Welcome to the debut broadcast of #Bond_age_TV: Remington Steele. We’re beginning the series with the first two episodes. Together they establish the premise and foundation of the show to follow. Remember to follow the #Bond_age_TV hashtag on Twitter. And feel free to scatter in some #SteeleTweet to clue bystanders in on our gig.
#Bond_age_TV presents REMINGTON STEELE
Remington Steele: S1 E1 – License to Steele – 9:00pm ET
On Wednesday, June 1st, #Bond_age_TV welcomes a new show into the family. If you’ve been following our dialogue on Twitter for any amount of time, you probably know that this has been a long time coming. After giving good twatter to the Pierce Brosnan Double Feature of Taffin and Tailor of Panama a couple weeks ago, I realized that I needed more Fluffy in my life. So I went ahead and booked Remington Steele for our first open Wednesday.
Introducing the newest #Bond_age_TV live tweet series: Remington Steele.
I remember rather vividly staying up to watch Remington Steele with my parents. This would have been 1983. I can date this quite precisely because my first prime time television memories are Remington Steele, The A-Team and Mr. Smith. If you need a refresher about Mr. Smith, I don’t blame you. Mr. Smith was a sitcom about a talking orangutan that first aired during NBC’s fall season of 1983. It lasted only 13 episodes and was cancelled by the end of the year. It will live in infamy as a famously terrible show, but I found it hilarious. I was 5. Talking orangutans are funny. Maybe one day we’ll live tweet Mr. Smith. (Don’t hold your breath.) That these shows have been inextricably linked in my brain probably has nothing to do with Brosnan’s hair. Probably.
Remington Steele meanwhile first aired on October 1st, 1982 and starred the dashing young Bond-to-be Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist, daughter of American TV actor Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. who also popped up in a recurring role on Remington Steele. (We’ll be seeing him shortly.) The show concerned Laura Holt, a licensed private investigator, who struggled because clients refused to hire a woman. To solve her problem, Laura creates a fictitious male boss to sell to potential clients. An unnamed con man discovers her secret and assumes the role of Holt’s boss, Remington Steele.
As you’ll see if when you revisit the series with #Bond_age_, the show has aged very well. Unlike many shows from the era, RS‘ blend of comedy and crime procedural still feels fresh. Part of that is due to the timeless charm of a 29-year-old Pierce Brosnan, but it’s also due to the show’s ties to classic Hollywood. The creation of Robert Butler (longtime Emmy-winning TV director) and Michael Gleason pays homage to the classic screwball comedies, film noir and detective stories of the 30’s and 40’s. Furthermore, the show subverts the homogenous, male-centric TV detective genre by telling its stories from the point of view of a young, professional woman. Remington Steele is also credited with pioneering the now-standard “will they or won’t they” romantic subplot that has buoyed television drama of all genres.
On Wednesday, June 1st #Bond_age_ live tweets the premiere episode of Remington Steele called “License to Steel” and the 2nd episode “Tempered Steele” — these fist two episodes combine to establish the series’ premise. After that I’ll handpick episodes based on crucial narrative developments and/or choice guest stars. I’m going to be using Pamela Fallon Thornley (@fallonthornley) as a special consultant for this series of live tweets because she is a certified Steele fanatic. 🙂
Join us! Wednesday @ 9pm ET. Follow #Bond_age_TV hashtag. Scatter #Steele in there for good measure. Embeds for each episode will appear on the website the day of the live tweet.
It’s been awhile, but #Bond_age_TV is back tomorrow night with another Avengers/Hawaii Five-0 double feature. First up will be The Avengers, in an episode called The Master Minds. A series of thefts baffles the government, especially as it appears that well-respected members of that very same government are caught red-handed. Steed and Mrs. Peel are called in to investigate. Will they get to the bottom of it? Find out at 9 pm EST tomorrow in the first half of our programming.
Then, at 10 pm EST, Hawaii Five-0 is featured with the episode Twenty-Four Karat Kill. McGarrett and Five-0 learn that somebody is smuggling gold into Hawaii, and they’re determined to put a stop to it. The episode is the one where Jack Lord first utters the catchphrase “Book ’em, Danno.” So come join the fun and enjoy the Hawaiian scenery as we watch a piece of TV history. Both programs will be livetweeted under the #Bond_age_TV hashtag. Be here! Aloha!
Welcome to our special presentation of a COOL DETECTIVES Live Tweet, playlist curated by our very own Greg McCambley. We’ll start with some Peter Gunn and follow that up with a potboiler of a Dick Tracy feature from 1945 called Dick Tracy, Detective.
INITIATE THE COOL DETECTIVES LIVE TWEET @ 9pm ET. Follow #Bond_age_TV hashtag.
This week’s regularly scheduled Avengers/Hawaii Five-0 event has to be delayed for technical reasons, but I don’t look at this as a disappointment. Rather, I’m taking this as an opportunity to spotlight two other titles that I think deserve a spot here at #Bond_age_ HQ. This Wednesday’s livetweet is all about the coolness. Before Bond hit our screens in 1962 and made spying the coolest profession on Earth, detectives made living look glamourous. Danger, excitement and beautiful women were the expected norm for the life of a detective. In 1958, perhaps the coolest of detectives appeared on US TV. His name was Peter Gunn, and he was the brainchild of Blake Edwards, the man behind The Pink Panther. Portrayed by Craig Stevens, Gunn was the epitome of cool. Always well-dressed, Gunn’s bad side was always a bad place to be. The show was also one of the first shows in TV to use jazz for its musical scores, including the very memorable Peter Gunn theme, all done by musical legend Henry Mancini. Peter Gunn can rightly be called a James Bond prototype, and #Bond_age_TV is happy to feature the pilot episode for Peter Gunn , called The Kill. Crooks are trying to move in on Peter’s favourite hangout, Mother’s, and he’s having none of it. Will they regret it? Find out in the first part of this Wednesday’s livetweet.
The #Bond_age_TV Cool Detectives Livetweet Event!
The main feature for this Wednesday’s livetweet includes perhaps the Granddaddy of all cool detectives, Dick Tracy. Beginning as a comic strip in 1931, Dick Tracy was a detective who went up against mobsters and other assorted regular criminals. Gradually, however, strip creator Chester Gould added new elements which would turn his strip into a pop culture juggernaut over the next several decades: technology and grotesque villains. Before Batman and Bond, Dick Tracy ignited the imagination with tech like the 2-way wrist radio and villains such as Flattop, Pruneface, and The Blank. Dick Tracy eventually found his way from the comic strip to first the radio, and then movie serials and feature films. This Wednesday #Bond_age_TV will be showing the 1945 film Dick Tracy, Detective. Tracy is up against a vicious criminal by the name of Splitface. Who is he, and how does he choose his victims? To find out, join me this coming Wednesday for #Bond_age_TV, starting at 9 pm EST!
“What could have done that?” “Well, if we cast our minds back…” “…to a 9-letter word beginning with C…” “Cybernaut.”
Hello, fellow livetweeters! This month #Bond_age_TV is doing something different. Hawaii Five-0 had, in its 12 years on the air, a number of two-parters which I don’t plan to break up when they come up in the schedule. This presents a bit of a problem, as the Avengers never had any two-part episodes (except in the New Avengers era, which is sadly beyond my perview). But I wanted to give the Avengers their own time as well, so I shall be presenting, from time to time, back-to-back Avengers episodes that have a common thread. This week I’m starting this tradition with the most obviously episode link in Avengers history: The Cybernauts. These robotic assassins appeared three times throughout the Avengers run, and this week I’ll be featuring their first two appearances. First up this Wednesday at 9pm EST will be their debut episode, titled The Cybernauts. Steed and Emma investigate a series of murders that appear to be the work of a martial arts expert. This episode features such familiar faces as Michael Gough (Batman) and Bernard Horsfall (OHMSS). The second part of the double feature will be Return of the Cybernauts . The Cybernauts are back, thanks to a millionaire bent on revenge ( guest star Peter Cushing.) Steed and Peel find themselves targets for destruction. This episode ranks as one of my all-time favourites, and I think I’m not the only one. I hope you’ll join me for this week’s #Bond_age_TV event, with the fun starting at 9pm EST!
