanie, Doris, Camille and Jean for doing SO much running in heels this episode! 
- I believe the polka-dot dress Miss Dalrymple wears at the end is the same one Barbara Dannon (Jane Kaczmarek) wore in "Altared Steele" 
 

Goofs, Headscratchers & Misc 

- So is Howard Baldwin (listed in the writing credits) a pseudonym for Michael? 
- Michael Bell (Bill Miles) does the voice-overs for Zales Diamond Stores. 
- So what was RSI going to do for Miss Dalrymple? They couldn't provide her with a bodyguard service. Maybe she just wanted to "audition" them to see Mr. Steele up-close-and-personal?! 
- I think that's Stephanie's handwriting on the check that Bill Miles gives to Laura. Wonder if it's Robin's handwriting on the check Shirley gives to Mr. Steele? 
- Since this script was originally to air during the relationship freeze, it appears they had to edit one scene a bit to alter its meaning. (Though perhaps that had been done even before it was shot.) Once all three people have hired the agency to find Walter, L & R are driving in her Rabbit and he remarks about wanting to get back to going over Miss Dalrymple's itinerary. Laura remarks that it should be an exciting trip. Then there's these lines from Mr. Steele that were edited out: 
R: Since you were the one who decided to put our personal relationship on hold for the forseeable future, and since we are both mature, consenting adults, we can't be expected to repress our natural instincts and urges. 
L: Need I remeind you, Miss Dalrymple's a client. 
R: She's more than that, Laura. She's the ideal client. 
L: How so? 
R: She wants to mix business with pleasure. 
This reference to "mature, consenting adults" makes an appearance again after Mr. Steele pushes Clay back into the closet while he and Laura discuss her previously mixing business and pleasure with Clay. It also makes the last line of the show make a whole lot more sense.

Uh, this fool. To have a good-tasting dessert with no calories?! Heaven, pure and simple.

Debra

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R: Don't worry, Miss Dalrymple. I'll simply assign my trusted associate to the Munzinger matter. Then I'll be free to devote all my energies to servicing you. (Waiting with anticipation for Xenos's take on that last sentence!)
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I think my take on that last line is pretty well known already!  Oh-ho-ho, yeh-heh-hes!!! Remington could service me any time, any place, any where!!! *STEELEGASM* 

I haven't had a chance to re-watch "Chips" yet, but I will. But let me just get my problem with this episode out of the way now. (BTW, I like this episode. Reminds me of the mad-cap, screwball comedy "Rat Race"...Sorry, I never saw "It's A Mad, Mad, etc. World" in its entirety. But "Rat Race" is my favorite of that genre. Check it out.) My problem with "Chips" is this: It's unbelievable enough that Laura would still be putting Mr. Steele off and that he'd still be chasing her. (It's hopelessly cute and well-played by both Pierce and Steph...though completely frustrating and incredulous and maddening beyond compare!) But TWO women not jumping his bones when he's obviously interested?!?! It just doesn't ring true...And it makes the female species look like freakin' idiots!!! I seriously doubt a man like Mr. Steele would have to chase any woman!!! (More likely, he'd have to beat them off with a shovel -- a stick just wouldn't be sturdy enough.) 

More later, ladies! 
 

A woman who would NEVER EVER turn Mr. Steele down, 
Xenos 

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

I think it's a fun episode and admit it makes me laugh out loud (in spite of being dreadfully out of order), but I've never known of anyone except for Pierce who claimed it as a favorite. 

I read the blog mentioned in clervaux's post. Did that person just make up the term "Cookie Episode"? I've never heard of it or read about it anywhere. That "Chips" would inspire that phrase is just. . . well, bizarre. 

Debra 

Debra

I don't care when it was supposed to air, it doesn't work for any time period because the characterizations are cringe making, the pace is sloggy, the action consists of people running around and acting like mindless idiots and the plot is too goofy to exist without better characters and dialogue to support it. 

I did like the idea that a former astronaut had to shill stuff in a supermarket. Sadly, that wasn't out of the realm of possibility when NASA was cut back. I also like Pierce's short early filmed season 3 hair. 

Compare this to a post Cannes episode like Gourmet where they date other people. That episode shows us a couple trying and failing to move on, who realize that what they think they want in another person isn't what they want at all. It also manages to be quick, witty, fun and even the action scenes are clever and fast paced. Chips doesn't even make it as a mad cap episode. It's leagues beneath an episode similar in screwball concept - everyone chases the same object - Steele's Gold. The only real entertainment value from this episode are Pierce's physical contortions as Steele -- and as fun as it is to watch him let loose like John Cleese he is not served by the material surrounding him. 

How could anyone actually write a character like Clay, hire the perfect sleazy actor for it and think that was a character that 

a) Laura would have ever wanted to mix business and pleasure with or even intimate that she did to try and make Steele jealous or 

b) that Steele would be jealous of such a walking oil slick who hides in a closet? 

It would be more realistic if Steele felt mortal embarrassment for Laura ever sinking that low and hoping she never caught anything contagious from him. Yuck! As repugnant as Butch Beamis is at least he had some kind of tangible sex appeal. The lone payoff of Clay's existence is Steele shutting the closet door on him. Oh, if he'd only locked it and thrown away the key. 

Laura's flirting with Clay is so completely ham handed and out of character. It's unbelievable she'd let anyone slap her on the ass and giggle about it - especially some sleaze ball she doesn't even have to work for or placate and even then it would strain credulity. She may have let Alan Grievey flirt a bit but he wasn't slapping her ass - and he was her former boss/mentor, not some jerk who once did the same job she did (not as well) and got paid 50% more. I kept praying Laura would at least break one of his kneecaps, but alas it never happened. 

Though Laura's salary at Havenhurt in the late 70s out of college is pretty darn good it's no where enough to open two agencies -- one that failed and the other in a high rent district that was in the red before Steele - and own a house. I always wonder if her house is meant to be the old Holt house before her mother moved to Connecticut to be near Frances. That might explain how she could save money and open her agencies. 

Steele flirting with the lovely Miss Dalrymple... sigh. Well at least she's lovely and rather sweet, but jeez could he be any more puppy dog needy? I know it's entering the 3rd year of celibacy but come on! No man that looks, talks, moves and smiles like that should ever have to work that hard or be that desperate for some casual fun sex. He's this way when there's no Laura in sight so he's not doing it to make her jealous. I'm not sure why it would make her jealous though since he seems too damn pathetic. Though at least Geena's Dalrymple is physically worthy getting jealous over unlike Clay. The only good thing from this pairing is Pierce's physical comedy drawing attention to her Amazonian stature by walking like Groucho Marx around her so it seems as if she and her BIG hair and high heels dwarf him even though he's taller. To add insult to character assassination she then goes off with Clay. 

I don't like Laura grabbing the cookies from Mildred and telling her they need to exercise instead. It's rather rude and insulting. If no one asks for your opinion on their weight or what they eat then keep your opinions to yourself. 

Personally I'd love a no calorie/no fat cookie that tastes great. I eat food for the taste not the guilt or naughtiness. Otherwise I'd eat endangered species like in "The Freshmen" (Marlon Brando, Matthew Broderick, 1990, TriStar Pictures) ;-). 

The lead villain's motive makes no damn sense. If he got the recipe for the cookie his business would be bigger than ever. If everyone had the recipe no one's business would be impacted except positively since people would buy even more cookies. Even if by some stretch of the imagination that the recipe was just for chocolate chip cookies and they couldn't apply it to other cookies there are few people who'd be happy just with chocolate chip cookies -- they'd want variety and damn the calories. 

This episode more than any also shows the mutual respect/liking between Pierce and Stephanie. For Stephanie to co-write something so outrageous and for Pierce to rise to the challenge and give the comedic performance of his life (imho) has to dispel some of the rumours wrt ongoing friction between the two of them. I think they really *liked* each other and it shows in this episode. I think it's only normal to have *off* days and to irritate each other now and then - and you'd have to be abnormal not to feel some jealousy/envy at times as well. My DH and I once worked at the same company (he actually reported to me - hmmm similar to Laura and Remington) and we fought A LOT at work (privately) - there are egos involved even if you love someone (we were fine at home, though, luckily for us!!!). I must admit to heaving a sigh of relief when he moved to a different section, though :-) 

(Of course an irrational part of me fantasizes that Pierce and Stephanie were madly in love with each other too, but, alas, it had to be an unrequited love because Pierce was married at the time... In the same vein, in one of the DVD commentaries by the writers (sorry, don't remember who), one of them said "Of course I knew the difference between Laura and Stephanie" and the other comments "No, I don't think you did!" - or something to that effect - thought that was hilarious because I sometimes feel the same! How could she not fall head-over-heels for Pierce as any red-blooded female would :-)

Not one of my favorite episodes... too much running around and chaotic-ness (is that a word??) and fuss over something so trivial. I mean, come on people, it's just a cookie! Granted it doesn't have calories, but even still, the whole idea seems to have been thought up by someone my age lol. 
I don't really like how there arent any real R/L interactions and yeah... 
I dunno though, maybe the next time I watch it, I'll be more open and see if I can pick out any good points to it. 

"Who watches the watchmen?" 
03.06.09